How's this for a messed up customer? A bit long.
 

Been selling the rest of my film camera equipment and parts on EBay. Running low so I decided to start selling my record albums while there's still a demand. Sold two Beatles albums to some guy. While on vacation he texts me wanting The White Album I have listed for $35 plus shipping for $20 shipping included. Claims it's in rough shape. Don't know where he got that from. I tell him I'll be in touch when I get back, poor wi-fi. Meanwhile I get another text from another buyer who bought two albums and wants me to hold off shipping so he can bid on the White Album. I tell this to the other guy and he goes nuts. Too bad. So two weeks after he recived the albums he messages me telling me Abby Road is defective and wants a refund. I say fine send it back and I'll refund you. No, he wants to keep the album and get a refund. I say no, that's not how it works. He's been messaging me daily. But here's the best part. Read this message and tell me what state of mind this guy is in. By the way, he now claims that he sent the album back with the same label and tracking that I sent him. Does not work that way:

Man you go on and dig too much the tracking number is still used the mailman told me on the way back to you you’re overdoing it over pennies and eBay will also say contact your seller if he agrees on just refunding $ you. another words it was up to you to be courteous and take care of the problem without digging and going longer and longer and over everything when it was explained to you many times over and Why ?? So just go ahead and refund it with no worries Especially after all this time and emails explaining and not to be more of a waste of my time here.



eBay has no problem with the seller taking care of the refund with a good enough reason to move on and save time specially with all the time and explaining that the item is defective unplayable it’s bad all said to you several times already Ok this email is definitely final you don’t have to email back I’ll just check for the refund and you Need read all my emails again so you can understand it
More clearly. ? All in all you just to speed up and resolve this now. Definitely final.

Wow. I do not have the patience for ebay or any of that crap. It saddens me how stupid people are.

I'd have to see your auction to give a complete answer but in the meantime that person hasn't a clue how to compose a message.

Poor communications....red red red flag always for me......run Forrest run......

Gaussian curve. This guy is one of those double digit IQ’s that doesn’t know how to scam properly.

First mistake was selling on eBay. That ended 10 years ago. Face to face or donate.

You are going to lose, even if you are right and you end up 'winning.'

Sell those records local and be done with it and look in the rear view about when you wasted days of your life selling records on ebay.

Since the pandemic, more and more people seem to think it is OK to rip honest people off. Everything from porch pirates to flash mobs clearing out a store to trying to get a free album off of eBay. And I just think it’s going to get worse.

I know how people feel about ebay. The problem is much of the camera equipment i had/have is fairly unique are rare. I've tried local and even large sellers. I got easily two to three time as much through Ebay, even with the fees. Same thing with the albums. I checked around and the offers were much less than what I've been getting.
Don't think I'm going to lose here. I spoke with an Ebay rep. yesterday and asked them what they suggest I do. They went through all the messages, there are many more just like this one, they told me that there is nothing I am obligated to do if they don't return the album. I've been dealing on ebay for many years now and this is the first time I've had an issue like this.
My auction says these are old, very used albums, that I have not played in years. If there is an issue, I'll pay for return shipping and refund their purchase price.

Screw that guy

I sell a fair amount on Ebay, and I have always added "no returns or refunds" to my listings.

I have over 100 sales and have only had one guy be a problem. I ended up splitting the difference with him refunding half of the transaction. Refund him half and you are still probably ahead by not wasting any more time over a few bucks, and he goes away.

I think I would just take my old stuff to Goodwill and get a receipt (for the value I set for it) to take it off of my taxes...if I did not have a local buyer (someone I knew). Too much trouble otherwise. I have no patience for scammers.

Well then maybe to save your rep call his bluff, if that is what it is, and send him a return shipping credit. Not a label if you can work it that way. He will have to use the system to create the label and send it back. Chances are he won't, but if he does you are made 100%.

I guess what these people do is buy stuff, claim it's no good and they aren't paying to ship what they call defective, keep it to resell.

From an honest POV, if I bought something as critical as an LP and there was a noticeable scratch, I'd want my money back including shipping. I have no idea what condition the album was in. If it said "no returns" I'd pass.

To me the return feature and paying for return shipping in only for a change of mind. If there is something missing or defective that is not my fault for buying.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Flipping/comments/rjdonb/5_way_ebay_screws_over_sellers/?rdt=45459

The thread got archived aka memory-holed: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling-Q-A/Do-you-think-Ebay-screws-sellers/qaq-p/24062717
This thread is pretty close to your experience: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling-Q-A/EBay-Screws-Over-Another-Seller-On-A-Return-That-Was-Never/qaq-p/31780831?nobounce

Here is a fraud tutorial: How to Screw Top Sellers Over on eBay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4cva7oSgIc

My understanding is that Ebay tends to bias towards the customer in disputes.

Decades ago, a local cop friend told me that ebay is the nation's largest fencing operation. I've steered clear since.

If it was just a few dollars worth of stuff I would give it to charity, Goodwill, or what have you, but that's not the case. It's quite substantial. The photo equipment included names like Linhoff, Leica, Rollei, Nikon, Voightlander, etc. Not just cameras and lenses but hard to find items like Leica slide duplicator, bellows, Visoflex, lens adapters, and many camera replacement parts like focusing screens, diopters, replacement battery doors/holders that Goodwill or any other charity wouldn't know what to do with. Same with many of my albums. Many are imports, rare, and hard to find. I have sold over 500 items and have 100% feedback. I guess EBay is just like anything else, it is what you make it to be.

