The Usual 'How Not To Post A Carded Figure' Moan

kieatky

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Just started to buy a few things from Evil Bay again (cant afford facebook prices). Managed to get this 3P0 for a decent price. I messaged the seller specifically asking that it be packaged well, I was assured that it would be, this is what has just been delivered :shock: There is some crushing to the top of the bubble but miraculously its survived. From the original listing picture its been photographed from such an angle that I can't say whether or not the crushing was present before it was sent. Still pisses me off that people think this is acceptable. The seller also sold a tri logo Han Solo at the same time (which I missed out on), I hope that buyer had a bit of postal luck as well :?
 

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Fawns61

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I'm surprised it survived so well in just a jiffy bag! Worth a try to message the seller to see if you can get a reduction for the damage, especially as you requested it be packed well?
 

subzero

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I had a seller send 3 MOC's wrapped in a grey plastic bag with no bubble wrap or card or anything inside it. Bent corners, creases, crushed bubbles and bubble lift due to corner bending.

Some people are an absolute joke!, pieces of history are literally being destroyed because of stupid people!
 

kieatky

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Well I've emailed the seller and sent a picture of the crushing to the bubble. I'll await their response. Below are a couple of pictures, one from the original listing and the second showing the crushing of the bubble :roll:
 

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Snaketibe

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Well, it certainly looks like the damage occurred in transit to me. What an assholic moron for sending it that way! :evil:

I hate to say it, but with so many idiots selling quality stuff (and why is it that the very best pieces are so often sold by utter pea-brains that haven't got the first fecking clue how to package something properly?), these days I always message sellers before their auction ends and ask them exactly how the items will be packaged for sending. I also usually ask a leading question such as, 'Will it for example be sent very well protected by bubble wrap on all sides inside a much larger, very sturdy double-walled cardboard box?' If I don't like their reply, I don't bid!

It's not your fault that they sent it so woefully inadequately packaged (basic common sense alone should inform them that what they were doing was completely unacceptable and wrong, but then again, some people are simpletons), but you can at least minimise your chances of it happening to you again by employing the above technique. It also serves as useful proof for eBay if the item does suffer any damage, in the event of the seller not then packaging the item as they say they will.

I hope you are able to reach a satisfactory agreement with the seller. Personally I'd demand a full refund and send the bloody thing back to them!
 

Mini99

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Snaketibe said:
Well, it certainly looks like the damage occurred in transit to me. What an assholic moron for sending it that way! :evil:

I hate to say it, but with so many idiots selling quality stuff (and why is it that the very best pieces are so often sold by utter pea-brains that haven't got the first fecking clue how to package something properly?), these days I always message sellers before their auction ends and ask them exactly how the items will be packaged for sending. I also usually ask a leading question such as, 'Will it for example be sent very well protected by bubble wrap on all sides inside a much larger, very sturdy double-walled cardboard box?' If I don't like their reply, I don't bid!

It's not your fault that they sent it so woefully inadequately packaged (basic common sense alone should inform them that what they were doing was completely unacceptable and wrong, but then again, some people are simpletons), but you can at least minimise your chances of it happening to you again by employing the above technique. It also serves as useful proof for eBay if the item does suffer any damage, in the event of the seller not then packaging the item as they say they will.

I hope you are able to reach a satisfactory agreement with the seller. Personally I'd demand a full refund and send the bloody thing back to them!

Totally agree with all of the above, the more questions that you ask before it's shipped the better the out come in most cases.
I too have had MOCs shipped this way, only a moron would think that this is good enough, but sometimes I suspect that they think that that value is in the figure not the card/bubble, so again educate the seller.
If local always try to collect or meet half way is another good idea.
As Snaketribe has alreay said, claim for a total refund through eBay, keep it official and see where you end up.
 

edd_jedi

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Always sad to see, such a waste. Unless I know the seller personally I always ask for a box, its worth the occasional "of course I will, do you take me for an idiot?" reply!
 

Snaketibe

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Oh, and I should have added, when asking your packaging questions before the auction ends, and especially if you have reason to message the seller again after it ends if you are unhappy with something (crap packaging, item having damage not visible in the photos or otherwise not as described, etc.), ALWAYS use eBay's own emailing / message system to communicate with the seller. Never be tempted to email them personally outside of eBay, even if they reply to you that way. Keep it official and on record with eBay, and no matter how tempted you might be or how provoked you feel by their bad behaviour, always keep your messages factual and to the point. Never insult or threaten the seller, even if they are rude or do so to you. Firstly, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar and if the seller can be persuaded to do the right thing themselves, it usually saves you a bit of hassle. However, more importantly, secondly in the event of a dispute arising and the seller being a complete asshole about it, make sure eBay have a very clear record in your message thread of a polite, reasonable and hard-done-by buyer, who had the misfortune of buying from an unreasonable, lying, incompetent ****wit. You'll win every time.

