Save us from some eBay sellers. Saw a comic, described as VF+, which I needed to fill a gap in one of my collections, and bought it for a paltry sum. I could see from the photo that it matched the description, but the seller despatched it in a thin 'padded' envelope with no cardboard backing - result? A bent and crumpled comic that had been reduced from its 30-year-old VF+ condition to a far lesser category.
This is surely incompetence. How someone can send a single comic in a thin envelope and expect it to arrive in an undamaged state is simply beyond comprehension. Writing 'Please Handle With Care! Please Do Not Bend!' is not what I'd consider adequate steps to properly protect fragile contents. Packages of this sort travel in sacks with all sorts and sizes of other mail sitting atop them, so the chances of surviving the rigours of transport undamaged are slim to non-existent.
Was the seller annoyed that my winning bid (out of two) was a mere £1.89 (plus £1.50 p&p) and decided to extract a spiteful revenge? (After all, at such a low price, it's hardly worth the bother of returning the item for a refund.) Or is it simply that he's a numpty without a clue, and shouldn't be trading on eBay? What think the rest of you?
And if any of you Crivvies have similar tales of such stupidity, vent your frustrated feelings in the comments section. You'll feel much better for getting it off your chest.
12 comments:
Yup been there. Won Dave Gibbons Watching the Watchmen for 1p + £4.99 postage. Arrived in a normal large envelope. At the very least I would have expected a padded one for that kind of book.
In what way did the inadequate wrapping affect the book's condition, CB?
Sounds like it was someone that just thought its just a comic what can happen to it in the post. I had a really bad experience with eBay years ago (probably my second use of it) and have never been back (really grinds my gears the way folk say the "won" something on eBay, they bought it lol).
Some sellers are excellent, PM, and realize there's little point in sending a top-condition comic in such a way that it reaches the buyer in a worse state than it started. I get your point about folk saying they 'won' something on eBay, but it's just a shorthand way of saying that they submitted the 'winning' bid. Of course they bought it, but they had to bid in order to buy. (Unless it's a 'buy it now' item of course.) You can get some great buys on eBay. (And get ripped-off as well, if you're not careful. I think I've come out ahead overall.)
Aaaahhh I didn't realise that it was shorthand for submitting a "winning bid" duh! makes sense
My seller not only didn't send me the items I had bought, he also refused to reply to my emails asking him for his address to send money to him and then complained to eBay that I took so long to contact him (despite me having the emails that I sent to Ebay t - 2 weeks it took him to send me his full address). I reckon the reason for this was that he was selling over 20 "Archies" from the early/mid 1960s all for £3 they were/are worth more than that and they were soon back on eBay at individual prices over £5 each - Im still bitter 7 years later :(
I take it you were paying by cheque or postal order, PM, if you wanted the seller's address. Far easier to do it through PayPal. I once 'won' 2 Marx Rolykin Daleks for around £13, but they never arrived. The seller gave me a receipt number to check with the post office that they'd been sent, but it turned out to be duff. He hummed and hawed and kept me waiting, so I took out a case against him and eBay refunded my money. Doubtless he was irked at the low price and decided to keep the Daleks to try again at a later date.
I once bought a board game, quite a rare one, it was is in mint condition with the cellophane wrap on the cards. It was well packaged, but it was uninsured, so the Post Office deliberately bent the box in half. They did exactly the same to a similar uninsured package a little latter. Both packages were very robust, as you might image the game box came in heavy card and the board itself heavy duty pulp board. The second package had boron reinforced rods running though it, it was so strong, I think it would take two people to cause the damage it arrived with.
I'm not the only person who's had this kind of experience, if the guy is an experienced e-bay seller he's probably aware of the problem. Most of the comics I've bought from e-bay have arrived with some kind of reinforcement because the weight of the comics take 'em into the higher post cost but if it's just one, he could probably get it under the weight. Personally I would never use the post office if there is an alternative available.
I once received a Wind In The Willows board game, which was merely wrapped in brown paper. Surprisingly, there wasn't even one dunted corner. However, another time, I received a single record, backed by two thick pieces of cardboard inside a record-mailing cardboard envelope. One corner of the package (and the record cover inside) was seriously bent, as if someone had deliberately skited it off a wall. I was beelin'! Sensible sellers of comics and Annuals usually use cardboard mailing envelopes that protect the item perfectly.
I must admit that my first few despatches on eBay quickly led to adverse comments on my envelopes. I learnt from the feedback and stepped up to card backed envelopes with comics bagged and wedged between backing boards on both sides. Much better and a lot of returning customers. Pity that some persist with poor lazy service.
I think I've only bought one item from you, Chris, but it arrived in the condition you sent it so was obviously wrapped in a proper fashion. (Managed to get a dust-jacket for that book by the way.)
The Watching the Watchmen book was only slightly damaged, but I was narked as when I sell a book on ebay, I wrap it damn well. One buyer once described it as bulletproof in the feedback. Thanks for clarifying the use of "won" though these days there seem to be less auctions and more "buy it now" items.
I'm not convinced that being bulletproof puts something beyond the ability of the 'Royal Mail' to damage, CB, but top marks for being a conscientious seller. If only more eBay sellers followed your example.
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