Tom-Lynx Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Now you folks cursed me. An ebay purchase I made back in December finally arrived this morning....broken and poorly packaged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 Now you folks cursed me. An ebay purchase I made back in December finally arrived this morning....broken and poorly packaged. Your post is not complete without pictures. Perhaps we need a sticky thread where people can post items they've received from eBay sellers in horrible condition? ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) While not an ePay item, received this courtesy of my d-bag mail man today. Loooong gone are the days you treat your mail guy to money or a bottle of champagne around Christmas time. These people are animals here in Janesville. Yes, it's just a backup copy of something and yes it was sent in a bubble mailer, but my maildouche purposely and needlessly (my mail box is quite large) folded the envelope in half. Either way, he must have known he broke 'something'. You really have to go out of your way to fold a CD in half. Edited January 9, 2010 by save2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 While not an ePay item, received this courtesy of my d-bag mail man today. Loooong gone are the days you treat your mail guy to money or a bottle of champagne around Christmas time. These people are animals here in Janesville. Yes, it's just a backup copy of something and yes it was sent in a bubble mailer, but my maildouche purposely and needlessly (my mail box is quite large) folded the envelope in half. Either way, he must have known he broke 'something'. You really have to go out of your way to fold a CD in half. Holy cow, no kidding! Unless it was already broken, it'd be nigh impossible to fold the envelope in half without feeling the resistance of the CD before it finally snapped (and then you'd surely know you just broke something!) I'd take that right down to my post office and complain to the postmaster there. There is simply no excuse for that. Ridiculous. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zwackery Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 While not an ePay item, received this courtesy of my d-bag mail man today. Loooong gone are the days you treat your mail guy to money or a bottle of champagne around Christmas time. These people are animals here in Janesville. Yes, it's just a backup copy of something and yes it was sent in a bubble mailer, but my maildouche purposely and needlessly (my mail box is quite large) folded the envelope in half. Either way, he must have known he broke 'something'. You really have to go out of your way to fold a CD in half. Holy cow, no kidding! Unless it was already broken, it'd be nigh impossible to fold the envelope in half without feeling the resistance of the CD before it finally snapped (and then you'd surely know you just broke something!) I'd take that right down to my post office and complain to the postmaster there. There is simply no excuse for that. Ridiculous. ..Al Ditto. I'd raise a major fuss over that BS, and if the local postmaster isn't willing to do something, go higher up the chain. One time I had a semi-rare comic come in the mail, sandwiched between corrugated cardboard in an envelope, and despite the DO NOT BEND stamps all over it, the carrier dutifully folded it in half and shoved it in my mailbox. I found it about 30 minutes after delivery, drove over to the post office, and made an extreme point by shoving it under the postmaster's nose along with the bill of sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 One time I had a semi-rare comic come in the mail, sandwiched between corrugated cardboard in an envelope, and despite the DO NOT BEND stamps all over it, the carrier dutifully folded it in half and shoved it in my mailbox. I found it about 30 minutes after delivery, drove over to the post office, and made an extreme point by shoving it under the postmaster's nose along with the bill of sale. What did the postmaster say? ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zwackery Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 One time I had a semi-rare comic come in the mail, sandwiched between corrugated cardboard in an envelope, and despite the DO NOT BEND stamps all over it, the carrier dutifully folded it in half and shoved it in my mailbox. I found it about 30 minutes after delivery, drove over to the post office, and made an extreme point by shoving it under the postmaster's nose along with the bill of sale. What did the postmaster say? ..Al Oh, he grovelled a bit and said that the carrier would be disciplined, but basically I was SOL when it came to the "damage" on the book. "What, this crease is a problem? You can still read the comic right? Don't kids fold these things up and stick them in their back pocket anyhow?" Yes, Mr. Nostalgia, while we ride our bikes down to the malt shop for cherry cokes, penny whistles, and nickel moon pies. Golly, that's swell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneAgeGamer Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) I hear ya. Amazon charges 15% and gives you horrible credits on shipping. When it comes to brand new products I don't know how people make money selling on eBay and Amazon. I sell on Amazon and the 15% is tolerable. With ebay, I did not make money. This is probably due to their