One last point about the initial questions you ask about the packaging before bidding; never assume anything! Just because the postage charge is high, low or middling means absolutely nothing! Unless the auction very clearly states how the item will be packaged for posting (and quite frankly, why wouldn't you want to reassure buyers of a high-value and or easily damaged item that they are safe to buy from you?!), always assume the seller hasn't got a clue about packaging and ask your questions. As Mini99 and Edd both say, educate the seller and risk patronising them by asking what really should be an insulting question to them, if they know what they're doing.

Some examples I have used are things like:

"As you may know, with Vintage Star Wars toys the condition of the box / packaging is usually more important than the toy. Any damage decreases the value. Please can you confirm how you will package this for posting, to ensure the toy cannot rattle about inside its box and damage either itself or the Star Wars box, and also how the Star Wars box itself will then be packed for posting to ensure it cannot be damaged in transit? Will you, for example, carefully pack out the Star Wars box with clean plastic bags, tissue paper or bubble wrap (with no tape on it) to stop the toy from moving, and then carefully pack the Star Wars box in a much larger, very sturdy double-walled cardboard box with several inches of clean, tape-free padding on all 6 sides of the toy's box? Having no tape touching the toy's box is very important as it can damage it."

or

"Will you, for example, send this figure protected inside a Star Case, with that then bubble-wrapped and packed in a much larger, very sturdy double-walled cardboard box with several inches of padding on all 6 sides?"

If the seller gives a damn, they will reply and reassure you. If they don't, they won't. If they do reply but say something along the lines of 'This will be well packed inside a Jiffy Bag', you can either try one last time, politely spelling out that item will get damaged that way and any buyer will likely return the item to them as a consequence, but that you will be willing to bid if it is packaged as you previously described, or else forget about bidding on that particular auction. It may be the most desirable item in the world, but if it's not going to arrive in the condition you want, it's as good as bidding on a damaged one already.
 

weasel

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I wouldn't even have bothered contacting him. If you asked him to box it and he sent it like that he's clearly a tosser. Just open a claim with eBay saying it was damaged and leave them to sort it out.

Feel free to name the seller so we can add him to our lists of twats to avoid.
 

kieatky

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I've been in contact with the seller who so far has been very apologetic. We've agree a partial refund of £20 so if this is done then it means I've only paid £45 for a carded figure (will have to move this post to the under £50 thread). However the seller advises they are currently abroad and can't sort the refund till they return at the weekend. I'm a bit sceptical but will give them the benefit of the doubt. All communication has been via E-Bay messaging so have a 'paper' trail of our correspondence. My concern goes out for the buyer of the other carded figure this person sold (a nice tri logo original Han Solo), if this was sent out the same as mine I'd be extremely pissed off to say the least.
 

Fawns61

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Snaketibe said:
One last point about the initial questions you ask about the packaging before bidding; never assume anything! Just because the postage charge is high, low or middling means absolutely nothing! Unless the auction very clearly states how the item will be packaged for posting (and quite frankly, why wouldn't you want to reassure buyers of a high-value and or easily damaged item that they are safe to buy from you?!), always assume the seller hasn't got a clue about packaging and ask your questions. As Mini99 and Edd both say, educate the seller and risk patronising them by asking what really should be an insulting question to them, if they know what they're doing.

Some examples I have used are things like:

"As you may know, with Vintage Star Wars toys the condition of the box / packaging is usually more important than the toy. Any damage decreases the value. Please can you confirm how you will package this for posting, to ensure the toy cannot rattle about inside its box and damage either itself or the Star Wars box, and also how the Star Wars box itself will then be packed for posting to ensure it cannot be damaged in transit? Will you, for example, carefully pack out the Star Wars box with clean plastic bags, tissue paper or bubble wrap (with no tape on it) to stop the toy from moving, and then carefully pack the Star Wars box in a much larger, very sturdy double-walled cardboard box with several inches of clean, tape-free padding on all 6 sides of the toy's box? Having no tape touching the toy's box is very important as it can damage it."

or

"Will you, for example, send this figure protected inside a Star Case, with that then bubble-wrapped and packed in a much larger, very sturdy double-walled cardboard box with several inches of padding on all 6 sides?"

Please don't shoot me down for this but people on here are generally serious collectors, so of course they want the best and for the item to be received in the same condition it was listed at, which is as it should be, especially when they are not cheap.

However most Evilbay sellers are probably not aware of the importance of protecting the packaging as well as the actual item, or have seen how badly parcels can get treated on their journey. They just sell them for the best price they can get, pack them up and ship them off. The above suggestions will probably sound OTT to them.

I have sold things on the bay in the past and believed I had always packaged them very carefully and thoroughly but I never thought to put them in two boxes. I consistently got good feedback for them being well-packaged too. Obviously in the future I will take even more care. I just wanted to show that even 'careful' sellers can get it wrong!

