Dear eBay Queen: Selling Hatchimals Brings out the Worst in Humanity

Dear eBay Queen:

I am so upset.  I purchased 5 Hatchimals at the local Wal-Mart on Black Friday.  I stood in line and waited for hours to just have the opportunity to buy these things.  I put 2 on eBay and 2 on Amazon.  The last one I offered up for sale on the local swap and talk group.  To say I was eaten alive is an understatement.  I received numerous messages about what a bad person I was for making money off the item.  What is the deal?  I purchased the Hatchimals for 59.99.  I had them listed on eBay & Amazon for 159.99 with free shipping.  I sold each of those.  The one I put on Facebook I listed for 125.00.  That one not only did not sell, but I received Death Threats over it.

Here’s one message I received:

I want you to know that I am disgusted with your ad.  I bet you were raised here, right?  The people here take pride in their community and in helping each other.  You aren’t helping people! You are gouging them!  You know how much these sell for at the store! Why would you do this to the good people here?  Someone should shoot you.  Better yet just choke on the ugly bird egg.  I hope you get kicked off of Facebook for being dishonest.  Some of us live paycheck to paycheck.  We can’t afford to be taken advantage of like this.”

I took my listing down after all the bad “press” I received.  Why don’t people understand supply and demand?  Why is it my fault this person lives paycheck to paycheck?

AN
Dear AN:

This kind of thing happens every year.  There always seems to be some toy that is the hot thing. Parents go crazy over it and there are always people that don’t respect the time it took for you to be first in line on Thanksgiving to get the item.  Other people’s choices are not your fault.  I think that Facebook groups are a great way to sell a few things you don’t want any more without having a garage sale, but just like going to Wal-mart you never know who you’ll run into.

I would not take any of this personally and list your last one on eBay.

 

Dear eBay Queen

Before Thanksgiving I had a buyer open a return on a pair of brand name leggings.  The buyer stated that she misread the listing, and that she thought they were a different size. I’ve waited and the buyer has not sent the item back.  According to eBay’s messages the buyer was supposed to send it back by December 1st.  She has never uploaded any tracking info but I finally received a package today.  I opened it, and it did not have the leggings in it that I sent.  It has a necklace in the box.  There is no return address or tracking. What do I do?  Should I contact the buyer?

Abbie

 

Dear Abbie:

What does the postmark say? Is it the same town or close to where you sent the buyers package?  If it is, I would contact him through the returns Que.  If it now where near where he lives, you should call eBay and get the return escalated and closed.

To have a return closed you need to go to eBay and at the top of the page

  • ­­Click on “Help and Contact”
  • Go to the bottom of the page and click on “contact”
  • Click on Selling and then Money Back Guarantee and Returns
  • Click on Handling claims and Returns
  • Then at the bottom of the page click on “call us”

Once you speak to a customer service representative tell them they the buyer has not returned the item in the time eBay has given them.  They should close the case right away.

If your buyer returned the wrong item, I would message them (through the returns Que) and let them know that you received a necklace.  I don’t think it would hurt to attach a photo of the necklace and of the label.  I would then call eBay and they quite possibly will close the return after you do this.

hatchimals

 

Strange eBay Item of the Week: Item #332011849348. Hatchimals really are one of the hottest toys this year, and prices are all over the place for them on eBay. This one sold particularly high: Hatchimals Draggles Color Green Brand New Super Hot Toy VHTF SOLD: $7600.00.