Slimeiest thing that's happened to you on ebay

SprinkleOtter

^ Do you want the items?

Jackad7

SprinkleOtter said:

^ Do you want the items?

Yes but I fear it's a scammer just stalling.

Pitfall69

@monkeyhanger , I see where you are coming from in term of an automobile purchase. My cousin constantly makes fun of me for not traveling and/or going on vacations. He takes about 2-3 big trips a year (Costa Rica, Switzerland etc) At the time, I had an expensive car payment. He said I was (here's that offensive word again) crazy and I should get out more an enjoy life. Every time I slid into my car, it was like a vacation. The funny thing is; all he ever did was complain about his car; how the seats were uncomfortable and how slow it was ;)

Just like all these arguments; it is all about perception. Nobody is "crazy" for opening an expensive set nor should anyone have the right to not get offended. I don't think it is the subject matter, but rather the way one responds to comments that is the bigger issue. Some people like to argue just for the sake of arguing. We are all guilty of this from time to time :) 

CCC

OK then, opening a tote with a new set in it getting ready for the fun of the build. Opening it is part of the build, just as cutting the inner bags, sorting parts and opening the instruction manual.

Finding someone's hair or smelling cigarette smoke or having to wash off someone else's dirt takes that anticipation away.

MattsWhat

Pitfall69 said:

Just like all these arguments; it is all about perception. Nobody is "crazy" for opening an expensive set nor should anyone have the right to not get offended. 

Ah, but by this argument no one is ever crazy. The person who decides they want to throw kittens into rivers doesn't have the perception that is crazy (taking it to extremes is everyone's favourite hobby around here).
Surely we have to relate it to the some sort of defined 'norm', meaning wanting to (effectively) spend hundreds of dollars to slice a 1cm bit of plastic is moving pretty far from the norm. You could argue that adults collecting toys moves away from the norm too though, so I'm happy to be a bit crazy, in fact I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Was anyway actually offended or were people just accused of being offended? 

Anyway, this argument has moved so far away from what I originally said - that the seals have value - which nearly everyone agrees with (you know, because it's true). It's now all about how much value you attribute to building something new and that's opinion so there is no point going on. I would have preferred my original comment not to have been removed from its context, but hey these things happen. 

Pitfall69

^Listen, I have tried to squash the subject twice now. I just want everyone to get along :) Maybe it is a lost cause :0

Pitfall69

I was watching tv late the other night and an advert came on..."Forget everything you know about knives!!!" I did what they told me, then later on they tried to sell me these knives, but I don't know what they are ;)

TigerMoth

CCC said:

Finding someone's hair or smelling cigarette smoke or having to wash off someone else's dirt takes that anticipation away.

There's an irony there - what's the title of this thread?

So, we were considering the lowest of the low on eBay and then the thread goes off on a tangent where some people are advocating replacing those pristine sealed sets with similar used copies from strangers selling them on web sites.

MattsWhat said:

Surely we have to relate it to the some sort of defined 'norm'

Most definitely not.

I know of somebody who hanged themself because some idiot convinced them that they weren't doing things in the way that people "normally" would.

As long as it's not detrimental to other people, everybody should be able to do things in their own way without anybody interfering and telling them they shouldn't be doing it that way, and certainly not by saying that it's not "normal", or by implying they're inferior in some other way.

AFOLs? They're just a group of people who build things out of LEGO bricks, which is a perfectly acceptable pastime.

Anyway, this argument has moved so far away from what I originally said - that the seals have value - which nearly everyone agrees with (you know, because it's true).

Only if you interfere and demand that everybody uses your idea of value. Numerous people have stated that there are ways of looking at value other than in purely monetary terms.

haakono

Q: Would you sell me your [EOL set] for $1 million?
A: Of course!
Q: Oh. Would you settle for $10, then?
A: [Harumph] What kind of AFOL do you think I am?
Q: I thought we had already established that.  Now we're just haggling over price.

The "value" of any transaction is in the eye of the beholder---both buyer, and seller.

:-)

SumoLego

Pitfall69 said:

^Listen, I have tried to squash the subject twice now. I just want everyone to get along :) Maybe it is a lost cause :0

It's crazy to have a debate about crazy.  Crazy?

Thanos75

If someone called me "crazy" then that would have been about the least offensive thing I have been called.

BoomDiggity

I'll talk about a good experience I had as a *potential* buyer.  Someone had 16 sealed Simpsons minifigures for sale.  Just saw the auction before it ended and had to bid on it because I assumed the 16 were the complete collection.

