EBay - Receiving damaged collectibles

CaptainSmiley · 11-06-2018, 10:23 AM

I'm sure we've all been there at least once, if not many times when purchasing collectibles second-hand from eBay, or anywhere else for that matter; whether it be statues, figures, transformers, etc - the item that you bought which was supposed to be MIB arrives damaged/broken.

If the damage is minimal, for instance a small piece of hair is broken off the statue portrait, you're able to find the piece and it is a clean break - do you just glue it back together yourself and don't bother saying anything to the seller, let alone opening any claim? For this question I'm assuming that the damage occurred during shipping and the seller isn't trying to get one past you.

Or do you contact the seller and get the claim ball rolling regardless of the severity of the damage? For small, clean breaks that I feel I can reattach without it being really noticeable/obvious that it was damaged and repaired, and where the structural integrity of the statue hasn't been particularly compromised, I usually just get out the zap a gap and deal with it without getting the seller/ebay/shipper involved. But if there are missing pieces, or the damage is major like the whole leg having broken off and slapping some glue on it just isn't viable, then I talk to the seller and we open a claim with the shipper.

How do you guys handle these kind of problems?

jeremydmc · 11-06-2018, 10:36 AM

I bought a Wonder Woman Gotham Garage AP on eBay that was MIB. It arrived and the motorcycle was in several pieces. I opened a claim with the seller and he offered a full refund if I smashed the statue and sent pictures. I negotiated a partial refund and fixed the statue myself. All the breaks were pretty clean and I didn't want to smash an AP. The paint applications and the Wonder Woman portion of the statue were in perfect shape. Just the motorcycle got banged around a bit.

ukshaun · 11-06-2018, 10:45 AM

I own 1/4 pieces by Sideshow, XM Studios, Gentle Giant, PCS, Weta, HMO, Electric Tiki, Yamato and the only ones to have arrived damaged (some not all) are by Gentle Giant. Gentle Giant should improve their packaging.

Examples:
The Walking Dead, Maggie Greene, arrived direct from GG with the hand snapped off. I fixed this myself. GG offered $80 refund.

Sucker Punch, Blondie, arrived with both arms snapped off, which resulted in fingers broken off. I fixed this myself. I contacted the ebay seller, and they failed to reply. There was no insurance cover. My repair worked out well, but that's not the point.

Honey Trap, Derby, arrived very broken. Foot snapped off, both legs snapped off, hair pony-tail snapped off. I was not happy. Lucky for me, on this occasion, the piece was covered by the ebay global shipping program. Was the Gentle Giant packing to blame? did the seller knowingly post a damaged piece? (it was sealed, new). Or was the ebay global shipping program at fault? - the reason being, the parcel took an age (3 weeks) to arrive, passed through many depots on its tracked journey. When the parcel did arrive, i discovered the Yodel delivery driver had left the parcel at the side of the house, the other side of our fence on a concrete floor. The only way the parcel could have ended up there is by the driver throwing the parcel over a 7fh high gate. Naturally i blamed the actions of the Yodel driver. On this occasion ebay refunded me. Again, that's not the point. It means another 1/4 pieces is written off.

Sideshow shipping is excellent. They use DHL. The item arrives US - UK within 2 to 3 days.

On the subject of the ebay globul shipping program, i refuse to buy anything listed using this shipping method. It's overprice, the item takes an age to arrive, and appears to be a bad concept, as it appears to involve the parcel being passed through many hands via depot to depot.

eternalblue02 · 11-06-2018, 12:45 PM

As a buyer if the damage is minimal and I can fix it, I fix it. Very rarely will I bring up the issue. If the damage rubs me the wrong way or it’s not fixable I’ll contact the seller and go from there.

As a seller if you buy from me and something gets minor damage I give partial refunds and will offer pointers on how to fix it. If it’s damaged where if this happened to me and I couldn’t accept the damage myself or the item is so broke beyond repair I just return the money and let the buyer keep the item.

Mind you I take out insurance and require pictures for any kind of compensation. Been doing this for 20 years and pride myself on my feedback and general kindness.

One Above All · 11-07-2018, 07:27 AM

When I was about to buy a Bowin Iron Man 2020 statue, the seller made me write a message saying I will not return the statue.

the Bowin Iron Man 2020 arrived with broken fingers.

**nbr3bagshotrow** · 11-07-2018, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by One Above All

When I was about to buy a Bowin Iron Man 2020 statue, the seller made me write a message saying I will not return the statue.

the Bowin Iron Man 2020 arrived with broken fingers.

Why in the world would you write that message?

Philintheblank · 11-07-2018, 04:56 PM

If there's damage then I'll bring it up with the seller. If I'm okay to keep the statue then I'll ask for a partial refund. If I'm not or we can't come to an agreement I'll start the return process.

Quote:

Originally Posted by One Above All

When I was about to buy a Bowin Iron Man 2020 statue, the seller made me write a message saying I will not return the statue.

the Bowin Iron Man 2020 arrived with broken fingers.

That's a red flag right there. I'm not sure that would matter, though...if you wanted to file a claim anyway. I probably wouldn't do that again, in any case.

ukshaun · 11-07-2018, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philintheblank

If there's damage then I'll bring it up with the seller. If I'm okay to keep the statue then I'll ask for a partial refund. If I'm not or we can't come to an agreement I'll start the return process.

That's a red flag right there. I'm not sure that would matter, though...if you wanted to file a claim anyway. I probably wouldn't do that again, in any case.

(slightly off topic) I once picked up a pair of NIKE's from the US via ebay. When they arrived i spotted they were fake's. Ebay CS wasn't interested, nor would they remove the seller's account. The seller agreed to refund me once the NIKE's had been returned. I had to fund the return shipping cost not to mention the original US-UK import charge, and the original US-UK shipping. It was form of blackmail. Ebay, it appears, couldn't careless if fake products are being sold.

Philintheblank · 11-08-2018, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ukshaun

(slightly off topic) I once picked up a pair of NIKE's from the US via ebay. When they arrived i spotted they were fake's. Ebay CS wasn't interested, nor would they remove the seller's account. The seller agreed to refund me once the NIKE's had been returned. I had to fund the return shipping cost not to mention the original US-UK import charge, and the original US-UK shipping. It was form of blackmail. Ebay, it appears, couldn't careless if fake products are being sold.

I think ebay gave up at some point. Bootlegs everywhere. That and they make money off a sale whether it's legit or not. That's a good point, though...I think damaged items are usually decided in the buyer's favor, but I'm not sure about bootlegs.

One Above All · 11-08-2018, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nbr3bagshotrow

Why in the world would you write that message?

I am sorry.

I did not know the statue would arrive broken.

I thought that everything would be ok with the deal