The Energon Pub

so i know im not the only person to have this happen so please use my post to vent or share youre experiences.

i bought a figure on ebay, and if anyone has seen my posts about replacement mislles, this is the same scenario. but ill shorten the story.

listed as a complete figure, it arrived missing pieces. contacted seller and got the run around. had ebay handle the refund.

my complaint is the slack and attitude i got from the seller when i asked for the refund after he could not find the missing parts.

there are some deails im omitting for the sellers privacy, but damn does it piss me off that he thought i should accept a partial refund and be the one to also pay the return shipping.

Yep, stuff like that does happen sadly. I've been pretty lucky, every figure I've purchased has been complete and mostly as described.

The only exceptions are the occasional figures I'll buy that claim to be MISB (Mint In Sealed Box) and claim to be never opened, but when I open them I see the original tape has been covered with new tape and the twist-ties are loose/sloppy, which is a clear indication that they were put back into place by hand, meaning the figure had been removed from its packaging previously.

That being said, I am far from picky, as I open all of my figures, play with them a bit and display them out of the packaging, so as long as the figure looks good (no broken parts/missing parts/chipped paint/scraches etc.) then I'm OK with it and I don't complain, but for MISB collectors, I wouldn't hold it against them at all for wanting a refund since they are not getting what they paid for nor what they expected/desired.

its common, sadly alot of TF sellers/collectors are douchebags

im not saying all of them but alot of them basically screw you over. Ive been screwed over twice by some somebags from Liverpool (guess old saying is true) and been messed about on afew trades as well

Thankfully alot of people are decent honest people but when you have something bad happen to you then it just sickens you inside because really considering these people who are selling the things are ment to be adult...they should know a damn sight better

try not to let it get to you to much especially if you got your money back as its HIM who well get the neg feedback or ebay strikes etc

really those sellers should look at is how would they feel getting con'd on an item.

most people who just sell off their kids toys and see us as kids ourselves, but hey, its what makes us happy.

i used the refund to buy another figure froma different seller. i figure as long as ebay has consumer rights and protection, i dont have to worry.

I've used eBay for years and I'd estimate that I've gotten at least 400 figures total using the website. Out of all those figures, I think I've had a total of 3 or 4 bad experiences.

So yea, the vast majority of sellers on eBay are actually honest, good people. However, there will ALWAYS be a couple of douches who screw you over. But that's in pretty much every walk of life.

The bad experiences I can remember is having a guy sell me a TM2 Megatron claiming that it was complete, yet it was missing all of its neck scales. Another guy sold me a "mint" Powermaster Prime that was yellowed and had rusted screws. Had one guy take 3 weeks to ship an item out to me, and someone else sold me an Energon Ravage only to have Energon Perceptor come in the mail.

But there have been really good experiences as well. I had some dude sell me a TM2 Jawbreaker that was supposedly mint. When I opened the package, it looked like it had been through hell. Paint chips, flaking chrome. You name it. I told the seller about it and he immediately refunded my money. That's just one of a few bad deals that were worked out easily.

Like I said, though, the majority of transactions are smooth as silk. But I'll knock on wood since I have 2 very expensive packages coming in the mail this week!

I've had one figure (MOTU) show up broken and on another occasion i bought some guns for Grandslam to complete my Slamdance that never showed up. I wrote back to both sellers but with no reply. I just took it as a lump on the chin and sucked it up.

I have ZERO patience dealing with legistics in such matters. Such as filing complaints and the such with Ebay and sending out messages to the seller. As a buyer my hands are tied.....it's tantamount to calling up your bank and getting and automated teller...i lose it! I need to be face to face with flesh and blood to deal with matters like that.

In regards to my experiences i chalked it up to the fact that i took a gamble and i lost. It's not worth the headache to me.

In such cases though, i leave a scathing feedback in recompense.

...and feedback is the way I check up on sellers. I buy nothing form people with less than 97% feedback and no recent negative reactions (about 6 months).