Tried to email the person before it ended and didn't have time until after.  They explained it was just random bags despite the description that wasn't very descriptive.  Told them that it really wasn't what I had thought the auction was and didn't feel comfortable buying it.  They were very understanding and said they wouldn't leave negative feedback.

Felt like a terrible bidder, but it was great to see a seller who was understanding, kind and considerate.

brumey

i also bought my car new. but i ll drive it till it falls apart!

MattsWhat

Pitfall69 said:

I was watching tv late the other night and an advert came on..."Forget everything you know about knives!!!" I did what they told me, then later on they tried to sell me these knives, but I don't know what they are ;)

How is this related to eBay? Derailment much ;)

Bumblepants

MattsWhat said:

Pitfall69 said:

I was watching tv late the other night and an advert came on..."Forget everything you know about knives!!!" I did what they told me, then later on they tried to sell me these knives, but I don't know what they are ;)

How is this related to eBay? Derailment much ;)

Mitch Hedberg is always relevant!

SprinkleOtter

Jackad7 said:

SprinkleOtter said:

^ Do you want the items?

Yes but I fear it's a scammer just stalling.

You said it has been two weeks, right? If so, I would tell them to send it, and ask for the tracking number. If it isn't to you in ten days (I think all post should be), then complain again, and see what happens.

legomental

CCC said:

pharmjod said:

Look, I understand the value of opening a LEGO set and building it fresh and new. I am a collector before I am a reseller. However, to say that ones financial station has no bearing on the decision to open a set that has sat UNOPENED for 6 to 7 years or more (because you know, life) and has no appreciated on the secondary market to $950-$1300 depending on where you look (in the case of GG) or upwards of $2000-$2500 for CC, well THAT is what is silly. 

That CC might be worth $2K as an unopened set, but it still has value opened. Of course some of the value goes on opening as collectors that only want sealed boxed sets are no longer interested in it. However, many other collectors will still be interested in it.

You'll probably find that you can open a boxed CC, build it, display it for the next 1-2 years, then sell it used and still get what you could have for the boxed one a couple of years before (if you want to sell it). Or you could go without the enjoyment of building and displaying it and sell it after two years for a larger amount, or sell it now and reinvest the money. But why go through life without enjoying what you have? If the owner never plans on selling it, then value really doesn't matter too much (at least to him).

The alternative argument is sell it now and buy an already used one to get most value out of the sealed set. To do that implies making a sale and a purchase. So there is the hassle of selling an expensive set, along with the associated fees (~$300 in PayPal and eBay if used), shipping, insurance, and hoping the buyer isn't going to try to rip you off. So unless you have a local buyer with no fees for the sale that is willing to pay top dollar, then you are already eating into the savings of selling new and buying used.

Then you have to buy a used one, hoping the seller isn't going to rip you off, and also have the hassle of checking everything is there, maybe needing to clean and / or buy in missing parts, which can be detrimental to the fun of the build. There is also the huge downside that if you sell the sealed one and realise you have the money, then why buy a used one after all? You are now in a new situation. That money could be spent on something else. I find it a huge psychological barrier to pay 2-3 times more for a used set than I previously bought a new one for in the past (even if I did just sell the sealed one). Then you miss out on the building experience completely.

This ^^^ for me

By the time you add in the fees, your time and the hassle the profit/saving is not so good. I'd just open it, enjoy it and sell later if wanted when it's likely to be worth more any w Ayers in another 7 years.

I've bought a few sets this year's second hand and the hassles of filthy stinking Lego, incomplete sets and trying to sort post problems and collection do put you off. The only transactions I've had trouble free have been on here actually

Jackad7

SprinkleOtter said:

Jackad7 said:

SprinkleOtter said:

^ Do you want the items?

Yes but I fear it's a scammer just stalling.

You said it has been two weeks, right? If so, I would tell them to send it, and ask for the tracking number. If it isn't to you in ten days (I think all post should be), then complain again, and see what happens.

They were responding until I asked for a picture of the items with a piece of paper with their ebay name written on it next to the sets. Yet again no response. This guy is pretty shady.

SprinkleOtter

Jackad7 said:

SprinkleOtter said:

Jackad7 said:

SprinkleOtter said:

^ Do you want the items?

Yes but I fear it's a scammer just stalling.

You said it has been two weeks, right? If so, I would tell them to send it, and ask for the tracking number. If it isn't to you in ten days (I think all post should be), then complain again, and see what happens.

They were responding until I asked for a picture of the items with a piece of paper with their ebay name written on it next to the sets. Yet again no response. This guy is pretty shady.

