It really seems like 75% or more of the sets I buy on Ebay are shipped brown paper now. Guess I have to go back to sending every single seller a message before I buy. Sigh. No wonder I get so much repeat business. Seems like everyone else is just awful

I sold a Star Wars prop replica in its own original shipper but I wrapped it in heavy brown paper to semi-protect the condition of the original shipper. FedEx refused to accept it when I dropped it off because they said that the brown paper may rip in transit causing the shipping label to come off and then they wouldn't know who the receiver was. It made sense to me. I think all carriers should refuse anything wrapped in brown paper.

I can never see shipping anything wrapped in brown paper.  That is just awful.  Kraft paper is just not stable enough to ship Lego sets in or really much of anything else for that matter.  Like FedEx stated when they refused to accept the package, the paper can easily get torn and ripped of the package during transit.  I know it could reduce costs but I can imagine most buyers are happy to pay a few more bucks to receive their item undamaged in a proper box.  I wish all sellers had pride in their sales and valued their customers.  Proper packaging is one way to display that professionalism.

I can never see shipping anything wrapped in brown paper.  That is just awful.  Kraft paper is just not stable enough to ship Lego sets in or really much of anything else for that matter.  Like FedEx stated when they refused to accept the package, the paper can easily get torn and ripped of the package during transit.  I know it could reduce costs but I can imagine most buyers are happy to pay a few more bucks to receive their item undamaged in a proper box.  I wish all sellers had pride in their sales and valued their customers.  Proper packaging is one way to display that professionalism.

most of the ebay LEGO sellers actually don't care about "repeat purchases" hence they don't care about how item reaches the buyer. 

i have had at least 2 sellers (in past month) who have shipped LEGO sets just wrapped on brown paper.

I sold a Star Wars prop replica in its own original shipper but I wrapped it in heavy brown paper to semi-protect the condition of the original shipper. FedEx refused to accept it when I dropped it off because they said that the brown paper may rip in transit causing the shipping label to come off and then they wouldn't know who the receiver was. It made sense to me. I think all carriers should refuse anything wrapped in brown paper.

If you put enough tape on it, even the buyer will have a hard time getting the paper off.

I like when they tape the paper to the lego box. Classy

when your 5 month old poops and it goes up her diaper to her shoulderblades and goes all over your sheets because mommy wont let her sleep in the crib. @4am.

when your 5 month old poops and it goes up her diaper to her shoulderblades and goes all over your sheets because mommy wont let her sleep in the crib. @4am.

Mr. Hankey's mid-night visits...

when your 5 month old poops and it goes up her diaper to her shoulderblades and goes all over your sheets because mommy wont let her sleep in the crib. @4am.

If it make you feel any better, my kids are 7 and 3, and don't do that anymore.

Oh, sorry.  That just makes me feel better.  

when your 5 month old poops and it goes up her diaper to her shoulderblades and goes all over your sheets because mommy wont let her sleep in the crib. @4am.

Poop up the back is the worst!! Sorry bro.

when your 5 month old poops and it goes up her diaper to her shoulderblades and goes all over your sheets because mommy wont let her sleep in the crib. @4am.

Wow. 5 months old and already she's full of it. Well if there could be anything considered 'sunny' from this, at least she is regular and not constipated.

Poop up the back is the worst!! Sorry bro.

You don't have any girls I see.  Yes poop up the back is bad, especially when you don't know it until you start changing and then realize it went from diaper change to full on bath.

 

If it make you feel any better, my kids are 7 and 3, and don't do that anymore.

Oh, sorry.  That just makes me feel better.  

Your response was like the text form of

You don't have any girls I see.  Yes poop up the back is bad, especially when you don't know it until you start changing and then realize it went from diaper change to full on bath.

I have a girl too and yep, poop everywhere with her too. Yes, it's crappy to see it and have to take care of, but honestly, I always felt bad for them when it happened. Just imagining them sleeping in it until we got them was awful. 

Okay, I realize there are a lot of parents here with infants or had to take of a baby at one time or another but before this conversation starts to reek like a full diaper, perhaps we can steer away from all the poop, please?

Got another MF from an ebay seller. Not even in craft paper. Just shipped the MF off in it's own box with tape all over it. WTF is going on with ebay sellers? I give up. Just not buying from private individuals anymore. I must be running a 80% failure rate on ebay and amazon 3p sellers. So sick of doing returns. Just not worth it any more. Only buying from actual retail companies from now on. Just pathetic the sellers out there.

You can buy from me--always a shipping box, 90% of the time a brand new box, appropriate packing, and a handwritten "thank you." 

We don't all suck, but the one's who do make the rest of us look really good.  

