On speaking terms and trying to solve the problem

[lscomics]

I've never had a problem dealing with Todd. Have you talked to him directly or have you been dealing with an employee?

 

I've only dealt with him via e-mail... I think it is him personally...

 

The German partner of USPS, DHL has indicated twice that the goods have returned to the Seller on the 2nd of June, with stating the reason. I think it has to do with his addressing of the package. From his feedback I understand that there has at least been on similar incident (in which he didn't assume responsibility).

 

If you are regular customer, maybe you can tell him that this is not the proper way to deal with buyers!!!

I've been dealing with him since around '85 or '86, in all my dealings I've never had any problems with him but have found his employees to be less than helpful from time to time. You might want to try calling him, the number is 231-798-3097 and here's the store hours below.

 

Mon-Fri 11am - 7pm

 

Saturday 10am - 6pm

 

Sunday noon - 4pm

[Doohickamabob]

He kept on that stating that I was not picking up the books at the post office, and that there was nothing he can do about... so I posted the negative feedback in a bad tempered mood, because I was not getting ahead in this situation...

 

Are you okay with what you did? Negging somebody before the transaction is complete?

 

Seems to me that was a really bad move on your part. If the books show up and it really does turn out to be a post office issue, then you owe the seller a big apology. Not only that, but you should get on the phone with eBay and do whatever you can to get the neg removed.

 

Also, have you made any phone calls or visits to your post office? In my experience, what usually happens with international orders is that they try to deliver them, and if you're not home they leave a slip of paper that says the package is at the post office for pick-up. That little slip of paper easily gets misplaced or lost in between piles of junk mail.

[lscomics]

He kept on that stating that I was not picking up the books at the post office, and that there was nothing he can do about... so I posted the negative feedback in a bad tempered mood, because I was not getting ahead in this situation...

 

Are you okay with what you did? Negging somebody before the transaction is complete?

 

Seems to me that was a really bad move on your part. If the books show up and it really does turn out to be a post office issue, then you owe the seller a big apology. Not only that, but you should get on the phone with eBay and do whatever you can to get the neg removed.

 

+1

 

It seems a bit premature on your part to have left negative feedback already.

[VintageComics]

From the DNR thread (I should have posted it here):

 

Dealing with anybody will get a wide spectrum of feedback from people.

 

For most dealers, you will hear a majority of positive (otherwise they wouldn't stay in business for long), a minority of negative a few who don't have an opinion either way.

 

Dealing with someone can be the same as politics, or dealing with family (the two are eerily alike): you just can't please everyone.

 

That's not to say that dealers don't screw up or make mistakes, but you never hear people posting incessantly about dealer's positives. Their scores, deals, steals, free gifts, etc.

 

You only hear about the negatives when someone has an outrage.

 

Mark has a definite gripe (and this is not focused on Mark but more towards the general need that the public feels the need to publicly gripe about one deal that is not entirely black and white), but the question is, when do you make it public?

 

Personally, for me, because it's real life, we should realize that people make mistakes and that people need an opportunity to make things right, I generally give people 2 and sometimes 3 strikes before I write them off.

 

Judging someone after 1 incidence is just too convenient. If the tables were turned, we'd all be burned under those rules.

 

2 or 3 incidences are enough to show a pattern, and adds a lot more credibility to a discussion.

 

I'm mainly posting this now because of the Lange's thread next door.

 

Two very prominent dealers getting roasted within a couple of days over incidences that are not entirely black and white.

 

We've become a demand feed, instant gratification society and in my opinion a little patience is in order. At least before judgment is made and a witch hunt is made public.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

Todd is probably the best seller I have dealt with on eBay and the most conservative grader I have met. I bought hundreds of books from him for the last ten years with only the greatest satisfaction. Many of his Fine+ or VF copies came back from CGC as 9.2/9.4/9.6.

I'm not concerned about the grading, scans looked accurate.... it is his shipment, and his way of communicating to resolve the problem....He keeps on stating that the books are at my "Crappy post office", which they are not!

 

I'm really surprised that Todd would respond in that way and refuse to do anything to resolve the problem. My hunch is that something went awry in transit, or it is difficult to track. I hope that you finally do get the package. But, I know, you would have hoped for cooperation. I see you carpet-bombed him with tons of negative feedback. Geez, what a bad situation.