Perhaps he already has them packed, and does not want to unpack them to do so. You have to look at this from the seller's point of view, too.

Again, you have another week or so to wait for them to come if you want the sets.

Pitfall69

@legomental , Yeah, making a $1,600 USD profit for selling a sealed Cafe Corner is such a hassle. You can find a used one for about $800-900 USD, so you would still have $700-800 USD profit after buying a used one. I can see why one would not want that kind of money burning a hole in their pocket ;)

TheLoneTensor

SumoLego

Although I am a proponent of the risk/hassle rationale, one shouldn't ignore a potentially large pile of cash that could beget a much larger pile of Lego.

It's just not a guarantee either way.  But citing the sale fees or shipping costs on a $1600.00 item I purchased for $129.99 is a dumb reason to justify opening it.

If I were intending to build a CC, and I had one NISB, I would certainly try to cash-in on the market value and purchase a used one at a lower price.

However, if the smell, taste or visceral reaction to opening those seals and bags is worth $800.00 - that's fine by me.  Being critical about it is silly.

madforLEGO

Pitfall69 said:

@legomental , Yeah, making a $1,600 USD profit for selling a sealed Cafe Corner is such a hassle. You can find a used one for about $800-900 USD, so you would still have $700-800 USD profit after buying a used one. I can see why one would not want that kind of money burning a hole in their pocket ;)

As long as you avoid scammers, legitimate issues when shipping it (i.e shipping damage), and finding a good example of a used CC, one with instructions and in box that is under 1K -because I checked, it is not that easy unless someone wants to spend every waking moment search new eBay items-and buying it before someone else buys it, and hoping it gets to them in good condition and that it was not missing pieces, or has been bricklink-ed or/and with bad substitutions (and does not look like it was sitting in a litter box for 2 years). Then there is dealing with any hassles if there is an issue selling one or buying one.
I guess it is easy though when you are not the one that would need to do it. ;-)

Look, I get that 500-700 dollars is a lot of money, but I'm also not going to pay 700+ (or even 300+) USD for a new or used LEGO set (otherwise Id have a #4999 Vestas Wind Turbine set in my apt). This is regardless of whether or not I happen to have a new one in my closet I could sell for more to offset the cost.
Now, I may even eventually sell mine, but if I do it will be gone for good, I'm not going to buy a used CC to replace it.

Also, calling people, or their reasoning, crazy, insane, dumb, etc for opening a boxed set is not going to make the debate end and only escalate the name calling or the back and forth. Not sure why people cannot just accept someone's decision as to if they will open a LEGO set. It is not theirs, they are not being personally attacked or physically harmed by this action. If I open this box, 100 baby seals will still be alive, and the world will still turn and move on. Heck maybe for the better as I'm not getting someone to spend 2K on a pile of plastic so I can buy 1K in plastic in the same design. Though I am hurting poor eBay because they will not get their fees if I sell mine and buy another set.

In any case, I think it is safe to say that it is another discussion where you are not changing people minds on either side of the debate.

Pitfall69

^The funny part is; I have been threatened with physical harm if I indeed sell my sealed CC and GG ;) This person shall remain nameless.

SumoLego

^ Physical harm if you don't sell it to them first?

If that is an effective means to intimidate you, then I will be sending you a My Little Pony severed head in a box.  

(But it didn't come from me.  If you know what I mean.)

CCC

SumoLego said:

Although I am a proponent of the risk/hassle rationale, one shouldn't ignore a potentially large pile of cash that could beget a much larger pile of Lego.

It's just not a guarantee either way.  But citing the sale fees or shipping costs on a $1600.00 item I purchased for $129.99 is a dumb reason to justify opening it.

If I were intending to build a CC, and I had one NISB, I would certainly try to cash-in on the market value and purchase a used one at a lower price.

However, if the smell, taste or visceral reaction to opening those seals and bags is worth $800.00 - that's fine by me.  Being critical about it is silly.

If you get a second hand one and it is in great condition, that is fine. But I've done something similar in the past (I sold one retired set to buy another expensive retired one second hand, although it wasn't actually the same set) and it wasn't in such great condition. I ended up hating the build as a whole. First up, it stank of cigarettes. Second, there were missing parts (even though described as "100% complete"). Sure, I eventually got a refund for those missing parts but I still had to source them on bricklink and wait about another two weeks to get them. So what should have been an enjoyable build ended up just feeling ruined by buying it second hand. The smell was bad, but worse was the finding out about missing parts as I was building, the multiple long searches looking for them when they weren't even there, the checking of the rest of the parts before complaining to the seller (I had to take the build apart to check them off the inventory). That experience ruined the subsequent build. What should have been fun was probably a five week long chore at the start.

