Also looks like he tried to tighten the pins and hit it with a hammer to hard?
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Also looks like he tried to tighten the pins and hit it with a hammer to hard?
I will have an extra set of Friodur scales shortly..
I've made it a point to snap some pictures as I pack stuff.. jpegs only with date stamp. Just to document the condition as it goes in the box. If that's good enough for Associated Press, it's going to hold water with ebay.
Skip the phone conversation and use only ebay messaging... You have a choice on either going the dispute route or just refund and move on. If you go the refund route, be sure to explain it won't be processed until you have had an opportunity to review (confirm it's the same razor you sent and that it hasn't been replaced).
I hope you don't mind me saying this but one of the photo's shows what looks like to me to be a hairline crack on the wedge end?
You know the old saying, the customer is always right. Unless you can prove he damaged it just refund the money.
If it were me, here's what I'd do:
1. Skip the phone conversation and keep it on eBay. The more of a paper trail you have the better.
2. File a claim with the USPS to get the $100 of insurance money included with priority shipping (paid to you, not him). Bring all documentation with you to USPS, including the images of the damages. Be sure to explain to them that the buyer of the item is returning it and receiving a refund, which is why you are making the claim instead of them.
3. After the claim has been filed, ask him to return the razor, at which point you'll issue a refund.
4. Upon receipt of the razor, re-scale it and re-list it. The $100 from the insurance claim should cover most or all of your losses, and you'll still have a razor that can be sold.
I know that razor in and out, and yes, there is a FLAW in the scales on the wedge end. It does (did?) not go all the way through, and it was only on one side of the pin, not a through and through. The fact that it IS visible in the photo, means its VISIBLE! nothing hidden. If that were the only reason he were unhappy, I would not even hesitate to refund his money.
As of this time, he has attempted to get me to 1) replace the scales for him 2) refund him an unspecified amount
I offered to work with him on filing a claim with the post office for the insurance on the priority package, he did not take me up on it.
This afternoon I sent him a letter telling him to return it for a full refund. If he wants a refund I will supply it. But rest assured I WILL inspect the razor closely to be certain it is the same one, and has not been tampered with. While I DO value my 100% feedback rating, I will not sit back and let some thief return a bad blade in exchange for a good one! If that IS a different blade in his "broken" photo, who is to say it is not chipped or cracked? And yes, I have Hi Res photos of the razor I can use for detailed comparisons to determine if its the same razor.
Good for you, Magpie! I can't stand dishonest folks, and the way he's acting from your description sounds shady to me. If he does indeed return the razor, and it is the same one, I'd definitely be sure to file that claim with USPS and cover at least part of your losses.
I disagree. The photos initially appear to be of different razors, but the buyer obviously is not set up for this kind of photography. If you look closely around the pin you can see the markings on the scale around the collar (appearing as dirt/smudge in the buyers pics, appearing as green/yellow something in the vendor pics) seem to match up. Also, there are small hammer marks on the pin collar, it is not totally even. (Look for the spots where the shiny outer circle is thinner). Those also seem to match, judging by my imagination.
So far, my bet would be damaged in transit. Sad story, but all is not lost.
Best of luck!
Is it possible the material could have slightly changed shape during shipping from a change in environment? If it could swell even a little that might have caused the crack.
If it were a simple straight line crack, I would have no problem chalking it up to temperature change variations or internal stresses. But the 3 way fracture? That is something I believe would only be caused by internal radial pressures or, undue twisting motions.
Have ANY of you ever seen a scale crack in multiple pieces without being dropped or hit or twisted?
This question being directed at the guys who have rescaled a lot of razors.
Yeah, to be honest, not really. Bakelite or ivory can sometimes crack or shatter from stress release some time after being pinned, but the modern scales on your razor should not be so brittle that that would happen.
It is important to try to look at it from all sides still. I've been on both sides of what happened here. Once I had a guy claim the inside of a razor case was infectious and dusty/dirty as I had not described it. I asked him to provide a report of the infectious material and photos, never got a response. I also got an ivory razor that was wrapped in a paper (!) envelope and sent from England. Of course the end of the scale was snapped right off. That one ended in a partial refund. There are some crappy buyers out there, and some good buyers that bad stuff happens to, sometimes inexplicably. The trouble is telling who's who.