He kept on that stating that I was not picking up the books at the post office, and that there was nothing he can do about... so I posted the negative feedback in a bad tempered mood, because I was not getting ahead in this situation... as a response he sent me the following message:

 

NOW THAT YOU LEFT NEG FEEDBACK WE ARE DONE WORKING ON THIS MATTER. IN FACT MY POST OFFICE WAS MAKING HEAD WAY ON THE PACKAGE AND I JUST CALLED HIM TO STOP ANY WORK. ONCE THE BOOKS ARE DELIVERY DOWN THE ROAD I WILL FILE WITH EBAY TO GET THE NEG'S REMOVED AND THEY WILL BE REMOVED. THEY BOOKS WERE IN YOUR COUNTRY 4 DAYS AFTER I SHIPPED THEM. IT IS YOUR CRAPPY POST OFFICE THAT HAS YOUR BOOKS AND THEY ARE 30 MILES FROM YOUR HOME RIGHT NOW.

 

He is not willing to tell me where do, so we can resolve the matter!

 

Since you negged him, there's no way to resolve the matter. Nor, quite frankly, does he have any reason to do so. The transaction is over.

 

Negative feedback is removable, if the seller requests it, and the buyer agrees.

[fastballspecial]

Keep asking yourself though with issues like this why more and more Ebay sellers wont ship international anymore. It just isnt worth the headache and there is basically no protection for the seller without charging high shipping which the buyer will refuse to pay anyway.

 

Here you neg the dude before the transaction isnt complete yet. Then you still expect him to help you. Dude if you neg me while I am trying to find your book and even if I say its at your "crappy post office" I dont blame his reply. This guy is one of the most well respected sellers that STILL ships internationally. What can the guy do fly overseas to talk to your post office? or even phone them?

 

I am pretty sure he used the address on your paypal account. As a preventive measure I bet he does what I do and writes the address under the label as well in case it gets ripped off which has happen to me before. This just plain sometimes occurs with international shipping. With the large amount of books that Zilaf deals the % of chance this happens to him is much higher then other sellers because they just dont deal in the volume he does.

 

 

 

[blue808]

I have bought many books from him in the past and never had a problem. He used to undergrade big time, but not anymore. He also doesn't have high grade/dollar books like before.

 

The vast, vast, vast bulk of my late silver and bronze collection was purchased from Zillaf4 over the last 11 years. Without him, I wouldn't have 20 or so gorgeous copies of Warlock #10.

 

That was in the past - Blue is correct about the present.

He used to be my favorite seller, bar none. His FINE's would come back NM-to NM his VF+'s were easy NM+ and often 9.8's. Now his "FINE" graded comics are actually FINE. Still trustworthy seller.

[lizards2]

I have bought many books from him in the past and never had a problem. He used to undergrade big time, but not anymore. He also doesn't have high grade/dollar books like before.

 

The vast, vast, vast bulk of my late silver and bronze collection was purchased from Zillaf4 over the last 11 years. Without him, I wouldn't have 20 or so gorgeous copies of Warlock #10.

 

That was in the past - Blue is correct about the present.

He used to be my favorite seller, bar none. His FINE's would come back NM-to NM his VF+'s were easy NM+ and often 9.8's. Now his "FINE" graded comics are actually FINE. Still trustworthy seller.

Yes - he had some buy it nows on VFNM SA books this winter and I was buying them as fast as I could, given they were about $80 - $100 a piece. They were very nice VFNMs. I wish I would have had the funds to buy more - now they are all gone.

[brendanb438]

This is why I do not sell internationally and I am a Top Rated Power Seller.

 

 

OP please post the email or PMs of your responses back and forth so we can see how the seller really responded. Looks more to me like you jumped the gun with negative feedback and at that point seller lost it and refused to continue to help you.

 

Stupidity from everyone involved in this transaction.

[RockMyAmadeus]

I have bought many books from him in the past and never had a problem. He used to undergrade big time, but not anymore. He also doesn't have high grade/dollar books like before.

 

The vast, vast, vast bulk of my late silver and bronze collection was purchased from Zillaf4 over the last 11 years. Without him, I wouldn't have 20 or so gorgeous copies of Warlock #10.

 

That was in the past - Blue is correct about the present.

He used to be my favorite seller, bar none. His FINE's would come back NM-to NM his VF+'s were easy NM+ and often 9.8's. Now his "FINE" graded comics are actually FINE. Still trustworthy seller.

