darkSpyro

So, I sometimes sell extra used figures on ebay / Amazon. Most of which are way below retail at the moment.

I recently got a return request for a Giants - Hot Dog character claiming that I sent them the wrong item and I had made a mistake in listing. On Amazon it was listed as "Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Hot Dog"

I sent them the only Hot Dog figure that has been released with the orange base. It's the same one in the pictures on Amazon, etc... However, the buyer must have expected me to send the REAL series 2 (blue base) Hot Dog and it being really nasty about it. From the beginning I've told them I'll refund them if they just send the figure back. They refuse to pay for return shipping (it would be less than $2) and that I need to refund them.

I even spent an hour on the phone with Amazon CS and Amazon Listing Services to try and get the title fixed for the REAL series 1 giants figures so there is no more confusion in the future.

Just wanted to vent my frustration. I guess there's a possibility that I will have to refund them the money without even getting the figure back, all because there was a technicality in the product listing. Buyer even admitted to knowing nothing about the figures, all they know is I didn't send them the right one... even though Fire Bone Hot Dog hasn't been released yet.

Very frustrating... thoughts?

This is not your fault; It's the buyer's. He should see the pictures, see that it's labeled as Giants, and just wait.

It's OK, buddy. *Pats on back*

Sucks for everybody!

I've been on both sides of that one and it's never fun. Who's mistake was the series 2 thing?

I don't believe they know "nothing" about the figures or they wouldn't know it was the wrong one. They have to have a fair bit of figure knowledge to know that Hot Dog came out with Giants and that series 1/2/3 refer to figure pose not game release etc.

Somebody with NO knowledge would assume Series 2 meant game 2, which is Giants.

Sorry to hear it went pear shaped. Good luck getting it resolved.

My guess maybe they or their kid knew it had a bone in his mouth

Quote: SlayerX11

My guess maybe they or their kid knew it had a bone in his mouth

My guess as well, which is probably why he's being so unreasonable about it. Amazon had all of the Giants figures listed as "Series 2". I talked through a Listing Rep to try and get them all fixed. It helps that the real Series 2 figs say "Series 2" on the box in the pictures.

However, it seems like they haven't fixed all of them and I might need to follow up.

Quote: Matteomax

This is not your fault; It's the buyer's. He should see the pictures, see that it's labeled as Giants, and just wait.

It's OK, buddy. *Pats on back*

Thanks for the reassurance. I figured people on this board would understand the technicality / frustration

This is Amazon fault not yours. And I would refuse to refund them if they will not send you back the figure. (also as all giants toys where called Series 2 till Swap force came out) You are not wrong they are.

Quote: darkrai848

This is Amazon fault not yours. And I would refuse to refund them if they will not send you back the figure. (also as all giants toys where called Series 2 till Swap force came out) You are not wrong they are.

That's normally how my refunds work, however apparently that might not be possible since they opened an Amazon "A-Z Guarantee" case. I've been very transparent through the whole situation and have tried to explain to Amazon that I'll refund them as soon as they send the figure back. I'm even offering to pay return shipping just to get this over with. However, as explained to me on the phone if Amazon doesn't believe / side with me then I may be on the hook to refund even without getting the figure back.

I feel bad for that customer if they feel they need to scam me out of $13 (more like $17 for me by the end of it) just because they don't want to admit they made a mistake. All I can hope for is that the buyer realizes that it was mostly a misunderstanding and that I'm doing my best to make sure they are taken care of and the issue is fixed through Amazon. Just frustrating to know that all my efforts might be all for not.

I don't get how they can't side with you as what you shipped is the same as what Amazon is selling. If they had bought a new from Amazon it would be the same toy. (there is only 1 "Giants hot dog" there is also a "Giants molton hot dog" and soon to be a "swap force hot dog". But there is only 1 "Giants hot dog" so how could it be the wrong one?

Edit: it sounds to me as they know what they where doing and are trying to scam you out of a hot dog toy... and that is just low.

Just hope they don't go to the A to Z route as they will most likely side with them you will be out money and figure. There A to Z is like eBay take the customer make them happy and screw over the seller had a situation almost like this happen to me just a few months ago, sucks but just the way the system works and how one sided it really is

I came close to a scam situation recently.

There was a seller selling variant after variant, I bought a few (Gold Chop Chop, Glitter Hot Head, and someone else.).

Turns out, the seller was creating entirely fake listings. He had NONE of those figures.

He was later kicked off of eBay for scamming OVER $1,000 from people. I can't believe that there hasn't been a news article or something on that. My friend in Australia bought a Chop Chop, and she lost the money.

They opened an A-Z case already unfortunately even though I sent them an authorized return / refund pretty much immediately after getting the request. The buyer might end up winning if Amazon doesn't actually research the matter. They keep claiming that I sent them the wrong item...

