THE OFFICIAL EBAY CRAZINESS THREAD

[onandonandon]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/392902229573

[vinyl addict]

Everyone has the same opportunity to buy the same records. Never understood the point of whining about flippers. 

Don't like it? Buy when it comes up for sale, otherwise, pay the current value.

Its literally in every collector hobby. 

[Derek™]

6 minutes ago, vinyl addict said:

Everyone has the same opportunity to buy the same records. Never understood the point of whining about flippers. 

Don't like it? Buy when it comes up for sale, otherwise, pay the current value.

Its literally in every collector hobby. 

Not everyone has the opportunity to watch Reddit and social media feeds while they work 40 hours a week.  Sites like Mondo see committed flippers using bots to checkout at inhuman speeds, giving them a clear advantage over “everyone [with] the same opportunity”.  Your argument is weak and you should feel bad.

[Velocity of Sound]

24 minutes ago, Derek™ said:

  Your argument is weak and you should feel bad.

What’s the deal with you constantly spreading bad vibes?  Seriously, go take on Ticketmaster or something. Don’t act like you’ve never bought low and sold high. 
 

[Fowty Dollaz]

16 minutes ago, Velocity of Sound said:

go take on Ticketmaster or something.

Things that NEED to happen.

[Derek™]

5 minutes ago, Velocity of Sound said:

What’s the deal with you constantly spreading bad vibes?  Seriously, go take on Ticketmaster or something. Don’t act like you’ve never bought low and sold high. 

Of course I have, I think most people have resold something at a value that’s been established over time.  That’s never been an argument.  You buy a record because you enjoy the artist or the release.  A year later, maybe 2 or 3, you’re making space on the shelf and you realize that $80 is the median price that record now goes for.  You’re not a monster for trying to sell it around that value even if you paid $25 PPD for it back in 2017.

 

But that’s not the reality for stl_ben, RareLimiteds, and a dozen other scuzzy flippers who deliberately lurk VC and Reddit to hop on “hyped” releases for an immediate resale.  Ben and the gang probably haven’t heard of 70% of the shit they peddle.  They’re going purely off comments (interest), label value, artist history sales, etc.  It’s pathetic.

 

I’ve missed out on releases I would’ve genuinely loved to own and hold onto — because I was in a conference at work or had some real world responsibilities to attend to — and found them for sale on Discogs just 3-4 days later, for quadruple the sale price.  That sucks.  Those people suck.  I think it’s fair to voice that.  Saying “oh well you all have the same opportunity, no sense in complaining” is garbage.  Having some greasy haired couch goblin call me out as not being an adult for “minding my own business”, because I’m venting about instances where I miss out on cool shit because of adult obligations... well, that’s garbage too.  It’s a shitty practice and if you’re cool with it or keen on turning a blind eye, that’s fine.  But don’t come at me just because I’m not.

[Fowty Dollaz]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/174377906348?_trksid=p2512315.m570.l5999&_trkparms=gh1g%3DI174377906348.N36.S1.typeWATCH_ITEM_ENDING_SOON.R1.TR1

It's for charity and all, but...wow.

 

[mameeshkamowskwoz]

On 8/17/2020 at 4:42 PM, stl_ben said:

Evidently the scheme was not acceptable as spotify pulled the album and changed their rules so other bands couldn't do the same thing.

But props to any band that can do something creative like that to cover their costs of touring.

I think that the "scheme" was acceptable per the then-current rules and regs of Spotify and they gamed the system in place at the time that regularly dicks over artists. Not being on board with that "stunt" is the equivalent of siding with the owners when it comes to sports IMO except that these guys aren't as relatively wealthy as sports stars. I'm a fan of their music and the tongue in cheek way that they interact with the financial piece of making art. I'm interested to see how the auction ends and what ends up on the album.

[stl_ben]

44 minutes ago, mameeshkamowskwoz said:

I think that the "scheme" was acceptable per the then-current rules and regs of Spotify and they gamed the system in place at the time that regularly dicks over artists. Not being on board with that "stunt" is the equivalent of siding with the owners when it comes to sports IMO except that these guys aren't as relatively wealthy as sports stars. I'm a fan of their music and the tongue in cheek way that they interact with the financial piece of making art. I'm interested to see how the auction ends and what ends up on the album.

Oh yeah, love they do Qrates releases and some of the other great ways they give back to fans.  I believe they were the first unsigned artist to ever sell out Madison Square Garden....so they must be doing something right.

2 hours ago, Derek™ said:

But that’s not the reality for stl_ben, RareLimiteds, and a dozen other scuzzy flippers who deliberately lurk VC and Reddit to hop on “hyped” releases for an immediate resale.  Ben and the gang probably haven’t heard of 70% of the shit they peddle.  They’re going purely off comments (interest), label value, artist history sales, etc.  It’s pathetic.

