My Han Solo SSE #112 Stolen!

Hello, I am a long time poster here and Sideshow collector. I have just been bilked out of $500 dollars. I sold it on ebay, the buyer does not pay for insurance. After receiving the payment from the buyer, I mail PRIORITY MAIL on Jan 9 and have the postal receipt to prove it. He files a non-receipt claim against me on paypal and PAYPAL gives it to him because I did not send with a tracking number. Nevertheless, it was sent. I have over 3000 postive feedbacks am HONEST and you know me here. This guy is a crook.

I called the Post office where he lives and his postman says he delivered a large box on Jan 18, the day this buyer submits his claim to PAYPAL. All emails to him since he filed this claim have gone unanswered. From the beginning this buyer was acting very suspicious and the fact that he ignores email and the postman confirms it was delivered, shows he is a thief.

My advice to all sellers is ALWAYS use delivery confirmation, and if it is over $250 get a signature required also.

If anyone has any advice on measures I can take, please let me know.

I am going to pursue Felony Mail Fraud against him AND I am calling the Detectives division of NYPD Blue.

I would greatly appreciate if anyone sees this guy trying to sell Han Solo Sideshow Exclusive #112 on ebay or anywhere else, contact me right away and I will inform the police.

I also want to say this guy has 9 negative feedbacks on ebay.

He is ebay user astrohu. His name is Joe Hu. If anyone knows about this thief, please let me know.

Thanks alot.

That sucks DJ. Hopefully it all works out for ya.

My advice to all sellers is ALWAYS use delivery confirmation, and if it is over $250 get a signature required also.

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Correct.

Paypal will always side with a buyer instead of the seller. I had something like this happen to me also but I was the buyer. The seller sent me an empty box with a confirmation number. I filed a complaint with Paypal but since the seller had a confirmation number he won the complaint. For a while this was a common scam, but now Paypal asks you when you file a complaint if you were sent an empty box.

You got his address: go kick his ass....

Davey, I do hope this can be resolved satisfactorily. I can't believe people can just claim to have received nothing, when in fact they got the merchandise, and win that claim. You need to talk to a lawyer.

Best of luck!

The seller sent me an empty box with a confirmation number. I filed a complaint with Paypal but since the seller had a confirmation number he won the complaint.

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Unbelievable!!!

But now, here I am an honest seller who sent a valuable collectable and I get screwed by someone who is a scam artist and knows how to steal. It is my belief he did not actually file the paypal claim until after he received my box, saw that it had no tracking number and sent the claim in.

Both buyers and sellers get scammed and it is a shame!

I second the motion to go whoop his ass. Seriously.

Bring a friend if you have to.

The same trick has happened to me from a seller from Japan..

Paypal sucks..

They will never take the part of the seller and the transaction cost me in the region of $300 + .

I was sent a Paypal feedback questionaire after the situation was resolved (I had to send payment to rectify my negative balance) and ALL my responses where negative...

Where has all the seller protection gone????


WW

Davey - the same thing has happened to me as well.

I shipped a MR Stormtrooper Blaster to England via Air Parcel Post
instead of Global Express, so it wasn't trackable. The fellow said
he never received it, and Paypal reversed the charges and gave
him a refund for the full amount paid. $350+ I believe it was.

So now he's possibly got the blaster, and my $350+ and there is
nothing I can do about it.

Bottom line: ALWAYS ship with tracking.

JS

On the other hand, some would call selling something for double the price stealing. Why didn't you let someone who really wanted it order it instead of you?

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Strongly disagree with you. Because... I am a Sideshow Collector, I originally wanted to keep it, but I needed to sell for cash to buy more Sideshow. Many people do it and there is nothing wrong with it. Stealing is wrong.

I am going to pursue Felony Mail Fraud against him AND I am calling the Detectives division of NYPD Blue.

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ask for Detective Andy Sipowicz.

