Help needed !!!!

Unfortunately I have run into a couple of dodgy ebay sellers lately I won a sealed landspeeder a few weeks back and before the auction ended the I asked the seller whether the seals were factory originals i.e. one layer thick and still stuck down. He replied yes they were, he knew what he was looking for. The item arrived and guess what? one end is retaped over the original tape :evil:

The seller is denying everything (which defies logic as if it was geuinely sealed I'd love to keep it) so I opened a Paypal claim. Paypal have responded stating that they need third party evidence from a recognised expert in the field (also on a letterhead) to confirm the problem. I obviously have photos and just wanted to return it for a refund but can anyone recommend anyone to contact to provide Paypal with the information? They have given me just 10 days which is helpful! :roll:

:? :shock: ****, that's nice of them!

Sorry, but I've no idea who to contact. Although how the **** will Paypal know if the person is a genuine expert or a pisstaker?

yeah just get one of us to knock up a letterhead purporting to be a vintage toy dealer! job done!

That is a bummer :evil:

What about sending the photos to someone 'eminent' on rebelscum - like thingumybob Kellerman or Tom Derby - I'm sure they wouldn't mind sending you an official looking email, they must get asked all the time.

Yeah that sucks

shame it is not an afa item that has been tampered with as they provide Third Party Reference for eBay and PayPal Disputes for 25 bucks of what condition item should have been in
for 25 bucks


too many scammers abou these days who nod there head to all questions asked so they get a sale then afterwards become total asswipes

I'll have a look at Rebelscum and see who I can get in touch with although I think Tom Derby is on Honeymoon by the look of it.

Anybody fancy a look at the pics and becomming a temporary dealer!!

I'm sure anyone on here will have a crack at it for you ( I will if no one else will anyway), but the only thing is IF you get rumbled and they realise we aint a dealer your probably ****ed!

I've given up with ebay & paypal claims and now go straight to Small Claims.

I not only get my money back but also recover all my costs that I would never get through any ebay / paypal claim.

The **** eating grin tone tends to disappear from their emails when they get the court papers...............

NICE Andy! 8) :lol:

Straight for the balls no ****ing about, just get the ****er where it hurts!

How do you go about doing that though (small claims court, not grabbing someone in the knackers!)?

Actually I just bought some stuff from Brians Toys so I'm going to ask them to help me out if they can.

Interesting stuff about the small claims court. This deal is with a US seller which makes it more difficult, but its well worth bearing in mind for problems in the UK as Paypal are becomming more and more useless.

weasel said:

How do you go about doing that though

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You can either telephone your local County Court for a Small Claims pack - they cannot offer advice on the claim itself but can help with general questions about making a claim or you can go to http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk - I haven't submitted a small claim on the website as it is new but I have heard it is simpler.

The pack you get through the post contains all the forms you need to fill in and how to go about setting the claim up. This includes a template of a letter that you need to send to the person you will be claiming against as it needs to be worded in a specific way in order to give them reasonable notice of your intent, what you want to happen and a deadline for it to happen by. The other time consuming part is writing the "Statement of Truth" whereby you lay out all the information of what happened in a letter that the judge will read. The forms are filled in by hand but I normally write the Statement of truth on the computer and attach it as a letter.

The costs vary depending on the amount you are claiming for but you include the cost as part of the claim. You can also include any other costs such as posting letters etc and interest if it drags on a bit.

I've only had to resort to this on 3 occassions in 6 years - I don't like doing it but people seem to be very reluctant to take responsibility for their actions and erroneously believe that because they sold the item on ebay they are somehow exempt from the Sales of Goods Act and laws relating to fraud or theft.

Two people settled out of court but had to pay me the total amount including the Small Claims fee - which in one case doubled the amount of the refund I had been asking for.

Thats brilliant advice

There seems to be more and more dodgy dealing going on with the vintage SW stuff. I've received a fair few resealed minirigs and ships before and there are hundreds of repro carded figures about and a lot of sellers ain't exactly up front about the authenticity :evil:

That said there are some great sellers out there who I like to use frequently and forums like this are excellent for getting a second opinion on things...and the piss taken out of you at the same time :lol:

Cheers Andy, I reckon I'll end up using that sometime!