Ha, if you think I havent heard of the music I buy... I guess there is no convincing you.  But just for fun lets spout out a random list: before my daughter was born I went to 50+ concerts a year including festivals and SXSW, I have in the past ran a less than popular music blog that I even released a special release record on, I have helped make the cover art for a record, and since you were replying to Velocity of Sound....I have bought just about every record his label has ever released and that shit is for sure more obscure than than the Cardi B records Im currently flipping.  But shrug emoji, haters gonna hate.

[jhulud]

Everyone needs to take a time-out. Step away from the keyboard slowly. Go head...keep backing away. Good. 

 

The "Flippers Are Evil" convo has been a beating a dead horse topic. Yes, it's frustrating and annoying that they've become boldened to flaunt their flipperness around here. It's really pointless now to get enraged and hostile as some have. I get like that every so often but there's really no point to anymore. They're not going to change. They're still going to troll VC and post and pretend to be contributing members and still swoop in on pre-orders and whatnot and screw over any fans in the secondary market like eBay and Discogs. If someone wants to pay those exorbitant prices, so be it. They're the fools at the end of the day. 

 

Let's just accept that getting upset and angry at flippers is like screaming at a mountain to move. It's not going to accomplish anything. 

 

Those are my two cents on this and last comment on this subject. From here on out, keep on-topic and move on. And I know that is somewhat difficult given that the thread is EBAY CRAZINESS which entails a good chunk being flippers overly marking-up records. Ha!

 

 

 

[TheGhostOfRandySavage]

[Fowty Dollaz]

Y'all

[jhulud]

Daaaaaaaaaaaamn!!!!

 

Good on it being for charity!!! 
 

I’ve heard of Bridgers but not her music. Late to the party, I know. But is she that big to command that craziness? 
 

 

[TheGhostOfRandySavage]

3 minutes ago, jhulud said:

Daaaaaaaaaaaamn!!!!

 

Good on it being for charity!!! 
 

I’ve heard of Bridgers but not her music. Late to the party, I know. But is she that big to command that craziness? 
 

 

For what its worth, I can't get into her. I know she has a big following on here, and she seems talented...just doesn't do it for me.

[Fowty Dollaz]

5 minutes ago, jhulud said:

Daaaaaaaaaaaamn!!!!

 

Good on it being for charity!!! 
 

I’ve heard of Bridgers but not her music. Late to the party, I know. But is she that big to command that craziness? 
 

 

She's really talented and is young enough that social media is as second nature as eating, so she has a younger crowd, thus she is more "hip." I'm actually a big fan, but that's excessive. Unless, of course, $3000 is pocket change to you. That's AT LEAST 100 records to me. Or at least 30 TPs. But maybe someone is just really passionate about the cause. 🤷

[mychemicalrecords]

Wondering if anyone could offer some advice or experienced this before:

 

I sold a record on eBay on August 17th (I bought this album brand new, played it one time and never spun again, still in shrink wrap and everything). Someone swooped in at last minute to bid on the item and payed immediately. I shipped out the record the same day. They just received it about an hour ago and messaged me saying there is a "large scratch" on side B that causes skipping in half the songs. I know this is not true as I played it once before and no skipping occurred, and I visually inspected the record before shipping it to make sure there were no flaws. I don't offer returns/refunds on my eBay so I'm unsure how to approach this situation. They are threatening to open an INR against me and were extremely rude in their message. I have 100% positive feedback on my eBay and don't want something like this to affect future sales but at the same time I don't want to allow a return if they are a scammer. The item was only $14 so not a lot. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Edit: They just sent me a photo of the scratch  but from the picture I can tell that's not the record I sold them. The coloring is off.

Edited August 20, 2020 by illkeepyouinmind

[Velocity of Sound]

3 minutes ago, illkeepyouinmind said:

Wondering if anyone could offer some advice or experienced this before:

 

I sold a record on eBay on August 17th (I bought this album brand new, played it one time and never spun again, still in shrink wrap and everything). Someone swooped in at last minute to bid on the item and payed immediately. I shipped out the record the same day. They just received it about an hour ago and messaged me saying there is a "large scratch" on side B that causes skipping in half the songs. I know this is not true as I played it once before and no skipping occurred, and I visually inspected the record before shipping it to make sure there were no flaws. I don't offer returns/refunds on my eBay so I'm unsure how to approach this situation. They are threatening to open an INR against me and were extremely rude in their message. I have 100% positive feedback on my eBay and don't want something like this to affect future sales but at the same time I don't want to allow a return if they are a scammer. The item was only $14 so not a lot. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately, Sellers have zero rights on eBay. You’re fucked. 

