Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I messaged him and he has now replied- he is really, really sorry. he must have misunderstood, etc. He says he will refund any postage to send them back. At this point I told him I will send them back but only if he prepays return postage. I am not going to be out for weeks waiting for them to get to him and then maybe getting stiffed. I think these are some items he has not been able to sell there and he was hoping I'd feel obligated to buy them from him rather than sending them back. My understanding of Ebay rules is that since this sending was not part of the actual transaction those rules would not apply. I've gone back over my messages to him and do not see where I told him to send these. It's a mess made worse by the fact it involves an overseas seller.
Any ideas here?
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03:12:39pm
If he sends the return postage, return the albums to him; if he doesn't, you can treat them as a gift. Unsolicited approvals are yours to keep, you have no legal obligation to return them.
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You didn't ask for them. Even if he sends you the postage you didn't ask for the hassle of packing the things up and getting them into the mail. If he sends the money the right thing to do is to send them back but my guess is he took a shot at it and you'll never hear from him again.
-Ernie
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Woo hoo! What's the name of this seller? I could use some freebies too! 
Chris
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I'd chalk it up to a dealer doing business in his second language.
I'd do the right thing and send the guy the items, along with a bill for the postage. If he's an eBay seller, hold off posting feedback until you receive the postage. I think he'll honor his word.
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I have messaged him suggesting that I could remove the stamps from the album, mail them back at my expense and then retain the album to probably donate. It makes utterly no sense for someone to spend almost $50 to mail this back as an intact collection. The album is heavy, sparsely filled and smells musty. It's his call but I think that's the best approach, no response as yet however.
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09:59:53am
Snick
Seems you have handled this in the best way possible. In fact, by offering to remove the stamps and save the sender money, you have been more than cooperative. It is now up to the sender.
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Got a reply about an hour ago. One of the more intemperate ones I have ever received, lots of caps. . He does not like my proposal at all. 'It is worth a lot'. Well excuse me, no it isn't.
Either he knows it isn't and was trying some squeeze play by sending it over here or he is not that knowledgeable in stamps- and I think it may be the later. (I also suspect a language barrier- his messages look like they were filtered by translation programs). I simply replied that I will box it up and take to my PO next week for a quote and let him know, I am no longer offering to send the stamps back, I think he thinks I am trying to cheat him. In any case I am sending him a quote and will wait for him to pay to get his album back. Am not following up with him if I don't hear further.
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What's the seller's language, Snick. Maybe one of us here could help with a draft reply to get things sorted out for you.
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Just a thought but maybe take a photo/scan of each page in case he comes back at you that you have removed stamps. Better still get a non family member to witness or do the copies. Perhaps someone at your stamp society.
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05:17:45pm
Interesting. I have a seller I have bought a few things from on ebay (one transaction) who recently sent me an email letting me know what that he has such and such available - all I need to do is log in to ebay and bin. What? This is not someone who I've regularly dealt with. There have been several German sellers with whom I've dealt with before. To complete my DDR collection, between the two of them, I engaged them in conversation explaining what I needed and each then made arrangements to put up the lots I needed and told me when they would be up, gave me the url so I could bin. That way it was protected under Paypal and eBay if something got lost but they were deliberate sales for these guys that put together what I needed. They each said to contact them any time in the future if I needed anything else and one of the fellas gave me a friend's contact info who had West Germany so that when I'm ready he would be able to help me fill the few years that I'm missing in my West German collection.
This unsolicited email with the links that said these items were ready for me to bin was kind of creepy.
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I get those all the time from eBay sellers (non-philatelic) who I have bought from. Doesn't bother me. If I'm interested, I'll check it out. Usually I don't buy. At least I known they are putting up new things.
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Andrejs- he's in Germany. Eastern Germany (Saxony) to be more exact. I think he understands English well enough, a lot of his sales are to US buyers. Thanks for the offer I may be back to ask for help if this thing deteriorates further, Right now I will just plan to get a postal quote and let him know.
