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I've had 2 situations where my stuff was broken beyond repair. In both cases, the packaging was woefully inadequate.

The worst was where I bought a couple custom ork vehicles. The sender wrapped them individually in a couple flat pieces of newspaper, but they were moving freely within the box - nothing to secure them within the box itself. They were in pieces on arrival. When I contacted the seller, he said he packed it perfectly, its the fault of the apes at the post office, and *I* had to make an insurance claim... also implying that I was lying / scamming. The insurance claim was denied because there was no external damage to the box and no evidence of excessive trauma to the package. I got screwed on that one because I lost track of time and didn't open a case quickly enough.

The other time, I bought a custom converted plastic lizardman, which was shipped in a bubble envelope. He arrived squished flat. Now yes, he was unpainted plastic, but the whole reason to buy was because of how he was put together.

So, yes, its not that buyers are unethical all the time. When buyers say stuff happens, sometimes it really does. And, there are unethical sellers as well.

On the other side, Ebay has now made it so that even CONTACTING the seller opens a case. I have an item that was supposed to arrive a week ago. I hit "contact seller", said I wanted to inquire as to ship status. I'm in no rush, I just wanted to check status. Well, I got an automated email saying I had opened a case. As it turns out, the seller is encountering some difficulties, which I am totally fine with, but Ebay escalated it without my consent. Ebay is also not allowing me to see my sent message or the sellers "alternate resolution" selection.

So, again, its not always the buyers trying to scam. Are there unethical buyers? Sure. But I tend to think most of the time there is an actual communication issue or packaging issue.

I will add, that dakka can probably be a good tool for selling, due to the whole comminuty thing going on, I havent done much, but I once sent a load of Imperial Fists I had painted to a lad, I think maybe two years ago?

He asked on here as he needed some of Dorns finest for a cmpaign, and I had 15 marines and 5 terminators finished before I quit and decided to stick with Ultramarines, he asked, I posted photos, we decided on a price, and he even added a fiver when he got them because he was so pleased with them.

You also skip ebay fees as well, but Id rather send to a lad off here with 1000 posts than I would to an ebay with 10 feedback, I think you can tell plenty about people's personalities via their web personas!

And yes If you were wondering, I am indeed just as awesome in real life as I am on here.

 mattyrm wrote:
I will add, that dakka can probably be a good tool for selling, due to the whole comminuty thing going on

I've also had great experiences on Community forums.

I've sold alot on Bartertown and TMP, and a fair amount here. I don't think I've ever had a bad transaction in what's probably around 150 or so deals (though some were trades). The "Paper trail" that people leave in forums can be a good measure of their reliability, and I have much more faith in the feedback systems on those sites than on Ebay's.

Unfortunately it's like real life and there are just going to be less than reputable people out there. I've only had a few negative issues selling things on eBay but fortunately most people are good and do the right thing. To limit damage I don't post internationally though and I will try and avoid purchasing internationally as well.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
As a long-time buyer, I would just like to say that things do get lost or trashed in the post. A lot. And it's a pretty gakky attitude to assume that anyone who wants to get his money's worth is trying to rip you off.

As a seller you need to realize that this is how packages are handled in transit, and pack accordingly.

Ye, I agree. The thing sellers need to understand (I sell on ebay from time to time and Amazon Market place on occasion) is that they have a contract to deliver the goods to the buyer in good condition. It is up to them to prove the contract has been completed, not the buyer to prove it has not. The post has nothing to do with that. It annoys me endlessly when sellers (both on ebay and online stores) try and blaim the post for problems and claim it is not there problem. I have not had many problems with either buyers or sellers, but 90% of them have been problems with sellers (excluding late payment, which is not a scam, or doggy buying, just a fact of life)

So many people selling (and buying) don't seem to be aware that when you are selling on ebay you are entering in to a contract, not selling something to a mate down the pub.

We sold one of my wife's saddles a few months ago, a really nice Tucker worth over 1200 bucks. It was slightly used but in great shape. I used pictures from both sides, top, the underside of the saddle, front and back, and all the pictures were zoom-able as hi-res as Ebay would allow, and our listing included an offer to email additional pictures to potential buyers. I included the serial number of the saddle in the listing which is really a code the factory uses that describes the style/color/size/model/year of manufacture of the saddle and included the translation for that. Pictures included a tape measure so a buyer could see relevant sizes of the seat.