Yes - he had some buy it nows on VFNM SA books this winter and I was buying them as fast as I could, given they were about $80 - $100 a piece. They were very nice VFNMs. I wish I would have had the funds to buy more - now they are all gone.

 

~ ahem ~

 

As I said earlier, in support of Blue's comment regarding Lange's undergrading, the bulk of my SA and BA books I bought from Lange's. I haven't bought from them for a few years, as about 2008, it finally balanced out, but when the going was good...man, was it good.

[Ted Knight]

I have purchased many, many books from zillaf4 over the last 6 years or so. My overall experience with him was positive and as stated previously in this thread, Todd used to severely undergrade all of his books. I bought fines that would be most peoples 9.0s. Great seller... except for my last few transactions.

 

I ordered a couple of sets of mini-series and they were shipped in a manilla envelope with a chunk of backing boards taped to the front and back of the books. Needless, to say, they arrived with crushed corners. I contacted him, told him what happened, and he sent another set... the same way, similar result. I warned him about it and why that was a bad idea but that I didn't expect him to send yet another set. He responded that nobody else had a problem and he sent 100s of packages out like that just fine.

 

This happened on two separate occasions. And so, I no longer look at his stuff. It's a business lesson that every comic dealer should know. You're only as good as your last sale.

 

Not quite as bad as my experience with Russ at ComicSupply.com. Must be something about Michigan.

[Ted Knight]

I have bought many books from him in the past and never had a problem. He used to undergrade big time, but not anymore. He also doesn't have high grade/dollar books like before.

 

The vast, vast, vast bulk of my late silver and bronze collection was purchased from Zillaf4 over the last 11 years. Without him, I wouldn't have 20 or so gorgeous copies of Warlock #10.

 

That was in the past - Blue is correct about the present.

He used to be my favorite seller, bar none. His FINE's would come back NM-to NM his VF+'s were easy NM+ and often 9.8's. Now his "FINE" graded comics are actually FINE. Still trustworthy seller.

Yes - he had some buy it nows on VFNM SA books this winter and I was buying them as fast as I could, given they were about $80 - $100 a piece. They were very nice VFNMs. I wish I would have had the funds to buy more - now they are all gone.

 

~ ahem ~

 

As I said earlier, in support of Blue's comment regarding Lange's undergrading, the bulk of my SA and BA books I bought from Lange's. I haven't bought from them for a few years, as about 2008, it finally balanced out, but when the going was good...man, was it good.

 

Yes, yes it was. (thumbs u

[MR SigS]

Must be something about Michigan.

[lizards2]

I have purchased many, many books from zillaf4 over the last 6 years or so. My overall experience with him was positive and as stated previously in this thread, Todd used to severely undergrade all of his books. I bought fines that would be most peoples 9.0s. Great seller... except for my last few transactions.

 

I ordered a couple of sets of mini-series and they were shipped in a manilla envelope with a chunk of backing boards taped to the front and back of the books. Needless, to say, they arrived with crushed corners. I contacted him, told him what happened, and he sent another set... the same way, similar result. I warned him about it and why that was a bad idea but that I didn't expect him to send yet another set. He responded that nobody else had a problem and he sent 100s of packages out like that just fine.

 

This happened on two separate occasions. And so, I no longer look at his stuff. It's a business lesson that every comic dealer should know. You're only as good as your last sale.

 

Not quite as bad as my experience with Russ at ComicSupply.com. Must be something about Michigan.

 

He sent my $100 books like that, only in priority envelopes. It was extremely lucky for him that the books weren't damaged in shipping, because that is a really poor packaging method. Of course, plenty of folks around here still ship like that.

[MR SigS]

He sent my $100 books like that, only in priority envelopes. It was extremely lucky for him that the books weren't damaged in shipping, because that is a really poor packaging method. Of course, plenty of folks around here still ship like that.

 

Wouldn't have a list of names you could PM me, would you?

[kimik]

Keep asking yourself though with issues like this why more and more Ebay sellers wont ship international anymore. It just isnt worth the headache and there is basically no protection for the seller without charging high shipping which the buyer will refuse to pay anyway.

 

Here you neg the dude before the transaction isnt complete yet. Then you still expect him to help you. Dude if you neg me while I am trying to find your book and even if I say its at your "crappy post office" I dont blame his reply. This guy is one of the most well respected sellers that STILL ships internationally. What can the guy do fly overseas to talk to your post office? or even phone them?

