posted on December 19, 2001 05:42:33 AM new
I sent out a collector's Edition Deluxe Headless Horseman set a week or so ago. This set is from the movie Sleepy Hollow. A very detailed set. The bidder contacted me yesterday and said that it reached him and the outer and inner box were in perfect condition but the leg on the horse is not attached. I never took the set out and the horses leg is clearly visible from the window in the box. I find it unlikely the leg was broken before I sent it. He says it is tied to the box somehow and that is why you did not hear it loose in the box. It is possible it broke in transit, the bidder broke it trying to take it out of the box or he already owned a broken one and wanted to own a mint one. The bidder did not request or pay for insurance. What do you think I should do. He has mentioned claiming Mail Fraud. The bidder is a newbie; 0 rating.
posted on December 19, 2001 06:11:22 AM new
The leg tied to the box sounds reasonable to me. I would believe them. I would offer a refund and take the item back. After all, you admitted you did not take item out of the box. Can you be totally certain it wasn't broken? On a breakable item like that you should have included insurance in your shipping and refused to ship the item uninsured. As far as the mail fraud goes; this person is a newbie-they have no idea how the system works. They probably feel you won't help unless they threaten you first. I would take the item back-refund the money minus shipping charges-not leave any feedback at all unless you can leave positive-temporarily block the bidder from buying from you until their feedback grows and move on. With a newbie sometimes it just isn't worth the hassle. I would also give the person a detailed explanation of how Ebay works. Sometimes when you go the extra mile the buyer will turn around and be a reasonable person after all.
posted on December 19, 2001 07:35:29 AM new
I agree with capolady. Today's highly detailed action figures by McFarlane, Sideshow and the like are made more for looking nice than durability. I've seen numerous heads and arms rolling around inside the blister packs of their figures while still in the store. That horse figure is tied into position in the box, and it's quite possible that the leg was already detached but you wouldn't have noticed it without taking it out, especially if it were one of the legs towards the back of the box. It's also possible that the damage did happen during transport. Either way, I'd give the benefit of the doubt and have them ship the toy back for a full refund.