There's a lesson for you folks... if you just keep ignorantly lying about something then you'll get your way. Gotta love how the system works. Only chance I have is because I opened a seller case before they opened the A-Z claim explaining the situation and stating that I was worried about something like this was about to happen (based on the attitude from the buyer). It seems like the buyer just doesn't care and has no moral principles. In the long run I can deal with a $20 hit, even though it kills me to know that someone might get away with this. The thing that I'm really worried about is that it will ruin my feedback / reputation. I've never had a negative review... ever. The only neutral I have on ebay is because I sold someone a Wii Portal and they claimed it didn't work (they didn't try to contact me first). Once I saw that feedback I took about 30 minutes typing up how to sync the portal to the Wii (since I tested the item before sending it). They said after they synced it, it worked. And they never changed their feedback.

I had an ebay scam going to. Some dude selling a spyro silver and it never shipped and he resold it multiple times. I did get my money pack luckily cause i kept checking on it

So it seems as though it is a happy ending for all. Amazon said they sided with the buyer, however they couldn't find any reason why I would be at fault. In which case they paid for the buyer refund instead of me.

I'm still a little disturbed that the buyer seems to have gotten their money back and are under no obligation to send the figure back to me... Still doesn't seem quite right.

Faith in Amazon restored I suppose

Quote: WhoAreYou007

So it seems as though it is a happy ending for all. Amazon said they sided with the buyer, however they couldn't find any reason why I would be at fault. In which case they paid for the buyer refund instead of me.

I'm still a little disturbed that the buyer seems to have gotten their money back and are under no obligation to send the figure back to me... Still doesn't seem quite right.

Faith in Amazon restored I suppose

Well still better than the alternative at this point.

Glad to see it worked out.

Quote: WhoAreYou007

So, I sometimes sell extra used figures on ebay / Amazon. Most of which are way below retail at the moment.

I recently got a return request for a Giants - Hot Dog character claiming that I sent them the wrong item and I had made a mistake in listing. On Amazon it was listed as "Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Hot Dog"

I sent them the only Hot Dog figure that has been released with the orange base. It's the same one in the pictures on Amazon, etc... However, the buyer must have expected me to send the REAL series 2 (blue base) Hot Dog and it being really nasty about it. From the beginning I've told them I'll refund them if they just send the figure back. They refuse to pay for return shipping (it would be less than $2) and that I need to refund them.

I even spent an hour on the phone with Amazon CS and Amazon Listing Services to try and get the title fixed for the REAL series 1 giants figures so there is no more confusion in the future.

Just wanted to vent my frustration. I guess there's a possibility that I will have to refund them the money without even getting the figure back, all because there was a technicality in the product listing. Buyer even admitted to knowing nothing about the figures, all they know is I didn't send them the right one... even though Fire Bone Hot Dog hasn't been released yet.

Very frustrating... thoughts?

Hot Dog in Giants was a Series 1. You can't call everyone that was released in Giants as Series 2. Still, you had the right pic, and communication before purchasing goes a long way.

[quote=GhostRoaster

Hot Dog in Giants was a Series 1. You can't call everyone that was released in Giants as Series 2. Still, you had the right pic, and communication before purchasing goes a long way.[/quote]

While you are correct, I didn't specify anything on Amazon. They had created the listing for products they were selling. As a seller I just clicked "Sell on Amazon" which uses the same title, information and pictures as what Amazon has listed.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: WhoAreYou007

So, I sometimes sell extra used figures on ebay / Amazon. Most of which are way below retail at the moment.

I recently got a return request for a Giants - Hot Dog character claiming that I sent them the wrong item and I had made a mistake in listing. On Amazon it was listed as "Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Hot Dog"

I sent them the only Hot Dog figure that has been released with the orange base. It's the same one in the pictures on Amazon, etc... However, the buyer must have expected me to send the REAL series 2 (blue base) Hot Dog and it being really nasty about it. From the beginning I've told them I'll refund them if they just send the figure back. They refuse to pay for return shipping (it would be less than $2) and that I need to refund them.

I even spent an hour on the phone with Amazon CS and Amazon Listing Services to try and get the title fixed for the REAL series 1 giants figures so there is no more confusion in the future.

Just wanted to vent my frustration. I guess there's a possibility that I will have to refund them the money without even getting the figure back, all because there was a technicality in the product listing. Buyer even admitted to knowing nothing about the figures, all they know is I didn't send them the right one... even though Fire Bone Hot Dog hasn't been released yet.

Very frustrating... thoughts?

Hot Dog in Giants was a Series 1. You can't call everyone that was released in Giants as Series 2. Still, you had the right pic, and communication before purchasing goes a long way.

He did not say it was Series 2 Amazon did. He sold it on Amazon as they have it listed.

As a buyer who has been messed around with incorrect descriptions (I know this wasn't your fault) it is VERY HARD to spot.
I have gone by the photo before and received something else entirely, when I complained it was stated that it was clearly described in the text. Well blow me down, half way through a page of text was a line that DID detail the item I received.
So I lost out.
I have also ignored the picture and gone with the text description, still to receive the wrong item!!!
At least in this case the seller agreed it was their mistake and refunded me (I returned the item).

When buying a DVD on play.com BOTH the text AND picture showed one thing, and when it arrived it was something else. I complained, returned it and they sent out a replacement. THE SAME INCORRECT ITEM.

I went through this FOUR TIMES before I convinced them to give me a refund as they were clearly incompetent and couldn't send me the right thing.
(I ordered a special edition DVD and they kept sending the vanilla old DVD).

