Ebay Auctions-You Can Do Something

[darthviper107]

As you might know, there are ebay auctions for both Mace Windu and Qui-Gon Jinn. Both of these figures are set for a 3rd Quarter release date which means the closest time they could possibly ship would be July 1st. That date is 3 and a half months away from now, so any auctions for those two figures will go against the Ebay pre-sale policy. So, what can you do?

1. Go to this page; https://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/pre-sale.html
2. Click Report listing violations or problems with another eBay member.
3. Search for Sideshow Qui-Gon or Sideshow Windu items, copy the item numbers into the box separated by a period (up to 10 items).

There are several listings currently, there are two users that are selling two of the Qui-Gon exclusives, and they say that they are following the 30-day presale listing rule, which they aren't.

Ebay won't take these down unless there are enough people reporting them, so if you want to do something about it and you have an ebay account, you can report them.

 

[EVILFACE]

Why do people care about this so much? Ebay if full of these type auctions.

 

[gonzo]

If these people spent their time and money to order the figures, then they should be allowed to do with them what they want. If these weren't on eBay, the true fans that missed out because they couldn't be on the internet during order won't have any chance to own the figures.

 

[darthviper107]

Well, for one they could be frauds. They say they have two of the Exclusives version, so unless they figured out some way to cheat and get someone else to order a second one for them then they are lying. Besides that, they are saying that they are following the Ebay presale rules while we know that this is not the case. Which means, unless someone tells Ebay that they aren't following the presale rules, then this person could in fact have absolutely nothing at all (not pre ordered the figure) and could just be putting up a fake auction to get the money. But they wouldn't get in trouble because ebay thought they were following the rules.

For people ordering off of ebay with this long of a preorder, there is no buyer protection. If for some reason you missed out on the exclusive and bought one from these guys, it's possible that they might not even end up having the figure, maybe they're credit card doesn't get accepted and their order gets canceled. What would you do then? Or maybe they get caught for having more than one order and one gets cancelled. Or maybe they just decide they want to keep the figure instead of selling it to you after the auction is already over. You can't trust these orders. Other regular auctions have more protection because if you don't recieve your order then you can actually do something. But for these, it'll be too far beyond the deadline for you to do anything if something happens.

That's why this matters, it's protection for people who want to buy them. Besides that, these people who buy to sell are taking away stock from the people that are actually interested in them.

 

[Darth Loki]

"That's why this matters, it's protection for people who want to buy them. Besides that, these people who buy to sell are taking away stock from the people that are actually interested in them."

That's the business of collectibles. I'm not a fan of it but that's how this system has worked for years and why companies like SS are what they are. Where there's a demand, people will find a way to make money.

What if people like this didn't do that and these all went to collectors? What about the poor guy that actually has to work on Friday? He'd be 100% screwed, at least these scalpers give a collector an oportunity to get an exclusive.

 

[darthviper107]

An opportunity to get the figure? Yeah, that would be OK, but these are 3 and half months away, there is a low possibility that you would actually get the figure if you won an auction.

Way to go! You've won this auction! You have a 10% chance that you'll actually recieve what you bought!

 

[daelith]

I'd err on the side of caution and report them. Sure, these might be opportunities for guys who work on Friday to get something they've missed out on. But imagine, you lose out on the exclusive, then win an auction and end up losing another $$$. And generally speaking, when these products are in-hand, there tends to be a spike in the number offered on ebay.

 

[tomandshell]

Once you buy a figure, it's yours to do with what you want.

However, these people haven't purchased these figures yet. Their credit cards have not been charged, and nothing is in their possession. Heck, the figure they're selling doesn't even exist yet. So they are not free to use eBay to sell it this far in advance, because eBay has specific rules forbidding these kinds of auctions. Until they pay for it, it's the property of Sideshow.

Selling something you don't own and haven't paid for in a way that violates the rules of eBay and offers no protection for the buyer should certainly be discouraged. Once it's been paid for and is in their hands, they can sell it--but they still need to sell it according to the rules of eBay.

 

[King Darkness]

Once you buy a figure, it's yours to do with what you want.

However, these people haven't purchased these figures yet. Their credit cards have not been charged, and nothing is in their possession. Heck, the figure they're selling doesn't even exist yet. So they are not free to use eBay to sell it this far in advance, because eBay has specific rules forbidding these kinds of auctions. Until they pay for it, it's the property of Sideshow.

Selling something you don't own and haven't paid for in a way that violates the rules of eBay and offers no protection for the buyer should certainly be discouraged. Once it's been paid for and is in their hands, they can sell it--but they still need to sell it according to the rules of eBay.

Perfectly said!Agree 100%....If they dont own it they cant sell it..simple as that!

 

[Alice Adrenochrome]

Why do people care about this so much? Ebay if full of these type auctions.