listing fees. I know I was paying more than 15% for each effective sale. On Amazon it is set and basically it replaces the cost I would have had to cover for CC fees, website hosting, and everything associated with keeping a website up. I get more eyes on my product with Amazon and they do some ad listing on search sites. I get a lot with Amazon. I feel 15% is well worth the price. I do some things that get that percentage down too. Yes I guess if you had no other bills to pay. However, in my cause I do. I wish I could sell through Amazon, but I could only justify that if their shipping estimates were actually correct, which they never seemed to be in my case and if they charged around 10%. Maybe they fixed the shipping, but I was getting like $5 to ship something that actually cost $10. Its almost as if they were giving me the First Class rates for things that were too heavy to ship First Class. Edited January 9, 2010 by StoneAgeGamer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almost Rice Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 photos of my mangled monitor... This is why I stopped buying on ebay. I stopped selling because of the buyers that would stay for this crap and give good sellers hell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevincal Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 photos of my mangled monitor... http://img683.imageshack.us/g/busted001.jpg/ Wow, you're a brave man for even powering that up. I wouldn't have bothered because even if it worked perfectly I'd still want my money back. And I would have asked for the entire amount. Do you have a link to the original auction? I'd like to see the pictures posted. I don't think you'd have any problems getting PayPal to side with you for a claim. ..Al lol its funny you mention that. I WAS scared to plug it in! I was expecting fire and explosions. Right when I plugged it in I heard the familiar sound of a monitor turning on (power button was pushed in I guess). I was quite surprised too and was hoping the screen image was still fine (thats hoping a lot I know). So ya, the guy wrote me back and claimed UPS boxed it up and everything, he seems cool and has promised to refund me $60 of the $86. Im fine with that, and I will never have something this heavy shipped again... NO idea what to do with the monitor now, its a shame cus it was supposed to be a really nice one. 21 inch CRT Trinitron. Original auction used stock pictures, claimed the monitor was in great shape with only a few minor scratches, but that the screen was perfect etc. The thing got tossed around in delivery very badly.. While not an ePay item, received this courtesy of my d-bag mail man today. Loooong gone are the days you treat your mail guy to money or a bottle of champagne around Christmas time. These people are animals here in Janesville. Yes, it's just a backup copy of something and yes it was sent in a bubble mailer, but my maildouche purposely and needlessly (my mail box is quite large) folded the envelope in half. Either way, he must have known he broke 'something'. You really have to go out of your way to fold a CD in half. I laughed out loud at this one. That is amazing that someone would be so stupid as to fold a CD in half. They had to put A LOT of effort into folding that... To be honest our mail people here aren't so great either. We routinely get other peoples mail and actually today just noticed one of my cars registration was 2 months passed due, I never got a DMV notice in the mail... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdement Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 On the occasions when I've bought something heavy or otherwise fragile, I try to look for a seller who specializes in those type of items. I don't trust somebody who normally sells random stuff, and doesn't have a track record shipping the item I'm concerned about. The heaviest items I've ever bought on ebay were a very heavy workstation PC, and a used laserjet. Both came from sellers who dealt with those items routinely, so not surprisingly they each showed up in great packaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wood_jl Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) Wow. I always felt lucky when I made a successful Ebay transaction. Now I feel extremely so. I'd rather buy from Amazon Marketplace if I can. I hate auctions - as when I want something, I usually want to "buy it now." The only time I participate in an auction is when there is no alternative. The only time I buy from Ebay (in general) is if there is no alternative, or something goes cheap. Sometimes those two go together, and Ebay is useful. I can't believe how much money they are raking in with these online selling sites. Seller does all the work, buyer takes all the risk, and they just suck off the top of the transaction, minus the cost of running the servers. What a lucrative ripoff opportunity. It's quite surprising that a serious (backed by big dollars) competition hasn't cropped up. I wonder why Google or Microsoft or some other tech-savvy leviathan hasn't challenged them. Besides the startup costs, there must be many headaches behind the scenes that we don't know about, but I'll bet potential competitors are aware of in their feasibility studies. There are only 2 cases when I've been a seller (on either Ebay or Amazon Marketplace) 1) I just want to "get rid" of stuff I'm tired of, or don't need anymore 2) I luckily stumbled into a tremendous bargain on some stuff - a one-time, not-repeatable deal and not a supply line I don't see how I could make serious money selling online, and I don't see how anyone without a special situation can make a living either. Edited January 10, 2010 by wood_jl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurisu Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Well guys, I have 2 stories, both Atari related. 