Good/Bad Internet and eBay Pin Sellers

[pixiewings71]

Originally Posted by RCEliot

OH, I almost forgot: I got a response from yoruthewulf.

My message to her just asked generally about why she's selling the pins, where she got them (the ones she says are real) etc.

Her response:

Hi! First of all, I'd like to thank you for contacting me about the concerns you have towards the authenticity of the pins I'm selling.

As I've stated in the the descriptions, I bought all but four of my pins through ebay users here-and-there and everywhere at super cheap prices. Expecting the worst, I made sure to check every single pin against pinpics, and I carefully looked for dips, dings, brush strokes, color issues, and all that jazz. The ones in my scrapper auction I can say with certainty are scrappers because the majority of them have big dips in them, some of them have very horrible coloring, and many are just plain wrong, hence is why I've listed them as scrappers.

As for the auction where I included real ones with ones that I can only assume, based on my limited knowledge, are real, I've checked each and every one of the ones that I didn't get personally at the park against pinpics as well. From what I can see, there's nothing wrong with the color of any of them, and there are no visible dings. I've only been collecting for a few months now, so my knowledge is very limited, because of which I have stated that the only ones I know for a fact are real are the Philip, Maleficent, and Jedi pins, and I'm 95% sure that the Chip and Dale one is real because I bought it from a garage sale in Daytona Beach (where I live). I still could be wrong, which is why it's not included with the other three (it also has sharpie on it, which was entirely my bad.)

On the matter of the Toddler pins, I bought those here on ebay as well, and they were listed as new, on the card, and in the original plastic packaging. From what I can tell (without opening them) they are real and everything seems authentic in the sense that it does have the original sticker on the package and everything is all sealed up. Working against the glare of the plastic, I haven't been able to see any dips or problems, and I don't plan to remove the plastic only to find that they are, in fact, real and end up lowering the value of a brand new in-package set. I have stated that I can't be sure that they are authentic, because I did not purchase them from the park myself, so there's that. I only just got them, but I paid more than I really wanted to ($20 for the Princess set, $10 for the Boys) because I was hoping to get to keep the set, but I have to resell them and get my money back, and more, because the Spring semester has just started and I've spent so much money on pins in the last few months that I was unable to afford any classes and am now selling things at a desperate rate to get 2 classes in the Spring semester B (starts in March.)

I'm aware that selling pins for low(er) prices is suspicious, but I assure you that I have no intentions of passing off pins that I, myself, did not buy as authentic when I cannot be sure that they are, I'm just trying to make some money so I can go to school.

I thank you again for contacting me about your concerns, and I hope you have a nice day.

Regards,
YtW

Seems pretty straightforward and sincere, but I can't help thinking that she's just a bit of an idiot. I mean, come on, she spent her college money on Disney pins? I know some of us get carried away when we're buying things on ebay, but you think she'd be smarter than that if she's in college.

I wouldn't buy from this seller at all after this response. It sounds like they have scrappers and are giving you a variety of stories to explain why they are selling them, ie, "I spent too much on pins and need the money for school", that just screams scam to me. lol I would stay away.

[RCEliot]

Originally Posted by pixiewings71

I wouldn't buy from this seller at all after this response. It sounds like they have scrappers and are giving you a variety of stories to explain why they are selling them, ie, "I spent too much on pins and need the money for school", that just screams scam to me. lol I would stay away.

Well that seems harsh considering that she does state that she's not even saying that they're real.

She just said that she can't be sure of their authenticity because she's newer to pin trading/buying/selling and doesn't want to give any indication that they are if she's not sure herself.

I saw the auctions for the toddler pins. They were all in that packages and had the plastic and the original sticker tag on them. You can even see on her feedback that she bought them on ebay.

Just because someone gives a reason for selling stuff doesn't mean the stuff they're selling isn't legit.

You people on here are way too quick to assume the worst in people.

And for your information in my original message to her I asked her WHY she was selling the pins. So the fact that she told me is of no fault of her own it is because I ASKED.

[RCEliot]

Originally Posted by SupernaturalMommy

I've gotten a lot of business cards but never to rent a house. Usually just to hire them to be my personal WDW shopper.

