Buying Replicas - Ebay Troubles

[McBaine]

I'm sure most of you have bought replicas off ebay before. But have you ever received an item that looked and sounded good on the ebay page but when you received it, was poor quality and not worth the money you spent on it?

I have just had one such transaction with a seller selling folding batarangs. The casting is terrible, the paint scratches off and they're not even cut evenly. If I had made these I would not be selling them on ebay. I hope to get at least part of my money back but the seller is being difficult.

Share your stories here and what ended up happening in the end. Did you get your money back? seek revenge?

 

[JoeG]

If the seller truly misrepresented the item then I'd try everything within reason to get my money back. Sometimes though we hit the bid button without looking closely or doing enough research. It happens.

 

[GeneralFROSTY]

Ebay is a great resource for purchasing prop replicas - but not without its hits and misses.
A really good photographer can make a sub-par product look good in photos so that is a risk you always run in making a purchase.
If it's an item that has a high ticket price, it never hurts to ask the seller for further details and images not included in the auction listing.
As for me, it's been years since I've been burnt on a prop purchase from Ebay, so I count myself lucky. Quality of prop items on ebay have really gone up in recent years thanks to the continued growth of the hobby.

 

[Twinsen]

Folding Batarangs on eBay are usually poor recasts of the Noble collection "The Batarang" shadowboxed piece or the cheaper money clip.

 

[LeMarchand]

it also helps to educate on ebay sellers over here as there are some known cooks. 'Coolmodels' for instance, sells a lot of recasts and does a really crap job on it too.

 

[JLeezy23]

Found a mcfly "costume" with a vest, whole buncha paper props and a foam board with hq stickers all for 135. Anybody check it out? Would it be worth it? Also it seems the almanac is just the cover and a different book. Classic. LOL

 

[Vivek]

Found a mcfly "costume" with a vest, whole buncha paper props and a foam board with hq stickers all for 135. Anybody check it out?

I liked this alternate name in the auction description.

"Playboy Almanacs available by request" :lol.

The vest looks nice, but not sure if the rest is worth the $135. For $160 you can buy a better looking hover board replica from bttf123*.

 

[JLeezy23]

Yea i searched for mcfly vest and it popped up. It says 40 dollar value wherever it came from though. Onto another search!

 

[McBaine]

Folding Batarangs on eBay are usually poor recasts of the Noble collection "The Batarang" shadowboxed piece or the cheaper money clip.

This would probably explain it, even though the seller claims that their 'studio' created the moulds... I was almost going to buy the complete dark knight costume from this seller at one stage. I am just counting my blessings that I didn't. If the quality of the batarangs are anything to go by id have to take apart the suit, fix it up, repaint it and put it back together.

I wish I had purchased the batarangs through an ebay sale, but because I wanted 4 of them the seller instead sent me a paypal invoice for the 4 so ebay was only used as a way to communicate. Hopefully the seller sees they have done me wrong and refunds at least part of my money.

 

[dano]

Speaking from personal experience, the biggest issue regarding props sellers on ebay is that the really nice prop shown in the photographs is often not the actual one you'll receive. I always post a picture of the actual item in hand, I feel it's the only right way to do it. The biggest give away with these type of auctions is that they sometimes have a domestic three week delivery time!

 

[davidnagel]

I bought a replica Dalek eye off eBay that didn't live up to spec. I thought it was a proper build but found it was a hollow piece of nothing with a cardboard plate for the eye! D'OH!

Haven't bought a replica or anything like that since fortunately.

 

[SuperheroDIY]

I'm sure most of you have bought replicas off ebay before. But have you ever received an item that looked and sounded good on the ebay page but when you received it, was poor quality and not worth the money you spent on it?

I have just had one such transaction with a seller selling folding batarangs. The casting is terrible, the paint scratches off and they're not even cut evenly. If I had made these I would not be selling them on ebay. I hope to get at least part of my money back but the seller is being difficult.

Share your stories here and what ended up happening in the end. Did you get your money back? seek revenge?

Yep I know exactly who you're talking about. He is known for recasting all kinds of stuff and does a pretty poor job of it. He does offer stuff for cheap though!! I'd stay away.

 

[McBaine]

Well it has now been escalated to a paypal dispute. He says he's also reported me to ebay (not that they could do anything as i didnt purchase it through ebay). I just wish people could see when they are just plain wrong. The seller is being pretty nasty about it too, telling me that I have violated paypal's policy and all this other rubbish. I just hope paypal sees through his smoke and mirrors. The whole dispute is over $25. But its not about the value anymore, its about the principle!

EDIT: Am I allowed to share the ebay id? I just don't want anyone else to have to go through all this trouble.

 

[BrieKalan2]

I've gotten burned recently on an ebay transaction, but when I finally filed a dispute ebay (surprisingly) backed me up. The refund is pending at this point.

I hope it works for you too!

Ebay owns paypal anyway.

 

[McBaine]

Thanks BreiKalan2

I hope so too. I ended up reporting the seller to ebay also. I don't think anyone should have to go through this. Though I'm not sure what they can do, if anything, seeing as all we used ebay for was to communicate.

 

[defstartrooper]

........

 

[McBaine]

Yes you are.

I might wait till after the paypal case is closed. I don't want the seller finding this. Adding defamation to his fight will sound petty but still... I don't need to give him extra ammo.

 

[McBaine]

Just an update on this situation. Though it hasn't been resolved as yet I thought I'd let you all know that I ended up reporting the item in question that he had for sale to ebay. I thought I would watch it to see if anything happened. It had 6 days to go and tonight has mysteriously ended. Do ebay really listen or is it just pure coincidence? Either way I don't know but it made me a little happy inside. Below are some of the pictures of the damaged batarang as well.

As you can see. Not only is it scratched to billy-o, but there are weird marks on it and the two sides are so uneven they dont match up.

 

[clyde]

Wow, hope it works out.

 

[McBaine]

Well I just received an email on an update with my case from paypal. Turns out I AM entitled to a refund, only I have to ship the item back to the seller at my own cost in order to do so. I probably shouldn't have but I've already modified all the batarangs. I sanded them down so that they were even and level, painted them with multiple coats and then added a layer of sealant. So if I sent it back now it would actually be in better condition than I would ever hope to receive them in from the original seller.

Here is a pic of fixed up ones. You can see the difference straight away.

So I think I will just be cancelling my paypal dispute at this point as it would cost me more to send the batarang back than what it is actually worth. But for all those keen ebayers out there who want ANY dark knight or batman items DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT BUY THEM from this seller... 'darkknightrises'