I have found that most of my more unpleasant situations come from big sellers who seemingly make a living off of selling toys. Seems like they become detached as to how they would want to be treated and it becomes less personable.

my BIGGEST complaint is the common occurrence when something does go wrong and the thing most forgotten is a simple "IM SORRY"! people, common courtesy and politeness can go a loooong way when it comes to understanding.

jordie5150 wrote:there are some deails im omitting for the sellers privacy, but damn does it piss me off that he thought i should accept a partial refund and be the one to also pay the return shipping.

Unfortunately, you encounter folks like this in the world. It is sadly unsurprising that eBay is unexceptional in this regard. As an eBay buyer, the vast majority of my experiences have been positive. There have been a few that were not; and they vary in degree. On the mild end of the spectrum, you have items whose condition has been described a little bit generously. Toward the other end of the spectrum, you have sellers that simply lie about their wares.

And when they lie, they tend to be quite brazen. When confronted with the disparity between what they described and what they delivered to you, you may be called an ignorant fool (or similar) for not taking their description with a grain of salt. (Yes, that happened.) Or you might be chastised for not noticing details in a postage stamp-sized photograph, despite the fact that the provided description is wayyy off the mark. (That, too.)

As someone who also occasionally sells on eBay, I can't understand why people behave this way. Stellar eBay ratings aren't exactly easy to come by; and a scathing review can really do damage. Personal integrity aside, I view my rating as more important than any one sale. I'd rather take a loss on a sale that have a buyer feel like they didn't get what I advertised. (Obviously, describing things honestly in the first place significantly reduces the likelihood of a buyer feeling that way.)

All of the problems I've had have come from small time sellers, not the bit time high rated sellers who do this for a living. Every time I order from someone who is a top ranked seller, the experience is awesome. The pictures and description are very accurate, the packaging is professional, and (most importantly) the package is shipped immediately. As someone who ALWAYS pays immediately, I like for the package to also be sent in a timely manner, and top ranked sellers never disappoint in this area.

Like I said, all of my "bad" experiences have come from sellers/collectors who aren't professional sellers. I remember I once won a 100% complete Beast Wars Tripredicus for like 10 bucks. The seller sat on the item for an entire week until he finally told me he "couldn't find it". Two days later, it was relisted. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that I won the item for cheap and the seller was pissed and just decided to refund my money and try his hand at the auction again. Luckily, I found a Tripredicus a week later for 20 dollars, but I was still REALLY pissed about that auction.

Since then, every time I win a figure for a very cheap price, I'm always paranoid that the seller will pull a stunt like that again...

id like to thank everyone who has participate thus far and urge you to share this thread ith any friends whom have had these issues before.

to buyers/collectors, dont lose hope in your searches on ebay and amazon for those hard to find figures. remember that those sites offer help with our satisfaction when required.

to the honest sellers, thank you for your integrity.

for those who have burned people, just remember someday you maybe on the end of the urge to leave negative feed back.

we all have those impulses to leap at a good buy, and sometimes no matter how well the reviews of a seller are, we may still get burned. theres always ways to fix it.

good luck and happy hunting.

I haven't really had any bad experiences on ebay... with Transformers anyway. But I will also admit I've only bought about two dozen or so items on there, so my experience is limited compared to most.

My only bad experience on that site was several years ago when I bought a season of an anime. I received a bootleg instead of the legit thing. Left a negative feedback and moved on. The DVD's worked and had been fairly cheap so it wasn't worth paying the shipping to send it back.

Everything else has been pretty smooth.

Right now is what I call a "dry" period. There is nothing in the stores that will entice me, I've already got them. In these times I catch up on older TFs. I just shopped victoriously and received a G1 Bruticus…"complete" out of box…I didn't want a box, but I would have liked a ramp and Blast-offs guns. I contacted the seller, and apparently it didn't come with that…even though I am staring at it in the instructions. I'm not too upset considering the price I paid, but complete does have a definition. I have sold TF's on Ebay and been contacted that I forgot to ship something…and I send it. EXAMPLE: Universe Devastator, I shipped everything except a smoke stack piece. Buyer contacted me…I found it and sent…simple mistake, no harm done.

