I made my money back quickly, but the $300 record still remained to be sold. No one was popping on it, and I was getting concerned. Finally, after reducing the price to $200, the record got it's one and only bid. Sold!! I was ecstatic that I got $200 out of it. I had come very close to doubling up.
The buyer was a guy in Japan. Sending a record overseas is kinda tricky. You have to pack it better, fill out customs forms, and spend some quality time at the post office. They know me there now...
This record was in great condition, but wouldn't you know it, the guy emails me and says the record was scratched and he wanted his money back.
I told him no.
Why? For the following reasons:
1. I say in my description that I DO NOT ACCEPT RETURNS.
2. I don't know if he recorded the record onto his computer and just wants his $200 back.
3. I don't know if the Post Office damaged it in transit.
4. The record DID NOT have a scratch on it when I mailed it.
5. The principle of the matter: I did my part, I was honest, and it's out of my hands what happens after that.
To make this story shorter, here is a thumbnail account of what happened next:
He filed a claim against me.
I fought it.
He won. As bogus as that sounds, he won.
He shipped the record back, and I prayed that he just recorded it and it wouldn't be scratched. My prayers were not to be answered on this day.
(Check the small scratches about and inch above the label at the 12 o'clock position.)
(The 3 o'clock position shows the major damage...big ole scratch!!)
I was pissed!! I checked my photos, and as you can clearly see from the pic below, that 3 o'clock scratch was NOT there!! Note the date that pic was taken, too!!
(Look, Ma, NO SCRATCH!!)
I filed an appeal based on the picture. But Paypal said, "We don't even open pictures in an appeal case...we don't know if it's the same record or not, when it was taken, etc."
So, here's the bottom line. Even though I say NO RETURNS, he can still return it. Even though he has absolutely NO proof that I sent him a damaged record (he didn't have to even prove the record was scratched!!), he wins. Even though I have DATE STAMPED PROOF that the record was clean, I still loose.
To make matters worse, I had to return his $15 shipping!! Now I have a $200 record I can't sell and I'm out the $15!! I lost a bunch on this one. To make matters doubly worse, this joker has Private Feedback so I can't tell others about this. To make matters triply worse, eBay has a NO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK for Buyers policy, so I can't leave him bad feedback!!
Oh well, I guess it's a lesson learned. What's the lesson? I still haven't figured that one out...anybody help me out with that one??
The End
Epilogue:
Don't feel too bad for me...the remander of the LP's that I didn't post went to the Antique Mall and continue to sell. As of this post, I have made $470...a $130 profit from the initial purchase price of $340. Anyone want to buy a greatly discounted Jazz Fusion record??
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