more ebay venting
ndws
Posts: 132 ✭✭
So I've had my second bout of Ebay crap again this month, and I figured I might vent and get some feedback from outside sources.
I have a very dear friend who has helped out family extensively, and as a way to say thanks I wanted to get him a gift to say thanks. we both collect, we hit shows together, swap, etc. So getting him a card would seem like an appropriate way to say thanks in this case. So I find a decent psa7 52 bowman small Marchetti on ebay, I buy it and it lands when I'm not home. I tell my wife to be on the lookout for a Marchetti card in the mail, and to wrap it up and send it on out....and she does. I never actually see the card other than the scan in the listing.
I later get a call from my buddy telling me thanks. I see that I've got positive feedback on Ebay for the transaction. life is good.
Well, fast forward a month later and the seller is after me, saying he's reported me to Ebay and Paypal as if I stole something from him. This guy, who left me positive feedback, apparently sent a 52 bowman LARGE instead of the small. Both cards are psa7. I explain the situation to the seller and that I will do what I can to get it back. He informs me that he would let Ebay know that I'm working on it....seemingly like a small threat of some nature, at least thats how it came across.
So I get ahold of my friend, explain the situation to him. He has already traded the card off in a seperate deal. He had a Marchetti, and used the card I gave him as part of a package for a larger card he had his eye on. Long story short, to get the card back from the who now has the card, he's wanting cash on top to undo that trade.
I don't want to drag it out, so I simply fork over the difference to get the ball rolling. I notify the Ebay guy I originally bought it from, And all he says is a long version of "thanks, I appreciate it, and I've let ebay know that you've fixed the situation".
Am I out of line in being pissed off that he waited a month (after giving positive feedback) that he decided to blow every whistle he could? Or that he didn't even offer to shoulder part of the "ransom fee" I had to pay to get the card back? Not that $75 is going to break me, but its just another piece of the puzzle that is really grinding my gears..
If any of you guys were in my shoes, would you have done anything differently? In hindsight, I kind of wish I had told him to take a hike a month after him leaving positive feedback, but I didn't.
Comments
Seems like you went over and above even helping the seller out so kudos for that. I don't believe the seller had any recourse over you in the transaction so you did that much for him on your own with nothing but his false threats. A seller had absolutely no ground to stand on with ebay nor paypal in this transaction. Sad for the seller in a case like that, but it is how ebay works and HE made the mistake.
I've had incorrect stuff sent before, and have always worked with the seller to get it corrected. Had I caught this, I would have done no different. I guess the thing that gets me is, the guy had already left positive feedback. I have no hidden agenda to screw him or anyone else over, so I didn't really appreciate his crappiness in making it sound like he was getting the DOJ to come after me. The guy has a good selection of cards listed at any time, and because I thought he was a good source going forward, I definitely wanted to stay in good standing with him so I spent money to correct something I could have just easily told him to shove off.
I guess part of me halfway expected him to offer up part of the cash to get the card back (although technically he wasn't obligated to), just based on good faith, because thats how I would have handled it in that scenario. I guess between his tone, and boasting about being a dealer for 30 years and taking a victim angle just rubbed me wrong. Win some, lose some I guess.
Eh, enough ranting on my part. At the end of the day, nothing is actually hurt. I'm out a few extra bucks and he's out half a dozen customers (or more) who combined do spend a few thousand a month on cards that could have potentially gone to him.
Am I the only one that thinks it's a little crappy of the buddy to trade away a gift from a friend? I know that really isn't the point of the story, it just seemed wrong to me.
Are you really suggesting that he should have just believed your word that you spent an extra $75 to get it back? I'm sure you weren't lying about the $75, but in the HIGHLY fraudulent world of eBay I'm sure that would be incredibly tough for any seller to believe.
Sellers are used to dealing with less than honorable buyers (returning different cards than purchased, returning cards that have lost value quickly, etc.....), so since his screw up was worth about $200 in your favor he was in a tough spot (yes, I know he created that tough spot).
He had no idea whether you are a good guy or not, and as a seller with eBay these days you have to prepare to be screwed. Truth be told, you were in the driver's seat, and he was grasping at straws to have even a slim chance to get you to do the right thing and help fix his mistake, so he may have felt like he needed to make you believe that there would be repercussions had you not gotten the card back to him.
I totally get that he initially sent the wrong card, but unless you weren't coming home for days and days just consider the $75 tuition for learning that you need to handle your own business and not involve a 3rd party (your wife in this case).
Final analysis....Let it go.
@ndws I would not really have done anything different after the initial problem. You handled it quite well, maybe better than most going above and beyond to get the card back for the seller. What I would have done differently happened at the beginning. I would not have let my wife handle shipping the item to someone else if I did not think she knew what it was that she was looking at and sending out. It's not her fault, she just sent out the card that came in the package. I'm sure my wife would have done the same thing.
Life lesson for $75 is cheap. I would let it go and move on, it's not worth worrying about.
Donato
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
On trading the card away, nah that doesn't bother me at all. I knew he was looking for that card and I didn't realize he already had picked one up. He used it in a trade to get something he was looking for, so at the end of the day, I was happy he was able to get what he wanted.
As for fraud, etc. I never asked him for money, and I never even mentioned what I coughed up to get the card back. I simply find it frustrating that after going to the lengths to cover his butt, he couldn't even acknowledge it or even inquire about it. As if he was entitled for me to just do whatever necessary to make things right in his world.
I misread the title of this thread and expected to see some eBay vending box photos.
easy and fun solution:
marchetti played for dallas.
next dallas game, take the spread into consideration and let him pick or just let him pick who scores first to keep it even simpler.
if he wins, send him difference.
if he loses, he writes it off.
mistakes happen and niether of ya'll, including your friend are apparently too attached to the card.
besides who's got time for all the messaging, phone calls or other bs it'd take to undo this clusterfark.
I agree to an extent, but positive feedback is positive feedback. Why would I think otherwise?
yeah, its a $75 lesson. Its just frustrating thats all. I just wanted to get some feedback since it was an odd deal.
Next Dallas game is KC, and I'm a KC homer. it would be tough betting on Dallas any other time as it is, but to bet against my team? Yikes.
However it probably would ensure a win for the good guys. lol
I would have stopped after I found out my friend already traded the card away. Especially after the way he went after you.
It crossed my mind, but I really didn't want to screw anybody over, or even think I had. Eh, I'm just waiting for the card to get returned to me. I have a mailing envelope to send it on to the actual buyer. So as soon as I get it back, its moving on, its not his fault. I actually have a couple sets the Marchetti would fit in, so I'll probably just keep it at this point and find a different way to make it up to my buddy now.
I guess its just this kind of stuff that makes you value the good guys all the more.
Very nice of you to fix the problem.
I once mixed up a couple of packages and one buyer returned the wrong item, the other got a better deal and wouldn't respond. I figured it was my fault for not watching what I was doing and let it go.
You did the right thing. The seller might have been kind of a richard, but you are the good guy!