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| | | Author: | Jerakl  | | Posted: | Aug 14, 2023 19:33 | | Subject: | First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 204 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| Hi!
I've been selling on bricklink recently to downsize my collection and have
run into my first snag with a customer.
To make a long story short, the customer was provided images prior to payment
(but after placing the order of course). After viewing the images (And being
provided a small discount due to the condition of the minifigure being exchanged)
the order continued and the customer paid. (pictures provided to buyer viewable
here: https://imgur.com/a/QdynK1n )
Upon receiving the item the customer messaged me about the minifigure being "dirty
with yellowed legs".
My terms state:
"Items are purchased as described/as is. I will do my best to give all the
information/images I can about the item.
If pictures of an item are provided and the buyer chooses to continue with the
order (buyer pays the invoice) the quality and condition of the product is to
be considered satisfactory by the buyer.
Items marked a "complete" are complete as per bricklink's inventory
with no extra parts."
In regards to item condition, and I believe I've done my due diligence in
making sure the buyer was well aware of the condition of the minifigure prior
to completing their purchase (I really do want people to make sure they know
what they are getting and are happy with their order from me, I try really hard
to communicate as much as possible and make sure my listing descriptions are
accurate).
I replied to the buyer providing cleaning advice (in a professional manner of
course, I also take professionalism in the marketplace pretty seriously).
What I want input on really comes down to the following:
- What is my best course of action?
- Did I do enough to make sure the buyer was aware of what they were getting?
- Am I "at fault" if the buyer is unhappy and escalates further (paypal
chargeback/refund demands/etc)?
- Is anything I've said unreasonable?
- Is my stance (which I'll state below this) unreasonable?
My stance is that I've done my due diligence to make sure the buyer knew
what they were getting, and as such there's nothing further I can do for
them.
I'm a rather in-experienced seller overall, and my plan was to just operate
my store similar to FB marketplace/kijiji/craigslist until the portions of my
collection I wanted to downsize were all sold.
I look forward to any and all input!
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| | | | | Author: | Nubs_Select | | Posted: | Aug 14, 2023 19:37 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 52 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| I wouldn't be to worried. as long as any damage is described in the comments
section of the item you should be good to go.
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| | | | | | | Author: | Jerakl | | Posted: | Aug 14, 2023 19:43 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 52 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| In Help, Nubs_Select writes:
| | I wouldn't be to worried. as long as any damage is described in the comments
section of the item you should be good to go.
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Thanks for the reply.
The minifigure had a large crack down the side that was described in the ad.
When taking pictures to send to the buyer prior to receiving payment I did notice
a small nick on a difficult-to-see part of an accessory and another barely visible
crack along the other side (the legs also are a tad yellowed on the back, but
I didn't call this out specifically to the buyer with the other defects as
state below).
Both of these were stated to the buyer when the pictures were provided (just
in case they didn't see them), a small discount was provided, and the order
continued as normal with payment coming several days after this information was
transmitted and viewed by the buyer.
In my mind I've definitely done my due diligence in documenting everything,
as well as being as transparent as possible and providing as much information
as I can.
I just know that often paypal can be very buyer-biased, and I don't want
there to be a problem (if it comes to that).
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | Nubs_Select | | Posted: | Aug 14, 2023 19:50 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 56 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| | | I just know that often paypal can be very buyer-biased, and I don't want
there to be a problem (if it comes to that).
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if it does come to that no matter how much or little a seller did its pretty
much hopeless as buyer protection is much more then seller protection but thankfully
that is a very rare thing. if it helps provide peace of mind I've sold many
hundreds-thousands of damaged parts with the damage mentioned in the description
and have never had a Paypal case opened against me for that and only once a buyer
reached out regarding a part they didn't know was damaged but i pointed out
the description and they we fine with it so, in general, you should be good especially
since you had communication with the buyer
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| | | | | Author: | calebfishn | | Posted: | Aug 14, 2023 20:03 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 44 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| I'm reading this to mean that the images of the minifigure showed some condition
problems that were not described in the comments section regarding condition.
(Because you offered a discount).
So the first thing to do, is make sure that used minifigures are described in
detail, particularly about things that matter to buyers, such as yellowing, cracks,
scratches, arm circles, etc.
Next, I would not have offered a small discount to try to make the buyer happier
with the part which was already being questioned. I would have apologized to
the buyer that the condition was not up to my standard, accepted my mistake in
not listing it adequately, and offered to cancel the order with a full refund.