At least in your case you didn't lose out. Hopefully the customer will be happy with a free item and you won't get bad feedback. Everybody wins then.

This makes sense though - you admit the problem isn't 100% your fault and isn't 100% the buyer's fault... it's Amazon's fault and they're taking the hit.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: WhoAreYou007

So, I sometimes sell extra used figures on ebay / Amazon. Most of which are way below retail at the moment.

I recently got a return request for a Giants - Hot Dog character claiming that I sent them the wrong item and I had made a mistake in listing. On Amazon it was listed as "Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Hot Dog"

I sent them the only Hot Dog figure that has been released with the orange base. It's the same one in the pictures on Amazon, etc... However, the buyer must have expected me to send the REAL series 2 (blue base) Hot Dog and it being really nasty about it. From the beginning I've told them I'll refund them if they just send the figure back. They refuse to pay for return shipping (it would be less than $2) and that I need to refund them.

I even spent an hour on the phone with Amazon CS and Amazon Listing Services to try and get the title fixed for the REAL series 1 giants figures so there is no more confusion in the future.

Just wanted to vent my frustration. I guess there's a possibility that I will have to refund them the money without even getting the figure back, all because there was a technicality in the product listing. Buyer even admitted to knowing nothing about the figures, all they know is I didn't send them the right one... even though Fire Bone Hot Dog hasn't been released yet.

Very frustrating... thoughts?

Hot Dog in Giants was a Series 1. You can't call everyone that was released in Giants as Series 2. Still, you had the right pic, and communication before purchasing goes a long way.

If this had been an eBay listing, then I would agree that the Seller should have known better and been sure to not list Hot Dog under a title of "Series 2 Hot Dog". On eBay, each Seller creates his/her own listing title.

However, since this was an Amazon listing, I totally sympathize with the Seller, and the Buyer in this case was just being an a$$. Amazon listing titles/headers are generated (typically) by Amazon, and then third party Sellers just add their item and price to the existing listing/page for that item. Individual Sellers on Amazon don't have the authority to change the existing titles/headers. In this case, the "Series 2 Hot Dog" title/header IS Amazon's "fault", since they've apparently not taken the time yet to adjust their existing Skylanders pages/titles after the SwapForce release. In other words, before we learned that "Fire Bone Series 2 Hot Dog" would be part of the Swap Force line-up, it was perfectly appropriate to label any orange-base Skylander as a "Series 2" (informally).

Amazon consistently sides with the buyer. Its really crummy, they take the "customer is always right" scenario as a mantra.

Someone I know (who is a POS fyi) got a free compound bow and a free laptop thanks to amazon siding with him. I'm pretty sure he scammed his way into that....

Quote: WhoAreYou007

So it seems as though it is a happy ending for all. Amazon said they sided with the buyer, however they couldn't find any reason why I would be at fault. In which case they paid for the buyer refund instead of me.

I'm still a little disturbed that the buyer seems to have gotten their money back and are under no obligation to send the figure back to me... Still doesn't seem quite right.

Faith in Amazon restored I suppose

I was just going to advise you to pass the buck to Amazon, that I ASSUME you aren't the one who called it Series 2. So that you should file a claim saying that Amazon is at fault for the mismatch here. At least it's good they took that stance without you making the claim, MUCH less ugly this way.

Still sucks that the customer is getting Hot Dog for nothing, this is the dark side of "The squeaky wheel gets the grease".


Quote: GhostRoaster

Hot Dog in Giants was a Series 1. You can't call everyone that was released in Giants as Series 2. Still, you had the right pic, and communication before purchasing goes a long way.

I was also about to say that, that the official terminology appears to be that Series 1 is the first game it came out in, Series 2 the second, etc., so Hot Dog is Series 1.


Quote: WhoAreYou007

Quote: GhostRoaster

Hot Dog in Giants was a Series 1. You can't call everyone that was released in Giants as Series 2. Still, you had the right pic, and communication before purchasing goes a long way.

While you are correct, I didn't specify anything on Amazon. They had created the listing for products they were selling. As a seller I just clicked "Sell on Amazon" which uses the same title, information and pictures as what Amazon has listed.

For future reference, I would suggest you make sure you 100% agree with the wording of the listing before you just attach to the existing listing like that. I know like this you're more likely to get a buyer, but accuracy is IMPORTANT! This is proof of that!

Guess I spoke too soon...

I got negative feedback...
"Seller listed figure as Series 2, it was only Series 1. Would not give full refund and had a myriad number of excuses as to why they shouldn't be expected to correctly list what they sell. Had to get a refund through Amazon instead. "

My response:
"Item was listed directly under Amazon created listing for figure. I sent them what was pictured and described under Amazon listing. I believe buyer was expecting an item that hasn't even been released yet. Offered full refund on first message to them. Buyer refused to send item back to me for refund. I spent 3 hours on the phone with Amazon Listing services for them to change listing details so issue doesn't happen to anyone in the future. Buyer stops communicating with me, opens A-Z claim. Amazon refunds buyer and says that I am not at fault (since Amazon created listing). Buyer gets their money back and gets to keep item. I am baffled that they felt the need to leave negative feedback as well when I did everything in my power to resolve the situation. Buyer was inconsolable, unreasonable and non-responsive even after I offered to pay return shipping for an item the buyer purchased by mistake. In my 10 years of online sales, I've never had a negative feedback and never had a buyer like this. Very surprised."

