My buddy, and fellow Wrecking Crew member Hod, recently got hit with a double whammy. Not only was his army stolen after the sale, but he lost the money for it as well though Paypal. Leaving his holidays not so cheery at all.
Sad part is, he was only selling the army to help get money for the holidays in the first place.
So we’re going to try to help Hod our here, so please take the time to read this whole article and even if you can’t help with this situation, you just might learn a thing or two on how to protect yourself when you buy and sell.
You can read Hod’s original article below for all the details after a bit of soapboxing by myself.
I sell on eBay a lot, and literally every few days I’m on Paypal trying to fix a dispute about something. The sad part is that most of the time it’s someone trying to basically steal from me, which if they win their case, adds to my already shrinking eBay overhead.
Let’s be honest; anything can happen to anybody, and eBay as good as it is, still is not 100% safe. BUT there are things you can do to protect yourself.
Just the facts- Ship to the confirmed Paypal address of the buyer. If you do not, Paypal may not protect you if the customer files a complaint.
Get it in writing- If you sell something for over $250 total (i.e. someone sends you at least $250 via Paypal including shipping) then according to Paypal’s protection policy, you must obtain an adult signature for that shipment. So it will cost more to ship, but there is no wiggle room there for them to come back on you for non-delivery.
Protect yourself shipping overseas- The only way to confirm delivery is by using either Priority Mail or Express Mail International. So again on shipments over $250 I would recommend using those services for these shipments for protection of both parties. It’s more expensive to ship this way, but it’s faster for the buyer, and on packages over five pounds you have to use at least USPS Priority mail.
Don’t ship to certain countries overseas- Many countries overseas are know havens for illicit dealings. carefully select which countries you will ship too when you sell. Also make sure you know what countries will accept higher levels of shipments. The USPS will not ship over first class mail to Russia for instance.
Get the Tools- Before you ship something BIG to a particular buyer, checkout his reputation here on Toolhaus.org It’s a free site that can help show patterns of abuse by specific eBay users over a period of time. You may be able to get an early warning of any potential trouble before you ship.
Now to the part where you can help. Obviously Hod’s holiday wasn’t everything he wanted it to be, and he’s out of a very beautiful army to boot.
If you live in the area of Germany that he shipped to, well keep an eye out for this guy and his illicitly gained army. The persons that proves instrumental in getting either Hod’s army or the money for that sale back to him, I’ll provide you with $100.
Feel free to email me confidentially at [email protected] We just want either the army or the money back.
Also if the army just happens to show up one day in the mail here at Spikey Bits, (with no questions asked I might add) I will get it back to Hod, as I send shipments to him quite a bit. Please find our shipping address here.
If you run a blog or post a lot to forums, please take minute to repost this for others to see. I’m sure its going to be hard to enjoy this beautiful army with the internet posting about it all the time.
If you sell big armies a lot on eBay, you may want to add the User ID joe_pepper to your list of blocked bidders. You can block buyers from your eBay account by adding them here.
Please try to help our fellow gamer during the holidays guys, who’s with me? -MBG Original post from No Turtles with the details below.
I am posting this here on behalf of TheHod, the other contributor her on No Turtles Allowed.
I recently sold a Lamentors army on Ebay and the buyer complained about the army and wanted a refund. He had buyers remorse and straight away opened a case and won so I lost the money from the auction. He said he sent it back but after a month of waiting (he lives in Germany) I emailed him asking what happened and no reply.
I contacted ebay but had to go through the German site (because he opened the case in the German site) and I complained the package never arrived. They said he supplied a tracking number but it was not my address and could not give me back the money that was automatically refunded to him. So not only am I out an army but I lost the money from that auction. The seller is joe_pepper on ebay. This guy not only scammed me but also stole an army so be on the lookout if he tries to resell. He lives in Wiesloch Germany.
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