Are you sure they hadn't mailed it before you opened the case? eBay rarely ever finds in favor of the seller so you would have won even if they had mailed it and it had not been delivered yet. eBay thinks a package has to be delivered in 4 days for it to be a good transaction. They don't care if the post office sits on a package. I sent something back in October to someone and had it hand delivered to the post office within 2 hours of payment. 10 days later the buyer messaged me asking where it was. I went to the post office because there was zero record the package existed. It had not one single scan on it. I had to open a case with the US Postmaster. 2 days later I get a call from the post office that they found it and it was on its way. It had been sitting in the post office I mailed it from the whole time, even after I went in and the post office gave me all kinds of crap that I must have screwed up and short paid on postage and they won't ship it and there is nothing I can do and I need to go to the next town over to get it (even though I didn't mail it in the next town over and when I went to the next town over they referred me to the US Postmaster). Luckily the buer didn't open a case against me, and left me positive feedback, but they nailed my stars. Most buyers don't know just how NOT anonymous those are, despite what eBay claims.

Oh, no, it was the buyer at fault. I had sent them a message nearly a week prior to opening the case and asked if they had shipped it yet or if they were busy or what-not and they told me they had been away and were working on their backlog. I went ahead and waited... and waited... and still waited... and when they didn't ship it I went ahead and opened the case.

They messaged me shortly after the case was opened and asked if I wanted a full refund or to wait, as they were going to ship the last 100 items on their backlog the following day. I asked for a refund and said I was just interested in getting my money back since it had taken so long and they told me they were going to go ahead and ship it anyways.

I told them it wasn't necessary and they said it was their pleasure. That's why I'm still suspicious as to whether or not its real, because it looks real, but they just let me have it, paid for the shipping themselves, and sent it anyways...

[SupernaturalMommy]

Originally Posted by RCEliot

Oh, no, it was the buyer at fault. I had sent them a message nearly a week prior to opening the case and asked if they had shipped it yet or if they were busy or what-not and they told me they had been away and were working on their backlog. I went ahead and waited... and waited... and still waited... and when they didn't ship it I went ahead and opened the case.

They messaged me shortly after the case was opened and asked if I wanted a full refund or to wait, as they were going to ship the last 100 items on their backlog the following day. I asked for a refund and said I was just interested in getting my money back since it had taken so long and they told me they were going to go ahead and ship it anyways.

I told them it wasn't necessary and they said it was their pleasure. That's why I'm still suspicious as to whether or not its real, because it looks real, but they just let me have it, paid for the shipping themselves, and sent it anyways...

Well, then that's a good thing. Maybe they went ahead and sent it in order to buy good will and hope for a future sale. At least they were upfront with you. Maybe it is legit. I know of sellers who have accidentally shipped the wrong item before and ended up letting the buyer keep it in addition to sending out the correct one. Or who have left out part of an order and either refunded and sent the item, or sent the item with something extra for free. Sometimes it is better for business to eat the cost of the item than to eat negative feedback or low dsr's. You may have gotten lucky, although it sucks you had to wait. I'll never know how these mass sellers can keep up with sending out 100 items in a day. I don't have enough hours in the day to package that much stuff up. I'd have to employ staff, which wouldn't be very profitable unless you were a diamond seller (the type of seller category on eBay, not the actual gemstone).

[pixiewings71]

Originally Posted by RCEliot

Well that seems harsh considering that she does state that she's not even saying that they're real.

She just said that she can't be sure of their authenticity because she's newer to pin trading/buying/selling and doesn't want to give any indication that they are if she's not sure herself.

I saw the auctions for the toddler pins. They were all in that packages and had the plastic and the original sticker tag on them. You can even see on her feedback that she bought them on ebay.

Just because someone gives a reason for selling stuff doesn't mean the stuff they're selling isn't legit.

You people on here are way too quick to assume the worst in people.

And for your information in my original message to her I asked her WHY she was selling the pins. So the fact that she told me is of no fault of her own it is because I ASKED.

