Receiving badly packaged items from eBay... Where do we go from here?

[ChlorHex]

I'm so furious now...
Won a local auction on eBay to which I promptly paid for the item when the auction ended.
Waited for approximately 8 days and nothing.
Messaged the seller and he didn't reply.
A couple of days later he marks the item as shipped on eBay.
No communication.
After over 2 weeks of waiting, I get the item and it's damaged!
How can it not be when it's a heavy toy and the seller just chucked it in a large envelop, no bubble wrapping, no external box but threw some styro peanuts in
I can't believe my luck.
2 crap eBay deals in a row.
That's enough for me.
So ticked off.
Want my money back.

[BruiseLee]

That sucks.

Did you pay by paypal? If yes, open a dispute. Think you have 45 days from payment date.

[CBratron]

I've never had to deal with anything like that. Everything I've gotten has had at least a mailing box around it.

But I think the first step is to photograph the damage and contact the seller. Give them a chance to do the right thing.
If that doesn't work (and lets face it, nobody's expecting it to) then get ebay involved.

[Skullcruncher]

Open a case and claim a refund. Take photos - if you still can - and attach them to the case. I wound't bother trying to communiate with the seller directly if they didnt reply to earlier messages. They will get in touch as soon as you open the case if they want to work it out.

Worst I had was a G1 boxed Jetfire sent from the uk with one layer of paper around it.

Good luck!

[ChlorHex]

I've never had to deal with anything like that. Everything I've gotten has had at least a mailing box around it.

But I think the first step is to photograph the damage and contact the seller. Give them a chance to do the right thing.
If that doesn't work (and lets face it, nobody's expecting it to) then get ebay involved.

The seller just replied...
Says he's new to online selling and packed according to the advice received from the post office.
I need to cool down... I'm so pissed off.
He appears genuine to resolve the problem but I need time to cool down... seriously.
This has just wasted both our time... a mailing box or even a shoe box would have prevented all this.

[ChlorHex]

Worst I had was a G1 boxed Jetfire sent from the uk with one layer of paper around it.

I total get what you're saying... and I'm probably just as pissed off as you were then.
As an occasional seller myself, I'd take the added effort to ensure that the buyer receives the item as described and I make it a point to reinforce the packaging.
Buyer happy, seller happy.
So it really irks me when I receive sloppy packaging AND the item gets damaged.
This one is the worst I've had in over 20++ years of online trades/purchases (with the bulk of those being non-eBay ones).

[Gofigure]

That's really disappointing

Worst I had was a vintage joe vehicle thrown in a box and sent without any packaging or even a plastic bag around it

Suffice to say, the toy was badly damaged in transit and I got a full refund

Certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth.....I can sympathise

[Slag]

Yep , That sucks.

I remember i bought a heap of MOSC Gobots once (About 20 in a few lots) the seller just sent them in one of those large parcel post plastic bags with no protection.

I managed to get in touch with the seller, She turned out to be a little old lady that was just selling someones collection, (son or nephew or something).
She was a little upset, She chased up the post office for me and said they would have a look and assess the damage. I never bothered with it, the way they were sent i'm surprised they weren't completely destroyed.
The problem was, she just had no idea that the card back condition mattered to me.
Probably thought i was going to rip them open when i got them.

In your case, if you paid via Paypal you should be able to get the money back.. pain in the ass though,, sorry

[5FDP]

You can lodged a claim but if the item is vintage, I'd rather have the item in the condition I paid for than a refund because tracking down a replacement can be an impossible task.

Bought and paid for a vintage book (30 years out of print) and it was in C9 condition which is unheard of. It was shipped in a thin cardboard envelope. The postie folded it in half to make it fit into the letterbox. I didn't know whether or not to cry or hunt down and kill the postie. This was about 5 years ago and I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement to this day.

[ChlorHex]

Thanks for all your comments guys.
The item is thankfully not a vintage one but I missed out on another deal because I'd thought that I'd already secured myself a piece through this auction.
The seller appears to be genuine and new to this as he had now given me a full refund.
I thankfully mess around with weak attempts at customs so I might just offer to buy this off him now as a junker parts deal instead... If the seller wants to that is.
I don't wish to discourage this chap as he's new, but I do hope he puts more effort into packaging his items for his own good.
Saves everyone the hassle and avoids wasting anyone's time.
Now I've got to look out for another piece!