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Romeodanny wrote:
That really makes me want to cry. How can the seller say that’s mint? I would ask for a partial refund at least. I would try for at least $50. I hope you do get a partial refund.
I’ve had the same thing happen to me a few times.
After looking at the photos, that is not very bad all (considering some things I have gotten off e-bay). Those are easy touch ups and it doesn’t look like there are any chips in the gypsum. It is not mint, but its in good condition. I think a fair price for one in that condition would be about $150. Of course everyone is different, so it maybe not worth that to you. I would second Romeodanny’s suggestion of a $50 refund.
The best thing is to let the seller know that you are willing to talk about a fair solution. If you need any suggestions on how to word a request, let me know. I would be happy to help.
PhoenixTears wrote:Taking forever to upload. But here is the first one which shows the base and felt problems. If it werent for the other flaws youll see, Id not even be concerned about these base flaws since you can see them on display… but still should have been told about them.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k30/AdvDept27/Flionbaseflaws.jpg
A lot of times they come from Windstones this way. I’d still consider it mint if this was all there was, but the other paint rubs are a different story. They are definitly not from the factory and this item is not mint.
I’ve looked at the photos, and can also say that this flion is not mint condition. How could she not have noticed those paint rubs! Unless she did, and just didn’t care. This is one reason why I’ve decided to never ever buy anything again from a seller on Ebay, unless it’s the manufacturer themselves. It’s just so hard to trust people nowadays. I had a bad Ebay experience with somebody a few years back over an emerald fledgling. I get so mad when people lie about things they sell. 😡
Anyway, I would definitely try to get either a $50.00 or $60.00 refund on this piece. The condition was clearly misrepresented.
I was actually looking at that piece. I never actually bid because the price went over what I was willing to pay.
I would say the piece was definately misrepresented. Between the paint rubs, the dust, and the chips on the bottom there is no way that piece should be considered mint. Mint is exactly that: Mint. No rubs, chips, or any other damage.
I would say that I would have paid no more then $150 for it. (And probably less.)
Hope you can get some of your money back.
First, thank you all for your advice, opinions, insight, suggestions and support. Two emails have been sent to the seller. We havent heard from her but with you guys, yes, I agree on the $50 partial refund. The photos you see here were also sent in the email for her to view. Here is a copy of the email we sent her:
“I’m sorry but I do not think that you accurately described this item in your auction. Look at the 7 photos. This Flion by Windstone is clearly not mint. You answered me in both email and eBay mail, as well as another buyer’s question during auction and maintained that there were no scrapes or missing paint or flaws. How could you miss all these? These are old wounds and did not happen due to shipping.
I would like you to consider a partial refund. This Flion is not worth $207 I paid for him– not in this misrepresented condition. We need to come to some kind of partial refund agreement. If that can’t be reached, then I will have to consider eBay action and/or negative feedback. If you grant me a partial refund (to be determined), then I will leave you positive or neutral feedback. I do not want a full refund or to return it; I’d like a partial refund for appropriate damage and misrepresentation in description.
If I hear nothing from you by Monday August 6th, or you somehow spin this around as being my fault, then I will notify eBay and leave you negative feedback too.
I’m a reasonable person. This is why Im emailing you first (again) before jumping to slam your rating. I’m trying to be nice and compromising. Please do me the same courtesy. This Flion has been shown to hardcore Windstone collectors and artists and they agree it is not in mint or even excellent condition. Good condition, yes.
Truly hope to hear from you before Monday night, midnight EST.
Thank you.
Sincerely…”So, you see we are trying to work with the seller instead of jumping all over her and getting trigger happy with negative feedback. She is being given a chance at redemption.
Dragoness– as far as being able to see those marks in the photos during auction, there was no enlargement feature and going on the very explicit explanation made in several places by seller, I was assuming anything there would have been camera glare. Thats why I circled the marks in the photos you see here so that camera glare would not be misunderstood.
Wolflodge– the Flion was listed in my own Wish List in the thread I started of the same name… or it should be there as someone early on had asked me what my own Wish List would be. Believe me, I SOOOOO would have loved to have done business with you (well, Nicole wanted to get this for me and though she has access to all my accounts, she doesnt post here. If Id gotten it from you, like I did with a couple of RomeoDanny’s pieces, the person wanting to get me the gift would repay me).