Davey,

Sorry to hear about the bad ebay experience! Can the postal official be called in to help out? A PF format box from Sideshow is so big, it is pretty memorable. I can't believe that they wouldn't pursue an investigation, and there aren't a lot of places where these things can hide, especially if he is making moves to resell the item. It's not like it will turn up at a pawn shop!

I know I will keep my eyes peeled on ebay for a Han with that serial number!

Time to strap on my ass-kicking boots!

You're screwed.

Same thing happened to me as well with a $550 item. <sigh>

Even if you ship to a confirmed address, paypal still will not side with you unless you have delivery confirmation AND signature. Even then it's tough....

First off I am very sorry to hear that DJ, good luck in your attempts to recover.

Let me give all Ebay sellers a very good bit of advice here, follow these guidelines and you will never lose a penny. Everyone listening??



Always pay with a credit card not exsisting Paypal funds AND ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS empty your Paypal account after every payment received


I cant stress that enough if you follow this advice you will not get taken, the scammer will take Paypal and not you. If a buyer files a claim and he is in the wrong but Paypal sides with him, oh well there is no money to confiscate. If the buyer files and is the outcome is against, then gets pissed and files with his credit card guess what Paypal will come after your account. No money in your account, oh well there is no money to confiscate.

Your a buyer now and you get screwed on a transaction you file with Paypal, they say well geee Jesse your right you did get screwed we have sided with you but unfortunatly he has no money in his account to grab so your out of luck. So you say yeh right I am calling my credit card company. So you do and they "take" (literally) the money back from Paypal, what does Paypal do the hit your account............yes that's what I said your account for the amount of the transaction (they sided with you on) that they just got confiscated by the credit card company.

You've all heard what they say about the drive through right???? Well Paypal is the exact same, they offer no protection but to themselves.

Obviously the best way to do anything is to ship with UPS/Fedex as I do without fail. As I only charge the exact shipping charges for international shippments the charge for APP is usually so close to EMS my customers choose it anyway but on the rare occasion that they don't I pay the difference myself and ship it EMS.

I am on my third Paypal account because of these types of things. When I am in the right no company is going to take my money, period end of story.

I would rather keep opening up new Paypal accounts when somthign stupid like this happens then lose $500 a pop.

There is my advice, do with it what you will and good luck out there.


Jesse

Even if you ship to a confirmed address, paypal still will not side with you unless you have delivery confirmation AND signature. Even then it's tough....

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That is what I was told by Paypal. Anything over $250 needs tracking AND Signature. I think PAYPAL needs to protect seller much more than they are. By stopping the seller scammers with their policies, they can screw an honest seller. But... that is paypal, there are other methods. As far as I know mail fraud is serious business, and I am going to submit a complaint against him.

Oh, and you are going to find this hilarious. After Paypal takes my money and gives the scammer back the $500 so he has $500 and the Han Solo (for free), this is what paypal sends me:

"This claim has been solved amicably. Please consider this when leaving feedback for this buyer."

AMICABLY!!!! They are out of their minds. If I could somehow sue paypal I would. I am not even able to defend myself if I cannot enter in a tracking number. I have the receipt, sent to Staten Island NY, 19 lbs to his address, that is proof enough! And the feedback, I gave him negative as he deserved. The guy has 9 total negatives, maybe from other people he scammed. I should try to look them up and take him to court.

Also, there are only 250 of these Han Solos in the world, so it may turn up. If anyone sees #112, that one is mine.

Thanks for all the positive support guys, I feel better knowing that I am not the only one this has happened to.

On the other hand, some would call selling something for double the price stealing.

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Double the price would have been six hundred and change, which they have indeed been sold for recently. If you're going to rub salt in the guy's wounds, at least be accurate...

That's right Tom. I paid $317 with shipping for Han, sold for $499, plus I paid $15 to ship to him, plus ebay fees, paypal fees, I probably would have profited about $160 or so. But now, I bought a Han Solo for $317 and have nothing. You can look at two ways, I am out $317 what I paid, or I am out $500 market value.

