Any Bad ebay experiences out there?

[JenBayles]

I haven't used ebay much, but just received some Haviland china that was very poorly packed. One platter was shattered to bits and a bowl had a pretty good chip knocked out of it because the bubble wrap did not entirely cover the piece. The box looked like it had been kicked.

I took photos of the whole mess and contacted the seller, but haven't heard anything back yet. I paid for shipping insurance, but of course, don't know that the seller actually insured it.

What to do? The remaining items are fine, but I think I ought to be refunded something for the 2 damaged pieces. Any thoughts or experiences out there? I'm just not sure what to expect since I haven't come across this particular problem before with an ebay seller.

Pics are here:
[img=http://thumb17.webshots.net/t/51/51/9/31/26/2636931260097001437nlMejH_th.jpg]

[Lindaloo]

My sister collects Titanic plates. She had the whole set. Well, being the klutz that I am I knocked one of them off and broke it. I looked on ebay and sure enough I found one. I sat there and sat there waiting to get it. Ended up getting it and I was so excited to be able to show her the plate. When it arrived, it was broken. The seller refunded my money.

I have tried the Franklin Mint and they told me they would not be making anymore.

[JenBayles]

Whew! Just heard from the seller and we agreed on a refund amount and she will deal with the insurance claim. I was so scared this would turn out badly. The true shame of it all is that these pieces are over 100 years old and one of them is now gone forever and the other is damaged. Amazing the other pieces survied. I know most antiques-lovers turn up their noses at pieces that young (mere collectibles!) but I still appreciate the talent that went into handpainting each piece. What a dreadful shame.

Linda - have you tried checking back on ebay, yahoo auctions, msn, etc., for another Titanic plate? Out of curiousity, did the other one break due to poor packing on the seller's part, or was the box bashed so badly that nothing could have survived? Lesson learned and note to self: always request double boxing no matter how much bubble wrap and peanuts are used!

[Lindaloo]

It was packed great. The post office is who was careless.

[gtalum]

How did you pay?

My first instinct would be to give the seller a few days to make good, then contact PayPal or my credit card issuer.

[Edit: Oops, I should have read the rest of the thread before responding. I'm glad the seller worked it out for you. ]

[alicia-w]

we've had only one or two bad experiences out of almost 1000 transactions. one was for a chess set that was sold as ivory but was bone. the guy was a jerk but i guess we have a nice bone chess set. my advice for fragile items is to pay the extra for shipping and use UPS.