+1 I'm with you Magpie. If you do provide a refund make sure you notify eBay of the suspicious circumstances. Not only to geet the listing and settlement fees credited but to make sure this jerk doesn;t leave you neutral or negative feedback after going through the hassle of refunding him.
I was able to prove an autographeed memorbilla piece was a fake through a high resolution photograph. Never got a refund but the seller unregistered from eBay and skipped town. One less crook to deal with. My point is eBay will listen they are just slow on the uptake.
Just thinking out loud here ....... if a razor is damaged because of inadequate packaging it will generally have a crack/cracks in the center, the area least supported, or at or near a third pin if one is present. The area around the wedge and pivot are relatively well supported for transport.
Looking at the photo of the cracks at the pivot brings to mind an inexperienced user stropping the razor holding it just behind the pivot, not at the tang. So that is one possibility.
It occurred to me, from my own experience, that you can telephone ebay. Find the 'contact us' tab, I think it is at the bottom of the page when you're signed in. A pop up will ask for an item # and you will get a number to call and have an hour or whatever it is to call them.
Give them a buzz and a heads up on what is happening. When you get the razor back you can better assess the damage and decide whether the buyer is trying to hornswagle you. Ebay will have been warned and it may give you more traction in getting things resolved in your favor. :gl:
Looks like a real nice razor. I'd rescale her upon her return home. There's been some nice work done by some members here who have transfered the inlays. GLW the whole issue.
I think your best option is to call ebay and talk to them. Your pictures clearly show that the razor is not broken. The buyer is trying to send you back something different than what you sent him, either the same razor with broken scales, or different razor altogether.
That is not covered under your return policy. They have to return the item in the same condition as they have received it.
Since the packaging does not show any damage, when ebay looks at it they will have to decide whether you sent something different from your photos, or the buyer is trying to send something different from what they received.
There is a distinct crack on the back scale at the edge pin, also the blade may be different. If you could get more pictures of the whole razor from the buyer that may be helpful to tell if he's even trying to send back the same razor or is playing switcharoo.
You have a good ebay history, if your buyer doesn't, or they have tried scams in the past ebay will probably decide in your favor. But, anything we can tell you here is pure speculation.
You should talk to ebay, explain what is happening, that you suspect dishonesty on the buyer's end, and see what would they say. There isn't much else you can do unfortunately, and I view dealing with dishonest people as cost of doing business if you want access to such a wide pool of potential buyers.
You can file an insurance claim with the post office; you'll find that to be even more frustrating than this whole deal has already been. I'd give you about a 3% chance of getting any payout from them on it.
I think you're going about it the right way. Good luck!
I got paid once by usps on insurance claim. But they had simply lost the item. I had bought the postage online and had to fill out the online form, then mail them proof of the cost of the item, about 2 or 3 months later I got a check.
But with damages involved they would want to see the package and if it doesn't show any sign of damage they won't really have any reason to approve the claim. But if the buyer claims that damages occurred during transit when they haven't, they are committing a crime involving the postal system and you should report the case to the USPS postal inspector. I hear that they take these things pretty seriously.
I couldn't even get paid on a stone they clearly lost. I mailed to Brazil, tracking showed it getting to Witchita (IIRC) and never leaving. Local postmaster says call Witchita. Witchita says deal with local... Eventually I get told that because it's International they can't be responsible for what happens when it leaves the country. Apparently Kansas is not in the USA.
That's just one of many denied claims with USPS's insurance racket.
/rant
Sorry for the hijack.
Racket for sure with USPS,sent an $800.00 watch to germany,USPS express mail,insured with tracking,was $65.00.
package got stalled in New york customs for a week, than disapeared.
Never made it to germany.made a claim, they paid the 65 back on the spot,denied the $800 as jewelry has to be sent registerd mail.
hard lesson learned,the postal cluck said all would be well when I shipped it.