[MyEnemy]

22 minutes ago, illkeepyouinmind said:

Wondering if anyone could offer some advice or experienced this before:

 

I sold a record on eBay on August 17th (I bought this album brand new, played it one time and never spun again, still in shrink wrap and everything). Someone swooped in at last minute to bid on the item and payed immediately. I shipped out the record the same day. They just received it about an hour ago and messaged me saying there is a "large scratch" on side B that causes skipping in half the songs. I know this is not true as I played it once before and no skipping occurred, and I visually inspected the record before shipping it to make sure there were no flaws. I don't offer returns/refunds on my eBay so I'm unsure how to approach this situation. They are threatening to open an INR against me and were extremely rude in their message. I have 100% positive feedback on my eBay and don't want something like this to affect future sales but at the same time I don't want to allow a return if they are a scammer. The item was only $14 so not a lot. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Edit: They just sent me a photo of the scratch  but from the picture I can tell that's not the record I sold them. The coloring is off.

Ask them to send you a video of the record playing and where the skipping is predominant, as well as multiple pictures of the scratch, and the scratch with the label in the picture. If the record is any sort of color variant, it’s going to be clear of this person is taking a photo of something else. Anything you can do to help your case. It does suck that, almost, everything is in favor of the customer, now a days, but any proof you have of this person being shitty is gonna help, in my opinion.

 

And, as a last resort, print out a shipping label, send it to them and tell them to ship it back. If it comes back damaged from multiple shipping take money off the refund, if not refund them everything except the initial shipping they paid. You’re out $4.50, but you have the record back, it’s fine, sell it again and make some money back.

Edited August 20, 2020 by MyEnemy

[fish]

@illkeepyouinmindEbay & Paypal almost always side with the buyers.  You could call Ebay and talk to an actual human and get their take on what your options are. But at the end of the day it is a he said, she said situation and you're pretty much screwed. You can't even leave them bad feedback. Occasionally they will just refund the buyer and also let you keep the money. But that may be more rare these days than it was in the past. Anyhow, the buyer will need to ship the record back to you and then you can refund them. Be happy that it was a cheap record as I have heard crazy stories of people doing these types of things for very expensive sales too.

Edited August 20, 2020 by fish

[Oblivions]

If it’s a $14 record and you want to get through this with the least amount of wasted time and energy, just refund them, block them as a future buyer, and move on. IMO, your sanity and time is more valuable than $14 and the temporary satisfaction of “being right.”

If you want to conserve your time and energy but still keep them slightly honest, ask them to return the record for a full refund. Say you recycle damaged records for art projects and will re-use the album, if you feel like you need to explain why you must have a broken record returned. There’s a slight chance, if they’re lying and doing so poorly, they’ll disappear. There’s a chance you get the non-scratched record back. There’s a chance you get a scratched record back. But at least you can feel like you kept yourself and the buyer honest somewhat.

If you’re oozing with free time and like doling out vinyl street justice and capturing scammers in the act like it’s your full time paid job (and it doesn’t make you feel anxious and terrible like it does for me), ask them to keep sending you proof (video and pics) until they either reveal they’re lying, get pissed off and lash out, leave you alone forever, or leave you alone so they can work with eBay/PayPal to force you to accept a return for a refund.

I’m a dude who prefers options 1 and 2, so I will opt to do anything other than spend time emailing and arguing with someone who has already cost me $14 and a bit of grief. But I do know some people live for going HAM online and doing vigilante law enforcement on scammers and it energizes them instead of depleting their soul. So, good luck and sorry you have to deal with this.

[mychemicalrecords]

I appreciate all the advice. I just asked for some more pictures and videos from the buyer to determine if the item I sold them in fact has scratches and it isn't a different item they took a picture of. I will also likely try to get eBay customer service on the phone and see what my options are. But if my only option is to just refund them and have them return the item then I guess that's okay since it was only $14. This whole situation is becoming more a headache than it's actually worth, so I'm not gonna spend too much time on this.

[stl_ben]

eBay is going to make you refund it one way or the other.  Either refund them now and get it over with......or pay to have them ship it back to you and then refund it.  Just depends on if you want to spend more time and more of your money to get it back.

[fish]

I'd make him send it back and then refund him when you get it. If you get lucky it'll end up in Jersey/Chicago/LA/Detroit's mail distribution centers and get lost for 2 months. So he can wait for his refund. 

 

[unknown pleasures]

This is such eBay craziness. 🤷‍♂️

[thenameisluigi]

Does your original listing have an actual photo of the record, or just the jacket? That could also be your proof to eBay if he sends more pictures and it is indeed a different color.