I can tell you why I care. I was screwed over by an Ebay seller once, and if Ebay would care about their members, they would have helped me, but they did not. I lost my cash, and that charlatan keeps on selling.

Ebay keeps the machine going, tolerating a few thieves, as long as the majority pays their dues. It's just like in the real life, I'm afraid.

 

[tomandshell]

Sorry to hear that, Alice!

There are many people around here who have been through the same thing, some to the tune of several hundred dollars. If somebody buys this figure off eBay today, and the seller is a scam artist who doesn't ship it, by the time the buyer realizes what has happened it will be too late. eBay doesn't let you leave negative feedback after thirty days--that's why they won't let you sell items that won't be delievered by then, because it removes the feedback from the transaction, and the buyer cannot report the scam.

Also, they will very likely have problems getting a refund from Paypal or their credit card company this September over a charge from March that they complain about six months later.

These rules are there for the protection of the buyer. If we can protect buyers from scam artists while possibly discouraging scalpers from clogging the server on preorder days, then I'm all for it. If it gets too hard for them to sell their figure maybe they will give up and move on to something else.

(Wishful thinking...)

 

[Protozaius]

One aspect of this equation has not been addressed. Collectors MUST learn be patient. WAIT for an item to appear in the marketplace THEN the price will be set by all of the people wanting the item that didn't get it. Bidding on these auctions will not get them their items sooner. Collectors must learn to spend their money wisely. Just because you have "desposable" income doesn't mean you should flush it down the toilet.

If nobody bid on these auctions EVER, I guarantee they would no longer surface. It takes money to post these auctions. As long as their is a chance that a buyer will bite, these sellers will keep casing their nets.

 

[tomandshell]

One aspect of this equation has not been addressed. Collectors MUST learn be patient. WAIT for an item to appear in the marketplace THEN the price will be set by all of the people wanting the item that didn't get it. Bidding on these auctions will not get them their items sooner. Collectors must learn to spend their money wisely. Just because you have "desposable" income doesn't mean you should flush it down the toilet.

If nobody bid on these auctions EVER, I guarantee they would no longer surface. It takes money to post these auctions. As long as their is a chance that a buyer will bite, these sellers will keep casing their nets.

Well said! Patience is the key. Scalpers try to artificially inflate and force up the "market value" of a figure. It's more like extortion--taking something you want and then forcing you to pay huge amounts of money for it. The fair market price will settle for these at much lower than what the scalpers want. Collectors must be patient and wait. They can pick it up later at a much more reasonable price.

 

[EVILFACE]

Scalpers are there for any product that is in demand. And there will always be buyers that don't think 100% with their purchases.

I just have patience and let the Force guide me . . . .

 

[creecher]

Ebay are a greedy mob. They allow these scalpers to frequent their site to gain fees. They are just as bad as the scalpers themselves. Getting money for nothing. They dont take cheques, because they arent free anymore. Well at least not in this country. So if you still don't get charged transaction fees at your bank you soon will. But I digress, they have a stronghold on auctions so if you have been hard done by, leaving wont affect them, because you will most likely have to come back to use them again. The added sting comes from the Better Business Bureau, or consumer advocate in your country, who should be looking after the public and taking action, so you pay via taxes for a service you arent getting. They ought to super fine ebay and reduce taxes, that wont happen, but they ought to take increasing action till ebay complies. I could go on, but you get the point.

 

[darthviper107]

It's working guys, some of the previous listings that were there earlier are gone now. Keep up the good work.

 

[tomandshell]

It's working guys, some of the previous listings that were there earlier are gone now. Keep up the good work.

Every time one of these auctions gets taken down, an angel gets his wings.

 

[Batty]

Every time one of these auctions gets taken down, an angel gets his wings.

Or a wait list gets converted.

 

[pickard]

I respect the reasons why some of you care about this, but here's my take:

If you agree that, once someone receives their SS figure, they're free to do with it what they will, including immediately flipping it on eBay, all we're really talking about at this point is timing. (If you don't agree with that, the rest of this is meaningless.)

There is no reason to believe these sellers are bogus. Yes, we've probably all had at least one bad eBay experience. Some people are scum; that doesn't mean these people are.

Are they violating eBay's rules, obviously. Are they hurting anyone in the process, I don't see how. Not anymore than any person who pre-orders with no intention of holding on to the product.

By the way, I'm sure it's not just eBay sellers who are manipulating the system to get multiple exclusives. I know that, if I was still one of those people who bought one to open and one to store, I'd have an arrangement with my mom or sister to use their CC and have one shipped to their address. I'm sure there are plenty of people doing that.

Just my two cents. Be gentle.

 

[rainman]

I know somebody that has multiple accounts and is using them to get multiple exclusives, all to sell. Hint: it's not me!