Umm excuse me? I gave you MY opinion, it doesn't have to have to be yours at all. I'm well versed in making an educated guess as to who may be selling scrappers or not, in MY opinion that screams scam and I would not buy from her. By all means, if you want to take the chance go for it. Yes, it was nice that she gave you all that information (and yes I saw that YOU asked) but for ME that information would make me decide to pass. I am not too quick to assume the worst in anyone and in fact give people the benefit of the doubt many times (much to my dismay when I get the pins and get scrappers), your assumption there is simply incorrect, you don't know me and you probably didn't read all the pages on this thread but if you did you would recognize my name as an informed poster in the past. Recently? Perhaps not but my knowledge and my experience still stands. Yes you ASKED her, but my response above is based on MY EXPERIENCES with eBay sellers giving excuses like that and the pins I've received being scrappers. Don't accuse me of assuming something that isn't based in reality and then call me harsh. That is rude and uncalled for. And don't come back and say I'm over-reacting, you're the one who called her an idiot, I simply said I wouldn't use her because I wouldn't believe her reasons for needing to sell them at a loss. THAT was a red flag to me, I wouldn't sell them at a loss, I would resell them for what I paid, whether I was versed in scrappers or not. Forgive me for assuming you were asking for help and opinions on that seller, I thought that's why people posted on this thread.

[Calirya]

Originally Posted by debranator

I ship pins every day...
here is how the costs breakdown in reality......
for the 3 bucks that most sellers charge for the first pin...
1.56 goes to the post office..
and the rest is for the envelope....
bubble wrap,tape..ect.
2 pins cost 1.76 or thereabouts to ship..
but..you are already using the same envelope and an inch of bubble wrap..costs..nothing.
I just sent out 7 pins....
I ship a lot nicer than most sellers..
I enclose disney souvenirs like stickers and gift cards...
wrap it all in pretty tissue paper[which I buy for shipping]..
and..I use a large 8x10 envelope..
all of that...and..the delivery confirmation..
cost me 2.56 to ship across the country.
I charged 3.50.

Sooooo.... what's your ebay name?

[pixiewings71]

Originally Posted by Calirya

Sooooo.... what's your ebay name?

It's against the rules for us to post our eBay names, you could try sending her a PM but I haven't seen Deb on for a while.

[SupernaturalMommy]

And, I think that is an old message. Shipping is higher than that now. Up to 3 oz. is $1.64, then it goes up 17 cents for each ounce until you start hitting the categories where they go by pounds and dimensional weight combined. You can ship several pins for 3 oz. Even new on card packaged with generous amounts of bubble wrap. I buy bubble mailers in bulk 250 at a time and they average 35 cents each. eBay takes 9 % of your postage fee although you aren't supposed to count that in your shipping/handling charge. Only bubble wrap, packing peanuts or tissue or foam, mailers, tape, paper or labels and actual postage. Anyone who charges more than $2.00 for the first pin and a nominal fee for the next one is probably overcharging. Not everyone uses eBay shipping. Some people do actually go to the post office where shipping is slightly higher and the tracking is an additional charge. Then it is closer to $3.00, but most people use eBay shipping I have found (or a stamps.com account or something similar).

[acurry417]

I wanted to get some pins for trading but I don't want to knowingly have/buy scrappers. So I had been watching a few listings for user name FFC and I even bid on one lot and lost luckily. They are being sold as a lot with some of the pins being complete sets. They DID say that they had bought some on ebay for their trip in 2009. I was just looking at their feedback again because it seems like they are just getting in on the pin selling game and I wanted to see if any buyers mentioned any being scrappers. I see a ton of recent feedback with FFC as the buyer from another pin seller with a shipping from china. So they must be buying scrappers, or excuse me, tradeable pins, and selling them as if they traded them. So glad I didn't win that auction.

Those big cheap lots of pins are so tempting but I know to stay away now

[waltdavinci]

All I must say is this...Do not buy pins that are sold as "lots" . Sometimes , if there are only about ten UNIQUE pens, then sure. From experience, I buy the pins I like as standalones..That is all I am going to do moving forward and what I recommend .


Happy searching !