I won an eBay bid but because the seller had only standard (retail) pictures on his auction, and also 0 feedback score as a seller, I asked for a few pictures of the actual LEGO set showing the uncut seals to verify all is well. That was 3 days ago and I still haven't heard a word from the guy.

Also, the location of the seller is Hungary, but the item's location is in Italy ? Sounds all a bit too fishy to me so unless I get some solid confirmation that he's actually in possession of the set and going to send it to me, I'm withholding my payment. 

Any advice from experienced eBay buyers & sellers here?

Edited September 26, 201510 yr by Haay

Got another MF from an ebay seller. Not even in craft paper. Just shipped the MF off in it's own box with tape all over it. WTF is going on with ebay sellers? I give up. Just not buying from private individuals anymore. I must be running a 80% failure rate on ebay and amazon 3p sellers. So sick of doing returns. Just not worth it any more. Only buying from actual retail companies from now on. Just pathetic the sellers out there.

Well, what has been your experience with actual retail? Frankly, eBay and Amazon 3P aren't much worse, in my experience. Sets in bubble mailers, sets in large bags with no padding, sets in boxes with no packing material, wrong item sent, missing items...eBay and Amazon 3P? Yeah, but also Walmart, Kmart, Amazon, etc.

Edited September 26, 201510 yr by minicoopers11

I won an eBay bid but because the seller had only standard (retail) pictures on his auction, and also 0 feedback score as a seller, I asked for a few pictures of the actual LEGO set showing the uncut seals to verify all is well. That was 3 days ago and I still haven't heard a word from the guy.

Also, the location of the seller is Hungary, but the item's location is in Italy ? Sounds all a bit too fishy to me so unless I get some solid confirmation that he's actually in possession of the set and going to send it to me, I'm withholding my payment. 

Any advice from experienced eBay buyers & sellers here?

Since you asked, my advice is don't buy from people that have zero feedback &/or have two different countries listed...

Since you asked, my advice is don't buy from people that have zero feedback &/or have two different countries listed...

Yeah, finding that out now. My thought was that everyone has to start with zero seller feedback score at one time. People need a chance too when starting anew. Not responding to my inquiry is a bad sign though. 

I haven't got much experience with eBay buying yet, and less even with selling on eBay myself. 

Yeah, finding that out now. My thought was that everyone has to start with zero seller feedback score at one time. People need a chance too when starting anew. Not responding to my inquiry is a bad sign though. 

I haven't got much experience with eBay buying yet, and less even with selling on eBay myself. 

Then my advice going forward is be cautious...

I won an eBay bid but because the seller had only standard (retail) pictures on his auction, and also 0 feedback score as a seller, I asked for a few pictures of the actual LEGO set showing the uncut seals to verify all is well. That was 3 days ago and I still haven't heard a word from the guy.

Also, the location of the seller is Hungary, but the item's location is in Italy ? Sounds all a bit too fishy to me so unless I get some solid confirmation that he's actually in possession of the set and going to send it to me, I'm withholding my payment. 

Any advice from experienced eBay buyers & sellers here?

This is 100% a scammer, there is someone who's scamming on top of the line retired sets and the MO is always the same. Location is always Hungary, with the country being another country in Europe. It's always an auction, the seller generally has 1 feedback as a buyer from a Chinese site and the set is usually something top of the line retired like Imperial Flagship, Grand Carousel, Marsk Train etc.

I've been reporting this guy when I see them, but keeps popping up as a different user.

Well, what has been your experience with actual retail? Frankly, eBay and Amazon 3P aren't much worse, in my experience. Sets in bubble mailers, sets in large bags with no padding, sets in boxes with no packing material, wrong item sent, missing items...eBay and Amazon 3P? Yeah, but also Walmart, Kmart, Amazon, etc.

Walmart and Amazon have both slapped labels onto the actual item and shipped them that way to me. The worst was an item that was a present for my wife. Walmart just put a label on the box, it was dropped off at the front door and my wife asked me "What's this?" All I could say was "Merry Christmas."

At least Wal-Mart and target don't fight me for returns and make me open snad case

This is 100% a scammer, there is someone who's scamming on top of the line retired sets and the MO is always the same. Location is always Hungary, with the country being another country in Europe. It's always an auction, the seller generally has 1 feedback as a buyer from a Chinese site and the set is usually something top of the line retired like Imperial Flagship, Grand Carousel, Marsk Train etc.

I've been reporting this guy when I see them, but keeps popping up as a different user.

Thank you! The guy does indeed have only one buyer's feedback from China. The set in question is The Tumbler. The seller's name is harleytoyzz. I will report him as a scammer as well.

At least Wal-Mart and target don't fight me for returns and make me open snad case

The other thing you can do is read the sellers feedback BEFORE buying.  There will be comments made about sellers shipping habits there.

This is even applicable to buying from Walmart