Help needed with eBay dillema!

Hi everyone,

I'm a bit in a dillema about what should I do with regards to evaluating an eBay seller.

I bought a Tamiya 1/24 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA kit from this seller together with a 1/24 VW Karmann Ghia kit.

He did refund me for the VW because he ran out of stock. (Bizarre, but however honest)

I got the Alfa kit 1 month ago but the body shell was crushed, as he only packed the kit in a bubble envelope.
I contacted him about this and he sent me another body shell, that I got today, packed in a very flexible paper box and again a bubble envelope, and as you might have guessed it is crushed again!

Should I ask him for a further body shell?!
Should I ask him for a refund?
Should I simply give up and give him a negative feedback? I'm not tempted by this one as he is at the beginning of his seller career and it will penalize him a lot.

Anyway I'm running out of time (you know the famous 60 days) and I will have to make a complaint to eBay.

What do you think I should do?

Since you told him what the issue was the first time, and it was due to the way it was packed, he should have more securely packaged the replacement. I would contact him and ask for a refund, citing the packaging issue. If he does not respond or comply, file your dispute prior to the 60 day deadline, then the negative feedback.

I understand your concern with causing him an impact, but the whole purpose of feedback is to inform others of your experience, and he's obviously not learned his lesson from the first crushed body.

Just my opinion, feel free to disagree . . .

my wife has an e-bay store.
she says tell him about the issue, (twice) and eather refund your money, or ship it the way it should be. Three times and he is out. It should be explained that this is happening. Did you look at his feed back?

Some sellers will really work hard at keeping customers happy, and some don't. I would definitely contact him again and either ask for a refund or a new body shipped in a box. If he sends another body and it's crushed again then negative feedback. If he is willing to work with you and it's not resolved by the 60 days you can either leave no feedback or pop in neutral. You can mutually withdraw feedback at a later date if things work out. I think your dilemma is more along the lines of negative feedback in retaliation.

let me make a guess...

is this particular seller from hongkong?
he sells cheap tamiya kits but higher shipping price?

marc:eek7:
SGP

I don't quite understand the dilemma. You are in communication with him, and he did show good faith by sending you a second shell. As long as the deal can be saved, there is nothing to be gained from neg FB.

He owes you either an intact shell or the total value of the kit, since the lack of a shell makes the kit next to worthless. So your next step is to - once again - inform him that he needs to make good on the deal by sending you either the full amount of the purchase or a properly packed shell in good condition. (Don't expect your shipping costs to be refunded; that's not customary on eBay.)

He might think you are trying to pull a fast one, so support your case by sending him a photo of the two crushed shells. Don't be shy: tell him to put the next one in a strong cardboard box.

Negative FB is for when people are cheating or ducking their responsibilities. It doesn't sound like he's a crook, but if he doesn't give you a satisfactory response in a reasonable time, give him negative feedback. Expect retaliatory FB, but people can see through that.

I have a hunch you can work this one out by keeping the lines of communication open.

Ddms

let me make a guess...

is this particular seller from hongkong?
he sells cheap tamiya kits but higher shipping price?

marc:eek7:
SGP

Yes it's a HK seller, and no it is not bboykorea.
It's a starter seller with around 50 sold articles, it's not the cheapest out there but the only one who was carrying this kit.

I don't quite understand the dilemma. You are in communication with him, and he did show good faith by sending you a second shell. As long as the deal can be saved, there is nothing to be gained from neg FB.

He owes you either an intact shell or the total value of the kit, since the lack of a shell makes the kit next to worthless. So your next step is to - once again - inform him that he needs to make good on the deal by sending you either the full amount of the purchase or a properly packed shell in good condition. (Don't expect your shipping costs to be refunded; that's not customary on eBay.)

He might think you are trying to pull a fast one, so support your case by sending him a photo of the two crushed shells. Don't be shy: tell him to put the next one in a strong cardboard box.

Negative FB is for when people are cheating or ducking their responsibilities. It doesn't sound like he's a crook, but if he doesn't give you a satisfactory response in a reasonable time, give him negative feedback. Expect retaliatory FB, but people can see through that.

I have a hunch you can work this one out by keeping the lines of communication open.

Ddms

You're right on it, and this is what I did first time (contact him, sent him photos of the crushed body shell etc...).

I hope it works out again. However he might chose to wait a week or two so that I run out of time and can't fill the complaint again. I guess I could still give him negative feedback (as we get 90 days for that), but as it would be his first negative I'm really not comfy with this situation.

Thanks to all of you who helped me decide on this!

Ioan