SumoLego

^ Exactly - I couldn't agree more.  So despite the perceived "insanity" of clubbing some defenseless Lego box seals, there is also a premium to avoid that type of nightmare.

TheLoneTensor

^^ You're acting as if the concept of (our predetermined) $800 does not entail risk.  If it were that easy, with zero risk, then yeah, in that case I think you're crazy to equate smell, taste or visceral reaction to opening those seals with $800.

As it stands, it's not risk free, so it's truly not an easy decision to make, because it may or may not be $800 at the end of the day when you factor in money, time and frustration.  However, I still absolutely believe that with research, knowledge and patience, you can reduce the risk of buying a big used set to near zero, while still having backup safeguards to deal with any potential fallout.  Professional marketplaces today have a lot of controls that make it very, very bad for a seller to screw people over in any way and still remain as a viable seller.  Of course, if you're buying an expensive set, used or otherwise, from that guy with 3 feedback on eBay, or from the one who created his Brickset forum account that same day, good luck, you're going to need it.

ReesesPieces

Interesting arguments from both sides that all make sense (well, most).

How about we view that he wanted to build a cc and was able to find one for $100.  That way, he saved from however much the potential value is now.  you can think of it as though he is saving instead of losing out.  Pro builders can be happy because he is able to build a set for cheap.  Pro sellers can also be happy because he was able to get such a bargain and save so much money.

ReesesPieces

Sorry if I'm a bit late to the party...just catching up on my reading now.

Renegade007cjh

SumoLego said:

...clubbing some defenseless Lego box seals...

Nearly sprayed food over my screen, I was laughing so much!! :)

Renegade007cjh

There are some interesting points of view (and experiences) around the topic of opening rarer sets.

I've found myself in possession of some of these (UCS MF, GG, UCS DS), which I originally bought with the intention of building. However, for one reason or another I never quite got around to opening them and, meanwhile, the values have sky-rocketed. Those self-same sets are now too valuable in their pristine condition for me to advocate cracking them open and see those £s crumble away, yet I would be reluctant to sell them / buy used for all the reasons other Bricksetters have raised, leaving me stuck in LEGO limbo.

There is another route open (and I can tell I'm just leaving myself wide open here), but if you're no longer that worried about having those specific sets, you could maybe sell one or more (perhaps on here, to minimise nasties) and then use the proceeds to buy something else. Clearing £800 - £1,000 (or double that for the MF) could buy a whole lot of other LEGO sets and / or a gift for the family etc. I know, I know, it's not the same but, given that TLG churns out some 400+ new sets every year, there must be *something* that appeals.

Anyway, just my twopennies' worth... at the end of the day, it's right that fellow Bricksetters are warning people of the fiscal drawbacks to opening these sets, but it's not fair to call them crazy / mad / stupid for wishing to do so. On the flipside, it is naïve and a little insulting to others to pretend those drawbacks do not exist simply because the aforementioned sets were purchased at a fraction of their current value and blithely ripping them open, without at least weighing up the pros and cons. At the end of the day, they are *your* sets and it's entirely your choice what to do with them... Enjoy!!!

Jackad7

What is he trying to accomplish? I never have rejected a bid in my life.

SumoLego

^ Very eloquent.

Jackad7

I made sure to point that out in my response :P

PeteM

Last week I bid on a job lot of Lego and all was quiet for a couple of days. Suddenly last night/this morning the auction is cancelled and I find the item was briefly re-listed for a higher price and instantly sold. I'm sure that all of that is quite with the sellers rights but still . . . quite twatish.

xwingpilot

My current issue:

http://bricksetforum.com/discussion/comment/421022/#Comment_421022

I'd like to report it, but the current ebay reporting system doesn't allow you to add any details and doesn't have a category for using images without permission (except where they're copied from another ebay listing which you have to reference).

joel4motion

xwingpilot said:

My current issue:

http://bricksetforum.com/discussion/comment/421022/#Comment_421022

I'd like to report it, but the current ebay reporting system doesn't allow you to add any details and doesn't have a category for using images without permission (except where they're copied from another ebay listing which you have to reference).

Message them and tell them to remove your images or you'll report them. If they don't, report them under any category and put the details in. eBay will ask them to edit the listing.