Apparently it's impossible for me to ask Amazon to remove feedback. I am very frustrated that even though Amazon agreed I'm not at fault, the buyer can still blatantly lie and leave me negative feedback. Feeling a bit taken at the moment.

Do yourself a favor and sell on Ebay instead. Ive done a ton of research on both.

1. amazon is more expensive, they charge more in fees, hence most times if you check prices of ebay versus amazon, amazon is almost always higher.

2. Ebays searching for items is a lot better, customers can more easily find your items. Amazons searching is a mess, most of the time it lists the same item in several different places and you have to do a lot of digging to find the best price.

3. Not sure how amazon was for listing items, but on Ebay you list your item exactly how you want it to be, so any misinformation on the listing would be your responsibility.

Quote: WhoAreYou007

Guess I spoke too soon...

I got negative feedback...
"Seller listed figure as Series 2, it was only Series 1. Would not give full refund and had a myriad number of excuses as to why they shouldn't be expected to correctly list what they sell. Had to get a refund through Amazon instead. "

My response:
"Item was listed directly under Amazon created listing for figure. I sent them what was pictured and described under Amazon listing. I believe buyer was expecting an item that hasn't even been released yet. Offered full refund on first message to them. Buyer refused to send item back to me for refund. I spent 3 hours on the phone with Amazon Listing services for them to change listing details so issue doesn't happen to anyone in the future. Buyer stops communicating with me, opens A-Z claim. Amazon refunds buyer and says that I am not at fault (since Amazon created listing). Buyer gets their money back and gets to keep item. I am baffled that they felt the need to leave negative feedback as well when I did everything in my power to resolve the situation. Buyer was inconsolable, unreasonable and non-responsive even after I offered to pay return shipping for an item the buyer purchased by mistake. In my 10 years of online sales, I've never had a negative feedback and never had a buyer like this. Very surprised."

Apparently it's impossible for me to ask Amazon to remove feedback. I am very frustrated that even though Amazon agreed I'm not at fault, the buyer can still blatantly lie and leave me negative feedback. Feeling a bit taken at the moment.

Wow, what an a**.

^ Agree with Matteomax.

That buyer is an a$$-holio.
I know two wrongs don't make a right, but a smear campaign against that Buyer is totally justifiable in my opinion. Post or share his/her name and address with others in the Skylanders community ... I'm sure no one else would like to deal with this Buyer, ever.

Quote: Madara Uchiha

Do yourself a favor and sell on Ebay instead. Ive done a ton of research on both.

1. amazon is more expensive, they charge more in fees, hence most times if you check prices of ebay versus amazon, amazon is almost always higher.

2. Ebays searching for items is a lot better, customers can more easily find your items. Amazons searching is a mess, most of the time it lists the same item in several different places and you have to do a lot of digging to find the best price.

3. Not sure how amazon was for listing items, but on Ebay you list your item exactly how you want it to be, so any misinformation on the listing would be your responsibility.

I agree with this advice...stick to selling on Ebay. Post a picture of the item and the bare minimum of information you need to list your item. Always offer potential bidders/buyers the option to ask questions. Also, always send the item with tracking even if you have to charge more for shipping. I don't regularly sell on Ebay, but I cleared out like 20-30 items last year around the holidays and had to learn about sending items via tracking the hard way when a buyer from one of my sales said he never got an item and all I had was a post office receipt which did not suffice as proof of mailing the item. Basically, the rules say you're screwed as a seller if you ever ship an item without tracking and the buyer says they never received the item...it makes no difference if you've got perfect feedback and the first 199 sales went off without a hitch without tracking. There's always a one off loser on the 200th sale who will state they never got an item you sold, so tracking all sales is the only way to protect yourself.

As for this sale, I really do feel for you...you finally encountered the one off loser and had to learn the hard way. The sad reality is that there are people like that out there in the world and you need to protect yourself when selling. Just be glad it wasn't over an expensive item and you didn't completely lose out on the whole cost of the sale. I've heard stories of buyers getting big ticket items like gaming consoles for free after claiming that a seller sold them a broken or used product or that the product wasn't exactly as described.

It's a real shame that this jerk was unreasonable and STILL has the guts to give negative feedback... What kind of idiot expects THIS much to be able to keep the item AND get a refund???!?! Try that with a store, they'll ALWAYS want the item back... And it's terrible that Amazon is going to let that negative feedback stand, despite that it's misrepresenting what happened, and they have the records to know it, to prove it. At least you can respond. I never buy from third parties on Amazon, so I don't know: I hope your response shows up whenever people can see their feedback...

Quote: BahamutBreaker

^ Agree with Matteomax.

That buyer is an a$$-holio.
I know two wrongs don't make a right, but a smear campaign against that Buyer is totally justifiable in my opinion. Post or share his/her name and address with others in the Skylanders community ... I'm sure no one else would like to deal with this Buyer, ever.