Next, I hate to tell you this but your terms really don't mean anything.
Especially, "the product is to be considered satisfactory by the buyer."
Your terms have no power to make anyone think, or consider anything. Terms should
tell the buyer what you will do if there is a problem, not try to stop them from
having buyer's remorse or trying to get a refund if they are not 100% satisfied.
Yes, the buyer did agree to complete the purchase after seeing photographs, but
some people are funny that way. And ultimately, the customer is always right.
Next, just don't sell dirty minifigures or parts. Even at reduced price,
people won't be really happy with them. People don't want to wash the
minifigures themselves, and they don't want instructions on how to do it.
Those things will make people think you are not professional.
Next, to repeat, the customer is always right. Even though you took steps to
ensure the buyer knew what he or she was getting, they are not happy with the
product. I would contact the buyer with an apology that the minifigure was not
up to my usual high standards and offer a refund for the minifigure. If it was
a low vale minifig, I'd probably just let the buyer keep it, but if high
value, arrange for it to be returned. In most cases, I'd rather lose out
on some money than to receive a negative feedback.
I don't think you are being totally unreasonable. After all, the buyer saw
a photograph. But that is not really the issue here. The issue is an unhappy
buyer, and how you can make them feel better about their experience in your store
and so they don't feel a need to escalate a complaint further.
Just to reiterate my comment on terms, I am aware that some sellers try to configure
their terms in such a way so that they won't ever have to deal with unhappy
buyers. In my view that is unrealistic, because you can't please everyone
all the time, and we sellers aren't perfect either. It's better to expect
you'll have some problems, and plan to deal with them in the most professional,
honest, way possible to ensure a happy buyer.
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| | | | | | | Author: | Jerakl | | Posted: | Aug 14, 2023 20:39 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 44 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| In Help, calebfishn writes:
| | I'm reading this to mean that the images of the minifigure showed some condition
problems that were not described in the comments section regarding condition.
(Because you offered a discount).
So the first thing to do, is make sure that used minifigures are described in
detail, particularly about things that matter to buyers, such as yellowing, cracks,
scratches, arm circles, etc.
Next, I would not have offered a small discount to try to make the buyer happier
with the part which was already being questioned. I would have apologized to
the buyer that the condition was not up to my standard, accepted my mistake in
not listing it adequately, and offered to cancel the order with a full refund.
Next, I hate to tell you this but your terms really don't mean anything.
Especially, "the product is to be considered satisfactory by the buyer."
Your terms have no power to make anyone think, or consider anything. Terms should
tell the buyer what you will do if there is a problem, not try to stop them from
having buyer's remorse or trying to get a refund if they are not 100% satisfied.
Yes, the buyer did agree to complete the purchase after seeing photographs, but
some people are funny that way. And ultimately, the customer is always right.
Next, just don't sell dirty minifigures or parts. Even at reduced price,
people won't be really happy with them. People don't want to wash the
minifigures themselves, and they don't want instructions on how to do it.
Those things will make people think you are not professional.
Next, to repeat, the customer is always right. Even though you took steps to
ensure the buyer knew what he or she was getting, they are not happy with the
product. I would contact the buyer with an apology that the minifigure was not
up to my usual high standards and offer a refund for the minifigure. If it was
a low vale minifig, I'd probably just let the buyer keep it, but if high
value, arrange for it to be returned. In most cases, I'd rather lose out
on some money than to receive a negative feedback.
I don't think you are being totally unreasonable. After all, the buyer saw
a photograph. But that is not really the issue here. The issue is an unhappy
buyer, and how you can make them feel better about their experience in your store
and so they don't feel a need to escalate a complaint further.
Just to reiterate my comment on terms, I am aware that some sellers try to configure
their terms in such a way so that they won't ever have to deal with unhappy
buyers. In my view that is unrealistic, because you can't please everyone
all the time, and we sellers aren't perfect either. It's better to expect
you'll have some problems, and plan to deal with them in the most professional,
honest, way possible to ensure a happy buyer.
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All good information. Good to know store terms are iffy. It is worth noting the
buyer viewed the images and ok'd the order BEFORE paying. If the buyer didn't
want to continue after seeing images I would've cancelled it without issue.