I know these are fixable and believe me, Im very thankful for that. Nerve racked too as I dont want to muck it up. But it’s frustrating to both me and Nicole that the item was so misrepresented. Again, to clarify, if it was ONLY trouble on the base and with felt, I wouldnt even be having this conversation. Id be fine with the base problems. But it’s the other damages that are disturbing since they display. Plus, just as an aside, for being curio kept, it’s incredibly dusty and OH, that wreak of cigarette smoke! I knew it was coming from a smoker’s home but you never know how that smells until you get the piece. I have my own way of combating it though (as Koishii can attest 🙂 ), this time I purposely put the Flion near some burning insense. Believe it or not, that worked to change the smell from cigarettes to Jamaican Vanilla 🙂 Ive now dusted him off carefully by using a paint brush.
The next step would be touching up the missing paint. I’ll figure it out somehow. But again, for $207 (total was really $219+), this particular Flion was not worth that. Heck, the other Flion that was up with it had only under base damage disclosed in auction and didnt come from smokers… and it went for about $125 or $150 I think. So…
I’ll keep you guys updated on what happens. Thanks for being here for me! <3
Well good luck Phoenix Tears! I hope this works out for you, and hope the seller doesn’t get all nasty about it. It really burns my a$$ when I hear of situations like this between Ebay sellers an buyers. There is obvious visible evidence that piece is in no way mint condition… and no collector would ever consider it as such. She should have no reason to deny you a partial refund after her false descriptions. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you! 🙂
Goodluck PT, I hope you have a much better experience getting a refund than I did with my last Ebay-bought Windstone where I had the same problem: Bought a dragon listed as “in perfect condition” but arrived with a horn partly chipped off. My seller tried to accuse ME of breaking it and refused a partial refund, I had to send it back before I’d get a full refund minus shipping fees. I really hope your seller has a better attitude!
Im sorry that happened to you Sunhawk. That’s too bad about sour eBayers. Ive run into my share which is partially the reason why I stopped using eBay altogether years ago (but had nothing to do with Windstones; just someone who said they were selling a real, original DVD when he was really pirating them, making copies AND those copies didnt work on USA players even though he was a USA seller in OH. He did this to MANY ppl that we formed our own Yahoo support group and over 50+ of us contacted eBay and the IFCC… they just kept us on hold and did nothing even after going through the entire complaint process. He spun it around on me and unloaded TONS of lies- stupid sh*t. His previous reputation AND because of what happened with our group caused him to close down under one name, just to come back under yet another- his 5th one! Doesnt eBay learn?! 😯 )
My seller here seemed nice in her initial communications and Im hoping she doesnt get nasty. If she does, Im no chump (and neither is Nicole) and we will take appropriate action. Im between a rock and a hard place myself. This Flion is one of my Wish Listers for many years. And now with my health, I dont know if Id ever have a shot at another one (Nicole wants me to have one before I pass so I can enjoy it). Thats why Im hoping for no return but rather partial refund.
If she doesnt do that, I wont return it, will still file a report of misrepresentation on eBay and leave negative feedback. I dont like doing that and only have ever done that for the loser I was describing above about the DVD… even when Ive been less than 50% satisfied with my purchase. I just always blamed myself saying “buyer beware.” But in this case, no- uh uh- this will be reported IF she gets nasty or uncooperative.
It’s nice to have a support group such as you guys where I can come for some soothing and understanding, as well as venting. Got to watch that blood pressure and Im doing alright. Afterall, I dont think Im as upset about the condition of the Flion (it’s totally fixable) as I am about the seller being so deceitful. Other bidder’s asked about the condition and she clearly stated in the Q&A section of auction (see my eBay link) that there were no flaws. She did in emails too, not to mention her description of item. So thats what gets me most. If you have trouble with eye sight, fine… get someone with normal eye sight to appraise condition of items (IF that was the case which I highly doubt).
Anyhoo- thanks guys, and Im sorry for your eBay misfortunes too. Im protective of my Windstones (and the company in whole) like I would be my own family and furry family members (pets) so when I see a Windstone not taken care of well (shouldnt have been a problem for Curio kept but with all the dust and smoke, thats an OPEN curio, if one at all!) or hurt by ppl that dont realize the value of what they possess, it makes me bonkers.
Ohhhhhhhhh, what a shame..I didn’t realize that it had that much damage on it, I actually contacted the seller on e bay myself and I remember I asked about the condition of the piece and in there response it did not state that it was that bad.