The guy is a major jerk, but no - just plain no. Posting personal details is not ok, and likely a violation of a seller's privacy policy agreement. And a violation on these forums.

This is the downfall of selling things online, you are at the mercy of the website and entitled customers. Amazon sees future sales as a priority, and views feedback as something they do not muck with unless it is an outright lie. The seller is dumb, but he isn't lying. He didn't receive what he was sold, Amazon made the mistake in the listing, and they made good on the refund. He made what sounds like exaggerations about the interactions after this, but it isn't technically lying. He should have known better, but things like this happen, and people sometimes make unreasonable reactions.

It sucks, I know. If Amazon won't clean it up there isn't much you can do. Crappy, entitled customers buy things too, and unfortunately online they have an avenue to behave badly in damaging ways when they are stupid or have unreasonable expectations. Hopefully you have plenty of good feedback to outweigh the occasional idiot, that is really the only weapon a seller has - drown them out by making lots and lots of other customers happy.

Quote: defpally

Quote: BahamutBreaker

^ Agree with Matteomax.

That buyer is an a$$-holio.
I know two wrongs don't make a right, but a smear campaign against that Buyer is totally justifiable in my opinion. Post or share his/her name and address with others in the Skylanders community ... I'm sure no one else would like to deal with this Buyer, ever.

The guy is a major jerk, but no - just plain no. Posting personal details is not ok, and likely a violation of a seller's privacy policy agreement. And a violation on these forums.

This is the downfall of selling things online, you are at the mercy of the website and entitled customers. Amazon sees future sales as a priority, and views feedback as something they do not muck with unless it is an outright lie. The seller is dumb, but he isn't lying. He didn't receive what he was sold, Amazon made the mistake in the listing, and they made good on the refund. He made what sounds like exaggerations about the interactions after this, but it isn't technically lying. He should have known better, but things like this happen, and people sometimes make unreasonable reactions.

It sucks, I know. If Amazon won't clean it up there isn't much you can do. Crappy, entitled customers buy things too, and unfortunately online they have an avenue to behave badly in damaging ways when they are stupid or have unreasonable expectations. Hopefully you have plenty of good feedback to outweigh the occasional idiot, that is really the only weapon a seller has - drown them out by making lots and lots of other customers happy.

The thing that I am fighting is that he actually DID lie. "He would not give refund" is completely false. I offered a refund immediately, but the buyer refused to send the item back to me. I tried to send a message (again) to the buyer and explain why it was actually Amazon's fault and that we should both be mad at them, and that he is punishing me for something that wasn't my fault. He responded by saying "Stop contacting me or I will report you to Amazon for harassment"....

I understand your point about the feedback thing, but the problem is not very many buyers have given me feedback even though I have a few hundred sales over the last 2 years. Like around 15% of my sales. My Customer Satisfaction rating on Amazon was at 100% for 333 orders, and this one blip took it down to 93.16%

Just feeling angry at the system that someone can be this malicious, lie about details, get away with it AND feel like they were right all along. Nothing is stopping them from just doing it again and there's no buyer feedback on Amazon.

I appreciate everyone's support in this, it's a dumb situation that I won't make dumber by putting their personal details up.

However, there was about 20 seconds where I considered using "poopsenders.com"

I have to respectfully disagree. I believe the "court of public opinion" should be allowed to weigh-in on this situation. The Buyer does have a right to privacy, but s/he also has a responsibility to act in a responsible manner. Having dealt with a few Buyers similar to the one that "WhoAreYou007" is dealing with, I empathize, and I believe the community has an obligation to protect ourselves from scammers and malcontents, such as the Buyer in this scenario. There is no way to do that without identifying the culprit. I do not believe that personal information should be disseminated casually or without significant cause. But in this case, I believe the Buyer has forfeited his/her right to privacy because s/he has gone to extreme lengths to inconvenience and slander the Seller. I do not subscribe to the philosophy that a Buyer should be allowed to abuse the Seller -- just because s/he is having a bad day or enjoys being a dick -- without repercussions. Since Amazon will not reprimand the malicious Buyer, other avenues must be pursued, in my opinion. I do not suggest ANY sort of violence or physical harm, at all. Rather, the Buyer's online reputation should be sullied, in a manner concurrent with the damage s/he did to "WhoAreYou007"'s online reputation. Other Sellers all over the world should be warned about that Buyer, and if said Sellers choose to black-ball the Buyer, then justice is served.

That's my opinion on this, and I'm stickin' to that.

Quote: WhoAreYou007

However, there was about 20 seconds where I considered using "poopsenders.com"

I can see how frustrated you are, but as a fellow Skylanders fan, I say brush it off your shoulders and move on. Revenge is only for petty people. Things like this eventually happen to all honest sellers with the best of intentions...take it as a learning lesson and keep a positive outlook on things.

Technically, you did not give him a refund, the reason being he refused to deal with you - but yeah. He probably knew it wasn't out yet, but tried anyways and decided to take advantage of the situation. All in all, it doesn't make it right at all, but jerks like to take advantage of loopholes like that and Amazon isn't going to go to bat for you over something that small.