Honestly to me it wasn't dirty, maybe my standards for minifig cleanliness
aren't as high as they should be haha (I reviewed the pictures I sent the
buyer before posting and I'm not trying to argue, it just looks like a used
minifig to me).
As far as most of your response goes, I understand and I usually do everything
in my power to make sure the buyer has a good experience and I don't receive
any negative feedback. However in this case the buyer spent nearly a week arguing
with me about shipping costs and going as far as telling me what they thought
shipping should cost. I probably should've just cancelled the order regardless
because I almost knew something like this would happen. I don't think I'm
squeezing out positive feedback regardless, which is unfortunate with how much
I've tried to accommodate. In regards to what to do, I'm downsizing my
collection to pay for my university so I don't have to live ENTIRELY on student
loans, so even a 20 CAD minifig is a lot to me haha.
All good info, and the bit about the usage of terms is definitely helpful.
And again, nothing I said was with the intent to argue, just clarify. Your post
was very helpful 
This is unrelated but the term "the customer is always right" is gravely
misunderstood today and is actually to mean "the customer is always right
- when it comes to taste". People often take it to mean you have to
go to the ends of the earth trying to appease a customer, but that's simply
not true (or reasonable). This isn't a point of argue as generally I do everything
in my power to make sure a buyer is happy.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | Nubs_Select | | Posted: | Aug 14, 2023 20:43 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 31 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| | | (I reviewed the pictures I sent the
buyer before posting and I'm not trying to argue, it just looks like a used
minifig to me).
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a common mistake is assuming used means damaged used items should have any damage
besides extremely minor wear noted as used dosnt = cracks, yellowing, bitemarks,
nicks/dings, etc just that its used
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| | | | | | | | | | | Author: | Jerakl | | Posted: | Aug 14, 2023 20:49 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 56 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| In Help, Nubs_Select writes:
| | | | (I reviewed the pictures I sent the
buyer before posting and I'm not trying to argue, it just looks like a used
minifig to me).
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a common mistake is assuming used means damaged used items should have any damage
besides extremely minor wear noted as used dosnt = cracks, yellowing, bitemarks,
nicks/dings, etc just that its used
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Yeah I didn't mean to say used = damaged.
I just mean you know, it's used, its got a lil bit of wear or dust/dirt on
it.
I ofc do try and call out the imperfections I see. I have some used minifigs
in great condition so that was a misnomer on my part.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | calebfishn | | Posted: | Aug 15, 2023 00:13 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 51 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| As you say: "in this case the buyer spent nearly a week arguing
with me about shipping costs and going as far as telling me what they thought
shipping should cost. I probably should've just cancelled the order regardless."
Yes. This explains some things. You had a buyer there was probably no way to
please, and this behaviour was a hint as to what would follow.
$20 bucks is a lot for a minifig and a lot to lose on by refunding. That hurts.
I hope you get a better resolution and do well on your future sales.
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| | | | | Author: | WildBricks | | Posted: | Aug 15, 2023 08:26 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 34 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| Unfortunately, I think this is a painful lesson to learn. I think that you did
everything you could to make sure that the buyer understood the condition of
the minifigure. The pictures showed very clearly the condition that the fig was
in. My only comments on them would be to snap pics on a neutral colored background
next time. (Photo boxes run around $30 and give excellent pics, most can be folded
to put away when not in use and will increase the quality of the information
you are giving exponentially.) I could tell that the white on the legs had some
discoloration, but couldn't really see it clearly. (fantastic how to's
on minifig photos: http://v4ei.com/how-to/ )
All that aside, at the first complaint on my shipping prices I would have ditched
the sale. At this point I would offer to send him a label and let him know that
you are more than happy to refund the entire order as soon as you receive the
return. It's amazing how many times that will shut down an argument about
quality.
Good luck.
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| | | | | | | Author: | Jerakl | | Posted: | Aug 15, 2023 11:33 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 32 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| In Help, WildBricks writes:
| | Unfortunately, I think this is a painful lesson to learn. I think that you did
everything you could to make sure that the buyer understood the condition of
the minifigure. The pictures showed very clearly the condition that the fig was
in. My only comments on them would be to snap pics on a neutral colored background
next time. (Photo boxes run around $30 and give excellent pics, most can be folded
to put away when not in use and will increase the quality of the information
you are giving exponentially.) I could tell that the white on the legs had some
discoloration, but couldn't really see it clearly. (fantastic how to's
on minifig photos: http://v4ei.com/how-to/ )
All that aside, at the first complaint on my shipping prices I would have ditched
the sale. At this point I would offer to send him a label and let him know that
you are more than happy to refund the entire order as soon as you receive the
return. It's amazing how many times that will shut down an argument about
quality.
