So we've had a slew of buyers on ebay buying our sets where it's plainly stated as 'No minifigures and No box included' 2x in the ad. Yet they email us and threaten negative feedback if we don't give them the minifigures or refund them. These people are really messing it up for everyone else who wants to buy sets without minifigures as we're considering stopping these types of ads. Approximately 1 out of 10 customers complain after purchasing and not reading the ad. How does everyone else handle this? There are Zero issues on bricklink selling this way. And ebay/PayPal always takes our side in the filed cases. Travis

Put a big "NO MINIFIGURES NO BOX" texts on all your listing pictures

Put a big "NO MINIFIGURES NO BOX" texts on all your listing pictures

This sounds like a good idea.

Also,

In the event people do complain how does Ebay handle these auctions you are mentioning?

Unfortunately there is no 'idiot' filter on ebay!

I hate that. Just shows you how stupid some people are on eBay. Really, it is the buyer's fault and eBay should remove the negative feedback if you receive it. Try customer service. Even though eBay tends to side with the buyer, since it was stated in the listing that the minifigures weren't included, then it's their fault!

Unfortunately there is no 'idiot' filter on ebay!

Darn it. I would pay extra for that. ;)

I used to run into this all the time. First, don't select "new" or "used" for the item condition. Even though the bricks are new, when you pick new it lists several examples of things which can make an item considered to be new. So then the buyers will email you and complain that it said "new in box" or whatever it lists there. It also lists handmade there but I'm pretty sure I didn't make this stuff. That's really the biggest help, I think. I had a lot of people emailing me after getting the minifigureless sets even though I had "no minifigures" in 2 places. I switched to not choosing a condition and listing "no minifigures" about 4 times and the problem went away. Another thing I tried was to message people before sending the item just to make sure they were aware that the item did not include minifigures, but most people never responded one way or another so I just ended up sending the items anyway and stopped sending the reminder. Most of the buyers who didn't read the listing were a little annoyed but realized it was their fault so nothing came of it. I tried to work with people but if they sent me a really nasty message demanding a refund I wouldn't try to help them out and let them open a complaint. I had 3 cases opened and all 3 were decided in my favor since I made it very clear in the listing and the buyers admitted to not having read the listing in their messages to me.

I can see how it's annoying but if everything is stated in the terms of the auction it sounds like you get the money and no harm comes from it. Can a buyer still leave negative feedback in the instance Ebay decides in the buyers favor?

Darn it. I would pay extra for that.

Amen Brother, I feel you pain.

I can see how it's annoying but if everything is stated in the terms of the auction it sounds like you get the money and no harm comes from it. Can a buyer still leave negative feedback in the instance Ebay decides in the buyers favor?

Yes, buyers can leave negative feedback for almost anything & state lies in the comment field (even if their emails would prove otherwise).

So we've had a slew of buyers on ebay buying our sets where it's plainly stated as 'No minifigures and No box included' 2x in the ad. Yet they email us and threaten negative feedback if we don't give them the minifigures or refund them.

These people are really messing it up for everyone else who wants to buy sets without minifigures as we're considering stopping these types of ads. Approximately 1 out of 10 customers complain after purchasing and not reading the ad.

How does everyone else handle this? There are Zero issues on bricklink selling this way. And ebay/PayPal always takes our side in the filed cases.

Travis

What pictures do you put on the listings?

I put "NO MINIFIGURES" in the title. This hasn't happened yet to me.

Thanks for all of the replies, yes we already have 'NO MINIFIGURES' in the subject and description, but the morons keep on purchasing and complaining. Also, ill try Mos Eisley's advice of changing it since we have 'New' as item description. I hated putting Used because technically they are brand new and minifigures are pulled.

Darn it. I would pay extra for that.

Amen Brother, I feel you pain.

Indeed, this would be a great feature!

That really sucks. You can't get much clearer than what you are already doing. Maybe you can even put text in the pictures that you post. I bet you that way more people just look at the pictures and don't bother reading the text.

Thanks for all of the replies, yes we already have 'NO MINIFIGURES' in the subject and description, but the morons keep on purchasing and complaining.

Also, ill try Mos Eisley's advice of changing it since we have 'New' as item description. I hated putting Used because technically they are brand new and minifigures are pulled.

Before calling anyone names, could you tell us what kind of pictures shown in your listings ? Did the listings show detailed pictures of the set(s) without minifigures and boxes ? Some buyers (unwisely) purchase the items solely based on pictures provided in your listing. Having clear pictures showing the actual items listed will further decrease the occurrence of this kind of purchase. Also, I still suggest adding clear text on the pictures to make it more obvious that you do not include the minifigs.

I do a lot of these sales. I have had several buyers complain, but never received a negative feedback yet. I have changed a few things that seem to help a lot. I do not show a picture of the set box unless I add Red text on it that states "no minifigures / no box included." I try my best to only use pictures that show the assembled bricks without any minifigures in the image. I will crop out minifigs from stock images whenever possible. Sellers that show mini figures in their listings are asking for trouble here. I usually state 4-5x "No minifigures" in the listing. The "new" description is sensitive - so I make sure to clearly address this in my listing. the issue is as others have stated that the problem buyers just don't read any way. I also accept returns, but the buyer pays return shipping and the original shipping fee is non-refundable. Offering the return helps to settle people down, and it gives me Top-Rated seller status, so it keeps my fees down.

