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Questions about box damage and tape seals


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44 minutes ago, Grynn said:

Exactly... Good pics, show entire box in good light, highlight 2-3 worst flaw close up. Always emphasize actual holes, tears, or bad seals. Most buyers won't care, and us box snobs won't get our hopes up based on misleading or incomplete description.

I've sold dozens of older "minty" sets and only about 3 buyers cared enough to ever ask/confirm condition. None complained. I stopped over-describing a couple years ago and sales seemed to improve. You'll notice many high ending auctions are stock pics with blank description. Do better, but don't sweat it too much.

In my experience the people who care about the minor shelfwear are the Resellers worried about their Evilbay feedback. The end Consumer usually does not care. Whenever I get a message asking about the item's condition I usually block them before they can buy. Reselling SCUM lol

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5 minutes ago, Average Guy said:

In my experience the people who care about the minor shelfwear are the Resellers worried about their Evilbay feedback. The end Consumer usually does not care. Whenever I get a message asking about the item's condition I usually block them before they can buy. Reselling SCUM lol

People who buy this set as a Xmas gift do care about box condition.

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5 minutes ago, Ciglione said:

People who buy this set as a Xmas gift do care about box condition.

Exactly. Conversely, a "box snob" is very difficult to deal with and so I usually don't - I just block them (no offense to any collectors here, just my preference). There is another Buyer right around the corner...

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8 minutes ago, Average Guy said:

Exactly. Conversely, a "box snob" is very difficult to deal with and so I usually don't - I just block them (no offense to any collectors here, just my preference). There is another Buyer right around the corner...

Personally, I would never give a legoset with poor box condition as a gift to someone. 

Maybe only in the case I do not like this person that much. So there is a market for bad boxes I guess.

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21 minutes ago, Ciglione said:

Personally, I would never give a legoset with poor box condition as a gift to someone. 

Maybe only in the case I do not like this person that much. So there is a market for bad boxes I guess.

I think what we're are getting confused over is a box with a little scuff on the edges or small crease versus a torn, mangled, bent or frayed box.

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27 minutes ago, Ciglione said:

Personally, I would never give a legoset with poor box condition as a gift to someone. 

Maybe only in the case I do not like this person that much. So there is a market for bad boxes I guess.

I will accept any beat up, torn up, ran over by a truck, Lego kit that anyone gives me.  I have looked at tens of thousands of Lego kits and the cardboard kit boxes don't have any studs to attach a Lego brick. lol I don't care what the box looks like except to resell it. If I wear a child I am positive I would not care about the condition of the kit box.

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Well I had a buyer from Italy, who said he wanted another set send because one seal was a little bit out of position. The box was in excellent condition and all the seals were intact. After a hell lot of emails I could convince him not to leave a negative feedback....

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4 minutes ago, Sozial said:

Well I had a buyer from Italy, who said he wanted another set send because one seal was a little bit out of position. The box was in excellent condition and all the seals were intact. After a hell lot of emails I could convince him not to leave a negative feedback....

I would think he is a Reseller as that is minor shelfwear. This is exactly my point - only the Resellers care about the minor shelfwear. It can cause a lot of problems for everyone involved and I don't like it. I do respect Collectors who want a Mint box, but Mint kit box cost extra money to pack and ship to arrive in minty condition. If you want quality as a Collector then you pay a higher price and should expect better condition and packaging.

 

If you are a Reseller hiding behind the guise of an average end Consumer and asking questions like "Are all 10 of these in mint condition?" and then try to negotiate a sales deal and the cheapest shipping possible, and then file a claim when one or more of the 10 items you bought arrives with shelfwear or shipping damage then I have little tolerance for these Reselller types. I think it is bad form. Incidental damage or small shelfwear is part of moving in quantity to resell.

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41 minutes ago, Sozial said:

Well I had a buyer from Italy, who said he wanted another set send because one seal was a little bit out of position. The box was in excellent condition and all the seals were intact. After a hell lot of emails I could convince him not to leave a negative feedback....

You are picking on the italians now?