Good luck.
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Yeah I probably should've just canceled it. Like I said I was pretty sure
this would end happening. I wasn't really aware I could cancel orders for
that reason honestly.
I've been suggested that a couple times now and it's probably what I
will end up doing. If I need to take photos in the future I should definitely
get a dedicated setup going as recommended as well.
Thanks for the input
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| | | | | | | Author: | yorbrick | | Posted: | Aug 15, 2023 17:26 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 36 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| In Help, WildBricks writes:
| | Unfortunately, I think this is a painful lesson to learn. I think that you did
everything you could to make sure that the buyer understood the condition of
the minifigure. The pictures showed very clearly the condition that the fig was
in. My only comments on them would be to snap pics on a neutral colored background
next time. (Photo boxes run around $30 and give excellent pics, most can be folded
to put away when not in use and will increase the quality of the information
you are giving exponentially.) I could tell that the white on the legs had some
discoloration, but couldn't really see it clearly. (fantastic how to's
on minifig photos: http://v4ei.com/how-to/ )
All that aside, at the first complaint on my shipping prices I would have ditched
the sale. At this point I would offer to send him a label and let him know that
you are more than happy to refund the entire order as soon as you receive the
return. It's amazing how many times that will shut down an argument about
quality.
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This is spot on. Yellowing can be very hard to see in photos. It is hard to tell
if your colour balance is off or if it is yellowing. If in doubt, describe such
damage, especially on expensive figures where refunding is going to sting more
than a $1 City figure.
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| | | | | Author: | zorbanj | | Posted: | Aug 15, 2023 08:39 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 55 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| I'm behind a firewall so I can't see the photos, but never sell dusty/dirty
pieces, especially minifigures. You can have the most accurate description in
the world but the pieces being clean is assumed.
In Help, Jerakl writes:
| | Hi!
I've been selling on bricklink recently to downsize my collection and have
run into my first snag with a customer.
To make a long story short, the customer was provided images prior to payment
(but after placing the order of course). After viewing the images (And being
provided a small discount due to the condition of the minifigure being exchanged)
the order continued and the customer paid. (pictures provided to buyer viewable
here: https://imgur.com/a/QdynK1n )
Upon receiving the item the customer messaged me about the minifigure being "dirty
with yellowed legs".
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| | | | | | | Author: | Jerakl | | Posted: | Aug 15, 2023 11:40 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 41 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| In Help, zorbanj writes:
| | I'm behind a firewall so I can't see the photos, but never sell dusty/dirty
pieces, especially minifigures. You can have the most accurate description in
the world but the pieces being clean is assumed.
In Help, Jerakl writes:
| | Hi!
I've been selling on bricklink recently to downsize my collection and have
run into my first snag with a customer.
To make a long story short, the customer was provided images prior to payment
(but after placing the order of course). After viewing the images (And being
provided a small discount due to the condition of the minifigure being exchanged)
the order continued and the customer paid. (pictures provided to buyer viewable
here: https://imgur.com/a/QdynK1n )
Upon receiving the item the customer messaged me about the minifigure being "dirty
with yellowed legs".
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Yeah I understand.
To me it seemed relatively clean but in the future I'll definitely make sure
it's better.
I also have a disclaimer that items may be slightly dusty as many were displayed
for many years, but that doesn't do much I guess.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | peregrinator | | Posted: | Aug 15, 2023 11:50 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 31 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| In Help, Jerakl writes:
| | I also have a disclaimer that items may be slightly dusty as many were displayed
for many years, but that doesn't do much I guess.
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If there's dust, honestly, you should clean them before selling them. Obviously
cleaning doesn't work for everything (I've sold some white spaceman minifigs
I've described as "dingy" , but for dust it should work well.
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| | | | | | | | | Author: | StarBrick | | Posted: | Aug 15, 2023 11:56 | | Subject: | Re: First time issue as a seller (seeking advice) | | Viewed: | 44 times | | Topic: | Help | |
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| Compliments on the eager learning route you follow!
Wow!
And also the feedback from other members. Learned some details along the read
as wel !
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Canada, Alberta
USA, Georgia
United Kingdom, England
Netherlands, Gelderland