[pixiewings71]

Originally Posted by acurry417

I wanted to get some pins for trading but I don't want to knowingly have/buy scrappers. So I had been watching a few listings for user name FFC and I even bid on one lot and lost luckily. They are being sold as a lot with some of the pins being complete sets. They DID say that they had bought some on ebay for their trip in 2009. I was just looking at their feedback again because it seems like they are just getting in on the pin selling game and I wanted to see if any buyers mentioned any being scrappers. I see a ton of recent feedback with FFC as the buyer from another pin seller with a shipping from china. So they must be buying scrappers, or excuse me, tradeable pins, and selling them as if they traded them. So glad I didn't win that auction.

Those big cheap lots of pins are so tempting but I know to stay away now

More likely they are buying the scrappers and trading them for legit pins that they are then selling on eBay. There are a lot of good sellers in this thread, I'm sure you'll find someone who is selling what you want.

Originally Posted by waltdavinci

All I must say is this...Do not buy pins that are sold as "lots" . Sometimes , if there are only about ten UNIQUE pens, then sure. From experience, I buy the pins I like as standalones..That is all I am going to do moving forward and what I recommend .


Happy searching !

I've had decent luck with some lots with some good sellers on this thread, but you really have to pay attention and know your stuff, it isn't easy to rifle through the many many pin sellers on eBay. I do tend to stick with single pins, sometimes to finish sets, sometimes to get sets because I'm not going to the parks like I was in years past, mostly because it's just easier.

[SupernaturalMommy]

Originally Posted by waltdavinci

All I must say is this...Do not buy pins that are sold as "lots" . Sometimes , if there are only about ten UNIQUE pens, then sure. From experience, I buy the pins I like as standalones..That is all I am going to do moving forward and what I recommend .


Happy searching !

You can't assume that all lots are scrappers. A lot of people get tired of collecting a character and decide to sell off a "lot" that has a theme. Other people have a lot of pins they want to offload quickly without the hassle and expense of listing each pin individually. The "lots" that you need to be careful of are the ones that are getting sold over and over and over by the same seller many many times. I wouldn't make the blanket assumption that all sellers are the same. I have bought perfectly good, fully legit lots on eBay from reliable sellers. I've posted about some of them in this thread.

[waltdavinci]

Originally Posted by SupernaturalMommy

You can't assume that all lots are scrappers. A lot of people get tired of collecting a character and decide to sell off a "lot" that has a theme. Other people have a lot of pins they want to offload quickly without the hassle and expense of listing each pin individually. The "lots" that you need to be careful of are the ones that are getting sold over and over and over by the same seller many many times. I wouldn't make the blanket assumption that all sellers are the same. I have bought perfectly good, fully legit lots on eBay from reliable sellers. I've posted about some of them in this thread.

I am sure they are...I just like to be safe . Personally, its just me wanting certain pins most of the time. I do agree totally on the point of ones being sold over and over. You will find some saying, "These are the types of pins you will get" and having a picture of them...Thats a blatant alarm.

[LaurenRenae]

Are there any lots on eBay that are legit? We are going in April and I want to get my daughter 10-20 for the sole purpose to trade away. I don't want to get bad pins, but I also don't want to pay a lot for pins we're not even keeping. I see lots of good sellers listed here but I do not want to bid on 10-20 individual listings. Thanks for helping a pin newbie

[SupernaturalMommy]

Originally Posted by LaurenRenae

Are there any lots on eBay that are legit? We are going in April and I want to get my daughter 10-20 for the sole purpose to trade away. I don't want to get bad pins, but I also don't want to pay a lot for pins we're not even keeping. I see lots of good sellers listed here but I do not want to bid on 10-20 individual listings. Thanks for helping a pin newbie

There are. You can find new on card pins for around $2.00 each, but they are usually in lots of 25. There are other lots for less that are not on card. Some sellers do a choose your own number lot. You just have to read the details, look at the feedback, look at recently sold items from the seller with advanced search to see if they are selling the same thing over and over. Look at the supplied photo. Sellers who sell in blind lots will recycle their photo but look to see if the photo is one showing nothing but hidden mickey's or other known scrappers.