One thing I will say, any time a seller says "…don't know much about…Look closely at (out of focus) photo", I run away screaming.
On that same note, I have bought some absolutely beautiful items on Ebay

Its a bit like that of Forrest Gump syndrome. The box of chocolates you receive but never know just what it is you will get.

Of all my TF purchases, I got burned a bit on a loose Wheeljack (G1) The ebay seller was lucky a didn't wake up on the wrong side of the bed.

G1 WJ, loose, no accessories.It was a certified genuine item. Got it for US$ 35.00++. The pics looked legit and he had a 100% feedback. But he failed to take a picture of WJs right side fender. The paint was chipped off! A small chip but that was omitted from the description. Overall the fig was above very good and almost near mint but the paint chip could have knocked off a few bucks off the price.

I didn't return it but politely reminded him to be more "accurate" and "honest" when describing his wares (what the heck, I threw him a bone and gave him a perfect score)

Being Canadian, with most of the eBay sellers coming from the states, I tend to haunt BBTS's vintage items waiting for figures that I want. In the end I know that I'm getting something that's been checked, is 98% of the time in the condition it's listed in, and with my Pile of Loot I save a huge amount in shipping charges. Granted I have to pay some of it in the form of tariffs when I do get the package but I ran the numbers once and they have literally saved me over 1,000 dollars over the last 5 years. Not too shabby really.

I turn to eBay when there are things that I cannot get easily at BBTS such as Botcon exclusives, the odd accessory or Transformers custom figures. I'm pleased to say I've yet to have been burned by a seller - at least to my knowledge. I think I may have overpaid or have been shill-bidded once or twice but most of the time I have a hard limit and I won't break it.

I always extend my sympathies to those who've seen the bad side of human beings by buying and selling online, but there are ways to protect yourself too so one would hope that those who are burned aren't burned again.

I agree with the above, on certain items I also haunt BBTS vintage section because I just don't want to trust Ebay with them. And have faith in BBTS to check items over and describe them properly.

As for Ebay directly, I have bought must be a dozen or more figures since I started collecting.

The worst one I got was a G1 Superion. The description and pictures were what I what expect for an old toy, supposed to be in good shape but not perfect. And I won for fairly cheap. So I was pleased.

And then it arrived, and I found out it was loose as possible, a couple of the jets must have been stepped on at some point, they had stress marks on the tail fins. And Silverbolt had one leg re-attached to his body with an old wood screw. I found that out when I was trying to transform them all checking them over.

I wasn't as familiar with Ebay then as I am now. I just let it go and grabbed another Silverbolt cheap to fix it up. And since I won it cheap enough I didn't think more of it. But, looking back I would still keep it. But I should have hit him in the feedback in case he tried it with other people.

I've been brunt before on a MOSC universe Ironhide. It was not not sealed and was resealed... talked to him and he insists its sealed.. i just left a bad feedback.
I've also been bid up on a RTS Grapple by the seller(Paid $50 for it), but that was my fault cause it was Friday and I had a few drinks and I just kept bidding on my phone... (not a good idea) but the worst part is he never included the box that the auction is suppose to come with..

Finally on the other side. I've sold some figures that I no longer want and described it the best I can. I sold a Revenge of the Fallen movie Hoist (two pack with mixmaster in G1 colors) it was in mint condition but lose. buyer complained that they cant transform it and that pieces break off.... I kindly explained to buyer its a balljoint and can be snapped back on and linked them to a youtube review to explain transformation.
Ebay can be a hassle..

I just recently had my first mishap concerning eBay and Transformers.
I bought a Cybertron Supreme Class Starscream. As per description, it came without the Cyberkeys.
Fair enough, but it also came without the missile / projectile for his arm-mounted launcher.
And he suffers from a slight case of discoloration.

But then, I only paid 10 Euros for him, so I didn't fuss...