I took this claim to the post master general in wash DC,I had to eat 800 bux.:(
Yeah, I had something going priority to israel and the last scan in us was at the distribution point somewhere in the middle of USA where it's considered leaving the country. USPS said beyond that point they can't offer anything. It did show up eventually at the destination but that was two or three months later.
The one I got paid on was within US, in fact it was even staying in NY state, just going over to Brooklyn - fairly big box too, not something that gets displaced or stuck in the middle of a big sorting machine.
Then a couple of times I got back the torn label from the package only - they said whatever was attached to that label was lost and I filled out a form about the content in case they find it. They never did, and I didn't bother to file a claim since it was not insured.
USPS Insurance is a bad joke.
Looking at the 2 pics there seem to be differences. On the pic from the buyer there is a nick on the end of the tail that don't seem to be there in your pic, and on your pic there seems to be a pit (for lack of better word) on the first 1 in the 11 that is not there on his pic. Looking at the pin on his pic there is a flat spot on the washer at one spot that is not on yours. Idk maybe I'm just looking too close trying to find differences so you don't get screwed.
Is it wrong that I feel a little better knowing I am not the only guy who has had problems like this come up? I would like to take this moment to thank everybody for their support and advice. Its comforting to hear, and much more constructive than the "meow" I get from my room mates.
Ebay has been called. and problems noted on my account, buyer has been instructed
"If you wish a refund, please return the razor and its original box. Please ship via a method that provides delivery confirmation at the very least, Upon its safe arrival I will inspect the razor and follow all Ebay rules regarding refunds."
If he returns it, I will inspect it closely. If I find evidence of tampering, I will simply refuse the refund, and allow things to play out. I will update again, when I know more.
Again, Thanks guys. Thanks much.
Earlier in the thread I saw that someone had written that they thought the bay did not allow seller to change pictures during an auction. I believed that to be true as well until yesterday. I was looking at a razor on the bay and noticed that a few of the photos was for an Engstrom and the others were for a make I'd never seen (it was a no-name blade). In a blur of things I almost set a snipe thinking it was an Engstrom. A bit later it was nagging at me since someone had already bid so I sent a message to the seller letting them know there were pics of 2 different blades. The seller responded today that he'd deleted the pics of the Engstrom. I went into the auction and looked and sure enough he had revised it and also sent me a note agreeing he'd messed it up. So apparently (from the Ebay message) a seller can revise the text as well as pics during an auction. Here's what I got from ebay...
The seller has revised the following item information:
Date Time Revised Information
Oct-19-13 13:30:15 PDT
Gallery
PictureURL: Pictures Added/Deleted
Description
The seller may make revisions during the listing period. However, the seller cannot change some of the information, such as format or duration of the listing. Learn more
As a buyer, you can see the item you purchased from the Purchase history page. Learn more
Either you misunderstood what was being said, or you are posting in the wrong thread. This was not about my changing a photo in my auction, it was about the person who bought the item, claiming it arrived broken, and sending me a photo of a broken scale on a razor. The contention is whether or not the photo they supplied me was a photo of the blade I sold, or photo of some other blade NOT the one I sold. They still have some time left to the process, so I am waiting patiently before I do a final update on this matter.
Sorry 'bout that - wrong thread.
Final Update
Time has run out for returns on the razor. As much as he complained that I shipped him a broken item, and asked for me to work with him on a refund of some of the monies, he never shipped the razor back, and he never filed a claim with Ebay or Paypal. I can only assume that he knew he would not get away with it once I had the razor in my hands to examine, and so decided to quit while he was ahead.
While I am sad for the razor, I am happy that in the end, I did NOT get shafted!
Thanks for all the input and feedback and support guys! :chapeau
Hope you're right. Last I knew a buyer has 45 days to file a dispute, and then 10 days to escalate to a claim. Since he hasn't returned it, or communicated further with you, he probably won't. Perhaps he was hoping you would respond to the overture for "working something out" with an offer of a partial refund ? Anyway, all's well that ends well.