Some lady with a relatively new account wins the auction, and I ship the saddle via UPS. She gets it and claims one of the skirts is not the original leather and is brown where as the rest of the saddle is black. Absolutely not true. In fact, the skirt she says we had replaced is the one with the serial number stamped into the leather. She wants a full refund and for us to pay her shipping back. I asked for pictures to show what she was talking about because I knew darned well everything on the saddle was original from the Tucker factory. She opened a dispute with Ebay, freezing about 1k of my funds.

I went back and forth with ebay and my wife and I were terrified, we KNEW we had very accurately described the saddle and that it was all black. Where the stirrup straps go over the skirts there were rub marks where the dark brown of the actual leather (black leather is dyed) show through were clear in the pictures on the listing, and we listed it as slightly used, which it was.

I strongly suspected either she had remorse over spending that much on a saddle, or more likely it did not fit her horse the way she wanted it to.

I guess she could not prove to ebay that she was right, she refused to send them pictures and our pictures were pretty darned clear, so she lost the dispute and Ebay unfroze our funds.

That was our first bad experience with a buyer, but we don't sell a lot on Ebay. It scares me because I do have some more stuff I need to unload (anyone need floor mats for a C6 'vette?).

It part of the hassles of ebay, until they leave feedback etc, never consider it a finished transaction.

My most recent hassle was some guy who went on holiday for 4 weeks, 2 days after paying for an item, and opening a dispute stating it never arrived after 4 days?! He even went into detail about being on holiday in his dispute ticket, only reason I actually knew anything about it.

Paypal froze the funds, and then 4 weeks later, just closed it in my favour thankfully. But damn, opening a claim 'cos you've pissed off on holiday is really not ok in my book.

I did have a user once complain the items were broken beyond all repair, I was happy to take them back and issue refund on receipt...wasn't happy with that, so he opened a claim, paypal said send them back and that full refund would be given. But they made him return them via tracking, which I didn't ask him too, so in the end it cost him more to return them. All ended happily. The items where some plastic/metal havocs and the arms had come lose on 4 out of 10 during transit, not sure how that meant broken beyond all repair, but hey, different strokes and all that.

 Eilif wrote:

 Dmyze wrote:
I must admit that I have never sold an item on ebay.

However as I am Australian I am a frequent buyer of 40K via Ebay mainly from overseas accounts (infact I cannot imagine i would be in this hobby without it!).

Don't always discount the overseas purchaser, there are countries who are notorious for being dodgy (we all know that) on the flipside there are also plenty of countries you can count on for having the same amount of dodgy buyers as your own country.

I noticed a few of the posts here have the buyer receiving the goods and not sending payment...I was of the impression that the payment had to be received before goods would be mailed - surely this is the wisest way.

Just my two cents but from a buyers perspective (and from the mind of a naturally paranoid Insurance marketer) I imagine you could minimise the chances of being played by:

> Getting cleared payment 48hrs before mailing.
> Mailing with tracking and insurance
> Taking more than one blurry picture (many pictures from all angles) of the item for sale
> Taking pictures of the packaging process for your records.
> Mentioning these points in the auction description

Like any money making scheme; selling items on Ebay should be treated seriously or people will try and take advantage of you (it sucks but it is true). As a non-dodgy buyer I would actually feel more confident about buying from someone who takes it seriously and protects themselves and my purchases.

I have only had two dodgy experiences: one item that never appeared but I got a paypal refund from & an auction where i won 10 plastic and one metal model that the seller proceeded to mail in a small cardboard box with no padding (the metal model proved its might in the post), so maybe I am just not as jaded .

The main problem is that even when they pay, unethical buyers can claim an item was broken, not recieved, etc. Ebay will often side with them (depending on the situation) and either take the money back from the seller (if it's in a paypal account) or not release the money to the seller (sometimes it's not released until after a sale is finalized). So even though the buyer has paid, the seller might still get screwed.

I've had really good luck with selling on ebay (a few dozen things sold so far) but right now I'm dealing with a buyer who hasn't paid. I haven't shipped of course, but it is annoying.