For what it's worth, I spent some time going though it. The album is a Schaubek for general Germany, empire, occupations and some states. There are almost no full sets- a few in the later Third Reich era but all those are hinged. Some NH inflation issues but again NO full sets. There is one full NH Bohemia Moravia Hitler head set but many of those are hinged. I doubt the stamps in it are worth $25, certainly the album is of no use to me, maybe a beginner in this area could use it while getting started but that's about all. I think this is an album he couldn't sell. I bought two hingeless album page sets from him, total over $300 so maybe he thought he could unload it on me. I've been buying and selling on Ebay fifteen years, this is a new one to me. If he wants me to just mail back the stamps he will need to ask, I won't offer again.
I seem to recall a thread, not on here but someplace, about someone having a lot of issues with dealers/sellers in Eastern Germany. Sort of like, they are pushy or something. He has feedback in the thousands so he's no novice. I will get him a postal quote by mid week. And yes, I know- I need to chill out awhile.
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Update I messaged him offering to pay him $25 for the album. Probably the stamps are worth that and I could sell it on Ebay or auction at my club and recover my outlay. He shipped my Ebay purchase with no postal charge so I think I should go the second mile and be generous with him. I seriously doubt he will ever get a bid from me again, however.
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Just a thought: he may think there is also particular value in the old album itself, and perhaps there is in Europe. Or perhaps he thinks there would be even more value here in the US, since older European-made albums are less common here.
Perhaps that's why he seemed particularly unamenable on the disposition of the album. (I know I like some of the old albums, just as a collectible unto itself.)
But it sounds like your latest offer is very reasonable. And I agree, I think I would stay away from this seller in the future.
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There's a little more to the story I didn't post on here. It took him nearly two weeks to get in gear and get my first purchase of pages shipped to me. He was - per him- running around trying to get them punched for me then learned he couldn't get it done, he mailed them only after i got little in his face over the delay. On that and this most recent shipment he has failed to get me tracking information, again, he did so only after I insisted he needed to. He's been active on Ebay since 2001 so he is no novice. There is just too much drama dealing with him for me to want to go back. I imagine i will need to message him again before I know what he decides on my offer, frustrating.
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You did not mention, or I missed it, that you expect to receive enough postage money to cover the expensive USPS postal service that guarantees delivery confirmation to his door and is electronically tracked. Currently only the more expensive services are available with that type of confirmation--otherwise the person could claim that the books never arrived--then what?
Sorry for your pain,
Bruce
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Well not a peep from him for two weeks. I took the items to the local PO and got a quote of $64.70 shipping!
I messaged him that if I were him it would not be worth that just to get them back and that my offer of $25 for the lot was still open. It is maddening that he seems to just be clammed up.
I am not sending them back without some agreement as to who pays for what here.
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Snick, sounds to me like you've gone above and beyond what most people would have done in this situation. I would send him a final email and tell him that if you don't hear back from him (give a date certain - maybe five business days), that you will conclude that he is not interested in having the item returned and you will handle it accordingly. If he doesn't reply, you have no other obligation towards him (unless you want to), even if he finally replies three weeks after your deadline.
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Email from him today- he 'accidentally deleted' my prior messages.
He has accepted my offer of $25. I will not be in a great rush to pay him, probably next week after I get paid for some Ebay stuff I am selling. Sort of feel like I got taken but it was bound to come out badly anyway.
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12:35:33pm
I think that you would be justified in writing back that due to his tardiness in replying, that offer expired some time ago. " ...In the interim I made a large purchase from an on-line club which will provide plenty of that kind of material for the foreseeable future. ...."
I might add; "...Wenn Sie Snoozen , Sie verlieren ..."
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This is a first for me in nearly 15 years of Ebay activity. I bought a nice set of Lighthouse hingeless album pages last month from a seller in Germany. Right after I won, he started messaging me wanting to know if I were interested in some other items he did not have listed, I told him no, said i might have some interest in the future but wanted to conclude this transaction first and felt I was firm on that. The purchase arrived this week, I am happy with the pages but.. he also included two additional albums 'for you to have a look at." One is an old Schaubek album with maybe $50 worth of general German stuff, many short sets, nothing an advanced collector would want, the other is some strange off brand hingeless album for postwar Germany and I am totally uninterested in that.
