A little eBay story/mild rant.

AugustAPC

AugustAPC

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Alright, I'm just posting this cause I'm rather bored and would like to hear your opinions on this.

So, I've been really wanting a copy of Super Mario RPG for a while, and about a month ago I won a copy for 25.50 including shipping. Not a terrible price, so I was happy. I waited a week with no notification that the item had been shipped. After that I sent a message to the seller, asking if there was a reason he hadn't shipped the game yet. I waited another 5 days, and got no response. I had payed for this immediately after I bought it, and the auction stated that the game would be mailed a maximum of two days after purchase.

I was getting a bit annoyed at this point, so I decided to file a claim with eBay. For those that don't know, eBay will contact the seller, giving them 7 more days to resolve this issue, by sending the item or providing the tracking information to show that the item has been shipped. Another week went by, and the seller did nothing. No communication, no shipping information. Nothing. eBay ended up refunding my money to my paypal account, so I left my negative feedback for him and moved on, trying to find another copy of the game.

Well, after I left my feedback, the seller left a remark of his own on my profile. He had to leave positive feedback, because that's all sellers are allowed to leave, but his comment was, "theft don't deal with. You will be sorry!!". Of course I called eBay and had this comment removed.

Nearly another week goes by, and we're at today's date. Well, the game came in today. Now, remember, there has been absolutely no communication with this seller. I emailed him, filed a claim, and he did absolutely nothing. There was just shy of a full month between the day I bought the game and the day it arrived.

Now, when I first looked at it, I figured I would pay the guy again, after all, he did ship the game. But after a few seconds of inspecting it, I saw that it was in piss poor condition. The inside of the cart was extremely dirty and it was missing the left prong that attaches to the system. The label is also beat to hell. This game was listed in "great" condition, with not a single fault listed. The game would not play until after cleaning with lots of rubbing alcohol.

So, after the absolutely abysmal service, and poorly packaged and described item, I've sent him this message:

"Your game arrived today. It has been just short of a month since I purchased the item. The game is dirty on the inside and missing one of the two prongs that connects it to the the system. Due to the fact that you did not utilize the online delivery confirmation, did not respond to my Emails or attempt to resolve the dispute, I cannot assume responsibility for this item. I am willing to return your game, provided you cover the return shipping.

Please let me know if this arrangement works for you."

What do you guys think? Am I in the right? Am I being fair enough?


 
More than fair in my opinion - especially if you are willing to incur the return shipping costs. Personally, I would not have even sent the email and still considered it over.

Also, if you do any selling, I would block his user ID just to prevent him trying to get you back somehow.
 
As someone who sells a lot on eBay, I would never EVER do what that seller did. I ship my items the day I receive payment, as long as it's before 2:00 PM. I would feel absolutely terrible giving any of my buyers such terrible customer service. So, I think you are being extremely fair, and if I were that seller I would just let you keep the game. Not sure what exactly he expects when he does absolutely everything wrong. :/
 
[quote name='AugustAPC']
Your game arrived today. It has been just short of a month since I purchased the item. The game is dirty on the inside and missing one of the two prongs that connects it to the the system. Due to the fact that you did not utilize the online delivery confirmation, did not respond to my Emails or attempt to resolve the dispute, I cannot assume responsibility for this item. I am willing to return your game, provided you cover the return shipping.

Please let me know if this arrangement works for you."
[/QUOTE]

That sounds perfectly fine to me- seller was at fault here.

But strangely enough, I too bought a copy of SMRPG for ~$25 and mine was dirty inside (stuff looked like syrup and dirt) with one of the prongs missing.:lol:
 
[quote name='Vinny']That sounds perfectly fine to me- seller was at fault here.

But strangely enough, I too bought a copy of SMRPG for ~$25 and mine was dirty inside (stuff looked like syrup and dirt) with one of the prongs missing.:lol:[/QUOTE]

This one kinda looks like someone took a lighter and a sharpie to the inside. It's not too bad now, I got a lot of it out with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol. But still, it definitely wasn't in "great" condition.

Some people just don't feel like they need to be professional on eBay.
 
I'd say you're doing the right thing.

Hell, most people prolly would've kept it and moved on...without even contacting the seller.
 
It had a picture, albeit slightly blurry. It didn't show the inside around the chip, and you couldn't really see all the dents on the label.
 