Just file your "unpaid claim" and relist it. Or if it was an auction, send a second chance offer to the next highest bidder. But if you cant get them to pay, that's a warning sign right there. Particularly if its a 0 feedback buyer, which can be just bot accounts used to drive up the price of a competitors auctions to steer people towards another.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Dakkamite wrote:
Film it perhaps?

Record yourself putting the item in the box, putting his address on the box, and giving the box to the post office etc. A real pain in the ass but it puts you beyond reproach.

Then if stuff 'breaks in the mail', well, tough gak wasn't broken when I sent it.

It honestly doesnt matter, you're pretty much just wasting your time. Ebay basically always sides with the buyer. So does paypal. Which frankly, is the only way I would buy anything from a random stranger on the internet. There's a lot more dbag sellers who would send you an empty box with a tracking number than sellers claiming the same thing. People gripe about the paltry fees ebay charges, but you're not going to get near the exposure or bids otherwise, and odds are you're still dealing through paypal, so its the same issue w the seller.

 Gymnogyps wrote:


On the other side, Ebay has now made it so that even CONTACTING the seller opens a case. I have an item that was supposed to arrive a week ago. I hit "contact seller", said I wanted to inquire as to ship status. I'm in no rush, I just wanted to check status. Well, I got an automated email saying I had opened a case. As it turns out, the seller is encountering some difficulties, which I am totally fine with, but Ebay escalated it without my consent. Ebay is also not allowing me to see my sent message or the sellers "alternate resolution" selection.

This is a good point that everyone now needs to be aware of. eBay has recently changed how contacting a seller now works. Gymnogyps is absolutely correct in his statement.

I have had this be a major pain both as a buyer and a seller. As a buyer I sent an inquiry to the status of an item. It was to an overseas seller and automatically a case was opened. The seller was quite upset with this (understandably) and gave me a refund instead of just starting communication. In the mean time he had also blocked me. A few weeks later the item showed up in the mail. I wasn't able to contact him through ebay because of the block. However I did go back through my paypal history and resent the money to him. This total misunderstanding was caused by ebays new system changes. I now use the details about an item, or other category instead of inquiring about an item not received.

As a seller this has bitten me a few times. I currently have a dispute open with an international buyer. I shipped exactly 1 month ago, and the item has not arrived. Typically when an item not received case is opened I immediately contact the buyer. I let them know that I have a good history of packages arriving, even though some may get delayed. Normally this is enough to satisfy the customer (for the time being) and usually the item arrives within a few days of the inquiry.

However I have had some packages go missing for much longer. About a year ago I shipped almost 400 dollars worth of OOP metal tyranids to a UK buyer. After about a month he contacted me. They had not arrived, and he was getting a bit concerned. The shipment was unrecorded (a mistake that I don't make anymore over such large transactions). As was normal I gave the customary reply of giving it another week. The week passed and still no items. The entire time the buyer was patient and understanding with me. We agreed that if the items did not arrive on the last day that a refund was possible through paypal (60 days I think) that I would refund him the purchase price. I really didn't have any better option, so why go through an ugly paypal dispute and so fourth. 2 months later the buyer contacted me saying that the postman brought a notice about a parcel at his PO. Here the package was sitting there the entire time waiting on customs fees to be paid. He was an honest buyer, and immediately paid the debt.

My ebay feedback is currently at 2155, and I would estimate that 80% of that is as a seller. I am top rated, and a power seller. As someone who does a ton of selling on ebay, here are my top concerns:

1. Internet State Sales tax Law. I am registered in 3 states. I pay sales taxes in those 3 states every 3 months. I don't mind paying the taxes, my concerns are over the infrastructure of the collection system, and the cost of registering to do business in 50 states.
2. The high cost of international postage. Even without tracking, most packages I send overseas run close to 10 dollars. Add tracking and insurance and the cost really sky rockets.
3. Staying within the confines of the Top Rated Seller program. Simply stated, you have to give exceptional service all the time. There is a little wiggle room (based on percentages) if you sell 1,000s of products a month, but I am far from those numbers. The positive side to the Top Rated program is worth it though. 20% back on final value fees really adds up. It is also nice when calling customer service. Top rated sellers are put on priority when answering customer service calls. Paypal is pretty darn nice when you call as well.
4. Unpaid items. This is a real bother. Ebay automatically takes final value fees upon the item selling, not when the item is actually paid for. Ebay has heard sellers concerns about this. Starting soon, a seller can open an unpiad item case after 48 hours. That is a change from the 96 hour window that ebay currently allows.
5. The general cost of business. Boxes, ink, shipping labels, tech, etc...