Bahamut, yes I agree shaming has its place, and this douchenozzle deserves it. But, he would be violating privacy rules both here and from Amazon. Not to mention it wouldn't help anything, it isn't like another Amazon seller can refuse to sell to him - as long as Amazon themselves haven't banned him then I don't think you can refuse to sell something you listed on there. And it wouldn't really protect an EBay seller either, unless he used the same name there and they happened to read here. Lastly, let's say he did post it and unleashed the hordes, you know how overboard these things can go sometimes, but for an instant let's assume (don't take it personally OP, I'm just giving an example) the situation isn't exactly as the OP indicated - and the vigilante squad goes out seeking blood.

I'd recommend you stick with EBay, you aren't quite as much at the mercy of them the way you are with Amazon and it is cheaper. But, you will still have risks. I've been guilty pleasure reading over on CAG the XBOne/PS4 scalper thread and some of those guys are setting themselves up for all kinds of potential risks (late returns when the buyer finds it for retail/etc.). In the end, the providers heavily favor the buyer in the case of refunds. Their philosophy and rules pretty much stick to the "just give them the dang refund" and their isn't much you can do about people that are obviously taking advantage of you. If you don't give the money back, they will take it from you. It sort of reminds me about all the people in that other thread telling the guy to no receipt return his WiiU Starter for a Wii one even though he didn't buy it there. Some people will always try to take advantage of you and think nothing of it, and as a business sometimes you just have to suck it up and call it a day, no matter how crappy it is - and when you are using Amazon/EBay/PayPal/etc. you have to play by their rules.

Stick with eBay, even though both them and PayPal mooch a heavy fee from you. I just recently sold a group of prototype figures through PayPal, and they took $40 out of the huge amount I got.

Quote: defpally

Technically, you did not give him a refund, the reason being he refused to deal with you - but yeah. He probably knew it wasn't out yet, but tried anyways and decided to take advantage of the situation. All in all, it doesn't make it right at all, but jerks like to take advantage of loopholes like that and Amazon isn't going to go to bat for you over something that small.

Bahamut, yes I agree shaming has its place, and this douchenozzle deserves it. But, he would be violating privacy rules both here and from Amazon. Not to mention it wouldn't help anything, it isn't like another Amazon seller can refuse to sell to him - as long as Amazon themselves haven't banned him then I don't think you can refuse to sell something you listed on there. And it wouldn't really protect an EBay seller either, unless he used the same name there and they happened to read here. Lastly, let's say he did post it and unleashed the hordes, you know how overboard these things can go sometimes, but for an instant let's assume (don't take it personally OP, I'm just giving an example) the situation isn't exactly as the OP indicated - and the vigilante squad goes out seeking blood.

I'd recommend you stick with EBay, you aren't quite as much at the mercy of them the way you are with Amazon and it is cheaper. But, you will still have risks. I've been guilty pleasure reading over on CAG the XBOne/PS4 scalper thread and some of those guys are setting themselves up for all kinds of potential risks (late returns when the buyer finds it for retail/etc.). In the end, the providers heavily favor the buyer in the case of refunds. Their philosophy and rules pretty much stick to the "just give them the dang refund" and their isn't much you can do about people that are obviously taking advantage of you. If you don't give the money back, they will take it from you. It sort of reminds me about all the people in that other thread telling the guy to no receipt return his WiiU Starter for a Wii one even though he didn't buy it there. Some people will always try to take advantage of you and think nothing of it, and as a business sometimes you just have to suck it up and call it a day, no matter how crappy it is - and when you are using Amazon/EBay/PayPal/etc. you have to play by their rules.

Agree with you, theoretically there's no way to prove what I am saying is true unless I take screenshots, etc... of the actual messages. The pure fact that it is "hearsay" is one of the reasons that Amazon is able to side with the buyer in the first place. I also sell on Ebay, and even though there is more accountability for buyers (feedback), people will still leave feedback without understanding.

For example, I test everything before I send it out. Buyer got a Wii portal from me and they left neutral feedback saying that the portal didn't work. They didn't contact me about it before hand. Since I test everything, I knew that it worked. I asked if they had synced the portal to their Wii... they had not. Once I spent about 20 minutes typing out directions on how to fix it, they confirmed that it worked. They couldn't take the 3 minutes to fix the feedback. So in 640 feedback (over 10 ish years), this is the only blemish on my feedback. I know that it's not really a big deal, and nothing is perfect. The biggest reason I've gotten such a sour taste in my mouth over this is because of the powerless feeling I have. I can't do anything to make it right, and that kills me.

The fact that some people are just fine with that morale positioning just kills me. To be that selfish is extremely hard for me to understand.

Hopefully I don't seem too ignorant about all of this, I want to think better about people. I guess it's just something that adds to my skepticism about people in general.

What it boils down to, WhoAreYou007, is that there is a growing segment of the American population that believes it's perfectly acceptable to trash someone's reputation as long as the internet provides the trasher with anonymity.
There is no way in hell that the Buyers you have described would get away with demeaning you so much in-person, without the imaginary "internet shield" to hide behind. Just a lot of pent-up anger inside such people, who are usually too anti-social to actually function as adults in real society.

