Ebay goofball seller of the week! 1 1

[Point Five]

Because if you're gonna do Friday, let's *do* Friday. Was riffing on this in the Gold Forum, figured it would entertain you guys here as well.

--

I BIN a sharp golden age book for $150 on ebay. Seller has (0) feedback and it seems like they haven't dealt with comics much, so as a precaution I message them as soon as I've paid: 
Hi friend, I just purchased this comic from you; thanks! It looks like a nice one -- **can you please ship it in a sturdy, well-padded box rather than an envelope?** Just want to make sure it arrives without additional dents or creases.

They respond right away:
Sure, will do!

I receive the book a few days later, and see with horror that it's been shipped in this rumpled white bubble envelope. There's no protection inside other than two white backing boards, which form a "sandwich" so flimsy it could be creased with the gentlest of pressure. By some absolute miracle there are no heavy creases -- the book inside survives and is fine.

I'm about to recycle the bubble envelope. I peel off the mailing label and find *this* written on the mailer... see photo below. Is this one of those "power of positive thinking" kinds of things? Sheesh!

You really can't make this stuff up.  

[wardevil0]

I'll submit an update to Dictionary.com to correct this outdated version:

[Dick Pontoon]

Maybe in his head he transposed "well-padded box rather than an envelope" into "padded rigid envelope" and thought he was doing what was expected!

I suppose just for the sake of argument those padded, plastic jiffy mailers are *slightly* more rigid than a plan manila envelope. Maybe.

[Yorick]

I imagine many comics are destroyed in this manner.  It makes me sad.  I once bought a travel brochure from the 1920s that has artwork from an artist I collect.  It was probably about $5.  It was sent SOOOO securely that I left the seller GLOWING praise on their feedback and even privately messaged them in thanks.  Even a low cost item should be handled with care...

[Gaard]

On 9/29/2023 at 3:06 PM, Yorick said:

Even a low cost item should be handled with care...

+1,000,000

[Readcomix]

Obviously, the seller was using voodoo. Mystery solved!

[s-man]

No offense, but this is why I don't deal with sellers who have 0 feedback.

[AJD]

That's awesome. I assume this was an attempt at using 'The Secret' that Oprah was pushing - if you write it, the universe will provide.

[Point Five]

On 9/30/2023 at 10:25 AM, AJD said:

That's awesome. I assume this was an attempt at using 'The Secret' that Oprah was pushing - if you write it, the universe will provide.

To be fair, I can’t argue with the results!

[Dr. Balls]

By now, I figured everyone had seen the opening scene to Ace Ventura and could relate to packages being damaged - but alas, I'm incorrect.

[Mystafo]

On 9/29/2023 at 10:40 AM, Point Five said:

Because if you're gonna do Friday, let's *do* Friday. Was riffing on this in the Gold Forum, figured it would entertain you guys here as well.

--

I BIN a sharp golden age book for $150 on ebay. Seller has (0) feedback and it seems like they haven't dealt with comics much, so as a precaution I message them as soon as I've paid: 
Hi friend, I just purchased this comic from you; thanks! It looks like a nice one -- **can you please ship it in a sturdy, well-padded box rather than an envelope?** Just want to make sure it arrives without additional dents or creases.

They respond right away:
Sure, will do!

I receive the book a few days later, and see with horror that it's been shipped in this rumpled white bubble envelope. There's no protection inside other than two white backing boards, which form a "sandwich" so flimsy it could be creased with the gentlest of pressure. By some absolute miracle there are no heavy creases -- the book inside survives and is fine.

I'm about to recycle the bubble envelope. I peel off the mailing label and find *this* written on the mailer... see photo below. Is this one of those "power of positive thinking" kinds of things? Sheesh!

You really can't make this stuff up.  

Bro that is some voodoo stuff lol...like writing a name on paper and throwing it into the fire or writing "bullet proof vest" inside your blazer

[thehumantorch]

On 9/29/2023 at 9:40 AM, Point Five said:

Because if you're gonna do Friday, let's *do* Friday. Was riffing on this in the Gold Forum, figured it would entertain you guys here as well.

--

I BIN a sharp golden age book for $150 on ebay. Seller has (0) feedback and it seems like they haven't dealt with comics much, so as a precaution I message them as soon as I've paid: 
Hi friend, I just purchased this comic from you; thanks! It looks like a nice one -- **can you please ship it in a sturdy, well-padded box rather than an envelope?** Just want to make sure it arrives without additional dents or creases.

They respond right away:
Sure, will do!

I receive the book a few days later, and see with horror that it's been shipped in this rumpled white bubble envelope. There's no protection inside other than two white backing boards, which form a "sandwich" so flimsy it could be creased with the gentlest of pressure. By some absolute miracle there are no heavy creases -- the book inside survives and is fine.

I'm about to recycle the bubble envelope. I peel off the mailing label and find *this* written on the mailer... see photo below. Is this one of those "power of positive thinking" kinds of things? Sheesh!

You really can't make this stuff up.  

Sorry Jon, postal regulation 56.3 states a rigid envelope is defined as any envelope with Rigid Envelope written on the outside..

[Point Five]

On 9/30/2023 at 12:53 PM, Mystafo said:

writing "bullet proof vest" inside your blazer 

I knew a guy that did that! …once. 

[LadyDeath]

The big question is, what kind of feedback did you leave?! 

[stock_rotation]

Has anyone considered that the 'padded envelope with backing boards' was an upgrade from an unexperienced seller's usual 'brown kraft envelope with no additional protection'?

I'd bet a dollar the seller didn't have a box and didn't know you could get one for free from the post office.

[Nschenks]

On 9/30/2023 at 2:44 PM, LadyDeath said:

The big question is, what kind of feedback did you leave?! 

If everything else was sound, I'd probably roll with the classic 'positive--but with constructive criticism!' feedback. Then again, I try my best to give benefit of the doubt to sellers whenever possible, especially considering how shafted they can by eBay on a regular basis

Edited September 30, 2023 by Nsschenks

[Point Five]

On 9/30/2023 at 2:44 PM, LadyDeath said:

The big question is, what kind of feedback did you leave?! 

I negged him and wrote “Positive Feedback!”    

[Point Five]

On 9/30/2023 at 3:33 PM, Nsschenks said:

If everything else was sound, I'd probably roll with the classic 'positive--but with constructive criticism!' feedback. Then again, I try my best to give benefit of the doubt to sellers whenever possible, especially considering how shafted they can by eBay on a regular basis

Agree with all this. In 1200ish transactions I doubt I’ve negged more than once or twice. Even when there’s an issue, I recognize that people are human, and try hard to land us in a reasonably positive place.

 

[Point Five]

On 9/30/2023 at 3:08 PM, stock_rotation said:

Has anyone considered that the 'padded envelope with backing boards' was an upgrade from an unexperienced seller's usual 'brown kraft envelope with no additional protection'?

I'd bet a dollar the seller didn't have a box and didn't know you could get one for free from the post office.

Fair enough! In that spirit of education, I sent a polite message asking what happened. I'll post a reply here if any comes back. 

Hi friend, I received the comic... looks great, thanks! Just a heads-up, I was surprised you didn't ship in a sturdy padded box as we had discussed; any particular reason? I think you're taking a risk shipping *any* comic in a bubble envelope, as condition is super important to comic collectors... we're both very lucky the comic wasn't dented up by USPS, as their packages often take a pounding in transit. No hard feelings, just wanted to offer my two cents for your future transactions.

Best wishes,
Jon

 

[Point Five]

And the reply --     

Jon I am sorry, I had my wife and. Asked her to place inside a rigid package ... the book made it ok tho?