Box arrived damaged

[lill.berr]

Hi everyone. So today I received a package that was a figurine, but the box dented in several places and the corners are crushed (figurine is not damaged). This was disappointing because as a collector the condition of the box is very important to me. It was clearly damaged through shipping because before I purchased it I asked the seller if the box was in perfect condition. He said yes and sent a photo. I also sent him a message after purchasing telling him to make sure the box was protected. Instead I received it in a satchel with one layer of bubble wrap.. Am I eligible to receive a refund?

[tazzieterror]

I once bought a digital camera and lens kit from an interstate seller whose idea of packing turned out to be placing the camera, lens, and accessories into a single use plastic grocery bag, then placing that into an Aus. Post prepaid satchel they'd scrawled "handle with care" on with a permanent marker.

The message they received from me was not pleasant.

[*tippy*toes*]

That's the thing I don't understand. More often than not, the sellers of these items are collectors themselves. They would know the value of a good box compared to a dented box, so why would they do that? It doesn't make sense. 

I know with the Matchbox cars, getting a box with the older, original models is a bonus, regardless of condition. However, get one mint in box with a mint box, and depending on which car it is, could be worth a small fortune. It would be no different with other sought after vintage and antique collectable items in boxes. 

Heck, even 60's and 70's serving plates still in original boxes can quadruple the value from an unused plate with no box.

It is what it is. If I buy something with a mint box, I would be very upset if the box was damaged due to inadequate packaging.

Like you, when I started selling fragile items, I made sure they were packaged so they arrived intact. It would be pointless otherwise.

[11dustyattic]

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@tazzieterror wrote:
I once bought a digital camera and lens kit from an interstate seller whose idea of packing turned out to be placing the camera, lens, and accessories into a single use plastic grocery bag, then placing that into an Aus. Post prepaid satchel they'd scrawled "handle with care" on with a permanent marker.

The message they received from me was not pleasant.

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Oh Wow! Makes you wonder how they handled it prior to posting

[4channel]

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@11dustyattic wrote:

Yes the box can significantly effect the value. Years ago just before I started selling, I bought a combined order of collectible toys from a seller in the UK, including quite a few Dr Who figures in original packaging. The seller threw them into an oversized non rigid box so the contents were moving around inside. Worse, the box obviously arrived badly crushed, damaging the items. I was furious because with a bit of care, infill etc it could have been avoided. It was just lazy.

By comparison I bought some of my childhood toys from an independent site who packaged really well, very fair with combined postage, from the US, very happy, nothing damaged.

I started selling shortly after and used those experiences to model my level of care with packaging. I vowed right from the get go that a 99c item would get the same care a $99 item would get. 

Yes I agree if a larger or more expensive postage option is required it's up to the seller to quote postage accordingly. The buyer should receive the entire item (box and content) exactly as seen in the ad. If the postal service drives their truck over it or inflicts obvious damage (rare) then compensation can be claimed from them, otherwise it's on the seller IMO

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Yeah, you only have to watch the two guys on American Pickers and even Pawn Stars to know that the box is important in value.

I can't remember what it was but a while back I showed a friend a listing of a box for a small hi-fi component. Box and nothing else. The price ... whoah!!!!  Well even he was shocked! But someone would have bought it to complete what they have. Actually it may have been a box for a stylus or something. $40 from memory.

Great ethic on your part too with the packing care for lesser value items too.

[*tippy*toes*]

There have been people on eBay selling empty boxes, for things like the latest model iPad. They described it in a way that the buyer thought they were getting the iPad too. I guess paying $700+, you could be forgiven for thinking you were getting the contents of the box too. Their eBay career was short lived. Boxes for the latest iPad, don't really have the same value as a vintage item in a mint box, or even just the box for the vintage item (I have bought empty boxes for my cars).

[joz15au]

The collectable doesn't have to be vintage or antique. My son collects pop vinyls and a damaged box knocks a big chunk off the value. He recently purchased a set from an online seller who's sent him an apologetic email as they discovered a small scratch on one if the boxes when packing. They sent him photos of the scratch from a few angles and waited to see if he still wanted it. As he was already getting the set for a discounted price he was happy to go ahead, and very happy with the seller for being up front about it. Incidentally he has received many of these through the post, all very well packed and all have arrived undamaged.

[4channel]

I'm glad the eBay career of the iPad box sellers was cut short, I can see people paying a small sum to get it to re-sell an iPad which looks better with a box. But them being misleading like that is uncool. Yes, it also pays these days to carefully read an auction listing.

[*tippy*toes*]

It was that blatant, it was "laughable". I think he was only a young dude, and I know there were a number of us who wanted to jump through the screen and knock his head off. He really couldn't see the error of his ways. He thought writing the suggested "box only" in the listing was enough. Not when you're listing it for $700! That said, it definitely was a good reminder that people really need to read the description, and not just look at the photos.

[11dustyattic]

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@*tippy*toes* wrote:

It was that blatant, it was "laughable". I think he was only a young dude, and I know there were a number of us who wanted to jump through the screen and knock his head off. He really couldn't see the error of his ways. He thought writing the suggested "box only" in the listing was enough. Not when you're listing it for $700! That said, it definitely was a good reminder that people really need to read the description, and not just look at the photos.

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Yes the high value was clearly trying to deceive. Even for low value empty boxes, $10-$20, I still put *BOX ONLY* in the title. For $700, the buyer would be expecting more than an empty box. Those boxes are readily available, I find them all the time, not worth much

[springyzone]

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@lill.berr wrote:
Hi everyone. So today I received a package that was a figurine, but the box dented in several places and the corners are crushed (figurine is not damaged). This was disappointing because as a collector the condition of the box is very important to me. It was clearly damaged through shipping because before I purchased it I asked the seller if the box was in perfect condition. He said yes and sent a photo. I also sent him a message after purchasing telling him to make sure the box was protected. Instead I received it in a satchel with one layer of bubble wrap.. Am I eligible to receive a refund?

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I was talking about this to a friend and the question they asked and which is relevant is-was the box mentioned in the original ad at all or in the photos? If it wasn't, then a buyer could not expect a perfect box, even if they had asked a question later of the seller to see if it came in one. The box as such would not be part of the transaction unless mentioned in the ad.

BUT although I haven't seen the original ad, I am interpreting this to be a case of both figurine and box were shown in the photo and mentioned in the ad but the emphasis was on the condition of the figurine, maybe no close up shots of the actual box, perhaps it wasn't easy to see it all behind the figurine or whatever. Knowing there was a box though and it looked perfect, Lill berr then asked the seller to confirm its condition and was sent an extra photo.

It's under those conditions that I would think it is fair enough to receive a refund, as a box in an ad becomes part of the item. In the case of collectables, quite a valuable addition.