Jackad7

Does anyone know of the general grievous mini figure is actually INSIDE bag 2? I got a set opened without it but bag 2 was sealed. Seems strange

SprinkleOtter

Jackad7 said:

What is he trying to accomplish? I never have rejected a bid in my life.

As he put it, you should report his @$$. I don't think ebay likes people to go around cursing at one another... Not good for sales.

madforLEGO

SprinkleOtter said:

Jackad7 said:

What is he trying to accomplish? I never have rejected a bid in my life.

As he put it, you should report his @$$. I don't think ebay likes people to go around cursing at one another... Not good for sales.

Agreed, I also ban yabbo's like that from bidding on my items. Those and those who bid and refuse to pay.

pharmjod

I ban people all the time on eBay. People that ask too many odd questions and drop shippers primarily. Not worth my time to fool with them.

Jackad7

Oh yay, do I had a bidder with feedback bid my item up to about 83 a few days ago on 12 bids, so he kept chipping it up, he now contaacted me saying he could no longer pay and wanted his bids canceled. I cant cancel the item anymore because it will go to the highest bidder which will be at the starting price. After he bid my item up the number of watchers significantly dropped too. So do I cancel his bid and hope it goes back up or make him stick to his bid, then relist it if he can't pay? I'll ban him either way for sure.

LuLego

Why can't you end the item? Is it too close to the end? Assuming you can't just end the auction, I'd let it run its course (with him winning even though you know he won't pay). Then report as non payment (eBay credit your listing fees and their final valuation fees) and start over again. You lose a couple of days (as you need to go through ebay's non-payment process) rather than accepting a decreased value as fewer people are interested.
Starting again would therefore be my advice. I'd even take fresh photos to make it seem like a newly listed item too. Lots of people, me included have notifications when something is newly listed that meets a desired criteria. When I sell, I find it either sells within the hour or I'm holding it for ages and drop the price. And the lost watchers... I do the same when an item has many people bidding.

i still don't understand how he bid it up 12 times... There must have been someone else he was bidding against. If someone really wants something they can place multiple bids but the price won't go up until someone else bids against them and then eBay will only increase it by the next margin (the guy's second bid), ie you can't bid against yourself! Or so I thought!

Jackad7

Yes it an auction that is too close to the ending. No he didn't bid against himself, the other guy bid first and then he incrementally bid until he was above the other guy.

catwrangler

Bid on 7571 The Fight for the Dagger, but when I won it for £10.50, the seller cancelled the transaction two minutes after the auction ended. This was early in the morning so I had no opportunity to pay. After Googling, I found this thread from 2014 on Ebay's community forums, which had a link to make a complaint about cancelled sales.

So I did that, and lo and behold, suddenly I got an invoice for the set. No PM explaining what had happened, but I thought perhaps the seller had cancelled accidentally in the first place, and I paid. Only after that did I notice that they'd replaced their name on their Paypal listing with a jumble of letters, which did not bode well, but I thought I'd wait and see what happened. Sure enough, the set never turned up, and when I PMed asking what was going on, I got a refund, though still no explanation. 

Have left negative feedback (seller was teddysmith962, just FYI), but still rather fed up - it was a bargain and I have the impression they cancelled in the first place because the auction didn't go as high as hoped...

CCC

It looks like he tried to cancel it in the final minutes (before the end, not after), as the auction didn't end at the right time. It also says that the seller ended it, not that bidding has finished.

There isn't really much you can do to force a seller to sell, just like sellers cannot force buyers to pay. On ebay, or anywhere else. Feedback as you have done is about all you can do, it doesn't help you but may affect other items they try to sell.

catwrangler

Ahh, that's interesting - I did get the email to say I'd won the set, though, so it looks like bidding did get to finish. Or perhaps that was sent out in error... 

Something to chalk up to experience, I guess - at least it's not as bad as a lot of what's been detailed in this thread!

CCC

He presumably tried to cancel bids, but it obviously didn't work as it was so late. So when he ended the auction, you were the official winner. Then he cancelled the sale minutes later.

Unfortunately there is not much you can do about it, apart from what you have done.

Pitfall69

It has been a strange week for me on Ebay. Someone created an Ebay account and PayPal account and immediately purchased one of my items. I got an email from PayPal that the account had been flagged and my funds were being held. I just went ahead and cancelled the order, but it wouldn't let me, so I had to call PayPal and have them refund the money and cancel the order. It was actually a pleasant experience. I then relisted the item and in two days it was bought again; this time by the same person, but from another account created that day; she just changed her last name. The first time she had a Russian last name, now she put a Spanish last name. I then quickly cancelled the order again. What the heck is going on?