I hope it all works out for you PT, I know it can be a hassel especially when the seller ignores the facts and doesn’t reply.Marzena
Thanks mmloda… Nicole told me she and you were going at it to the bitter end. Well, now you can at least take some solace in knowing what you would have gotten! But the other Flion on there seemed to only have under base damage; hopefully you did better with that one as I didnt watch to the end. But thanks for your concern and support.
Now that some of you, and hopefully more members that know about Liquitex colors (heck, I’ll take any paint brand advice but I just have Liquitex on hand and locally; others Id have to order online but will if I must), can tell me what colors they think I can mix up to match those particular scars that this Flion sustaine? There’s even a portion on the wing that I didnt photograph because it wouldnt come out enough for you to see. But I can almost match that coloring and fix the wing.
But if anyone knows what color, either pure or mixture percentage (again, I have Liquitex paints but if I must, I’ll buy what ever paints you suggest) I can create to fix these marks would be helpful.
*** Also, another thing Ive been meaning to ask… lets say you have final coated a PYO in high glossy and now you want to dull it a bit to a semi gloss towards a more matte side (with just a slight gloss). Can you simply respray a matte top coat over the gloss top coat already there?
***AND- with existing Windstones that are obviously old, such as thie Flion as well as my black young unicorn, can I do another coat of sealant over it just to punch up its finish and overall appearance? Can I use my gold leaf pen to shine up his horn? Ive polished it but it could use some more punching up.
*** And (sorry)… for the chain around any of the necks of bejeweled Windstones such as the Flion and older unicorns, how would you punch up and restore their chain necklaces’ colors? Would you use a gold metallic paint pen? I have one, but my gold leaf pen which is larger and more cumbersome shines MUCH more- bit I dont think I could control such a large tip on the necklace links.
Any ideas on any of these questions? Thanks in advance!
I’m sorry the Flion didn’t match your expectations, PhoenixTears. If you decide you want a partial refund – $50 sounds reasonable to me – I hope the seller doesn’t balk too much.
Krylon Satin finish clearcoat would probably work best for getting a more subtle finish on a pyo, it should be fine over a glossy finish, just spray lightly. 8)
PhoenixTears wrote:Still no response to our 2 emails. Deadline is midnight on Monday, EST.
*taps foot* 🙄
Only a couple hours to go. heheOK, she responded twice. When she got the eBay communication from me, she retorted by saying she would refund $43 because it cost more to ship (which I pointed out wasnt my problem as I paid for full shipping; and suggested she get pre weigh quotes or a scale but did so nicely; and that I shouldnt be penalized b/c she under estimated what it would cost to ship) and said that she paid for insurance, like that was my fault. Nicole tried contacting her several times before payment, to add insurance and the seller chose to pay for shipping because she was delayed in responding. Again, Nicole nor I should be penalized for that over sight either.
Then we got another email… the one where she was able to view all the photos you guys have seen here. She was deeply apologetic and said that indeed the Flion was damaged though she never saw any of this damage and would take my word for it. She offered to refund $57.50 which would bring it down to the $150 it was likely worth had it been listed with appropriate flaws and pix. We told her a refund of $55 was fine. After confirming my mailing address, she said she would get a money order out to us right away.
So, since I like to believe in the good in ppl (tho that has punched me in the face more often than not but is simply my personality), I’ll trust that we’ll be receiving that refund in the mail within a week. Im hoping we dont go through the “it’s in the mail” back & forth- and doubt we will. I told her once the refund is received, that I (since it’s under my eBay nym though Nicole used it to get the Flion; several of us just use my one account which has always worked out fine) would leave her POSITIVE feedback since she was being kind and cooperative and I wasnt out to ruin her 100% FB rating. We’ll word it like “Seller very kind & cooperative; both of us satisfied; worthy eBayer.” Without going into details which also might deter future buyers. What I didnt say was that she should have someone else inspect her pieces before declaring MINT status, or purchase some glasses as these couldnt be missed. Plus, the common response I expected was, “I didnt think to look at the bottom because I didnt think anyone would care about it.” Obviously not a true Windstone collector. And, in this case, like Ive said in this thread, Id not be concerned about its bottom in the instance… it was the other missing paint flaws that got us riled.
So, waiting on the refund in the mail. Will wait patiently but do plan to keep an eye on the eBay clock regarding complaints and retroaction. Something about 60 days after close of auction and then nothing can be done; not even a complaint. So yea, though we believe this will go off without a hitch, we must be wary of the time frames. Will update you here when refund arrives.
Thanks for your support guys! Big hugs to you all for being there for me!
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