The internet has provided the population with so many positives and benefits ... but this is one of the major negatives about the proliferation of internet-based culture. For many of us that are roughly 23-ish years old and up, we all knew and fully experienced culture before the internet really boomed into becoming a daily part of most Americans' lifestyle. We have the luxury of knowing the expectations and responsibilities associated with actual real in-person social interactions (even if we don't always adhere to them). But for the generations of Americans that are currently under 23 (and generations yet to come), most never really experienced (as an adult) a society where in-person interactions were more common than online interactions ... and that has created some very unfortunate consequences.

Outside of the potential "age divide" I described, I've also noticed a couple of trends with regard to particularly nasty and unreasonable and/or ignorant eBay/Amazon Buyers ... it's always a bit dangerous to generalize and stereotype, so take this with a grain of salt. But I have definitely noticed that two distinct sub-segments of American society tend to harbor many of the nasty/unreasonable/ignorant internet users (not including children/teens): 1. 20-something single mothers, and 2. ex-military. I bet others have experienced or noticed similar trends.

I think it is two things, firstly it is the lack of ability for many people to really picture others on the Internet as real people, and not just kids that think like this. And the ability to hide behind anonymity that isn't easy to break makes it worse. There is an old Penny Arcade that dealt with this exact equation.

Secondly, it is the greed in general of this country. People too often feel like "hey someone did something that got over on me, so why can't I to someone else". Also "hey, they left themselves open to it, it is their own fault!". You see this ALOT in justification for scalping. They feel no remorse whatsoever in scalping a PS4 presale or Skylanders at a ludicrous premium that they feel as justified simply because they happened to be in the right place at the right time and there are people that will pay it. I'm sorry but a willing victim does not make a bad action ok, many elderly and gullible people walk into scams willingly, and sometimes even refuse to admit they were scammed afterwards. It goes back to the shift into the "Me" generation, the Gordon Gekko "Greed is Good" philosophy. If you can make money off of something, then obviously it is ok because you made money. And all that does is pay the selfishness forward, because then the victim feels like it is ok to pass it on to the next person. People used to be ashamed of taking advantage of others (other than sociopaths), now it is standard operating procedure in the business world. If they get caught doing something bad, they pay a fine and consider it part of the cost of doing business. They make nothing more that superficial changes to appear the are correcting it. Studies have confirmed that many of the most successful in the business world have highly developed sociopathic tendencies.

Quote:

Stick with eBay, even though both them and PayPal mooch a heavy fee from you. I just recently sold a group of prototype figures through PayPal, and they took $40 out of the huge amount I got

Either site your going to deal with paypal, or something similiar if you want to protect yourself and your customers. Paypal only charges 2.9% plus .30 cents per transacation. Ebay is a flat 10%, with free listings. If i remember right amazon charges per listing, and their rates are variable depending on what your selling, some of those rates are well over 10%, then there are additional fees they tack on after that. So yes Amazon is worse. Thier search engine is terrible. But either site your going to pay them for helping you sell something. The only thing that is free is Craigslist. If they took $40.00 out of it you were selling several hundred dollars worth of merchandise.

i cant stand people like that.
do people read the title????
*headdesk*

The irony in this thread is amazing.

In the end this speaks to one of my biggest pet peeves: That it's very common to have the opinion that it's okay to screw strangers. If you don't know me, it's okay to damage me/my stuff/my reputation/my day for whatever reasons you might have (for kicks, for personal gain, whatever). And though this is most prevalent through the anonymity of the internet, I've seen it in real life too. I once drove long distance to visit a friend, and I couldn't park in their driveway, so I was advised to park on the street. Small, quiet suburban (nearly rural) street, so I was in nobody's way. Some nosy neighbour decided to have me towed, either because they were bored or they felt like sticking it to somebody, whatever. NO consideration whatsoever with the fact that my car was from out of town, so my options were limited. Nay, non-existent. They didn't know me, so who cares what that did to me, right?

My head would just about explode if this was me, it's frustrating me just vicariously. Feel comforted by the fact that we feel you.

Quote: minecrafter

i cant stand people like that.
do people read the title????
*headdesk*

Do people read the OP's comments???
We were helping a user who is in need of help. We were telling him to forget about Amazon and go to eBay.

Ummmm, Matteo, I figure minecrafter was referring to the buyer the OP was complaining about, that the buyer didn't read that it's a Giant's Hot Dog, etc.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: WhoAreYou007

So, I sometimes sell extra used figures on ebay / Amazon. Most of which are way below retail at the moment.

I recently got a return request for a Giants - Hot Dog character claiming that I sent them the wrong item and I had made a mistake in listing. On Amazon it was listed as "Skylanders Giants Single Character Pack Core Series 2 Hot Dog"

I sent them the only Hot Dog figure that has been released with the orange base. It's the same one in the pictures on Amazon, etc... However, the buyer must have expected me to send the REAL series 2 (blue base) Hot Dog and it being really nasty about it. From the beginning I've told them I'll refund them if they just send the figure back. They refuse to pay for return shipping (it would be less than $2) and that I need to refund them.

I even spent an hour on the phone with Amazon CS and Amazon Listing Services to try and get the title fixed for the REAL series 1 giants figures so there is no more confusion in the future.