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45 minutes ago, Average Guy said:

I will accept any beat up, torn up, ran over by a truck, Lego kit that anyone gives me.  I have looked at tens of thousands of Lego kits and the cardboard kit boxes don't have any studs to attach a Lego brick. lol I don't care what the box looks like except to resell it. If I wear a child I am positive I would not care about the condition of the kit box.

I've said give, not accept. That is something else. 

 

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Guest TabbyBoy

Last year I sold 4 sets on eBay unboxed (getting really pissed off with anal buyers) and then sold the boxes separately flat-packed in large card-backed envelopes for good money. Another meaning of parting-out?

When I list on eBay normally, I state: "Box in good sealed retail condition and may have minor cosmetic marks hence, I DO NOT guarantee box condition or accept returns stating box damage even though the utmost care is taken when shipping. If in any doubt, please NO DOT purchase!"

Edited by TabbyBoy
Typo
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  • 1 month later...
2 hours ago, gregpj said:

This is such extremely bad advice... Even if a box is dented, creased, whatever, the item is NEW as long as all the parts inside are NEW. I have a real problem with those who list as NEW once parts bags have been opened to remove minifigures and it's unfortunate that eBay doesn't have the proper categories to capture these scenarios (New-Incomplete vs New-Sealed vs New-Opened), but that's like saying the brand new car I bought isn't new because it has 30 miles on the odometer from test drives... Oh my, someone put their dirty feet on the floor or butt in the seat, the car isn't new anymore.

While I agree with you that box condition isn't a major factor in the purchasing decision of customers, I'm going to play devil's advocate here...

If you're selling on Amazon a "NEW" item means the packaging is in pristine condition. If someone listed the box above as "NEW" they are just opening themselves up to an account suspension. On the other hand, if you're selling on eBay that would be perfectly acceptable to list as "NEW". So, I just wanted to clarify that. Do NOT list a box like that as "NEW" on Amazon; it's not worth taking that risk to your account.

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People say box condition doesn't matter. Then I get 5 messages a day from buyers asking about box condition looking for mint boxes. I mean if there is one thing comic book fans don't care about at all it's condition right?

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7 minutes ago, MarxMarvelous said:

People say box condition doesn't matter. Then I get 5 messages a day from buyers asking about box condition looking for mint boxes. I mean if there is one thing comic book fans don't care about at all it's condition right?

I've had a message on my listings for years saying to contact me if you have concerns over the box condition.  I can count on one hand how many times I've actually been contacted before purchase and my feedback rating is still 100% positive.

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5 hours ago, pete411 said:

I agree with what Greg is saying. Yes there will always be box snobs. Those annoying poor saps who'll moan if there is a slight crease on a box that was described as mint. To deter these folks from buying from me, I never describe my sets as mint. Do you ever wonder why exclusives that pop up on AWD always get snatched up within minutes of hitting their site? Most end users don't give a damn. Knocking off 15% off of a large exclusive is too good of a deal to pass up. Most end users will gladly buy dented up boxes as long as the contents are new and unopened for 20 bucks less. The more expensive the set, the less it really matters. Trust me.

I don't want to knock 15% or $20 of my set because some stupid multi-billion dollar international corporation can't put something in a shipping box correctly. I've been selling on ebay 15 years. Condition matters. You will not convince me otherwise ever.

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8 minutes ago, MarxMarvelous said:

People say box condition doesn't matter. Then I get 5 messages a day from buyers asking about box condition looking for mint boxes. I mean if there is one thing comic book fans don't care about at all it's condition right?

probably some reseller scum looking to stash more gold in their vault.

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16 minutes ago, MarxMarvelous said:

People say box condition doesn't matter. Then I get 5 messages a day from buyers asking about box condition looking for mint boxes. I mean if there is one thing comic book fans don't care about at all it's condition right?

Quite telling on number of investors vs actual builders.

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12 hours ago, woodyhtc said:

Received my Tumbler from Target today and the box is badly damaged :( 

One of the seals is coming off but not broken entirely. Should I keep it and sell 10-20% less in the future or take it back to target? Thoughts?

20160114_181551.jpg

As an expensive and valuable collectible, this looks like garbage.  It should be returned or discounted by Target.  Maybe it is not truly terrible but only because I have ordered sets from amazon UK(inexplicably sopping wet) before they improved their quality control.  As it turns out, I am a box snob. 

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