J
Joan Johanson
Guest
I bid/won an ebay auction- the seller was listed as a store in Penn. I'm in Iowa. After the auction I sent my name & address & inquired about the shipping. I was told to call the store. I did. I talked to an employee who told me the item was not what was represented on ebay. I bid on a TOY BOX (you know...a child's toy box) that stated it had a NEW PRICE of $XXX (which was more than the reserve price). The employee "let the cat out of the bag" and told me it was just the storage box of a particular toy set and only 9" high. The picture depicted something much larger due to how it was staged. It was pretty obvious I was flabbergasted so she said maybe she wasn't talking about the right thing & would have the owner (who did the auctions) call me.
He did. 3 times in 1 day; & 13 emails within 24 hrs. He demanded a credit card # over the phone (I refused). He offered to switch items - to a different (legit) toy box that lists for about 1/2 the auction reserve price (for the bid price) or he'd send the equivalant in different toys from his store. Bait & switch?? He kept insisting what he "sold" was a legit toy box from the manufacturer and that he's sold over 250 of these in the same manner. I said "ok...I'll call them, explain the situation and see what they say". He went ballistic - threatening to send someone to my house to collect, threatening to turn me into the IRS (I also sell on ebay) saying he "knows" I dont pay taxes, etc. etc. He then later sent emails saying "I just talked to my friend who lives near you"...follow up on the threat? Another email was "tomorrow I'll be at my friend's house - an IRS agent". ...more implied threats? He's even accused me of wiretapping his phone. I've never had a "store" behave like this. I really thought a store would be "more credible" as a seller. I had asked for his complete store info, including the address when we were on the phone. He refused. I could not believe all the name calling and yelling he did over the phone at me. I finally just said "this conversation is over" and hung up.
I've not responded to any of his emails other than to ask for his complete seller info - I wanted that so I could call the manufacturer. He did email me two totally different addresses - one that is the store and one that is a personal address (I assume) of a different person - a relative, I think, indicating I was to send payment to the 2nd address.
All of his emails have been sent to ebay - who says they can not get involved unless he specifically threatens physical violence via email. The manuf (via phone call) says he (& all their retailers) have been warned to not sell on ebay, but can't provide me a copy of that letter (understandable); and that it is NOT one of their toy boxes, per se, but the storage toy box a train set comes in (he's breaking sets aparts and selling them by the piece) but I do have a call into the company president now). Their product description for the train set says "comes packed in an engine shaped toy box". Other product descriptions for the same item says "packed in an engine shaped storage box". As a retailer he's also not suppose to "break the sets" and sell by the piece, but again the manufacturer won't put that in writing to me.
He sent me another email today (the 6th day since the auction closed) and said I have till tomorrow to pay or he's leaving negative feedback, contacting bidders on my auctions (I did forward that to ebay - it's a rule violation); and filing a small claims suit in the court (adding the generic address of our local court house).
I am just at a loss as to what to do. I feel he manipulated the picture, he indicated it had a particular "list price" to further enhance this was a "legit" toy box as provided by the manufacturer, etc. The manufacturer tells me it was never to be sold seperate and there is no pricing structure for it as a seperate piece. The picture & "list price" were all manipulation and deceptive to get one to believe what he had was "legit". Even the customer service rep at the manufacturer said what he was doing was "slimy". Her word, not mine.
And yes, I will pay his seller fees - that would make him "whole" - he has the product - it is still sellable (in fact he's listed 2 more since the one I bid on) and he'd have his fees reimbursed, so he'd not be "out" of cash or product. I've asked ebay about this - no response.
Can he sue? Of course -- people sue for anything these days. Does he have a legitimate suit? What does he have to do to file suit in Iowa - i.e. would he personally have to appear in small claims court? What would be the probable outcome with the information I've provided? What constitutes a contract here and is legitimate for breaking this "contract" as he calls it? Yes - I've learned a valuable lesson here...so please don't "beat me up", I've had enough of that from him. I just need some good advise as to what to do from this point forward. I am tired of being scared that someone is going to show up at my door and I don't deal well with bullies.
He did. 3 times in 1 day; & 13 emails within 24 hrs. He demanded a credit card # over the phone (I refused). He offered to switch items - to a different (legit) toy box that lists for about 1/2 the auction reserve price (for the bid price) or he'd send the equivalant in different toys from his store. Bait & switch?? He kept insisting what he "sold" was a legit toy box from the manufacturer and that he's sold over 250 of these in the same manner. I said "ok...I'll call them, explain the situation and see what they say". He went ballistic - threatening to send someone to my house to collect, threatening to turn me into the IRS (I also sell on ebay) saying he "knows" I dont pay taxes, etc. etc. He then later sent emails saying "I just talked to my friend who lives near you"...follow up on the threat? Another email was "tomorrow I'll be at my friend's house - an IRS agent". ...more implied threats? He's even accused me of wiretapping his phone. I've never had a "store" behave like this. I really thought a store would be "more credible" as a seller. I had asked for his complete store info, including the address when we were on the phone. He refused. I could not believe all the name calling and yelling he did over the phone at me. I finally just said "this conversation is over" and hung up.
I've not responded to any of his emails other than to ask for his complete seller info - I wanted that so I could call the manufacturer. He did email me two totally different addresses - one that is the store and one that is a personal address (I assume) of a different person - a relative, I think, indicating I was to send payment to the 2nd address.
All of his emails have been sent to ebay - who says they can not get involved unless he specifically threatens physical violence via email. The manuf (via phone call) says he (& all their retailers) have been warned to not sell on ebay, but can't provide me a copy of that letter (understandable); and that it is NOT one of their toy boxes, per se, but the storage toy box a train set comes in (he's breaking sets aparts and selling them by the piece) but I do have a call into the company president now). Their product description for the train set says "comes packed in an engine shaped toy box". Other product descriptions for the same item says "packed in an engine shaped storage box". As a retailer he's also not suppose to "break the sets" and sell by the piece, but again the manufacturer won't put that in writing to me.
He sent me another email today (the 6th day since the auction closed) and said I have till tomorrow to pay or he's leaving negative feedback, contacting bidders on my auctions (I did forward that to ebay - it's a rule violation); and filing a small claims suit in the court (adding the generic address of our local court house).
I am just at a loss as to what to do. I feel he manipulated the picture, he indicated it had a particular "list price" to further enhance this was a "legit" toy box as provided by the manufacturer, etc. The manufacturer tells me it was never to be sold seperate and there is no pricing structure for it as a seperate piece. The picture & "list price" were all manipulation and deceptive to get one to believe what he had was "legit". Even the customer service rep at the manufacturer said what he was doing was "slimy". Her word, not mine.
And yes, I will pay his seller fees - that would make him "whole" - he has the product - it is still sellable (in fact he's listed 2 more since the one I bid on) and he'd have his fees reimbursed, so he'd not be "out" of cash or product. I've asked ebay about this - no response.
Can he sue? Of course -- people sue for anything these days. Does he have a legitimate suit? What does he have to do to file suit in Iowa - i.e. would he personally have to appear in small claims court? What would be the probable outcome with the information I've provided? What constitutes a contract here and is legitimate for breaking this "contract" as he calls it? Yes - I've learned a valuable lesson here...so please don't "beat me up", I've had enough of that from him. I just need some good advise as to what to do from this point forward. I am tired of being scared that someone is going to show up at my door and I don't deal well with bullies.