Order Arrived With Tape On Stamps

I ordered some sheets of stamps on ebay and the seller packaged them reusing an old cardboard box, but not using the box part. Seller just flattened the box and stuck some stamps sheets between them and then wrapped the edges with packaging tape. Well, the stamp sheets stuck out on one end and there is packaging tape over and stuck to stamp sheets. Removing tape will ruin stamps.

What kind of a case should I open up on ebay?

Arrived damaged.

rogdcam: Thank you. If the seller wants the item back for a refund, should I just attach the new printed label over the old and send it back?

I hope it's not getting to the point in society to where you have to ask each seller how they package items before you bid/buy.

It's been well past that point for years. You must be new to ebay.

classic_paper: Not new, but knock on wood, have overwhelmingly had good buying transactions.

I take great care in packaging items received damaged when returning them and take a couple of photos of the condition as received in order to cover my rear end.

As an example I received an expensive set of stamps that had not been protected from moisture damage and arrived stuck together. When I shipped them back they were sealed in a ziplock bag with stiffeners etc.. CYA

Arrived damaged/not as described. Include a photograph of the problem area to include in the report.

However, if it was me handling this, I would first take a photo or two to add to a message I send the seller via ebay messaging. The seller will see the issue and should be willing to work with you. It is doubtful the seller would want the unsaleable damaged items back, especially paying for the return. If you mail stuff, perhaps getting a refund large enough to get the stamps at some discount of face value to make it worth you time.

If ebay gets involved and forces (strongly suggests to the seller to do a return) a return, you will need to print out at home the ebay return label or go to the post office for them to print out the return label. Affix the label and hand it back to the clerk who will give you the tracking number for the package. Now if printed at home you will still want to do that at a window clerk to see that it is scanned to verify it is in fact in the mail and a copy of the tracking number (easier to read than most handwritten scrawls).

I don't know how you value your time, but getting some discount postage plus most of a refund sounds like a deal to me.

Good luck.

Parcelpostguy: Good general suggestion. The packaging tape is stuck to the stamps, so I cannot open package and return the stamps because if I do, the stamps will become further damaged and then the item will go back to seller in worse condition and seller could claim that they received item damaged. I have been messaging seller about this and they apologized and agreed that I am correct about the tape being stuck to the stamps based on the photo I sent, but so far they haven't taken any pre-emptive action.

I looked at package further and an expert package opener could open package and salvage the stamps to where some could be used as postage.

Could I open a case and ask for a partial refund or if I open a case, is it strictly return for full refund?

Some sellers make quick "fix the problem" offers; others wait for the buyer to make a suggestion. Feel free to make an offer you can live with and if the seller sees it a reasonable the issue is handled.

Torin, the prepaid return label if issued by ebay and printed at the post office are self adhesive with sender's and addressee's name and address as well as a bunch of other printed goodies. It is slapped over the existing labeling and the return goes back packaged just as it arrives.

How do I know? Well after 18 years on ebay I just made such a return back on the 1st of July. I ordered two items (covers) and they were packaged in a manner that did not allow safe unpacking without damaging one of the covers. Even the invoice could not be removed undamaged. It seemed the seller owned stock in the Scotch Tape company. Why do some sellers package items as if the buyer is the enemy? The majority of her sales are slabbed or otherwise held in plastic coins but you can safely tape up covers the same way as hard plastic goodies.

I contacted the seller who blew me off and then completely blocked me which killed all communication.

Thus as my only recourse I escalated to ebay involvement which forced a return and refund after return was delivered. That said if the seller stayed reasonable I would have been able to find a price point at which I would keep the cover with the 3/4" tear into the cancel. I was buying a $75 submarine cover for mostly the beautiful 1930s multicolored cachet and so much the cancel.

The issue was the yellowed old tight and I mean tight fitting glassine taped down to a too flexible piece of course pressboard card-stock. I sent ebay a couple of pictures and the return was forced.

So I properly and safely put the cover between to pieces of cardboard, put some tape on each side on the cardboard (not the cover) put it all in a recycled white cardboard mailer, closed it up and slapped the new label over the old one. Done

Be sure to request a refund for your original shipping, if any, also.

Last year I bought a stamp album that said it and the stamps included were from the mid to late 1980s. The album was copyrighted in 1976 and the stamps were not older than that.

Anyway, I returned the album and the seller paid for return shipping. She refunded the purchase price after she received the album back.

However, she did NOT refund me the original shipping of $10. I tried fighting for this but ebay considered the issue closed because the seller refunded the purchase price and paid for return shipping. All I could do was leave negative feedback explaining how I was forced to pay $10 for a misrepresented item.

Torin, I hope this works out for you with the seller. I appreciate all of the comments on this thread, a wealth of information for an ebay buyer.

Thank you for all your comments. In the end a partial refund was negotiated, which I was happy with. I was unaware that the seller is only required to refund the purchase price and not shipping. I assume then buying on ebay is risk free only for the purchase price. For example, If I were to purchase a fragile item like glassware for $100 plus $20 shipping and it arrived cracked or shattered and filed an arrived damaged claim with pictures, then I would be out $20 even upon returning it to seller. Perhaps then, it's wiser if possible to choose items with free or low shipping in case the item arrives not as described? What if the seller doesn't use tracking and never sends the item because of a low bid? Is the buyer still out shipping even though they won an INR claim because of no tracking?

It would be informative to me as a buyer if sellers optionally would provide links to their social media profiles. Based upon what they write and how they engage with others in a written format, I could better assess what kind of a seller I am going to be dealing with. I pass on sellers who leave rude and arrogant replies to buyers who have left them negative feedback. What is a mystery to me is the "revised feedback" number and what happened in those situations. Is that number a lifetime number or the past month or 1 year? There are many 100% positive feedback sellers who have a high "revised feedback" number.

In my days selling second-hand records, I occasionally encountered customers who made a habit of returning items for supposed minor faults (we accepted returns although not legally obliged to do so). I'd suggest to these people that second-hand goods were probably not for them. I wonder whether, given your frequent angst about sellers and their wares, you might be in a similar position?

Depends on how you claim it (or how the seller responds) - see the below policy from the ebay help file.

IMHO, in this situation the only way to do it as a buyer is to initiate a return, citing a damaged item (or, if applicable, item not as described).

John

You received a damaged item, it doesn't match the listing description, or it's the wrong item

Here's how the seller may respond:

Accept your return request and offer a full refund – You'll return the item in the same condition in which it was received, and the seller issues you a full refund, including the original shipping cost. The seller will also pay for return shipping.

If the returned item is used, damaged, missing parts, or is damaged during return shipping because it wasn't packaged correctly, the seller might deduct from the refund to cover the loss in the item's value. Learn more about our Condition of returns policy.

Offer you a partial refund and let you keep the item – This can be a good compromise when you're not completely satisfied with your purchase – for example, if it arrived with a minor scratch – but you're happy to keep it.

Offer you a replacement or an exchange – Some sellers may offer the option of returning an item for a replacement or exchange instead of a refund.

Send you a message – The seller may ask you for some more details about your return request.

When the seller replies, we'll send you an email with details of the next steps.

GeoffHa: Not at all. It's all about honesty and transparency. If a seller described a record as VG+ with no skips and it arrives with multiple scratches and multiple skips, that item is not as described. I have been in that predicament before.