That may be a little ot, but my point is this. As someone who sells a lot on ebay, there is really only 1 buyer issue on there. I think ebay gets a bad rap sometimes. I feel just as safe buying on ebay, as I do from any other online retailer.

I also feel relatively safe selling on ebay as well. Believe it or not, they are watching. They are looking for suspicious buyer activity. Ebay has also installed a number of "report buyer"prompts. If you feel like you are dealing with an unsavory individual, be sure to use that feature. Read the paypal seller protection policy: http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/paypal-seller-protection.html
as well as the ebay buying practices policy. http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/buying-practices.html

Be sure to read what they don't allow. I had an instance a few months ago. Somebody had bought something from me, and they did not know what they were buying. They thought the model was larger than it actually was, even though the scale was properly listed. They left negative feedback, and hadn't bothered to contact me at all. So I sent them an email letting them know that I have a 30 day return policy, and if they were unhappy they could have always sent it back. Their response was, that if I gave a refund they would remove the negative feedback. I hadn't asked them to remove the feedback, and as soon as they did that, there was a case of buyer abuse. Ebay looks at that like blackmail, and they don't allow it. I did report that issue, and the feedback was removed. (I check problematic peoples feedback, especially the feedback they have left for others) Turns out he was bombing quite a few sellers for silly reasons. As far as what happened to the buyer, idk. Privacy policy prohibits them from giving any details. I'm fine with that, as they provided me with the protection that was required.

I suggest that everyone who does a lot of buying and selling on ebay to read those 2 provided links. Be educated, and protect yourself as much as possible. Yes you may get a turd in the punch bowl every now and then, but generally it is a positive experience.

Cheers, Dakka.

I had some one buy two items from me. And didn't pay for over 4 days. I sent him a message saying Is there any issue with payment. I then got a message back saying no issue im just waiting as you have a third item i want for sale. I sent him a message back saying that is fine. But you could of let me know earlier.

He then sent me a stropy message back saying fine i wont buy the item then. I sent him a message back saying it was only a message to say he could of been more courteous. He then requested an invoice so I sent him an invoice.

Again 2 days later i get a message stating that he wants reduced shipping as the items can be sent together. I sent him one back stating that if he had read the item description he would of read that I do not combine shipping each item is sent out separately so I have a Recorded and signed for recipt for every single item. (i have had multi sales before when some one claimed that the most expensive item was not in the package, funny that them being sent together. so now days i refuse to do it)

I said that if he does not wish to pay the postage for each item then I am happy to cancel the transaction. No reply for 3 days so I started an transaction cancellation. That he refused within 1 hour of opening. I sent him a message again asking him that if he does not wish to cancel the transaction would it be to much effort to complete it. Again no message for 4 days. Then I just opened a non payment case. Finally he paid after 2 days of the transaction being opened.

I sent both items, separately tracked. And signed for delivery. 5 days later I get a ebay report saying that the items have not arrived. I sent scans of the receipts and also provided ebay with the tracking numbers that state that both parcels where signed for by the person who holds the ebay account.


The case was closed by ebay. But he then left me bad feedback stating I hacked the Royal mail office to make it look like he had signed for them (yeah i know). After 4 months ebay finally answered my request to get the bad feedback removed. And ebay changed it to an automatic neutral feedback. Neutral feedback?

That was the last time i use ebay for miniatures or anything else for that matter. There is no seller protection anymore at all. I cant even leave bad feedback. So I haven't left any at all. its the only way i can not give him good feed back.

Buyers who don't pay are annoying but not really interesting to me since I just add the to my "blocked buyers" list, file a claim and relist the item for free. Sure it wastes my time but I'm generally not so hard up for cash that I need to sell everything quickly.