I hate to say it, but if there is no box and no mini figures then the item is USED and at best New/Incomplete. You've opened/discarded the box and removed part of the contents. If I take a case of 12 cans of Dr Peppers and drink one, the rest of the cans are new but the case is opened and therefore used. In your listings, if you ever show a picture of the box or mini figures then you need to use different pictures. Don't get me wrong, buyers can be real turds and often don't read properly but as a seller you must be honest about what you show and sell. I won't buy from sellers who appear to be exaggerating what they are selling either by using stock pictures that aren't accurate or being too "discrete" in what the auction doesn't include*. * - unless it's just too good of a deal to pass on. :)

I hate to say it, but if there is no box and no mini figures then the item is USED and at best New/Incomplete. You've opened/discarded the box and removed part of the contents.

If I take a case of 12 cans of Dr Peppers and drink one, the rest of the cans are new but the case is opened and therefore used.

Wrong.

Wrong.

Not to be rude, but with such an eloquent response and obvious insight might you care to share your views? I was just sharing mine and why I dislike people posting sales with parts missing as New.

The product is partially missing, therefore to me it is used. It is worth more because the parts are new, but the product itself is not.

Wrong.

Not to be rude, but with such an eloquent response and obvious insight might you care to share your views? I was just sharing mine and why I dislike people posting sales with parts missing as New.

The product is partially missing, therefore to me it is used. It is worth more because the parts are new, but the product itself is not.

I would have to agree that more than a 1 word answer would be more helpful for expressing your views on the matter. In any case it would be nice to for these to be listed under USED if not for any other reason than to help BP get more acturate data on the set. Right now if a set is sold without minifigs or in parts it may sell for a lot less than a new FULL set would sell for. As far as I know both are seen as a NEW set when BP collects the eBay data but I could be wrong. They may use filters to avoid that.

eBay's definition of "New" is clearly spelled out here

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/item-condition.html

A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is applicable). Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag. See the seller's listing for full details.

Strictly by that definition, a set without a box and without minifigs can not be considered "New" in an eBay listing because the box is missing and/or the bags containing the minifigs is either opened or missing.

That is why eBay has the "New (other)" condition which also specifically states "The item may be missing the original packaging, or in the original packaging but not sealed."

So, it seems rather obvious that sets without boxes and/or minifigs but with the other individual part bags still sealed should be listed as "New other" with an additional added disclaimer about the missing box/minifigs.

Sellers who consistently list sets with missing boxes/minifigs as "New" are basically almost trying to "catch" buyers who will only search with the "New" option checked because they don't want the "stigma" of "New (other)". In an ideal world, this is technically wrong.

eBay may side with a buyer in a case if the buyer claims that the seller misrepresented the item's condition if they don't admit in an email (i.e. just keep quiet and file a case) they they didn't read the part about "no minifigs/box" in the description/title.

eBay usually decides cases based on the buyer's opinion or interpretation of the listing (the listing said dark blue but the buyer thinks it is light blue and therefore the seller is wrong and loses) unless some buyer is willing to admit via email to their own mistake.

As a seller, I wouldn't take that risk.

And it absolutely helps your case to take a "real" photo of what the buyer is actually going to get. Using a stock photo that might accidentally include the box and/or minifigs is techincally misleading and asking for trouble. Spend the effort to make everything as clear as possible.

If sellers want to list unused LEGO bricks as used, that's great. I will keep on listing mine as new. I clearly show and state what's included, and I have never had a problem. That is a shame that brickpicker.com's data might get skewed, though. Pro tip: Don't use a photo that shows items that aren't included.

as a buyer, I never look into any lego sets without minifigures and no box. I truly don't understand why the sellers need to take out the minifigures. Those minifigures are not assembled. They are in the sealed bags mixed with other bricks. That only means that the sellers have to open the sealed box and break the sealed bags to retrieve those pieces for minifigures. It results in unsealed box, tempered bags and possibly assembled (even claimed unused). Will you make more money by doing that? I guess so; otherwise, this "taking out stuff from sealed box and bags" behavior probably would not happen. As I pointed out before, lego is now filled with money and "greed". "Greed" comes with arguments. Simple trading most of the time prevent troubles. I made mistakes before just because sellers' "misused" terms luring me into buying stuff. "open box new"? Don't you think this goes with some degree of dishonesty? Just like recently, there was a posting as to Imperial shuttle sold for 450 USD. And the seller posted the picture of "two imperial shuttles" but down in the description stating that "you only get one of them". Other replies suspected that the buyer might have missed the description. As to me, I think the seller is somewhat dishonest in presenting the item. If you only sell one, why on the earth do you show two in the picture? Aren't you trying to see whether any careless buyers will be trapped? If you are not trying, I guess you will feel very happy about selling others an "currently overpriced" item and later you might do the same trick. I wish I thought too much.

I've always been of the opinion that anytime you break the factory seal of a product, it is automatically used at that point, but alas, maybe I'm missing something.