The Hobby: Refuse To Lose
When the “45 Day Revolution” came about a few years ago, I proposed a different take on it. My “7 Day Initiative” only had one member (me) as far as I could tell. The reason why I object to giving a seller 45 days to complete a transaction is because I believe the seller should already be prepared to ship what they sold you once you’ve paid them. If it’s not a piece that you’ve commissioned or an item that the seller told you would take a while to complete, the seller should have what they are selling in stock and ready to go. If sellers are willing to receive your money through paypal, they are obliged to follow through quickly (would you give an eBay seller 45 days to send out your item?).
To give the seller 45 days to get their act together is irresponsible of the buyer. Your money is at stake, be responsible for it. If the buyer lets the seller take 45 days to ship something, then the buyer is being too passive. What sort of message is the buyer giving to the seller? The message is that the seller can take lots of time to fulfill their end of the deal.
What typically transpires is 45 days of excuses from the seller. “Your mask got lost – but don’t worry I’m working on a replacement mask;” “I’ve been unable to work on your mask because my cat died, I contracted a rare, one in a billion chance disease and a martian spacecraft landed on my lawn.”
Simply put, buyers give sellers an indefinite deadline by waiting 45 days to open a dispute with paypal. Sellers get lazy when there are no concrete deadlines to meet. Some buyers believe that they don’t want to rush or annoy the maskmaker. We’re not talking rocket science here. The buyer, as a paying customer, has every right to ask as many questions as they want – before, during and after the transaction.
Recently, I’ve had to file paypal disputes within 7 days of payment because I received either shady communication or nothing but inventive excuses. One case worked out fine. The other involved a member here. If I hadn’t filed the dispute, I’d still be waiting for my mask. By filing the dispute, I gave the seller a definite deadline imposed by paypal: Either have my mask at my doorstep by a specific date or give me a full refund. (I did get my mask, by the way. He included acrylic eyes to make up for the delay).
If buyers were to step their game up, sellers would be forced to do so as well. It’s in our hands to change things. Use common sense; trust your mind and your gut (I know this is easier said than done for some of you). If you are fed even one excuse on a done deal, file a dispute. Only you can look after yourself in this hobby.
Part 1 is available here.
Word. Exactly how everyone should be handling trades or purchases from Ebay, Or a Member here or FB, WMP, etc.
Excellent points, indeed.
I know that sellers can have shifty buyers too, but when buyers are sending $300+ to a seller – largely on faith and/or recommendations from the community here or elsewhere – then sellers should be doing their very best to keep customers updated and informed every step of the way.
Luckily I’ve yet to have any buying issues myself, but the potential for exploitation in this hobby is certainly a danger…
By the time I list something for sale, it’s already in a box ready to go. Because that’s how I want to be treated.
As a buyer I’ve been pretty lucky. 90% of my masks have been bought second hand from members in the community, and I’ve dealt with some very good honest people. But my gut has turned me away from some deals, and I’ve lost out on some masks because the members seem erratic. I’ve also had the well respected member who took 2 weeks to “find a shipping box” (the post office has them for free FYI) before he could ship my mask and a few sellers who had to pause our transactions to care “for a sick relative” (you’d think this was a community of male nurses for the amount of times that excuse comes up).
I’m down with the 7 day initiative, sign me up.
Very good points.
Many sellers have went the route of “I’ll take your money gladly now but don’t bother me by expecting customer service in return”. They act like they are doing the buyer a favor!
In my opinion, this is by far the biggest problem in the hobby and sadly I have dealt with MANY of these types lately.
Hi
i just bought a mask here at MM.net from a member in the classified,the seller answerd all my replyes extremly fast,until i transfeerd the money from my paypal to his paypalaccount by my VISA card!!then,silence,no replies he had recied my money,,the deal was agreed on that seller would ship it the next day,because i live in Norway and i wanted to be able to get my mask before christmasday!!he promised he would,,but no
I replyed him and it took 2days to before i got a reply,sayig,sry the deley,ill ship it tomorrow,i have all ready to ship,’and promised to give me a reply next day w trackingnumbers and all,but no…
Then i replyed him again,and i saw he had recived my message,but he didnt reply,even i had seen he had been online other places and selling things there at this time,
I finally relpyed and demanded action,and guess what,he admitted he had NO intention to send the mask,because the risk wss to big for him,HE could end up with no mask and no money!!i didnt belive what i saw,just because it stated unconfirm at my adress in my paypalaccount,and HE accused ME to be a possible SCAMMER!!
how could i have scammed him?i spesificly demanded it shipped priority international w tracking and signature on delivery!and payed him whit my paypal Thru my VISA card!!he had my mask and my money for a week before i got help by moderators here at MM.net and i got all my money back and thanks for that!,,i dont understad,if he thought i was a scammer why didnt he report me to paypal or other instances??and why did he hold on to my money??
the whole thing was just tragi-comic,but i got all my money back so it ended happy for me,sad pepole do buisness this way,now he tries to make me look like the badgay because it all went down in a week,but as said,the deal was shipping next day because of a tight timelimit,and he repeted it again and again,and acuses me for a possible scammer!!
not sure what type of category this seller fits best under but,,
Again,,thanks to The Modrators here that helped me get my money back witout to file disputes and claims!!
i am truly thankful for this and i apprechiate this so much!we are lucky that have moderators here that are fair but dont hesitate to act when its proper and nessecery,they do not tolerate alot of nonsens and silly ecxuses from shady seller!!thanks for that,and appreciate them folks,they can be a big help!
thanks
bogeyman73
Thank you for all your comments!
@bogeyman73
You behaved wisely in dealing with that scumbag seller. You were quick to react and get the mods involved. I’m happy that everything worked out well and you got your money back. This goes to show the importance of taking swift action against shady sellers. I also commend the mods who helped you out.
What myers mask is in between those two kirks I WANT THAT
I agree knowbody and have a pending case on eBay now with that thief who goes by the userID, gaarrowheadhunter and now meanv2008. I hope that piece of garbage gets brought to justice and those who he victimized come forward in throwing him under. Thank God for the Buyer Protection Program.
i agree sir! i was recently dealing with one of the bigger mask makers the last few months and was treated like a disease when i had questions about the product. ya im a pain in the ass but if im dropping over 300 bucks i better have some concrete knowlage of what im buying.
in turn and after me losing my cool said artist vowed to never do buisiness with me and insulted me… i never insulted the individual he just has waaay too much pride and i guess i struck a nerve when i asked a certain simple question, that question being ” how consistant are all your masks from one another in comparison to your product shots?”
PEOPLE NEVER ASK THIS QUESTION TO AN ARRRTEEST! as per timelines hmmm well correct me if im wrong but those who do not have a licence to make halloween replicas or anything for that matter… do they not avoid a pre made inventory to eveade the infringment act? i beleive this is done so when a order comes in it can be defended as ”an agreement between friends” i could be dead wrong too. i say give an artist as long as he needs provided he keeps in touch or posts progress photos and or reports.
Ripper I am a long time ebay user .
Ebay will not get involved with ANY criminal prosecution of ANYONE on the site. They will NOT appear in court or help any police or the post office when trying to get someone on mail fraud ever no matter how clear cut it is. They will suspend the seller if your willing to make about 50 calls . I had 3 lowlifes put me threw the ringer and it took about 6 months and HRS on the phone . You have to go threw ebay and paypal sep and its NOT easy.Be happy if you got your money and let it be . You would have to get the FBI involved and they will laugh at you for 300 bucks . The us. post office will also NOT help to prosecute anyone I tried . Just stay clear of the guy and LET ebay know he has multiple accounts they investigate that.