Re: the whole packaging issue. You have to to really pack stuff well, especially when you're shipping models. Bubble wrap is a must, but it's nowhere near enough, esp. if you're shipping metal/resin models. I always ship models I do on commission in industrial grade pluck-foam trays. If the box is a little large, I toss in the foam I've plucked out as packaging, and I usually tap bubble wrap directly on top of the tray, so there's less risk of models coming out of their slots in transit.

~Tim?

I only by within the U.S. because of people telling me about getting shafted when they bought internationally.

Bossk_Hogg wrote:

Just file your "unpaid claim" and relist it. Or if it was an auction, send a second chance offer to the next highest bidder. But if you cant get them to pay, that's a warning sign right there. Particularly if its a 0 feedback buyer, which can be just bot accounts used to drive up the price of a competitors auctions to steer people towards another.

Thanks. I'm not worried about it. Either he pays or I relist it. I was just offering it as an anecdote about unreliable buyers.

As an avid ebay buyer, I'd never experienced problems with any item purchased before I tread into the Warhammer 40k territory.

Unfortunately to say I just won't buy 40k stuff off of ebay anymore because more than half the time I don't receive the items (Unfortunately, I'm not exaggerating). I had a particularly bad experience with one seller that told me a Dark Veng box set was on it's way and to be patient, then almost a full month later went on to tell me he hadn't even sent it! (Which, by the way these purchases were in AUS, my home country)

Since then one of mates whom owns a brick and mortar hobby store has started getting in GW products and I've started buying off of him instead. Special orders are in within a few days and the prices are still pretty damn good, plus I'm supporting him/helping him out by buying there.

 inquisitorlewis wrote:
[
This is a good point that everyone now needs to be aware of. eBay has recently changed how contacting a seller now works. Gymnogyps is absolutely correct in his statement.

I have had this be a major pain both as a buyer and a seller.

Very interersting info, thanks for this. I am guessing it hasn't arrived in Europe yet as I've not experienced the issue in a rush of recent buying and selling.

Sometimes I think complaining about eBay is like complaining about life. Yes, we pay hefty fees, but that's like paying tax, the only certainty in life apart from death.

As a seller, if anyone is even slightly unhappy with a product, I offer a full refund. It's not worth the hassle otherwise. And the new model for all retailers is to expect huge numbers of returns (that's why companies like Asos are doing well, because they process them so efficiently, it's a cornerstone of their customer service).

As is happens, I do photograph fragile items in their packaging, especially when I send to China or Russia. But the important thing to note is that it's the buyer pays for the packaging, so there's no point in skimping. Personally, I dislike sellers who charge high postage fees, then send regular mail - but ultimately they're assuming the risk if the package goes missing.

Similarly, I have no worries when an item I've bought doesn't arrive or is damaged. Because it\s the seller's problem. Yes, there are plently of idiots saying the risk of postage damage or disappearance lies with the buyer but they soon drop that line when you open a PayPal dispute (which I always accompany with a polite note, saying it's just a backup).

I'm sure there are unethical buyers, but I doubt there are that many, who would wait for a parcel to arrive across the Atlantic then scam you.

Personally, I find a far bigger problem at the moment re eBay is the massive hike in postal prices, for both USPS and Royal Mail. It's a pain for both buyers and sellers - because people assume you're ramping up prices if you're selling, and because the higher postage prices mean you can't get a bargain for the little items.

I've dealt a LOT on ebay and been burned more than a few times, almost all of it as a seller. I've had some international buyers open a dispute and leave it open just because they were unhappy that customs stopped the package and mae them pay import fees. They just opened it and left it open which locks up the money until it closes. Had other claim damaged goods just to get a refund or a new item, and it's either pay up or lose a claim and you're out the money. As has been said many times this thread, paypal ALWAYS sides with the buyer unles the proof is overwhelming. Buyer Beware is a thing of the past.

As for shipping (especially painted miniatures), my advice is to get yourself a cheap foam mattress pad and cut it to the size of whatever box you're shipping in. All my painted models I ship are first wrapped in saran/plastic wrap and then I cut 2 layers of foam to match the box and cut out a void for the figure to rest in. The foam protects the figure from jostling around, the plastic wrap protects the paint from rubbing against foam. Also, don't be stingy with the tape. The one and only time I had a problem shipping this way was because the box had opened up in transit, but luckily I was able to paint some replacement bitz to replace the damaged parts (side note, ALWAYS tape the USPS fold-up Priority Mail boxes, the folded sides can very easily come undone!)

