Selling Toys - Horror Stories & "Happy" Customers

Yeah... I tend to do auctions instead of buy it now listings and I put the minimum bid at the lowest number I'm willing to accept and I typically don't put a "buy it now" price and I don't use the "or best odffer" feature. So if someone messages me with a 'would you accept...?" note I just ignore it.

Some things go unsold, but I usually don't go into the negative that way and I don't resent the negotiation process

But everyone's tolerances for those kinds of things are different.
 
I'm somewhat the opposite. I only do it "Buy It Now" and rarely ever do auctions anymore. If I do an auction, it's usually for something that is "hot" at that moment or for a lot that I just want to move all at once. I never use the "Best Offer" feature and refuse to respond to anyone who sends me an offer of less than 75% of asking. I offer free shipping on everything, but price accordingly. I usually price at just slightly lower than the lowest existing total cost for the item on ebay from another seller. I offer an automatic 25% discount on any sale that includes multiple listings of mine being purchased in one transaction (because it saves me shipping cost). I've never received negative feedback in over 4000 transactions, but I've also given refunds more often than I probably should have - like when someone has bought a figure in the original package and they tell me that it broke shortly after they opened it (Ok, that's bad luck - but it's not my fault). Otherwise I don't accept returns and clearly state that upfront.
 
shipping for all three. I asked me wife and she said "What? No! Tell him full price or fuck off."

Was at a toy con two weeks back.

Came across some rare niche Underverse figures. You never see those in the wild.

One the guy happens to have that I've been eyeballing on eBay for a long time. And then another that was of interest to me but not the Grail.

The Grail was priced at 900 Canadian. The other was 500.

I whistled and said, damn, I didn't know it was worth that much. The guy says, yeah, I don't think anyone's going to pay that much at the show. I might have to knock it down.

I said so they're both 500?

And he hesitates, but at this point we had been talking about the toy line and some of his other rarities so he knew I knew what I was talking about.

His wife is also at the booth. She wants him to sell everything. Apparently he wanted to do a YouTube channel talking about one 1/6 scale figures and instead he just filled up his closet with unopened figures and never did it.

"For you. I can do 300 for either," he says.

I point to the Grail.

"Yes."

Done.

I pay him.

He says he had the very first figure in the line but someone had already bought it that morning.

I look at the second piece. I ask if he would do the same price. Now he looks pained. You can see the internal struggle.

He's hesitating for way too long.

His wife jumps up and says "Sold. "You're here with the cash. I want it gone."

He looked like he was about to cry. As he bagged the other one up he told me, "Well this is way under what I paid."

Don't I know it.

1400 down to 600. I think I saw a tear. But his wife was happy.

--

Selling a lot of my Black Series and Joes. I don't know if it's because it's Valentine's weekend but it's been dead the past 3 weeks and all of a sudden today everyone has cash in hand and can meet immediately. I'm assuming they're trying to get something for themselves after pulling all the stops on their partner.

Anyway. Rewind a couple Pages. Remember I had the two guys who had been thinking I'm their buddy and just taking their sweet time?

So one of those guys pops up all of a sudden on my new listings. First he's like I see you sold the Star Wars under me.

And maybe it's because I'm just feeling sassy thanks to the Valentine's energy, but I told him, " Oh yeah, once I realized you weren't serious, I just relisted them and they went immediately."

He ignores that and then asks me for my best price, lowest price, on a bunch of the Joes.

And I got to be honest.

"No discounts on any of these, I've already got 30 people and counting competing for them all. It's just a matter of who shows up or transfers me money first."

He hems and haws and then finally decide on some of my rarities. "Sorry, that just went." And it did. I wasn't trying to be a dick, but if you're going to put like 30 minutes between messages and I've got other people ready to roll up right now on break from work, let's go.

And I got to play that game with a bunch of people all morning and afternoon. And I got more and more vindictive with my phrasing.

I'm not your buddy. And if I was a store, you would be holding it or putting it in your cart if you were serious. You cannot leave it on the shelf. Take an hour to decide. And then cop and attitude that somebody else walked in and took initiative.

Anyway. I got to recycle that line about no discounts because three other people tried that.

I can't believe how many of those pandemic era Joe's command crazy pricing in my corner of Toronto. $50 Canadian on loose Retro Baroness? $70 on regular Classified Zartan? Line 'em up, move 'em out.
 
Had a lovely shouting match with Ebay this morning. My buyer who said the Black Series figures were scratched on the front - even though said scratches were totally visible in the original listing photos - never responded to my first response and today was the day I could ask Ebay to step in. So I did.