I messaged him and he has now replied- he is really, really sorry. he must have misunderstood, etc. He says he will refund any postage to send them back. At this point I told him I will send them back but only if he prepays return postage. I am not going to be out for weeks waiting for them to get to him and then maybe getting stiffed. I think these are some items he has not been able to sell there and he was hoping I'd feel obligated to buy them from him rather than sending them back. My understanding of Ebay rules is that since this sending was not part of the actual transaction those rules would not apply. I've gone back over my messages to him and do not see where I told him to send these. It's a mess made worse by the fact it involves an overseas seller.
Any ideas here?
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
15 Aug 2015
03:12:39pm
re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
If he sends the return postage, return the albums to him; if he doesn't, you can treat them as a gift. Unsolicited approvals are yours to keep, you have no legal obligation to return them.
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03:15:12pm
re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
You didn't ask for them. Even if he sends you the postage you didn't ask for the hassle of packing the things up and getting them into the mail. If he sends the money the right thing to do is to send them back but my guess is he took a shot at it and you'll never hear from him again.
-Ernie
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Woo hoo! What's the name of this seller? I could use some freebies too!
Chris
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
I'd chalk it up to a dealer doing business in his second language.
I'd do the right thing and send the guy the items, along with a bill for the postage. If he's an eBay seller, hold off posting feedback until you receive the postage. I think he'll honor his word.
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
I have messaged him suggesting that I could remove the stamps from the album, mail them back at my expense and then retain the album to probably donate. It makes utterly no sense for someone to spend almost $50 to mail this back as an intact collection. The album is heavy, sparsely filled and smells musty. It's his call but I think that's the best approach, no response as yet however.
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
16 Aug 2015
09:59:53am
re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Snick
Seems you have handled this in the best way possible. In fact, by offering to remove the stamps and save the sender money, you have been more than cooperative. It is now up to the sender.
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Got a reply about an hour ago. One of the more intemperate ones I have ever received, lots of caps. . He does not like my proposal at all. 'It is worth a lot'. Well excuse me, no it isn't.
Either he knows it isn't and was trying some squeeze play by sending it over here or he is not that knowledgeable in stamps- and I think it may be the later. (I also suspect a language barrier- his messages look like they were filtered by translation programs). I simply replied that I will box it up and take to my PO next week for a quote and let him know, I am no longer offering to send the stamps back, I think he thinks I am trying to cheat him. In any case I am sending him a quote and will wait for him to pay to get his album back. Am not following up with him if I don't hear further.
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
What's the seller's language, Snick. Maybe one of us here could help with a draft reply to get things sorted out for you.
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Approvals
re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Just a thought but maybe take a photo/scan of each page in case he comes back at you that you have removed stamps. Better still get a non family member to witness or do the copies. Perhaps someone at your stamp society.
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16 Aug 2015
05:17:45pm
re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Interesting. I have a seller I have bought a few things from on ebay (one transaction) who recently sent me an email letting me know what that he has such and such available - all I need to do is log in to ebay and bin. What? This is not someone who I've regularly dealt with. There have been several German sellers with whom I've dealt with before. To complete my DDR collection, between the two of them, I engaged them in conversation explaining what I needed and each then made arrangements to put up the lots I needed and told me when they would be up, gave me the url so I could bin. That way it was protected under Paypal and eBay if something got lost but they were deliberate sales for these guys that put together what I needed. They each said to contact them any time in the future if I needed anything else and one of the fellas gave me a friend's contact info who had West Germany so that when I'm ready he would be able to help me fill the few years that I'm missing in my West German collection.
This unsolicited email with the links that said these items were ready for me to bin was kind of creepy.
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05:25:41pm
re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
I get those all the time from eBay sellers (non-philatelic) who I have bought from. Doesn't bother me. If I'm interested, I'll check it out. Usually I don't buy. At least I known they are putting up new things.