I would not have taken offence at anyone wanting things packaged in a certain way, as long as any extra postage costs were accounted for if needed. I sent one loose figure to the USA where the buyer had asked me to take extra care with the hands on it, so I wrapped it as best I could and he raved over the 'creative' packaging being great.

This forum is brilliant and I am learning so much. I had never even considered how figures could rattle about in transit and damage the bubbles for instance.
 

Stubbs

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Sending a MOC in the post in a jiffy bag is a disgrace. Surely wrapping a delicate item for sending in post doesn't require expertise just common sense.
 

Mini99

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weasel said:
Feel free to name the seller so we can add him to our lists of twats to avoid.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
You never cease to brighten my day, thanks
You so eloquently know how to call a spade a spade!
 

Snaketibe

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Fawns61 said:
Snaketibe said:
One last point about the initial questions you ask about the packaging before bidding; never assume anything! Just because the postage charge is high, low or middling means absolutely nothing! Unless the auction very clearly states how the item will be packaged for posting (and quite frankly, why wouldn't you want to reassure buyers of a high-value and or easily damaged item that they are safe to buy from you?!), always assume the seller hasn't got a clue about packaging and ask your questions. As Mini99 and Edd both say, educate the seller and risk patronising them by asking what really should be an insulting question to them, if they know what they're doing.

Some examples I have used are things like:

"As you may know, with Vintage Star Wars toys the condition of the box / packaging is usually more important than the toy. Any damage decreases the value. Please can you confirm how you will package this for posting, to ensure the toy cannot rattle about inside its box and damage either itself or the Star Wars box, and also how the Star Wars box itself will then be packed for posting to ensure it cannot be damaged in transit? Will you, for example, carefully pack out the Star Wars box with clean plastic bags, tissue paper or bubble wrap (with no tape on it) to stop the toy from moving, and then carefully pack the Star Wars box in a much larger, very sturdy double-walled cardboard box with several inches of clean, tape-free padding on all 6 sides of the toy's box? Having no tape touching the toy's box is very important as it can damage it."

or

"Will you, for example, send this figure protected inside a Star Case, with that then bubble-wrapped and packed in a much larger, very sturdy double-walled cardboard box with several inches of padding on all 6 sides?"

Please don't shoot me down for this but people on here are generally serious collectors, so of course they want the best and for the item to be received in the same condition it was listed at, which is as it should be, especially when they are not cheap.

However most Evilbay sellers are probably not aware of the importance of protecting the packaging as well as the actual item, or have seen how badly parcels can get treated on their journey. They just sell them for the best price they can get, pack them up and ship them off. The above suggestions will probably sound OTT to them.

I have sold things on the bay in the past and believed I had always packaged them very carefully and thoroughly but I never thought to put them in two boxes. I consistently got good feedback for them being well-packaged too. Obviously in the future I will take even more care. I just wanted to show that even 'careful' sellers can get it wrong!

I would not have taken offence at anyone wanting things packaged in a certain way, as long as any extra postage costs were accounted for if needed. I sent one loose figure to the USA where the buyer had asked me to take extra care with the hands on it, so I wrapped it as best I could and he raved over the 'creative' packaging being great.

This forum is brilliant and I am learning so much. I had never even considered how figures could rattle about in transit and damage the bubbles for instance.
I certainly won't shoot you down; you're entitled to your opinion just as much as I am :)

However, I think you may have misunderstood one point, and that regards double-walled cardboard boxes. That's not the same thing as double-boxing, which is indeed packing your item in one cardboard box, and then packing that box inside another larger cardboard box (although double-boxing is a recognised, acceptable and even desirable technique for sending very expensive and or highly delicate items). However, a double-walled cardboard box is simply one cardboard box where the sides are made of two layers of corrugations, rather than just one, and hence is far, far stronger :)

singledoublewall_lg-890x400w.jpg
 

weasel

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Mini99 said:
weasel said:
Feel free to name the seller so we can add him to our lists of twats to avoid.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
You never cease to brighten my day, thanks
You so eloquently know how to call a spade a spade!

Diplomacy is my strong point 8)
 

Pomse2001

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kieatky said:
I've been in contact with the seller who so far has been very apologetic. We've agree a partial refund of £20 so if this is done then it means I've only paid £45 for a carded figure (will have to move this post to the under £50 thread). However the seller advises they are currently abroad and can't sort the refund till they return at the weekend. I'm a bit sceptical but will give them the benefit of the doubt. All communication has been via E-Bay messaging so have a 'paper' trail of our correspondence. My concern goes out for the buyer of the other carded figure this person sold (a nice tri logo original Han Solo), if this was sent out the same as mine I'd be extremely pissed off to say the least.

That is a very bad packing. I don't think I have ever received any vintage moc like that :shock: But many years ago I got about 20 moc for the 90s star wars line packed in only brown paper, most of the cards was bend or damaged :roll: but I also got a partial refund when I asked for it.

I am glad to read that he offered you a partial refund :wink: I will be very surprised if he will try to trick you and not pay you back :wink:
 
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