I hope to have more positive posts in the future, but at the moment I am just having some trouble with my first acquisitions. Some of you may have read this in the Trade section where I was searching for a replacement. The Qantas 747-400 Inflight 200 I bought off eBay US arrived with NLG broken off and having scratched the fuselage. Also, one engine and its pylon separated.
It's a shame, the model is gorgeous. But it sat somewhat loosely in the Styrofoam, so it had too much leeway.
If it had been only the nose wheel I'd have tried to glue it back in. But I did not know how to fix the fuselage paint job. Plus there seemed to be some paint chipped off where the engine pylon went AWOL.
Here are two pics. SENSITIVE VIEWERS BEWARE, GRAPHIC CONTENT OF MODEL MAYHEM!
Luckily, or so I thought, the seller agreed to take the model back right away. He said some unfriendly things in his mail, but they were mostly aimed at the German postal service (but somewhat ambiguous, so he could as well have meant me). He had probably seen I signed up to eBay from Germany and didn't remember I was actually in France.
I did the paperwork for reclaiming my customs expenses and then shipped the model back to him. For that, I declared the content to be return of defective merchandise and the value of the parcel to be EUR 200 (if not broken). After all, if it got lost on the way back I still wanted to be reimbursed by the post.
Due to the long delays in international economy shipping, the 45 day period to file claims with eBay/PayPal drew to an end so I informed the seller that I wanted to open a dispute that would give us 30 more days to wait for the return to arrive in which I'd still be protected. He did not reply so I proceeded after two days. I know that is not perfect, but just forgoing the buyer's protection seemed a no-go.
When the seller did react he seemed rather pi**ed off. He told me not to take any further steps which I by no means had intended to. I had made that pretty clear in my previous message. After all, I just wanted my money back, I did not want to tease the seller.
Today, I received another message calling me an "ignorant idiot" and telling me he would not not be able to return any money to me until after December 11 thanks to my stupidity. Nice. And whatever that means. Also, he writes that when he receives the model back he "will decide what to do." :-(
Then he goes on about how he "just got personal information" about me and knows the kind of individual I am. This can be disregarded as I am pretty sure there is no such information, but it does not help keeping the general tone of the conversation civilized.
I so far replied only "I think the name calling is unnecessary. It would be great to know what "ignorance" caused the extra trouble."
Now the important question: Any hints how to defuse/de-escalate the situation? I tried to be friendly as usual and am as unhappy as the seller about the broken model.
Why Dec 11? At any rate, leave it be and wait to see what happens then. You've already opened the dispute and you will have that option if the seller decides not to give you a full refund.
The NG falling off (according to the picture) didn't look bad as its not broken in the middle where it swivels, but looks more like lack of glue. I could have accepted the scratches in the picture as it look a bit like its worn. Don't know if I would have paid EUR200 for it, though. Maybe if you kept it could have asked for a discount. BUT, its in his hands now.
Well, he didn't elaborate on that and neither on why he thought I was so ignorant, so I do not have a clue. The only thing I can imagine is that the customs office saw the 200 Euro value declared and did not believe the model was really a return and broken as declared. So maybe he has to do the customs declaration. Anyway, as awry as communication went, I am dubious I'll find out soon.
Tracking the parcel is no use either, last entry is Nov 24 where it says something like "preparing to leave country".
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarAllianceFlyer
I could have accepted the scratches in the picture as it look a bit like its worn.
I have to say that the scratches in my opinion looked a lot worse in nature than they do on the photo.
Based on the photos the seller did nothing wrong..its not worth all the aggrevation..that gear and the rest of the pieces simply came off due to lack of glue..It doesnt appear that the nose gear snapped off but rather fell off along with the other loose pieces. The scratches are a result of probably the nose gear loose in the cradle..I would not of placed a claim and gone through all the hassle...I would have glued it all back into place, proudly displayed the model and moved on...thats just me though...
__________________
Gemini Jets 400 Scale....the company collectors love to hate but love to collect..
__________________
Real tomato ketchup Eddie?
Nothing but the best! "I don't know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself, huh? I like it better than tuna helper myself, don't you, Clark?"
"you're the gourmet around here, Ed!"
Based on the photos the seller did nothing wrong..its not worth all the aggrevation..
Hey Crownvic, I understand your position. But I never accused the seller of doing something wrong. I just sent him a message when the parcel arrived that the model arrived damaged and sent him the photos. Asked if he could claim insurance with USPS. He offered me immediately to take it back.
In the end I guess in this case the main problem is the asynchronous communication and time lag. I am pretty sure that if I could meet the seller in a nice café and have a chat with him we'd get along quite fine.
Also, displaying the damaged model would not have been much of an option to me as this model to me currently is "the one". I guess you know how it is to have lots of great models but one that means particularly much... ("The one" may change over time though...)
Good lord, this DAC is more and more turning into the Agony Aunt section of a women's magazine. I guess it is the facebook culture that makes people think they need to share every bit or tragedy with the world as if we really care. Perhaps a separate section could be created for those people who need to show the world their buyer-seller love stories.
__________________
Mathieu [More of my diecast photos at To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. ]
I would have tried to fix it. Nose gear and engine can be reset easily and the scratches may come out with a little auto scratch/swirl remover on a Q-Tip. Looks like maybe the nose gear took out three of the antenna. I have mentioned this to Don at Jetstreams USA many time re the weight of the plane digging into the styrofoam insert causing some of the problems during rough shipping and snapping off pieces. This is why I try to buy the 74's at shows so I can hand carry them back home safely.