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Andrejs- he's in Germany. Eastern Germany (Saxony) to be more exact. I think he understands English well enough, a lot of his sales are to US buyers. Thanks for the offer I may be back to ask for help if this thing deteriorates further, Right now I will just plan to get a postal quote and let him know.
For what it's worth, I spent some time going though it. The album is a Schaubek for general Germany, empire, occupations and some states. There are almost no full sets- a few in the later Third Reich era but all those are hinged. Some NH inflation issues but again NO full sets. There is one full NH Bohemia Moravia Hitler head set but many of those are hinged. I doubt the stamps in it are worth $25, certainly the album is of no use to me, maybe a beginner in this area could use it while getting started but that's about all. I think this is an album he couldn't sell. I bought two hingeless album page sets from him, total over $300 so maybe he thought he could unload it on me. I've been buying and selling on Ebay fifteen years, this is a new one to me. If he wants me to just mail back the stamps he will need to ask, I won't offer again.
I seem to recall a thread, not on here but someplace, about someone having a lot of issues with dealers/sellers in Eastern Germany. Sort of like, they are pushy or something. He has feedback in the thousands so he's no novice. I will get him a postal quote by mid week. And yes, I know- I need to chill out awhile.
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Update I messaged him offering to pay him $25 for the album. Probably the stamps are worth that and I could sell it on Ebay or auction at my club and recover my outlay. He shipped my Ebay purchase with no postal charge so I think I should go the second mile and be generous with him. I seriously doubt he will ever get a bid from me again, however.
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Just a thought: he may think there is also particular value in the old album itself, and perhaps there is in Europe. Or perhaps he thinks there would be even more value here in the US, since older European-made albums are less common here.
Perhaps that's why he seemed particularly unamenable on the disposition of the album. (I know I like some of the old albums, just as a collectible unto itself.)
But it sounds like your latest offer is very reasonable. And I agree, I think I would stay away from this seller in the future.
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
There's a little more to the story I didn't post on here. It took him nearly two weeks to get in gear and get my first purchase of pages shipped to me. He was - per him- running around trying to get them punched for me then learned he couldn't get it done, he mailed them only after i got little in his face over the delay. On that and this most recent shipment he has failed to get me tracking information, again, he did so only after I insisted he needed to. He's been active on Ebay since 2001 so he is no novice. There is just too much drama dealing with him for me to want to go back. I imagine i will need to message him again before I know what he decides on my offer, frustrating.
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06:15:40pm
re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
You did not mention, or I missed it, that you expect to receive enough postage money to cover the expensive USPS postal service that guarantees delivery confirmation to his door and is electronically tracked. Currently only the more expensive services are available with that type of confirmation--otherwise the person could claim that the books never arrived--then what?
Sorry for your pain,
Bruce
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Well not a peep from him for two weeks. I took the items to the local PO and got a quote of $64.70 shipping!
I messaged him that if I were him it would not be worth that just to get them back and that my offer of $25 for the lot was still open. It is maddening that he seems to just be clammed up.
I am not sending them back without some agreement as to who pays for what here.
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04:33:22pm
re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Snick, sounds to me like you've gone above and beyond what most people would have done in this situation. I would send him a final email and tell him that if you don't hear back from him (give a date certain - maybe five business days), that you will conclude that he is not interested in having the item returned and you will handle it accordingly. If he doesn't reply, you have no other obligation towards him (unless you want to), even if he finally replies three weeks after your deadline.
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re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
Email from him today- he 'accidentally deleted' my prior messages.
He has accepted my offer of $25. I will not be in a great rush to pay him, probably next week after I get paid for some Ebay stuff I am selling. Sort of feel like I got taken but it was bound to come out badly anyway.
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26 Aug 2015
12:35:33pm
re: Approvals from an Ebay Seller
I think that you would be justified in writing back that due to his tardiness in replying, that offer expired some time ago. " ...In the interim I made a large purchase from an on-line club which will provide plenty of that kind of material for the foreseeable future. ...."
I might add; "...Wenn Sie Snoozen , Sie verlieren ..."
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