I always avoid shipping overseas. USPS mail fraud laws keep ya pretty safe in the US.

I'm actually curious, if you buy an item that is obviously recasted, and demand a refund, but the seller claims it's an original and refuses to refund, what typically happens? I've done this before and Ebay ruled in my favor, simply because I think my writing was better...

This topic has almost put me off selling things on Ebay...

Luckily I've never had this happen to me but then again I've only sold 4 Xbox360 games for £10 each and the description of each game was really in depth: I explained the single player and how the game played and I also mentioned the multiplayer.

I want to start selling terrain on Ebay but it'll only be cheap so I'm not really worried about being scammed out of £7 or so...

Amazon on the other hand, blimey, the first time I bought something off Amazon I was ripped off! I bought a gas mask for photography and I waited a week or so and I had not had the product. It turns out that they were still listing the product even though it was not in stock so I had a refund.

Thing is, I'm not as worried about the products to a degree but the moment someone messes with my money I'll gladly tear them a new one, especially if I earned that money myself.

Canine Gallows wrote:
This topic has almost put me off selling things on Ebay...

Luckily I've never had this happen to me but then again I've only sold 4 Xbox360 games for £10 each and the description of each game was really in depth: I explained the single player and how the game played and I also mentioned the multiplayer.

I want to start selling terrain on Ebay but it'll only be cheap so I'm not really worried about being scammed out of £7 or so...

Amazon on the other hand, blimey, the first time I bought something off Amazon I was ripped off! I bought a gas mask for photography and I waited a week or so and I had not had the product. It turns out that they were still listing the product even though it was not in stock so I had a refund.

Thing is, I'm not as worried about the products to a degree but the moment someone messes with my money I'll gladly tear them a new one, especially if I earned that money myself.

Shoot me a PM if you're planning to sell terrain, I've been looking to buy some decent ones.

Ebay has become an absolute joke as of late, I cannot leave bad feedback at all for buyers and I get bad feedback without even being consulted, yet other companies simply have bad and neutral feedback removed.
Im coming to the point where I have a decent earner, but I cannot be bothered, the human race lets me down yet again !!

Aye eBay seems to only function these days as a giant mall full of stalls, it seems many private sellers have stopped bothering with it due to issues, fees etc.

I still use it as its the best way to get to a global audience, even if eBay now charges for that privilege.

The main thing I have always done due to an issue I had five years ago is always insist on signed for internationally and recorded in the UK, and I insure anything of a value that the automatic postage insurance doesn't cover.

*touch wood* I've not had an issue since doing this, and even if some pulls the damaged, never arrived scam, the insurance will allow me to at least recover some of my funds.

Yea I agree although, I have had compensation from Royal mail for lost International Items, by getting a proof of postage, this can be a bit of a pain when posting so much stuff, but it has to be done.
Its the fact that I cannot leave bad feedback for buyers that really gets to me, I have had buyers give me the run around several times now, claiming stuff was not as described when it definitely was, a few claiming it was lost in post, these are the ones I give the benefit of the doubt too although it does happen to much to be a co incidence in my opinion.
I also have many bidders blocked due to constant spamming for discounts and I have even had bad feedback at a later date for people at the same addresses as q blocked bidder, who had bought something from me only so they could leave bad feedback lol, luckily ebay sided with me here and I managed to get this removed.
Anyway I will keep going for the meanwhile, i need to keep up a side income to cope with my plastic habit, and I am not stupid, I have a certain percentage that I can write off as lost or damaged goods, I just felt a need to vent a bit !!

Ok, speaking as a foreign buyer and seller (non-US or UK), I've been using Ebay for 15 years now, and even though it has become more and more annoying of late, it's still the best way to buy and sell hobby stuff, especially since GW started the whole "overseas embargo" thing.

Between Bartertown and Warseer, I was scammed way more times on trade forums than on Ebay. I´ve only had 2 lost packages in over 200 transactions on ebay, and those were years ago. On the forums I lost 5 packages in less than 50 transactions, and usually since I am shipping from Argentina or Brazil, I sent first, only to never see the items again OR the stuff I was promissed. That's why I simply stopped using them.

