Bloody ebay

[Nick Barrett]

Just my two cents.

Almost all of the old sets I have I bought on German eBay - due to absurd prices in Poland. And I never had a negative experience, although it is common that the sets often lack a few parts (for example 8480 was missing parts for submarine model). That's no problem for me, as I buy sets cheaply and then count the pieces and if I need, order parts from Bricklink. Also, some sets which were described as probably incomplete, were actually complete and even with a few of some other parts thrown in.

And guess what - both sets I bought on Bricklink, which were advertised as complete, in reality they weren't. Although 8485 was missing only that steering arm in the neck of Dinosaur, 8868 had almost no pneumatic hoses so I couldn't even build it until I bought some hoses for making wine or something, and additionally I waited for over a month for seller to send it to me.

So for me eBay > Bricklink, I prefer to buy relatively cheaply and expect set not to be complete and have nice surprises.

Well, let's hope I didn't jinx my luck for sharing that :)

That's definitely the right way to approach it. OP was maybe expecting a Rolls-Royce for Ford money...

[Grosse Kind]

Not quite nick. Was expecting a granada. Paid for a granada. The escort that arrived had no doorhandles.

[DrJB]

Hi 1974. Wasn't chasing a mint 853, as much as a complete one. I had bid with the high likelihood of it going out of my pricerange and got it. I've contacted the seller to discuss the situation and will not know anything till i hear back. I'm a play with'er, not a glass cabinet'er so was never chasing mint/pristine/perfect, but complete would be nice, even if just once, hahaha.

My set collection (classics), bar the one still in transit is now complete, and the other (8110 unimog. Not a classic yet but maybe someday) should leave for here tomorrow so no more evilbay anymore :)

Thanks for the suggestions Ole, re denmark. Shall keep it in mind.

It's very easy. If you can prove to eBay that what you received was not what the seller advertised, file a complaint and you'll get your money back. They'll even send you a free shipping label. End of story. As to what others are trying to tell you: No one has ever said/claimed that buying off ebay was safe nor guaranteed. It's a risk you're taking and learn from others mistakes. Complaining about eBay won't get you anywhere, though it may help you 'vent-out' a bit ... c'est la vie.

Not quite nick. Was expecting a granada. Paid for a granada. The escort that arrived had no doorhandles.

Escalate the case to eBay and get your money back. You do NOT have to keep the item if it has no handles.

[neoconagenda]

I have bought 16 SW UCS and an 8043 and have had exactly 8 missing parts from the various sets. Some sellers had zero feedback and others had over 1000 but its a risk every time... BTW my SSD new from TLG was missing the sticker sheet...

[Grosse Kind]

Evening neocon. Do you have a non acronymised version please? Unless its an 80's japanese sports-bike with SACS YPVS ATAC YDIS RFVC AETC KIPS or a myriad of other nightmareish economising of sticker vinyl to broadcast things i'm lost.

Edited March 8, 2015 by Grosse Kind

[Mikuri]

BTW my SSD new from TLG was missing the sticker sheet...

At least LEGO sends it when you report them the problem.

[bonox]

couple hundred ebay buys and 40 bricklink orders and i've had more problems with BL! Three issues with ebay, but all got solved by talking to the seller. The BL issue is more of a 'take the money and run' kind of scam I think. Still working through that one.

In the end though, you're not missing much and you don't seem all that worried about every part being identical period, so just bricklink the missing bits and get on with your life.

ebay as a second hand trading bazaar means you're dealing with many sellers who don't have a clue and, perhaps more importantly, don't really care. That's one of the advantages of places like BL, which are more likely to be run by those who know a thing or two and can at least check a set against an inventory and recognise the difference between a 4x10 red plate and a grey differential.

That's one of the things you pay a premium for. On the other side, ebay can be a great source of surprises and bargains. Given the ad said 100% complete, you stand a good chance of having it dealt with - perhaps you might suggest a partial refund to the seller equal to the missing parts list from BL. I've got a long way using that approach in the past.

[Hauntedwebby]

Wow I feel lucky! I've purchased about 13 Used sets on eBay and only 1 was not complete. Almost all said 'not sure if complete'. I dislike when they don't list if they smoke.

I think I'll be more careful in the future on eBay.

[Deathleech]

eBay seems like it can suck for everyone involved. As a seller you pay astronomical fees. You get charged around 10% of the final sale price from eBay, a 10% charge on the shipping, and then another 3% or so from Paypal when the person pays you. That's nearly 15% leaving very little room for profit unless you can sell it for over 20% of what YOU paid. You also run the risk of buyers lying and trying to scam you since as of late eBay is so buyer driven and seems to usually side with them so they can live up to their buyer protection they tote about.

As a buyer, you run the risk of items smelling horrible and smokey, being dirty or broken, or missing pieces. This doesn't just go for Lego either. One of the first items I ever bought off eBay was a set of action figures and they were missing several parts, were disgusting and dirty, and smelled horrible. The seller just threw everything in a box with no organization or cleaning of any of it. It was a huge turn off.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Deathleech

[Grosse Kind]

On a plus side, i'd like to say good words and place a recommended seller shoutout to a Norman Hartford of the UK. Pretty damn good condition of the set, surpassing the description, great communication, repacked the item of his own accord to rid 40 grams which meant the difference between £24 and £50 postage, sent a replacement gear without any drama or delays for the one that was damaged, and basically was the rarity i'd stopped believing in as far as sellers goes. Sadly, the timeframe ran over to leave him the glowing feedback i'd like to on EBAY so here it has to be.

Whereas old mate in russia sent me a nice new 856. New to the point of no used parts besides whats been discontinued. Again, a nice "vintage" 1979 kit, with a pair of yellow 14x1 (1997 release) technic beams that threw the bucket geometry out to the shithouse. I didn't so much care that it was a knockoff for the price, but the word vintage still sticks in your throat when bits you need are supplanted with items that never existed till 18 years later and make it non buildable to the instructions. (More time headscratching to find that was the problem than i'd care to ever repeat)

[Montyh7]

I have purchased a few sets from ebay - all have been perfect - one was missing two parts (which they distinctly mentioned in their advertisement) - the two sets from bricklink, however, although in lovely condition, had more items missing than advertised.

The issue I have had with ebay lately, is two sales (one did not go through as ebay contacted me, and another where I received reimbursement from paypal) which were fraudulent. The buyer's account in both cases had been 'hacked' and someone else was using accounts that had a 2 figure feedback and where they had not been online for over 6 months. One, in retrospect was rather obvious - the second one however, was not and the 'seller' even contacted me.. so an interesting experience. Both these items were advertised as new in box... so I have had much better luck with the 'used'.