 

I am pretty sure he used the address on your paypal account. As a preventive measure I bet he does what I do and writes the address under the label as well in case it gets ripped off which has happen to me before. This just plain sometimes occurs with international shipping. With the large amount of books that Zilaf deals the % of chance this happens to him is much higher then other sellers because they just dont deal in the volume he does.

 

 

 

Or, this is why a seller should ship internationally only using a method that has insurance and tracking. Everyone I deal with overseas is willing to pay the extra bit for shipping for the peace of mind and your azz is covered in events like this.

[RockMyAmadeus]

He responded that nobody else had a problem and he sent 100s of packages out like that just fine.

 

Oh please. Who's he trying to fool...?

 

He once lost an ENTIRE LONGBOX that I bought.

[MR SigS]

He responded that nobody else had a problem and he sent 100s of packages out like that just fine.

 

Oh please. Who's he trying to fool...?

 

He once lost an ENTIRE LONGBOX that I bought.

 

[KPvD2011]

Seriously, while it sucks to be on the short end of a deal that has complications, the tendency to publicly blast reliable, trustworthy dealers in a public forum is getting ridiculous.

 

Hate to burst the original poster's disgruntled bubble, but Todd is one of THE MOST RELIABLE, TRUSTWORTHY, and undergrading dealers there is. End of story.

 

Understand his position--how unreliable international shipping can be, how many problems there are, and how many crooks take advantage of these issues, and maybe you can understand how he feels his only option is to rely on what the tracking info says.

 

Hope you can get this worked out. Not every screwed up transaction belongs on the boards, especially when it involves known good guys.

This "know good guy" has been a hard-head on this transaction; he should have tried to settle this one with me in a normal matter, instead of telling me that the books are in the post-office (he keeps on doing so in his replies to the neg. feedback; although he told me that the books are 30 miles away from my home. You know how many post-offices I would have to check out in this radius?)....

 

Before I posted this thread, I've checked his feedback and saw at least one similar case...so I would say he at least has some bad tendencies. What is wrong with posting about my experience with him? There a plenty of Ebayers with an apparent good-standing, sucking big time...Should I sacrifice myself for his good reputation?

 

 

[KPvD2011]

Todd is probably the best seller I have dealt with on eBay and the most conservative grader I have met. I bought hundreds of books from him for the last ten years with only the greatest satisfaction. Many of his Fine+ or VF copies came back from CGC as 9.2/9.4/9.6.

I'm not concerned about the grading, scans looked accurate.... it is his shipment, and his way of communicating to resolve the problem....He keeps on stating that the books are at my "Crappy post office", which they are not!

 

I'm really surprised that Todd would respond in that way and refuse to do anything to resolve the problem. My hunch is that something went awry in transit, or it is difficult to track. I hope that you finally do get the package. But, I know, you would have hoped for cooperation. I see you carpet-bombed him with tons of negative feedback. Geez, what a bad situation.

He kept on that stating that I was not picking up the books at the post office, and that there was nothing he can do about... so I posted the negative feedback in a bad tempered mood, because I was not getting ahead in this situation... as a response he sent me the following message:

 

NOW THAT YOU LEFT NEG FEEDBACK WE ARE DONE WORKING ON THIS MATTER. IN FACT MY POST OFFICE WAS MAKING HEAD WAY ON THE PACKAGE AND I JUST CALLED HIM TO STOP ANY WORK. ONCE THE BOOKS ARE DELIVERY DOWN THE ROAD I WILL FILE WITH EBAY TO GET THE NEG'S REMOVED AND THEY WILL BE REMOVED. THEY BOOKS WERE IN YOUR COUNTRY 4 DAYS AFTER I SHIPPED THEM. IT IS YOUR CRAPPY POST OFFICE THAT HAS YOUR BOOKS AND THEY ARE 30 MILES FROM YOUR HOME RIGHT NOW.

 

He is not willing to tell me where do, so we can resolve the matter!

 

Since you negged him, there's no way to resolve the matter. Nor, quite frankly, does he have any reason to do so. The transaction is over.

 

I've warned him upfront to change his "at the post-office" attitude; he didn't do anything to solve the matter before I posted... I have indicated that I'm willing to work on a revision of the feedback the moment the matter is resolved...and I will do also, unless I'll have to wait until the PP refund... For me the transaction is clearly not over!