1) I ordered a sealed copy of joust for the 2600. Pics were of the actual item, and it was in great shape. The woman shipped it in a bubble mailer, and a corner got the classic "atari box crush" on the UPC corner. I messaged her about it, not complaining, just letting her know for her own sake, and she apoplgized. I left good feedback, and generally was not disapointed. It was a "stuff happens" moment for me. 2) Spent $50 for 2 7800 "euro" controllers. One was a little stiff, but the other was great. Well, about a week after getting them, I noticed that one didnt work right all the time. Turns out a wire in the cable was frayed, so depending on how I held it, it would sometimes work, sometimes not. Well, I finally got tired of it the other night. I gutted the thing, which had a stripped screw (had to break that screw post, sadly, to fix it) went in and took, my box cutter to it, taking out about 2 inches of cord length, but managed to fix the wire, and force it all back inside the unit. took almost 2 hours, and this was right when I got that micro-flu the other day, but man, I was NOT going to let myself be pretty much shafted out of 50 bucks. Eh, that's about it. Nothing epic, and no other major stories to tell. Hopefully it will stay that way. --- Oh, well, one more: I ordered a record back in summer. It was coming from Little Rock, Arkansas, while I am here in Memphis, Tennessee. About 200 miles away. The record got "destroyed" by the postal service, and the seller refunded me no problem, but it is one of those things you have to think about: I have ordered records from Italy and Korea and they have arrived fine, but one from 200 miles away gets annihilated. I think the mail truck was in a major wreck or something, in that case. haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 (edited) Well guys, I have 2 stories, both Atari related. 2) Spent $50 for 2 7800 "euro" controllers. One was a little stiff, but the other was great. Well, about a week after getting them, I noticed that one didnt work right all the time. Turns out a wire in the cable was frayed, so depending on how I held it, it would sometimes work, sometimes not. You know... Best Electronics sells these for $17ea. brand new! Here's the linky... http://www.best-elec.../quickguide.htm BTW: I just bought a pair of these and it's my opinion that they are still not up to snuff as a 'good' controller for the 7800. Directional pad has you accidentally going up or diagonal at times and the fire buttons are spaced too far apart. Also, the controller is just designed goofily all the way around. From where they put the cord exiting from the back to the ribbed design on the underside that your fingers come into contact with. Weird/strange little controller. I'd pursue an NES pad that's been converted next if I was looking for a new controller setup. Edited January 11, 2010 by save2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom-Lynx Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 *sigh* Last night I bought a replacement Dell laptop keyboard for a family member, and the auction I picked was chosen because of its delivery time and because it shipped from the U.S. and not overseas. I paid right away. One hour later I get the email (in broken English) about how sorry they are the keyboard isn't in stock and would I mind waiting while they work out problems with their suppliers. NO! I asked for a refund and informed them they should not be selling something not in stock. I really really hate that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 NO! I asked for a refund and informed them they should not be selling something not in stock. I really really hate that. Yeah, that seems to be really common, especially from large sellers. Lots of drop-shipping taking place, as well as sellers ordering items from their suppliers only after you've won their auctions. This is what happened with the set of "bootleg" ST:TNG DVDs I bought and I was pretty peeved about it. Only after the auction did I see that the delivery time wasn't until early JANUARY. I wrote the seller asking basically, "WTF?" and they said they should be able to get them from their distributor in about 10 days and then I'd have them before Christmas. To the seller's credit this was the case, but of course they then turned out to be copies anyway. Now I have to make it a point to check the shipping time on the shipping/payment tab. This is in addition to asking sellers questions beforehand (although this did not help me with the ST:TNG Season 7 DVDs!) and scouring the auction description text to make sure there aren't any "hidden gems". It's like a game the seller plays with the buyer to see what he/she can sneak in. I know not all sellers are like this, of course, but it makes buying on eBay more of a chore and a risk than it was when eBay was young. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zwackery Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Sorry to hear you had so much trouble buying ST:TNG DVDs (a show I rather enjoyed). According to dvdpricesearch, new box sets from known retailers (buy.com looks like it has the best prices) are around the $45 range, and of course there is the complete series in one gigantic set: Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1 Box Set: Special Edition TV Classics Paramount $47.26 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 Box Set: Special Edition TV Classics Paramount $48.49 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 Box Set: Special Edition TV Classics Paramount $47.59 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4 Box Set: Special Edition TV Classics Paramount $46.86 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5 Box Set: Special Edition TV Classics Paramount $46.86 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6 Box Set: Special Edition TV Classics Paramount $48.49 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7 Box Set: Special Edition TV Classics Paramount $45.86 Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Complete Series Sci-Fi / Fantasy Paramount $294.65 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Sorry to hear you had so much trouble buying ST:TNG DVDs (a show I rather enjoyed). According to dvdpricesearch, new box sets from known retailers (buy.com looks like it has the best prices) are around the $45 range, and of course there is the complete series in one gigantic set: Getting them new isn't difficult, but getting them new in the earlier original packaging style is a gamble. I was able to get five of the seven seasons in the older packaging, but there's no way to know when ordering online if you'll get an older box or newer box. Four of six I got from Amazon were the new style. When I drive around to the Barnes & Nobles here in Austin, I found mostly the newer style. I figured it was just easier to get the last two seasons from sellers on eBay. Ha, so much for that plan! I filed a claim on PayPal and need to ship Season 7 back to the seller today. Once I get my refund, I will be leaving negative feedback. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom-Lynx Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 NO! I asked for a refund and informed them they should not be selling something not in stock. I really really hate that. Yeah, that seems to be really common, especially from large sellers. Lots of drop-shipping taking place, as well as sellers ordering items from their suppliers only after you've won their auctions. This is what happened with the set of "bootleg" ST:TNG DVDs I bought and I was pretty peeved about it. Only after the auction did I see that the delivery time wasn't until early JANUARY. I wrote the seller asking basically, "WTF?" and they said they should be able to get them from their distributor in about 10 days and then I'd have them before Christmas. To the seller's credit this was the case, but of course they then turned out to be copies anyway. Now I have to make it a point to check the shipping time on the shipping/payment tab. This is in addition to asking sellers questions beforehand (although this did not help me with the ST:TNG Season 7 DVDs!) and scouring the auction description text to make sure there aren't any "hidden gems". It's like a game the seller plays with the buyer to see what he/she can sneak in. I know not all sellers are like this, of course, but it makes buying on eBay more of a chore and a risk than it was when eBay was young. ..Al I received my refund on this one today, with many notes from the Seller (in broken English) that they left me positive feedback. It's just so damn annoying. As a suggestion to Al..... there should be an AtariAge list of user experiences with both positive and negative eBay Sellers that gives the 'real story' on Sellers. For example, my above experience was with yallstock. If they have lots of positive feedback but are hiding that they don't keep items in stock, it would come out as the real truth. In this case, it wouldn't keep people from buying from them if they know have the expectations set upfront that they are in for a wait and not the promised 5 business days. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 I received my refund on this one today, with many notes from the Seller (in broken English) that they left me positive feedback. It's just so damn annoying. Great, glad you got your refund. As a suggestion to Al..... there should be an AtariAge list of user experiences with both positive and negative eBay Sellers that gives the 'real story' on Sellers. For example, my above experience was with yallstock. If they have lots of positive feedback but are hiding that they don't keep items in stock, it would come out as the real truth. In this case, it wouldn't keep people from buying from them if they know have the expectations set upfront that they are in for a wait and not the promised 5 business days. There are so many sellers on eBay that I'm not sure this would really be worthwhile. Possibly for sellers who sell classic gaming items and might be more frequented by AtariAge members, but outside of that it seems like it'd be a futile endeavor. Plus, people would actually have to check such a list before bidding for it to be useful and I don't see many people going out of their way to do that. That does bring about an interesting possibility of an external eBay feedback site, run by some other third party. Where users could leave more than just a simple line of feedback, such as pictures of items received. And it wouldn't necessarily have to be bad feedback, either, could be positive stories as well. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom-Lynx Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 That does bring about an interesting possibility of an external eBay feedback site, run by some other third party. Where users could leave more than just a simple line of feedback, such as pictures of items received. And it wouldn't necessarily have to be bad feedback, either, could be positive stories as well. ..Al It is indeed what this world needs. I'm struggling with my original item mentioned earlier where the item was defective and also damaged due to poor packaging. I've gotten a message that their "policy" is not to issue a replacement item or a refund. WTF??? I've just sent a string of photos and next step will be to leave negative feedback, file the PayPal claim, and report the Seller to eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 I'm struggling with my original item mentioned earlier where the item was defective and also damaged due to poor packaging. I've gotten a message that their "policy" is not to issue a replacement item or a refund. WTF??? I've just sent a string of photos and next step will be to leave negative feedback, file the PayPal claim, and report the Seller to eBay. Just out of curiosity, what did the refund policy state in the auction? It just seems that some sellers really do not care if they burn buyers and permanently lose that business. If the seller stated they aren't going to give you a refund, I probably would have gone straight to the PayPal route. Although PayPal will probably require you to send the item back (at your expense) before you get your refund, at least you'll get it. This is one thing I like about Amazon--if you need to return an item and it is in any way their fault, they will pay for the return shipping. I've had to return a few things over the course of the last year and it couldn't have been easier. Not sure how it works with Marketplace sellers, though. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom-Lynx Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Just out of curiosity, what did the refund policy state in the auction? It just seems that some sellers really do not care if they burn buyers and permanently lose that business. If the seller stated they aren't going to give you a refund, I probably would have gone straight to the PayPal route. Although PayPal will probably require you to send the item back (at your expense) before you get your refund, at least you'll get it. This is one thing I like about Amazon--if you need to return an item and it is in any way their fault, they will pay for the return shipping. I've had to return a few things over the course of the last year and it couldn't have been easier. Not sure how it works with Marketplace sellers, though. ..Al From the auction: We stand behind every product we sell.All of our items are covered by our 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee.If you're not pleased with your purchase,we'll be happy to make an exchange or refund the product price less S&H within 30 days of your purchase. I'll fight to the end for the principle although it was only $8.79. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 If that's stated in the auction I can't see how they are going to get around that. eBay just recently forced sellers to add Refund information to their auctions, and this seller could have opted to state "No Refunds". However, they chose to use a policy that is more attractive to buyers, yet they don't want to abide by that policy. They can't have it both ways. Does the auction have buyer protection? If you go the PayPal claim route, you should get your full PayPal amount refunded (which includes the shipping), just not return shipping for the item. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntellivisionDude Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 (edited) Ebay sucks donkey balls because i put a copy of Stack Up with Instruction Manual up for auction about a year ago and it only went for $12 or so. I knew i should of done buy it now. I was positive it was gonna go for a lot even in auction form. I gambled and payed the price. Some things go for more than they should and things go for less. I still buy on Ebay all the time. So far "knock on wood" i have never been completely ripped off. One time a package got lost in the mail but seller refunded my money, one time i bought a Gameboy Player for my Gamecube and the disc that came with it was for the Advance Game Port which is also a Gameboy Player. But that was half my fault because she had a picture of the disc in the auction but i had no clue what the disc even looked like. I think she mainly sold thrift store type items and had no clue either. But she gladly refunded my money as well. I think another time a seller sent me the wrong item on mistake but corrected the problem and paid for shipping both ways to correct it. So far any problem i encountered were honest mistakes. "So Far" lol Edited January 13, 2010 by rgw825 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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