As someone living in china, I'd highly doubt they are trying to scam you.

Most people have little interest in the hobby, or any miniature gaming for that matter. Furthermore it is too expensive for most.
The people who can afford it are often very brand conscious and like to keep a face of wealth - so will not want 2nd hand things, especially after a foreigner.

As for the post here, I will say I would never buy real GW things through the mail, they are just too valuable! Theres no quality control in the post service, the boxes will get battered horribly. This is one of several reasons why buying counterfeit warhammer in China is just so much more attractive. (That and the huge price difference of course).

I have had some friends with some horror stories from ebay,

one of the worst ones was when one was eelling some hi tech computor equipment on ebay ( dont ask me why) the buyer opened a case for no recipt of items.

My friend had proof from Royal Mail that the person had signed and recived the items however they stated that this was not enough evidence and ruled in favour of the buyer! WTF


also before they changed thow whole negative nurtal feedback thing, i left posstive feedback for someone when buying off them, but stated could have been quicker on the postage ( it took them 4 weeks to post, franking marks do have date stamps you know!) They gave be negative feedback saying that they couldnt help the speed of royal mail seriously.

on the whole though im fine with ebay, you just need to take due dilligance, never ever ever send without payment, always send tracked where possible. Pack things carefully, and approiatly for the item.

i normally state how i pack things in the listing, and if its models im selling state that due to poastage things like arms etc can fall post.

i think its mostly a case of taking propper care of what you are doing,

I took to sending almost everything recorded. That costs a bomb when you go overseas but it's the only way to cover yourself. As is right I pass this cost onto the buyer but people are put off bidding because they don't want to pay high postage. Buyers complain about high postage afterwards even when it's stated up front on the auction. If I offer the choice of paying for recorded postage they usually pay cheap postage and then if it goes missing they expect me to cover the value from my own pocket. The seller takes all the risk.

So why should I ever offer them the choice? I always send recorded when selling miniatures. If you're not prepared to pay for the recorded delivery you're probably not a serious buyer anyway.

 Breotan wrote:
Okay, here's the situation. I recently hit an issue on eBay where a person bought some 40k figures I had put up for sale. I'm in the US and the buyer is in Europe. I went ahead and shipped to him and he said he received the items but that they were so damaged in shipping that they were unusable. He finished by asking for a refund. I told the buyer to return the items and I would replace them (fortunately I do have extra models to do this) but it really got me wondering...

How common is this situation for you guys who sell to people outside your own country? Is this just some sort of "technique" people use to scam a "free" toy from someone? Or is this actually a rare occurrence? Are there certain parts of the globe where stuff like this is more commonplace? I've never seen it within the US or from the UK or Canada and would expect it to be rare for others within their own country as well because it's so easy to verify when a package can be returned cheaply.

I sold my first army on Ebay and it got scammed from me. Basically what happened is I shipped the package, the person received it and opened a claim that it wasn't as described. I tried to dispute the claim, lost, got nothing back due to invalid tracking number. Great times.

Just be aware whenever something is sent on Ebay you have the potential of getting an empty box back and paypal gives them your money.

 Howard A Treesong wrote:
I took to sending almost everything recorded. That costs a bomb when you go overseas but it's the only way to cover yourself. As is right I pass this cost onto the buyer but people are put off bidding because they don't want to pay high postage. Buyers complain about high postage afterwards even when it's stated up front on the auction. If I offer the choice of paying for recorded postage they usually pay cheap postage and then if it goes missing they expect me to cover the value from my own pocket. The seller takes all the risk.

So why should I ever offer them the choice? I always send recorded when selling miniatures. If you're not prepared to pay for the recorded delivery you're probably not a serious buyer anyway.

i agree, also i hate when people complain afterwards because the postage cost was less than the P&P cost.

If ii slung something in brown paper and posted it fair enought but i packeage everything OTT to ensure that nothing gets damaged by some hap hazard delivery guy. seriously i post something for say £5 and charge say £6 for postage and its clearly bubble wrapped, in a propper packaging box, and then inside there i have some space filler to ensure that the bubble wrapped items doesnt move in any direction and i get complained at! it cost me more than £1 on the packaging