Good lord, this DAC is more and more turning into the Agony Aunt section of a women's magazine. I guess it is the facebook culture that makes people think they need to share every bit or tragedy with the world as if we really care. Perhaps a separate section could be created for those people who need to show the world their buyer-seller love stories.
An excellent idea. May I suggest we call the separate section
IF200 B747 front landing gear tend to break when in transit. This is due to poor cradle design (shallow recess on the LG area) and carton box which allows vertical movement when jarred thus breaking the front landing gear. The manufacturer should address this issue and the cradle top and bottom pair must be taped together to restrict the possibility of coming apart when in transit. I have three incidents of B747s that have broken landing gears when it arrived. My only solution is to request for replacement parts.
I don't see anything wrong with this topic being posted. The responses suggesting that the buyer could have tried to fix the model were useful to other buyers purchasing models from sellers other than retailers. The post saying that nobody here really cares wasn't very constructive though.
A separate section for threads that get out of hand and turn into a ***** fest may be useful. Moderators could move the threads that turned into a load of drama over there. I'm voting for the name Diecast Drama!
Ben, I hope that everything works out for you.
__________________
My Aeroplanes To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
My Model Photos...
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Last edited by Flydenfeld; 11-30-2012 at 09:17 PM.
Crownvic is spot on. I always send photos of my customs prior to shipping and pack a secure as possible. The seller can't be at fault for postal services short coming. Treating it like a football! I prefer not to sell on eBay as it is becoming way too much of a problem with fees and greed of PayPal holding my payments just because I sell on eBay international. It strictly says the seller cannot be at fault for postal damage unless he/she has packed it incorrectly. In all cases I've always taken the model back for repair or full refund without question. It's a shame the correspondence from the seller has been second rate.
Anyway that's my 2 cents.....
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Well what's done is done, no need to tell the original poster "you should have kept it...fix it" that ain't going to help his situation.
The best thing you can do at this point is to maintain your professional feedback, I hope all this conversation you are having back and forth with the seller is done through the ebay claims or any type of ebay message so it is being recorded. So when the time comes for the representative from ebay to step in and determine who is right or wrong, they usually side with the one who isn't calling the other guy an "idiot" and acting like a child.
What was your method of payment? I know you said paypal but was there a credit card or bank attached to it? I usually have credit card attached to my paypal so it offers double the protection. If paypal's time limit runs out or don't protect you, you always have your credit card company that you can dispute with. Hope everything works out in the end.
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
The best thing you can do at this point is to maintain your professional feedback, I hope all this conversation you are having back and forth with the seller is done through the ebay claims or any type of ebay message so it is being recorded.
What was your method of payment?
Yeah, all communication is via eBay's system. And yes, I am trying to keep it professional bordering on friendly. I still have this weird hope he might "turn back". Plus I was educated in a way that forbids me calling people idiots or worse, especially when I never met them.
I'll have to check whether for this purchase I had PayPal debit my credit card or my savings account. Hope a second layer of security won't be necessary.
Well, the seller now reimbursed me some of my return shipping cost which he had offered without me asking. I think it's a nice gesture, but I would have paid that alright. But in his message he calls me an "absolute idiot", a "moron" and tells me he has blocked me from further purchases. I think I can live with that.
He goes on telling me not to leave bad feedback and that he will have eBay remove it if I do. He writes he left me good feedback and that I should do the same for him "and you'll get the money".
However, I do not feel comfortable leaving him good feedback without seeing my money before.
Also, my replacement Qantas 747 arrived. During a first cursory inspection I could not find any mechanical flaws, it seems to have survived shipping rather well. Only two spots of paint that do not belong bother me a little.
On the nose, there is a little bordeaux red. Does not seem to be the same color as on the tail so I wonder how it got there:
And then there is a little gray on the red logo part of the tail, right where the horizontal stabilizer joins the fuselage. I guess it might have smeared a little:
Any hints how to remove these? I guess on the tail it might be harder as I do not want to endanger the red paint.
But I hope the bird strike on the nose might be easier to remove? It's also more obvious.
But in his message he calls me an "absolute idiot", a "moron" and tells me he has blocked me from further purchases.
Sounds eerily familiar. If it was me, I'd leave the red area alone. The nose marks should come off with gentle polishing, providing they're not under the lacquer of course.
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Behold! The The Wings of Horus.
When opened the box of my "new in box" 1:200 Eastern DC-8-63 that i bought on eBay, it had ALL FOUR engines removed. That's right, all 4 engines had fallen off! Luckily it was a simple fix with superglue, but nevertheless i was upset.
Sometimes it's the seller, and sometimes it's the manufacturers. It sucks when it happens to you though.
I am sorry to warm this up, but I need to vent. The seller now contacted me through eBay and asked me to accept his proposed solution or he wouldn't be able to refund me until beginning of next year. Say what? Anyway, I wrote him I accept his solution and would close the case as soon as he returned my money.
So far, so bad. But he now pretends to know where I work and that he knows the management. So weird! I guess I should be happy he is on another continent. Who knows if it would be "only" threats otherwise.
Start a PayPal claim. Some scammers say "i'll be back or wait for me" and they really are just naming a day after the 45-day PayPal buyer protection policy.
eBay purchase gone wrong...
Re: eBay purchase gone wrong...
Your Privacy Choices