Ebay immediately freezes the money and then three minutes later sides with the buyer. Exactly what I expected them to do. So I call Ebay and they say they already generated a shipping label for the seller to return the items. I said WHY THE F WOULD YOU DO THAT? Why did you not read what I wrote and tell the buyer to F themselves?

They have 10 days to return it. I have two days (of course) once I receive it to document the opening process and the condition of the items and then contact Ebay again. I tried to ask how is ANY of this logical but they just said "the label is already generated". And I'm not paying for it but like - IDIOTIC.

And now I have to sell these damn two figures AGAIN.
 
Sigh...

Listed my set of wave 1 and 2 of the 200x MOTU Origins figures on Marketplace. I'm asking 155 for the set. Which I don't think is unreasonable. 21.99 retail for the regular figures, times 6, and 25-30 for the two deluxes and you'd be looking at 180ish.

First thing this morning, guy says "120 cash". What? No. Fuck off. I know what I have. I have literally had these for MAYBE a week, this a smoke free home...no. I pass.

Just now, got a message "200 + figures, correct?".

Sigh. No. You fucking dummy. Did you SEE 200 fucking figures in the God damn pictures? Do you think I'm selling 200 figures for well under a dollar each? Fuck is wrong with you?
 
200+ guy just gets nonresponse. Maybe a block to stave off future idiocy.

120 cash guy, I'd counter 145 just as a fallback, but if he played more I'd just ignore and move on. Let him know you just moved it at asking, thanks.

Or "damn, just let it go for 100, wish I saw this sooner" if you feel jaunty.
 
Sorry, not customer related. But I just sold my set of JoyToy Turtles figures. And boy, howdy, is eBay straight up sticking it to me. It almost doesn't even make it worth it to sell.

Listed them for 750. Guy sent an offer for 700. Shit, yeah.

I'm getting 597 when all said and done after these fucking fees. Not including what it would be to expedite the transfer to my bank.

First of all, how are you going to charge THEM a sales tax of 49 dollars, and then tax ME 13.6% off of what you collected from them? 749.00...and only that because you put on a sales tax for the BUYER-- minus 13.6% based off of that?

I know I'm an idiot, but that doesn't make a lick of sense. Not to mention, they could collect 5% off of each sales and still make a killing off of people. 13.6 is absurd.
 
Had some different big sales this weekend. Couple army builders, several casts of characters.

It's funny though, I've had three different people explain to me on pickup that they absolutely don't collect toys, this is just because they do toy photography, so they like to own 50 Stormtroopers and the entire cast of the original trilogy movie with every alien and they hope that they'll make this character and this character for their photography.

Need all the Avengers because they buy all of them for photos.

It sounds like you f****** collect, buddy.
 
OK... man sometimes I hate selling on eBay. Tried to sell these eanie Boos for my wife. No one wants them... finally sold a pair of them for $8 total. The flat shipping ost I charged was $10. So, They pay the $18 plus tax. Ebay takes its 12% cut. I pack up these two stuffies in a box.and take them to the post office. $17.65 to ship them across country. So I ended up paying eighty five cents to get rid of these things. Throwing them in the garbage would have been much more cost effective and so much easier.

Anyway... now she wants to donate the stuffies, but she wants me to try and sell her mom's pomeranian collector plates... heavy sigh
 
Sometimes that just happens. I remember selling a Cobra Commander role play helmet for $100 that I paid $25 for. I offered Buy It Now for $100 and free shipping within the United States. Normally that would have been great, but it sold to someone in Hawaii and it cost me $65 to ship it to them (huge box). After ebay fees, I lost money. If it had sold in the midwest I likely would have made $50. I should have just cancelled the sale, but I chose not to keep the obligation that I'd made. Live and learn sometimes. I now try to stay away from selling/shipping either large or heavy items based upon that particular experience.
 
Selling the MOTU Origins 200x as previously mentioned.

Again, retail...180. I'm asking 155, since I opened them.

Guy emails me and says "Will you take 100?". I don't even bother to respond, which I think prompted his next message:

"I can throw in a Darth vader tie fighter completewith Darth figure".

What? Dude, no. I don't collect Star Wars. Besides that, I'm trying to pare down. Thank you, but no.

"How bout a nfl pocket pros set chrome its worth 200 i would trade u".

What the fuck part of this are you not understanding? NO. No means no, no. I want cash.

Immediately following that, I have a guy offer me 80. I want to also preface this by the fact that my entire department just got laid off last week. I haven't mentioned that anywhere here yet, but yeah...I'm already cranky because they let 30 of us go from work on a Monday, via email, AFTER our work day.

I went off on this dude.

"ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOT. In what world do you think I would accept that cheapskate cowbell offer?? These are retailing for 180 for all of these. I am losing my ass by selling these at 155. No, fuck off".
 
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