My grapes are so sour that i think theyve fermented and turned into wine at this point (had to start with a little humor to defuse my heated nature haha)
So, im not one to really get upset over things, or want to cause any issues with anyone in regard to collecting, so whenever things might get to me, I always look to the bright side of things and continue onward. However, in the past 2 days now ive encountered some serious heavy issues with a seller on ebay, which stem back from early lats November and are now popping up yet again, so i figured i could vent them here and see what others think about said situation and what I should do moving forward. Ill start with how this began, leading into today.
Early Novemeber I was new to ebay nd never really used it in terms of buying myself. I was used to buying cards locally and other various online websites, until I found myself trying to complete collection goals that couldnt be met by these means. So, I made an ebay account and began to go down that route. I was always worried about sellers on ebay and fakes etc. But that quickly passed over when I made some good purchases and did some research. everything seemed well, until i went searching for a Shining Charizard. I found one up for auction from a seller with decent feedback (200+ range) that was a BGS 9 grade. I watched the auction for days, made a bid towards the end, and ended up winning it for 300. I was happy as could be, paid the seller, and then promptly after saw a message from them. The message merely stated how they 'dont usually sell to buyers below 10 feedback". Low and behold, I didnt know what to say other than i paid it off, and really would like the card. This led to many messages back and forth over the course of 2 days, while the seller continued to not tell me he wouldnt sell it, and not even request that i make a return, but instead he kept on that subject of how he had lower feedback buyers blocked and how he has had a bad experience with prior buyers wiith low feedback, all basically to get me to return the item to him. After being messed with for 3 days straight, with various calls to ebay for help, he refunded the purchase, and then relisted the card at a higher price than what i won it for while still messaging me guilt tripping me into saying how he should have sold it to me after all and felt bad because i in one message mentioned pieces of my past in how this card was to replace a lost one i had once before which was lost due to my past addiction and battles with mental health issues. Low and behold, i didnt answer and vowed to never deal with him again.
This brings me to yesterday, where ive been on the search for a Typhlosion 17 1st edition psa 9. The card has been hard for me to afford before, but recently ive saved lots of the funds to manage to swing the purchase. I went searching for the card, and noticed that previous seller was the only one who had one up. I took caution to the wind, seeing as i am a man whose willing to forgive and give a second chance, and i sent him a message about it. He answered quite quickly, to which i was happy about and said hed be willing to work with me on his card. The psa case has a crack in the case, so i asked some questions and added an offer which i thought was reasonable. 4 hours passed and he finally answered back. He didnt say anything about my offer, just mentioned the case. I messaged back again stating my offer, and we price negotiated for at least 30 minutes seeing as he wasnt happy about the offer, but made a ton of excuses as to why, some being “shipping” or others being “I want x price for it” all to which i catered to him and finally went with his asked pricing. Between 8pm yesterday and 11 pm there was no solid answer, and luckily i had off today to be up that late. 11pm hit and he said to make the offer and he’ll accept. i said I was worried because this felt like the past in dealing him and it was really hindering me wanting to make an offer. He then proceeded to say if lowering to 575 would help get that ball rolling and the worries free from my mind, hed do that. So i made the offer on the card. Another 30 minutes went by and to no avail, he didnt accept. He then messaged asking that he charge 15 for shipping with signature and confirmation to be safe, which at that point i was done and fed up. I said for him to decline the offer and ill rethink about it tomorrow. He declined, then began to message me through the night saying, yet again how he “should have taken the offer”.
Then today hits. I see others here looking for the card and asking about it, which sucks being that cyndaquil and typhlosion are literally my favorite pokemon of all time. this card is my Base set 1st edition zard, and now its getting hits like crazy. i originally thought id never even get to grab this card until i wisely managed my finances, and now that i can get one, this individual in question is causing me so much grief and stress and leading me on to where its so ill for my mental health and state that i just cant bare the frustration. I tried one last time to message him about it seeing as he messaged me again today asking to make the deal happen, and yet again, just no answers for hours on end leading me on with it all. I dont understand how people such as this can have such awful business practices, but if someone is trying to buy a card from you it shouldnt be hours of waiting with loads of round about answers that dont help either him or i in the sale. I mean, he even messaged last night when i made my offer saying he hasnt accepted because, and i quote “Im was just letting it sit for a second thinking about it one last time myself lol before i let this baby go to ya”. After that was the requests for higher shipping costs. I had 700+ cards go without signature and insurance and had no issue, so this guys practices are all around just ill here in my opinion.
Regardless, id like to know everyones thoughts here. Im heartbroken as hell seeing as i wont be able to grab this currently, and id do whatever i could for one, but i dont feel ok with this person in question and im curious if i should have even given this person a chance. His ebay user name is pokemonmaster83, and i have all the back and forth messages if anyone would like to know more in private (i dont feel i should share that publicly, as there are a ton of messages and dont know if it would be ok) but id love to hear peoples thoughts. This seller almost made me never use ebay again back in the Novemeber, so i should have never even tried to attempt to buy from him again, but it was just out of sheer desperation for the card, so overall i just think its best to trust my gut instinct on things and work from there. Ive had countless great experiences otherwise with ebay, so regardless of this encounter, one bad apple cant ruin the whole bunch for me, which is why i just chose to come here tody and vent it all.
Anyways, thank you all so much for reading this if you did, and Im seriously grateful for everyone here. You guys are all what makes me continue to have faith in the community and i value everyones input and dedication to the hobby most of all.
