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Comments
Question though; if you are worried about a set being damaged by the carrier, why wouldn't you take out insurance?
As for insurance. It is a total waste of money. Insurance definitely wasn't invented by a scientist, just a money lender. Money lenders are 100% useless in this age. Since all our economies are struggling I suggest we get back to real growth instead of made up "pay me just in case something goes wrong, then we can argue about it and you'll never receive compensation because insurance is a scam". My dad had a friend who was in insurance. Nice big house, big family, total asshole. Complete douche. I'm not worried about carriers damaging sets, just picky buyers that haven't been brought down to reality yet.
No..I never labeled it as mint. If there's a dent in the box, I take pics and describe it in details. I was taken by surprise when it was...barely squeezed in shipping...it was double boxed...but ebay told him it could be returned and gave him a returned shipping label. So I said fine...no problem...didn't have a problem with it...ebay gave him the return shipping label so I thought I was in the clear.....until at the end of the month I got my Ebay monthly invoice and they had charged me another $8.xx for return shipping. So I ended up paying shipping twice.
So now I even make sure there isn't one of those line indentations across the front or back because of "mint" collectors. It seems like sometimes it's only a matter of time before we're sending off sealed boxes to be graded like coins/cards.
That's the problem with using non universal acronyms.
For large sets that I've traded on Brickset, I quote insurance in the price just to cover myself. In the back of my mind I always believe that the carriers are a little more cautious with insured shipments. Probably not true, but it makes me feel a little better anyway.
What really ticks me off is when sellers (on eBay or Amazon) ship sets in a plastic shipping bag (not a box) just to shave a couple ounces off the package and a few cents off the shipping cost. To make things laughable, most of these sellers make a big deal in the description of how important their feedback is to them and they want their buyers to be happy. In my view it's very short-sighted trading a few cents for negative feedback, and doing that is an automatic negative from me (unless we've agreed to it beforehand). A person shouldn't be selling Lego sets if they don't understand the proclivities of their buyers. I can tell you that I do look at comments in the feedback before purchasing or bidding on a seller's items, and it's easy to tell from the comments if the buyer is being petty or the seller is someone to avoid at all costs.
Finally, I can live with slow-to-ship sellers as long as there's communication going on. Things happen and that's life. But what I do expect is that it you're going to sell Lego sets, make sure you're honest in the description of the condition (including the set box) and pack/ship the item reasonably well to protect it. That way if the set is damaged in transit, I know the seller did their part and it was Murphy's fault.
Sorry for the venting...
However, in all seriousness, it is very difficult to get a common carrier to replace an item that is not missing or actually broken. You need a fair amount of corroborating evidence (photos of the condition before and after, and demonstrable evidence of the loss of value) to convince them to pay a claim.
The insurance is really intended for missing or destroyed items.
They paid it... after two months.
If you are in the game of selling (anything), it is your responsibility to ensure the item arrives to the buyer in the condition sold. I know I've made mistakes before and had to eat unexpected cost (higher postage, purchase better materials, refund when something went bad despite my good intentions). If you can't stand to lose the occasional $5-$10 due to your error, you shouldn't be selling.
I'm in the packaging design and manufacturing business, typically we design for a 97-98% success rate. Obviously, that number can increase or decrease depending upon the cost and importance of an item, But to ensure a 100% it becomes extremely expensive, way more then the typical cost of the 2 or 3 lost. My best guess is Lego targets mid 90's .
So, if you are a seller and 97 of every 100 items arrive safely, keep doing what you do, unless those lost/damaged 3 cost more then the fix. If you drop to 93 start to look at your packaging and shipping.
If Lego themselves can't get a package to me without a minifigure scrapping up a $200 set, then I have no idea why people on this forum RELENTLESSLY suggest it's somehow the sellers fault to appease super picky buyers.
Insanity!!!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEGO-5004590-Bat-Pod-Ultra-Rare-Giveaway-Batman-DC-batpod-set-only-750-made-/271984935409?hash=item3f5390c1f1
sorry, but that is just way too much cash to pass up for this thing, unless you are cash rich or some kind of über batman fanatic
... 6 Helicarriers
... 5 Gold C-3POs (still sealed in the package)
... bah dah dah dah...
... 4 Shinkai Submarines
... 3 Super Star Destroyers
... 2 Mr. Golds
and a NISB Taj Mahal...
That's just about enough of that.
I don't expect violence towards the packages, but I do expect them to be thrown, piled up (probably not the right way up), pushed back and forward in a van, etc.
The lego scenario is also easy to fix, with an extra layer of air pillows between the minifig and the set. But presumably when promos are on they are working so fast that they just stick the promo minifig bags in with the sets into a very sturdy outer box without thinking too much about what is going to happen inside the box.
I also feel that stating it'll be insured, signature, etc. for bigger things reduces the risk of buyers trying to scam. It's harder to scam with insurance coverage and face-to-face involvement. Mail fraud has teeth.
As for the Bat-pod I have to question the validity of these prices until someone here actually gets there and does manage to sell it to someone else for that kind of money. Otherwise I just chalk it up to those trying to artificially drive up the value of them on eBay.
What I am having a hard time processing is that even at 1K USD it still is an awful lot for a set the Bat-Pod's size.
1000 USD for a set that is, what-something like 200-300 pieces, is just not fathomable for me. For around %5 of that you can bl an all black version to put next to the Tumbler.
Sure, sets like Grand Carousel go for 1500 USD but you feel like you are getting a lot for that cost IMO.
Again to each their own, just seems like an awful waste of money, especially if LEGO does think more of the set after seeing the demand for it and decides to release a production model.
i have all sets (that are 60,- or more) sealed, sitting in my drawer...
Again to each their own but it is surprising to me.
Now, I do agree with your statement if you substitute the words "lime green" in for "black." ;-)
Another way is to make a WishList on BrickOwl and shop there. While it doesn't automatically search and optimize for you, it gives you the ability to quickly see results as you manually optimize.
http://www.fbtb.net/2015/09/13/lego-doesnt-care-about-your-collection/
Our community tends to overlook that the vast, vast majority of Lego is purchased on a consumer basis by unknowing parents for kids. The higher purchase cost is justified in that the bricks will endure for years and can be repurposed.
I tend to direct people to where the money is being made...
When it comes to Lego, you rarely know items are mint in sealed box, you know they are NISB (new), but how do you check they are mint? They are unlike collectibles that are placed in clear packaging that you can see through and display the item in.