Damn, this makes me feel bad for being a seller on ebay:whistle2:| - not that I do anything at all like you mentioned, but that I know I get corralled into the mass of "ebay sellers".

You were perfectly in the right. As someone else said, most people would have said nothing to him and just kept the money and game. If he didnt respond to any of your emails or messages, he may not even contact you about your offer to send the game back... if so, good for you! You deserve it:)
 
I feel ya on this one. As a seller it bothers me when my buyers arent staying in good contact and when something goes wrong, they act like I never tried staying in touch, keeping tabs etc. Im going through something like this at the moment and Im not looking fwd to a neg.
 
Just terrible...he certainly should have contacted you within 24 hours after the auction ended. When I sell on ebay I send the winning bidder an e-mail stating they won and if they could please make a complete payment as soon as possible. Usually, I get a response within half a day and I have there item they won shipped about about a half day later. That guy just seems like a complete asshole.
 
A seller doesn't have to tell you it's been shipped. Be nice if they did. But no confirmation on shipping does not mean it wasn't shipped. But why even offer to pay him or send it back? He lied in his description, he couldn't be bothered to commnunicate, even when eBay got involved (unless he has proof he literally could not communicate, like he was in a coma all that time.) He even threatened you (with poor grammar) over his own shortcomings as a seller. Best to avoid any contact with him. Sell it as broken, or keep and play if you can. But when someone spits on your cupcake and calls it frosting, don't ask for more.
 
Its very easy to misrepresent a game on ebay, if a seller lists an item in like new condition, then it has to have the original box and look like it just came out of the packaging. You can even get a seller if they list it in like new condition even if the game has just a few dents in the box since it is supposed to be exactly as it came out of the box according to ebay's description.

If a game doesn't work as soon as you put it in the system from ebay then it should be considered a non working game, you should not have to do any work at all to make it work. If the seller sold it as working then that is misrepresentation.

What this guy did was totally wrong, I think we all agree with that.

I could probably be getting a lot of refunds from ebay because most of the games I buy are not as described as per ebay's condition definitions, but I am a nice person and I don't do that as long as the game is sent in reasonable condition and it works.

I always put tracking on every package and upload it to ebay/paypal, this is extremely easy to do. When you do this it sends an email that tells your buyer the tracking number and that the item has been shipped. I still receive lots of packages from things I bought that do not have tracking..
 
I've been screwed on a number of times buying items that were improperly listed as like new condition. It's pretty infuriating when you buy something listed as "Like New" and they claim it "ships fast" it shows up to your house more than a week and a half later, despite only being the next state over, sliding around in a non-padded legal envelope then you open it and find a scratched up game in a blockbuster case with no original manual or art insert.

This is why I refuse to buy anything on eBay that doesn't have a picture of the actual item.
 
[quote name='AugustAPC']The inside of the cart was extremely dirty and it was missing the left prong that attaches to the system.[/QUOTE]
[quote name='Vinny']But strangely enough, I too bought a copy of SMRPG for ~$25 and mine was dirty inside (stuff looked like syrup and dirt) with one of the prongs missing.:lol:[/QUOTE]

What do you two mean by the prong is missing? If you're referring to the little metal piece that is in an indentation in the cart across from the contacts, there should only be one on the right. There's another indentation on the left side, but there shouldn't be a metal piece there.
 
I think you're being more than generous, considering your case was long since settled- I honestly would have just kept/junked the game without doing anything else.

I say give him another 30 days or so to answer you... you know, just long enough for the purchase to drop off your Ebay history and be outside of all Ebay/paypal chargeback and appeal windows. Then do whatever. I imagine you won't hear from him, based on his history though.
 
[quote name='Jack']What do you two mean by the prong is missing? If you're referring to the little metal piece that is in an indentation in the cart across from the contacts, there should only be one on the right. There's another indentation on the left side, but there shouldn't be a metal piece there.[/QUOTE]


Oh, is that so? I wasn't aware of that. Thank you for clarifying.

As for the question about the shipping date as opposed to the purchase date. The game was purchased on the 19th and wasn't shipped till July. Regardless, there was no communication after multiple attempts to contact the seller.

At this point all I can do is wait for his response. I appreciate all your guys' input. I'm honestly regretting the game was ever sent because it's just giving me a headache. I mean all he had to do was respond to me or eBay.

Anyway, thanks for the support, I appreciate it.
 
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