You've had good luck. I understand why you would want to continue. Some say to expect a certain % of loss due to these things. It's just part of the model. I think I would not waste any time on a deadbeat, scammer or any other troublesome buyer. They win once and then they go on your no bid sheet. You can somewhat figure out who has multiple accounts and you can search name changes.

Keep an eye out for it on eBay....maybe you can buy it back and ask for a full refund...

^best suggestion yet :D

Yeah. no kidding.
If they're selling something.. Buy it and RTS. Let the dirt bag eat the shipping.

Have you considered selling your records on discogs.com?

I would use my old albums as frisbees or skeet targets before I would deal with Ebay buyers .... but that's just me :D

I know a guy who would probably buyall your vinyl LP records

Thanks for starting this thread... I also have some unique and rare items I need to move along (Leica/Hasselblad).

I've been an eBay member since March 2000. Have both bought and sold. Feedback 100% with 1,771 ratings.

I can count on one hand the number of transactions that didn't go as smoothly as they should have.

I've bought 3 vehicles and 1 motorcycle on eBay - all 4 turned out fantastic...exceeding my expectations.

For those who say "No Thanks!" - that's OK.

But just wanted to share what my experience with eBay has been.

To this day......I still say it's the most "bang for your buck" sales platform available to the average person...whether buying or selling.

I will also say it's not for everyone. It does requite a modicum of acquired knowledge of how the system works. You have to do a little work. I enjoy that part myself - perhaps due to my background in sales and business in general. Who knows.....

When the times comes for me to start liquidating my collectibles......it's going to be eBay. Some stuff will be FBMP and/or CL dues to the weight/shipping factor.

As always....YMMV......

This and this for me as well...

The guy's stream-of-consciousness and bizarre writing style is painful to read... and he wants you to read all his emails again so you can better decide to do what he wants you to do? Hilarious.

I especially liked this little dysfunction:

The guy sounds like a nutjob. I would almost say that he sounds young due to his lack of communications skills, lack of punctuation, etc....

Sounds like a real PITA.

Thanks I'll have to check it out.

I have nothing but time on my hands and he is so bizarre that I had to look the guy up. He's @ 66 years old and lives in what looks like a housing project in Baltimore MD. Not a run down area, but small attached housing.

Tobra, how can I get in touch with "your guy"

I would copy/paste more of his messages but I don't want to bore ya.

Maybe even start with their app. Depending on the age of the record it may or may not have a bar code. If there is a bar code you scan it and link directly to the pressing you have. There will be sales data, current listings etc. Lots of info to help set your price. One thing to keep in mind though is a specialized market place is going to require proper packaging (lp mailers), sleeves, and removing the record from the outer jacket to prevent seem splits during shipping. The materials to do it right are inexpensive.

Thanks! I don't use apps on my phone, I do everything on my desktop. I'm looking at the website now. I think I'll have to register and log in to see how things work. I already have the proper packaging for shipping so that won't be an issue.

Ok! In that case you can still use the barcode number in the search field.

Well, started going through my albums and don't see any bar codes. Bought most of these in Spain in the 70s. But no big deal, they have a search feature which works pretty good. The thing about Ebay is that I can look up what the albums I'm selling have sold for and when. I guess I can use that feature to calculate my asking price.
Thanks again.

All of the sales info will be in discogs as well. If your records are Spanish pressings its worth finding that out as they may be more valuable than say a US pressing of the same album.

Back to selling on Ebay. It seems that the shipping and payments would be really painful. I wish there were local folks that would take things on consignment and sell them or buy stuff to resell on Ebay. I have a massive amount of relatively nice things (a 3000 sq ft houseful) that are probably fairly valuable to someone (antiques, collectables, etc.) that I need to get rid of...but just do not want to do it myself. It may end up at Goodwill or a dumpster.

Flintstone, depending on where you are, there are places that will sell your stuff on ebay for you and they keep a percentage. Now between the percentage that ebay charges and what these places charge, not sure what will be left, but if they're just going to end up in a dumpster it might be worth looking into. Should you decide to do it yourself, it's really not that bad. I get the majority of my shipping supplies for free from the USPS. You order what you think you'll need on line and they deliver it for free also. Shipping costs are up to you. You can offer free shipping or the buyer pays. Ebay calculates the shipping charge. You tell them on your listing the dimensions of the package and the weight and they give you all the options.

You may want to find folks that do "estate sales". There are folks that will come sell the contents of a home. If you've got a bunch of good stuff, but not everything, then they may be willing to do that as well. They get a commission. Many years ago, my wife had a relative pass away with a house full of crap. Her and a sister got some estate sale folks to take care of it. They got a surprising amount of money even after the estate sale folks took their cut. The estate sale folks keep a list of customers and will notify the customers "we're going to be selling a bunch of X, Y, and Z, and we know that you're often interested in X and Y."

At this point collectibles really needs to be quantified as well since its super cyclical. Most stuff out there isnt worth squat and or people just dont want things like china sets, porcelain figurines, silver sets etc anymore.

To the OP:
If you have any other albums to sell, here is my offer:
Just go ahead and ship them to me along with a full refund included with the shipment of the albums.
This way we can skip all the time wasted with me trying to scam you and you having to defend yourself. Also, I have included a pre-written apology letter for you to write in your review of how wonderful a buyer I am. :rolleyes: