So, yesterday I shared why I stopped selling things on eBay… and today I’m going to tell you why I no longer plan to purchase things on eBay.
Despite the issues I had as an eBay DVD reseller… I still thought eBay was a wonderful place to find a deal if you are looking for a specific items, know what that item is actually worth… and you’re patient.
So, last October when Grayson wrote Santa asking for the Star Wars Millennium Falcon for Christmas, being the good Santa I am, I set off on a quest to get it for him.
First, I discovered that the MF which is combatable with action figures hadn’t been reissued since 1995… and on Amazon, the ‘Star Wars Power of the Force Electronic Millennium Falcon’ featuring 4 authentic Star Wars sound effect buttons was retailing (new sealed in box) for $165.00… which was way too expensive… especially since our budget for Grayson was only $150.00. So, instead of throw in the towel I started monitoring eBay.
It didn’t take long to realize that we were going to get a much better deal there. There were lots of options and the pricings were quite clear: ‘New, Sealed in Box’ seemed to be going for $100 to $130, ‘Used, Good Condition’ was going for $50 to $75, and ‘Used, Missing Pieces’ was going for around $35.00.
Now, I wasn’t opposed to getting Grayson a ‘Used, Good Condition’ toy… but since Serena and I intended the MF to be his big Santa gift this past year we opted to focus on the ‘New, Sealed in Box’ auctions for a while, in hopes to grab one at the low end of the price range.
And well… we did. I found a 3-day auction featuring a ‘Brand New’ Star Wars Power of the Force Electronic Millennium Falcon. The seller, Quijbe, clearly stated in his auction that the item had been in his attic, sealed in the box, since purchasing it over ten years ago… and that he had only just opened it to make sure the electronics still worked for the purpose of the auction. Again, he claimed the items had never been used and was in mint condition with working sound effects.
When it looked like the auction might end up in our price range I even emailed Quijbe, letting him know that I’m serving overseas and asked if he would be willing to ship to an APO address. Quijbe quickly replied saying he would.
So… I bid on the item and won it for $103.00 (including shipping).
Now, keep in mind, I purchased this item while in Islamabad… and I had it shipped to Belgrade. So, I wasn’t able to inspect the contents of the box until Christmas Eve, two months later.
I was heartbroken… and angry… I had been ripped off.
Now… the item in question was in fact a genuine Star Wars Power of the Force Electronic Millennium Falcon… however, it was far from ‘Brand New’… and judging by the amount of dust that was inside the box, the idea of it being ‘sealed’ while stored in Quijbe’s attic for the last ten years is highly unlikely.
The most telling sign of the items age were the decals that had already been adhered to the toy. I don’t know about you… but if I’m going to open a 10+ year old toy just to check to see if the electronics are still working so I can auction it off… I’m probably not going to adhere the decals. Furthermore, about a third of the stickers were dried out and peeling off due to age… another sign that things weren’t as Quijbe claimed.
Beyond the stickers, I found that a number of the moving parts on the MF no longer worked properly due to wear. The retractable legs designed to support the weight of the toy could no longer do so… I had to superglue a number of other parts in place because they were so worn they no longer stayed attached.
And the biggest insult came when I tried to test the electronic sound effects. They didn’t work.
To say I was angry was an understatement. But, it was also Christmas Eve and I knew Grayson was going to love it anyway… and as I said before, I have no problem getting Grayson a used toy, but when I buy I used toy I expect to be charged accordingly. I was ripped off. And the seller, Quijbe, knew it… there was no way he couldn’t have known.
Serena made me promise not to contact the seller until after Christmas weekend… she didn’t want me having an email battle with some jerk over Christmas… and I agreed and waited until Monday.
By Monday, I had a much cooler head and I wrote an email to Quijbe that I felt was clear, regarding my disappointment, while maintain a somewhat friendly tone. You attract more flies with honey, right?
Anyway, I outlined the misinformation in his auction listing, compared the item to more appropriate ‘Used, Good Condition’ auctions, and requested a $50 refund… without really having any expectations of getting one.
Well… as you can probably guess, Quijbe never returned my emails. He didn’t need to respond. You see, eBay limits the amount of time a buyer has, from the start of a transaction, to leave feedback for a seller. Since two months passed from the time I purchased the item to the time I actually inspected it… I could no longer leave feedback regarding my involvement with the sale.
So… as far as this transaction goes… I’m the one who can go jump in a lake.
That said, you might have noticed that I’ve been using Quijbe’s eBay user name quite a bit in the post. Well… here is the deal. At some point Quijbe’s vanity is going to take over and he’ll probably Google himself… and I want this post to be his number one search result. And the same goes for anyone doing a background check on him.
Quijbe, if you’re reading this, I’d like to invite you to read some of my other posts… in doing so, you’ll see that I’m not the kind of guy who flames people publically for no reason… you’re just going to find a guy who loves his family and tries his best to see the best in people, even when it’s hard. I’m sure you’re a nice enough guy in real life, but for some reason, cloaked in the anonymity of the internet you thought it was okay to rip me off. That’s not cool man. Not cool at all.
At the very least an apology is in order… and I wouldn’t turn down 50 bucks either.
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