indigobox: Looking for Input on an eBay Auction Issue

indigobox

Hello all,

I have an interesting dilemma which I'd like others to see what they would do.

I placed a bid on eBay last night on an item which was labelled as a Space Shuttle. When reading the description it displayed as a Sponge Bob Rocket Ride which my little one has been after albeit missing one part that was in the set.

I placed a bid and ended up winning the item.

Now this evening the person says they listed it incorrectly even though I have paid for the item.

My understanding was that the listing is contractual and they have to honour the description. Or am I wrong?

Your thoughts are welcome. Thanks
CJ.

tk79

Sounds like a fairly harmless mistake by the seller. I would take the refund and move on.

jm.02

snowtyger

it can go either way; lets say the spongebob is the item he has (so the pic is correct). You might get that. Based on the text, though, he could send you a small shuttle set and say that is the set he had (and the pic was incorrect). I'd agree w/ tk79, and just take the retraction. Not worth the hassle.

indigobox

Thanks. :)
Gone for the refund.

I will go and buy it from somewhere other than eBay :)

HarryBerry

Annoyingly, I had a case where I sold a Lego ocean base described a blue. The buyer left me horrible negative feedback saying they expected it to be Camo coloured (despite the pic and description telling them it wasn't). Wish eBay would be more accommodating with removal a some negative feedback!

indigobox

I hear you @HarryBerry.
It's like the postage scenario. People complain about the postage charges yet agree to the bid. Very strange :)

akunthita

@indigobox I would let this slide. It seems like the seller made a genuine mistake. stuff like that happens. Treat others as you would like to be treated...(c;

Penkid11

@indigobox
Maybe you should follow our philosophy: "As long as its Lego!..."

indigobox

Haha all works for me :)
Just the frustration of eBay

yys4u

This happens to me sometimes while bidding. I'll see a picture with a different description, usually I see the description at least twice for the same sellers posts. What I assume happens is while listing, they probably select "Sell Similar" and just apply a new picture and title but forgetting to change the description.

I usually just ask the seller to confirm which set they are selling. Sometimes I feel like I get a better deal too because I think it confuses other bidders and they'd rather not bid.

AFFOL_Shellz_Bellz

If you bid on an item when the picture didn't match the description then that strikes me as being your problem. If the seller has offered you a refund you are lucky, you could get stuck with whatever he might send.

LegoFanTexas

I am strongly of the belief that there is no margin in trying to make someone complete a transaction that they don't want to complete.

If the seller offers a refund because he made a listing error, thank the seller for that and move on.

Just an hour ago, I had someone e-mail me about a set purchased on eBay, $150 retired set, shipped two weeks ago. They just got it and said they didn't want it after all. My eBay listings all say "no returns", but when someone e-mails me nicely to say, "can I please return this?", I generally say yes.

This buyer even said they would pay a 15% restocking fee. Blah, I don't do that, all I ask for is my original shipping fee and eBay's fees. Is it a waste of my time? Yes... Is it just life and being nice to someone? Yes...

It is my good deed of the day. ;)

CCC

^So no one cross LFT for the rest of the day. His good deed has already been done. :-)

indigobox

Thanks all for your comments.

BoiseState

I've never had any negative feedback, but I do wish that you could at least respond to it if left.. I got a neutral feedback once for a $4 Loki minifig. It came with his staff and took a photo of it. The feedback was neutral because he was expecting the cosmic cube, even though it wasnt in the description or photo. If he left negative feedback there is nothing I can do.

gmpirate

Lol, guess I just have to wonder why someone would bid on an auction that was obviously incorrect in the first place :P

But yes, as others have stated, mistakes happen. Get your refund and move on :)

y2josh

BoiseState said:

I've never had any negative feedback, but I do wish that you could at least respond to it if left.. I got a neutral feedback once for a $4 Loki minifig. It came with his staff and took a photo of it. The feedback was neutral because he was expecting the cosmic cube, even though it wasnt in the description or photo. If he left negative feedback there is nothing I can do.

You can respond to negative feedback left, but I believe you have the same 80 character limit to do it in.

gmpirate

BoiseState said:

I've never had any negative feedback, but I do wish that you could at least respond to it if left.. I got a neutral feedback once for a $4 Loki minifig. It came with his staff and took a photo of it. The feedback was neutral because he was expecting the cosmic cube, even though it wasnt in the description or photo. If he left negative feedback there is nothing I can do.

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about negative feedback as it will happen at some point -- especially if you are dealing with parted sets. It doesn't matter if you have pics and a good description, there are a lot of people out there that simply do not read and/or are very unfamiliar with Lego.

One of the big ones for me has been multiple item auctions where you enter in the amount you wish to buy. People buy "one" minifig and then complain when "one" shows up. The auctions do state to the buyer to enter the quantity they wish to buy in big bold type. I've had feedback as "deceptive" and one lady said I "changed the auction after the fact". As if I could do that.

DaddyDeuce

P

LegoFanTexas said:

I am strongly of the belief that there is no margin in trying to make someone complete a transaction that they don't want to complete.

+1 to this. My eBay sales generally prohibit returns, but I will bend over backwards to fix a problem if it occurs. Usually the first thing I ask is "what do you want me to do to make this right" - usually the buyer is reasonable in what they need to be satisfied.

Part of this stems from my philosophy that I don't need to make a profit on *every* transaction. If I make a profit on most, I can take a small loss on a few in order to keep people happy.