Advice on Bricklink transaction

simon_ratcliffe_101

Hi,

I recently sold two sealed boxes of series 8 CMF to a buyer in Hong Kong. They had 17 positive feedback, all as a buyer, and seemed communicative and above board.

They just sent me a message indicating that the boxes had arrived, but that they were both unsealed, and that one box had 57 instead of 60 figures.

The boxes were definitely sealed when shipped (I have photos showing them during the packing stage). What are the chances that HK customs cut the seals when going through inspection ? Anyone experienced something like this before ?

Any advice on how to take things forward with the buyer ?

Cheers,

Simon

joel4motion

Not BL specific but I have ebayed stuff over to HK and Singapore that has had its seals cut by customs. In one of the instances though they used a tape to reseal it though that let the buyer know that customs had checked the parcel.

My eBay terms state that I am neither responsible for customs fees or customs checking parcels so I was covered.

The easiest thing to do is ask the buyer what they're expecting solution wise. Gives you a starting point. He may only want the three missing figs, he may though want a full sealed box.

Norlego

joel4motion said:

My eBay terms state that I am neither responsible for customs fees or customs checking parcels so I was covered.

You cannot create your own terms in ebay. I click on the "no returns" option and still ebay demand i execpt returns if buyer complains about something.... You have just been lucky with your buyers.

drdavewatford

^ Yep - I always smile when I see "No returns" on an eBay auction. In their dreams ! A brief disclaimer doesn't trump the laws of the land....

joel4motion

"terms" in the loosest sense really. I put a small note at the bottom of each listing that if anything deters the serial complainers from either complaining or buying.

akunthita

I would suggest bringing up this

simon_ratcliffe_101

Thanks for the responses. Sending the pictures seemed to work as the buyer agrees with the conclusion that customs must have opened them.

We agreed that I will send the missing 3 figures and leave it at that.

Anyone have any specific ideas on which countries are more likely to deeply interrogate packages than others ?

joel4motion

Glad you got it sorted...

Ive only had issues with parcels out to Asia, no where else. I have had packages from the Americas opened by UK customs but thats to be expected. I do not post to Italy or Russia due to their awfully corrupt postal systems. I have lived and worked in Italy and have experienced it first hand. My opinion on Russia is based on at least 3, maybe 4 parcels disappearing on route to various cities there.

bobabricks

That's kind of scary if you are selling or buying a super rare sealed set...

Norlego said:

joel4motion said:

My eBay terms state that I am neither responsible for customs fees or customs checking parcels so I was covered.

You cannot create your own terms in ebay. I click on the "no returns" option and still ebay demand i execpt returns if buyer complains about something.... You have just been lucky with your buyers.

This is why I don't like to sell on eBay, it's just... sketchy

Sethro3

That was smart to take pictures of the sealing process though. Otherwise, it is your word against theirs. Whether or not they are honest.