And another thing you must hear! I filed a dispute on ebay against ASTROHU to recover my ebay final value fees. Can you believe that he responded and said he "paid with Paypal on Jan 7!!!!". The nerve of this guy! Paypal ruled the claim in his favor and returned the payment. So in effect, the net result is the auction is NOT PAID. I went from a Paid $ to unpaid. He doens't even want me to get my final value fees back, which has nothing to do with him.

Who is with me to bust this guy up? I DO have his address.

Daveyjaro said:

Who is with me to bust this guy up? I DO have his address.

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We do have a few members in New York......... I'm just saying.......



Jesse

Daveyjaro said:

Hello, I am a long time poster here and Sideshow collector. I have just been bilked out of $500 dollars. I sold it on ebay, the buyer does not pay for insurance.

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I have no doubt that the buyer scammed you based on your story. However, you DID NOT protect yourself.

Misconception: Shipping Insurance is for the buyer's protection. WRONG!

Reality: Shipping Insurances protects the SELLER for lost shipments. It is the responsibility of the seller to deliver the item to the buyer. I learned this myself, just today as a matter of fact. This is an important lesson for new sellers, and I had never heard it before today.

I had a buyer who hadn't yet received his statues that I shipped out Jan. 10 (I know it hasn't been that long, but people on Ebay aren't the smartest). He didn't buy insurance, and I started checking around about whose responsibility it was. It was MY responsibility as a seller to get insurance if I wanted it. If the item got lost in the mail, then Paypal would see that it never got delivered. The buyer is protected through his/her Credit Card or Paypal, so shipping insurance for the buyer is not needed. Luckily, he e-mailed me today and told me that they arrived.

This doesn't relate to your post, but Always ship internationally with Global Express (EMS), UPS, FedEx, or DHL. I shudder to think of the expensive items I shipped internationally with Airmail Parcel Post before I really learned the ropes of being a seller. I wouldn't have been covered at all. I'll ONLY ship internationally with Global Express, for the reasons that JS and Gruson stated.

Jesse's advice is also good. NEVER leave money in your Paypal account. Always take it out immediately. There is no fee for an automatic transfer. Do it and do it often.

I've got 100% rating on Ebay as well, but I've had a few close calls. It can get scary, especially when dealing with REALLY expensive items. I had a problem with a $1,300 item I shipped to Spain once, which freaked me out.

DJ, if you had insured the item, then you could either get your money back that way or the Post Office could investigate and prove that it was delivered.

Also, always use signature confirmation on items that are $250 or over as required under the Seller Protection Policy.

Bonehead15 said:

Correct.

Paypal will always side with a buyer instead of the seller. I had something like this happen to me also but I was the buyer. The seller sent me an empty box with a confirmation number. I filed a complaint with Paypal but since the seller had a confirmation number he won the complaint. For a while this was a common scam, but now Paypal asks you when you file a complaint if you were sent an empty box.

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that is so absurd!!!

a had a friend who told me the same thing about the fact that if your paypal balance is 0, paypal cannot refund the buyer. which sounds good to you in the sense that you as a buyer are safe from such situation where the buyer scams you. but if you were the buyer instead, and you were scammed by the seller, and it's tough luck for you if the seller has no $ in his account.

i had the misconception about insurance too. i thought if the buyer chose not to buy that, and if something goes wrong. then it's the buyer's unfortunate loss. it's so common to see statements like do not blame seller if buyer don't purchase insurance etc... i thought insurance was just to help the buyer claim back what the amount he paid for for the lost item.

and talking about insurance, i find it silly that it covers lost items but not damaged. i know it's the responsibility of seller to pack it well enough. but if the postal people mistreat the package due to negligence etc... why should we be faulted. we can only pack so well, but that doesnt mean it is impossible to get damaged still.