Just wanted to vent my frustration. I guess there's a possibility that I will have to refund them the money without even getting the figure back, all because there was a technicality in the product listing. Buyer even admitted to knowing nothing about the figures, all they know is I didn't send them the right one... even though Fire Bone Hot Dog hasn't been released yet.

Very frustrating... thoughts?

Hot Dog in Giants was a Series 1. You can't call everyone that was released in Giants as Series 2. Still, you had the right pic, and communication before purchasing goes a long way.

If this had been an eBay listing, then I would agree that the Seller should have known better and been sure to not list Hot Dog under a title of "Series 2 Hot Dog". On eBay, each Seller creates his/her own listing title.

However, since this was an Amazon listing, I totally sympathize with the Seller, and the Buyer in this case was just being an a$$. Amazon listing titles/headers are generated (typically) by Amazon, and then third party Sellers just add their item and price to the existing listing/page for that item. Individual Sellers on Amazon don't have the authority to change the existing titles/headers. In this case, the "Series 2 Hot Dog" title/header IS Amazon's "fault", since they've apparently not taken the time yet to adjust their existing Skylanders pages/titles after the SwapForce release. In other words, before we learned that "Fire Bone Series 2 Hot Dog" would be part of the Swap Force line-up, it was perfectly appropriate to label any orange-base Skylander as a "Series 2" (informally).

OK, I didn't catch that Amazon was posting the information. I've never sold on Amazon (When I investigated it seemed a bit high) but I'm assuming the site allows you to change the information and/or build your own model if the site is incorrect? If that is the case, then that should be a task for the Seller moving forward.

In terms of the buyer--yes he has a beef--but he also owns a little bit of responsibility in this as well in gaining clarification prior to purchase.

Amazon needs to own a bit more in making sure their data is valid, and/or providing the tools for sellers to change this if incorrect.

In terms of help---the buyer is being made whole...so not sure what else needs to be said.

GhostRoaster: I've never sold on Amazon either, but as I understand it, it's either clicking "I am selling this", and inheriting EVERYTHING, including a mis-worded title, or having a far reduced exposure to buyers. When people search and get the mega-listing, it would list the OP among the sellers, everybody searching Hot Dog would have access to the OP's listing. Conversely, striking out on his own, though more accurate, means he'll miss all the people who use the mega-listing to get the cheapest one and be done with it.

^ Niceguy1 is spot-on there.
Yes, as a Seller on Amazon, one is allowed to create new listings when a product doesn't already have a standing listing.
However, "item rank" is a component in the Amazon search results algorithm. So, if there's an established listing that's very similar to the listing being created (as is the case in this situation revolving around "Series 2 Hot Dog"), then the newly-created listing would get almost no visibility ... even if it more accurately/correctly reflects the item's description.

I personally would hold the Buyer in this situation wholly responsible, especially if the Buyer was unwilling to return the item. If the Buyer made a genuine mistake, then s/he would return the item for a refund, in accordance with Amazon policy. However, since s/he refused to return the item, it is my (probably accurate) impression that the Buyer intended to scam the Seller right from the outset, (successfully, sadly) taking advantage of the "loophole" created when Activision decided to use the silly S2/S3 naming system during this generation of Skylanders releases. As I stated earlier in this thread, the Buyer fully deserves our collective scorn, since it is VERY unlikely that s/he is innocent in this situation.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

^ Niceguy1 is spot-on there.
Yes, as a Seller on Amazon, one is allowed to create new listings when a product doesn't already have a standing listing.
However, "item rank" is a component in the Amazon search results algorithm. So, if there's an established listing that's very similar to the listing being created (as is the case in this situation revolving around "Series 2 Hot Dog"), then the newly-created listing would get almost no visibility ... even if it more accurately/correctly reflects the item's description.

I personally would hold the Buyer in this situation wholly responsible, especially if the Buyer was unwilling to return the item. If the Buyer made a genuine mistake, then s/he would return the item for a refund, in accordance with Amazon policy. However, since s/he refused to return the item, it is my (probably accurate) impression that the Buyer intended to scam the Seller right from the outset, (successfully, sadly) taking advantage of the "loophole" created when Activision decided to use the silly S2/S3 naming system during this generation of Skylanders releases. As I stated earlier in this thread, the Buyer fully deserves our collective scorn, since it is VERY unlikely that s/he is innocent in this situation.

I agree, this in no way smells like a legit mistake. He ran to Amazon's return policy WAY too fast, with practically no effort to resolve otherwise or send it back - almost as if that was what he intended to do all along. He probably saw the listing, knew it was likely inaccurate, knew it wasn't out and decided to score - probably had his complaint already written up too. He is probably leaving the bad feedback in place to complete the ruse of being "harmed" by the mistake.

After all, I haven't run into ANY casual Skylanders fans that would know a previously un-reposed repose is a Series 2, yet it is new for the third game, whereas the ones that have already been reposed are Series 3. Honestly, everyone thinks "Series 3" means Swap Force, not how many times they have redone that figure. I also contend that the images showed a Series 1 Hot Dog, not 2, and anyone that is even half paying attention would know he isn't out yet.

Exactly, Defpally.