I had come across an auction for a Drag Strip MO-resealed-C that was quite interesting to me. I then noticed he had the other 3 cars all MO-resealed-C. I contacted the seller for more information, and he cut me a great deal for all 4. It was by no means cheap, but a great deal nonetheless. It was settled outside of eBay, and they came in no time, and looked amazing.
I kept talking to this guy, a lot through email. About 2 weeks after I had them, he started to express that he should not have sold them. That he was planning on giving them to his kids. Sounded fishy as fuck, but I was willing to trade for something comparable since I knew of their value and rarity.
We agreed to trade even. He was to send me his Trypticon and Scorponok MIB complete, and I was to send him my MOSC Stunticons. That's right, MOSC. They were NOT resealed. I had them checked, that's why I'm sure he wanted them back. But whatever, I couldn't care less at this point because I was geting two figures that I really love.
He then sent me the delivery confirmation number. Once I saw can checked that, I boxed his figures up and off they went.
1 week passes....
I check the number every day and then it says "Undeliverable." Now, I had just moved so I figured it went to my old address. I went to the post office and they had no record of a package being mailed to either my new or old address. I then wanted to confirm a theory I had. I know additional ways you can track a package that I'm not going to share here, but suffice it to say, it worked. They brought out a box no bigger than a grapefruit, that was empty, and addressed to an address that didn't exist in Aberdeen. It was like mine, only slightly different, and it was sent from an address that wasn't his, but it had the delivery confirmation number on it.
So, I could go on about how I fucked around with him for about a week while some legal matters went into effect, but let's cut to the end shall we? He ended up refunding me what I had originally paid for the Stunticons.
So I got my money back, but I was out an amazing set that pretty much ruined my appetite for collecting at all. Maybe I'll pick up again soon, but I'm still feeling a bit burned by this situation. I haven't bought a G1 figure since.
So, if you think you can trust anyone outside of an ebay auction, let this aid your conscience. He even said in his auction he is willing to deal if you contact him, which is a direct violation of eBay policy.
And now I know why.
Bill,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear of your troubles, sounds like a bad situation and a bad seller. Mind posting any contact info so others know to stay away from this individual?
I know you've been through a lot of nonsense, but at least you got your money back, so you are really only out the effort. Don't let one bad individual discourage you. We've all had a deal go south myself included. I purchased an AFA 80 Scourge some time back from someone who is usually a pretty reputable seller, but has been known to screw people over in the past. When the Scourge arrived the bubble had cracked and the toy had fallen off the card basically rendering it worthless. The seller told me it was in good condition when it left him, but there is no way for me to know whether it was or not. Either way I was out a lot of money. But that is the nature of collecting. Sometimes you hit an awesome deal, sometimes you get screwed. I encourage you to continue your collecting despite your troubles, I think you'll find it is more rewarding in the end. You have set this goal for yourself and you should follow through. And yes, there is a possibility of getting a bad deal once again but that is part of the risk/reward that is inherent to collecting. How do you think all the people who bought the Botcon 2007 set as an investment feel? It is a roll of the dice and all I can say is your experience will only make you stronger. Good luck with your collecting and I will continue to check the site periodically to see what new items have come along :-)
Indeed. 3 years ago I purchased on ebay a complete set of MIB Japanese Predacons for a very good price. They are my most wanted of figures and everyday I wanted to attack the postman and demand my figures!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately they never arrived and I never heard back from the seller. I had to go through a Paypal claim and it took months to get my money back. To say I was upset was an understatement.
I went through a phase of not wanting to collect anymore, but it lasted only a week. What got me through it was reconnecting with why I love our hobby. I re-read the old G2 stories, and dragged out my old Dreamwave issues and before I knew it I was back on ebay ordering a gorgeous MIB Ultra Magnus!
Don't let it get you down.
Sean
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete