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Received broken pin from eBay seller - What should I do now?

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Received broken pin from eBay seller - What should I do now?
SoraPandora

SoraPandora

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I bought this pin on eBay last week, and it arrived to my house yesterday. The small pin was in a very large manila envelope, loosely wrapped in bubble wrap. The pin inside was broken - It's a two post pin, and one post was completely broken off. The other was totally bent.

I contacted the eBay member and they said "Oh, the post office must have smashed it up good." I asked if I should get a refund, and offered to send them pictures of the pin, but they told me first to send the pin back, and then wait till they receive it and they'll refund me.


What do you all think? I've only been trading a few months, and this is the first problem I've had with buying a pin, or with an eBay seller ever.

I've already spent over $15 on this pin, I'm just a little concerned about paying an additional $3 for shipping now. How sure can I be that they'll give me my money back?

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To make matters even more frustrating, this pin is one of my Lost Boy "grails". I've been watching eBay for a while now, waiting for this pin to go on sale for a price I could afford. Now that I finally have it in my hand, I'm scared to let it go, broken or not.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you would do in this situation! Any help at all would be very appreciated.
 
The one time I had a broken pin, the seller was very prompt to refund my purchase including return shipping. But in that case, the pin was also described as on original backer and it came with no card, so I think the seller was concerned about their feedback, since they messed up.

However, if you do decide to keep it, this one actually looks fixable. You can use needle nose pliers to carefully straighten the bent post. The one that is broken off, you can superglue and I'm sure it will be fine. Sometimes with the newer backs the thin post breaks off, but the dome part of it is still attached and then there is not much you can do. I've tried to superglue that but it just breaks off really easily.

Perhaps, you can see if the seller is open to a partial refund, if you want to keep it, figure out a percentage that works for both of you. Otherwise, I would definitely leave feedback that the pin was not properly wrapped to prevent damage.
 
Ask for a partial refund if you just want to keep the pin otherwise they won't refund you unless you send the pin back. Then ask for a full refund including the $3 you used to ship the pin.
 
I hope you haven't left feedback for them, tell them they should pay for return shipping for the broken item since you are under eBay and paypal protection. If not you can file a claim for a broken object and leave bad feedback :). eBay protection will refund you everything if you cannot come to an agreement with the seller.​
 
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@Combatdre - No, I have not left any feedback yet. Maybe I should just tell them to pay for return shipping, and send it back, and otherwise...

I'm still deciding what I want to do. Thank you, everyone, for helping me make an educated decision!
 
Generally, speaking as an ebay seller, if someone wishes to return something, it is done with the buyer paying return shipping
Id find that out if they will refund origin shipping, and if not, mention how it was poorly shipped, and if they still decide not to refund it, I would open an ebay buyer protection case (and maybe hint at it while you message with them so they know what to expect)

Beware us pin traders!!! :suspect:
 
sorapandora said:
Thank you guys for replying so quickly!

I didn't think of using superglue and trying to fix it! I might just try that. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Ummm... Don't do it, it will void eBay protection!! Unless you are cool with knowing you have a broken pin and it being untradeable then yes. Otherwise fight for your consumer rights!! Don't pay for something broken :)
 
Thanks, combatdre, and everyone else for your advice! I just wrote to the seller telling him I would send the broken pin back if he'd refund me plus pay for return shipping.

I won't try to fix the pin - I shall fight for my rights! ;)
 
Omg! Can i have one too AverysFairyTale? Lol. I hope you get it resolved sorapandora but I agree with the advice from everyone above
 
Amazing people here on the Forum, everything will work out, I've ran into this issue before, I kindly told the seller I did not pack the pin therefore I am not responsible for the damage that occurred (mine poorly packed too) and that he/she would need to cover the return shipping. I did hint of using paypal buyer protection because going through them the buyers return shipping is covered, paypal will let you print out a pre-paid shipping label. They ended up paying for the return shipping and I got my refund no probs, I am so happy you got your pin replaced too! Wonderful forum!
 
sorapandora said:
Thank you guys for replying so quickly!

I didn't think of using superglue and trying to fix it! I might just try that. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Had the same problem with this pin --->
pin24027
won it for $9 2 years ago when other sellers were trying to sell it for $30 - one of the pins snapped off (it is a 2 pin post too). contacted the seller, he refunded me straightaway and in the mean time I did my own DIY and have re-glued the pin post. Still is fine, touch wood!

See if you can get a full refund and keep the pin and try and glue it back in place.
 
UPDATE: After sending several messages back and forth, the seller refunded all my money.

I no longer have to send the broken pin back - Yay!


Thank you, everyone, for your help!


P.S. Lisa, I sent you a private message. :)
 
sorapandora said:
Thank you guys for replying so quickly!

I didn't think of using superglue and trying to fix it! I might just try that. Thanks again!
Click to expand...


Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but superglue will not last and will not fix the post. If you glue it on, you cannot do anything with it or the rubber back will pull the post off again. I've had the best luck paying to have a jeweler solder it back on with gold solder or silver if you don't mind. Sometimes if it is a double post you can use J-B Weld since the other post will handle most of the weight. Just my experience.

And don't wait, notify eBay quickly that the pin arrived broken and open a claim. Once the buyer knows you are serious, they will get serious also. No seller wants to be banned from selling. But don't try to do it alone, open a case right away. If you have to pay return shipping, make them state in writing that they will refund the shipping costs to you and don't let them wait. It it goes 30 days and you do nothing but email them you will never get a resolution thru anyone.
 
Combatdre said:
I hope you haven't left feedback for them, tell them they should pay for return shipping for the broken item since you are under eBay and paypal protection. If not you can file a claim for a broken object and leave bad feedback :). eBay protection will refund you everything if you cannot come to an agreement with the seller.​
Click to expand...

ditto...

Ebay and paypal both have buyer protection. you can either send back the pin and get the refund or you can discuss partial refudn and repair with the seller. either way, some form of monetary return should be expected. The seller didnt package well enough if the "postoffice banged it up" that baddly!
 
Ok so i saw that you were going to use super glue and i had to rush to post this!

DDDOOONNNNNTTTT use superglue, If you want it fixed i will fix it for you the right way for free.

I have had issues with pins before in my collection books and have tried just about everything and super glue is a 50/50 at most

Pm me if you need help, or i can guide you some what easily through repairing it yourself. We can even skype if you want lol

regards
Kirk
 
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