Hi Guys -

I am starting my own personal watch out thread   

buyers message :

"I received the Ben Kenobi figure and after examining it closely determined it is not "100% vintage" as advertised. the hands have been repainted. This was verified through experienced collectors examining detailed photos of the figure."

So I looked around and found this watch out thread at rebelscum :

http://forum.rebelscum.com/t1112956/

I have no problem at all refunding the guy if there is more opinions offered that it has been touched up but he opened a case based on 1 guys opinion of the blurry pics he posted   

Will you guys take a look and let me know your honest opinions ?

James, it looks fine to me. If you look at the last pic from behind you can see the fingers missed a bit of paint and I would think if it was repainted you would be able to see two seperate colors there. I believe that sloppy paint was factory applied but does not appear to have any touch ups. I blew the photo up pretty large and other than a blob on the left thumb (which can happen from factory also) I dont see any indication of brush strokes or different colored paints.

With the guy wanting a refund, my recommendation is to go ahead and do it. I know you sell quite a bit on ebay and it would be a shame to take a ding over something like this. Hopefully he can accept the return and let it go and not leave a negative. Hopefully this gets resolved peacefully.

Hey bud I have to agree with trappedtexan looking at the one you have and looking at all mine at the same time the colour is not exactly the same from hand to hand figure to figure I checked three of mine the shade is just a tad different and like Tex said you can clearly see the paint is worn from the back of the hand. Like anything paint will fade at different rates due to the mixing process. So in my opinion yours is fine if it looked touched up I would say so But if giving him back his money keeps you from getting a bad review I would do that.

I've commented on RS already.  Pictures can not always tell paint touch ups-  Walkie's fake 'tri' Fett he bought is a good example.  I think blacklight was the only tell for that figure but as I've mentioned I've seen the blacklight test fail.

I also mentioned the black light, but then removed my comment,
I wrote before I noticed that the buyer was happy with out come.

Thanks guys   

As I said before , I have no problem at all giving the guy a full refund if I made a mistake and missed a paint touch up . I would be very disappointed with myself if I did make such a bad mistake   

I just wanted to hear more opinions for my own peace of mind   

It is also a matter of principle to me and it bothers me that the buyer has never bothered to contact me personally . He opened a case based on the opinion of one member at rebelscum (who had formed his opinion based on blurry pictures posted by the buyer) .

The money is not important to me in this situation - it is more a matter of principle and my own peace of mind   

James,

Don't like it at all when a good guy like you have to go through such a mess.   

Luckily it seems resolved now.   
Please keep us updated on this when unexpectedly there is not such a happy ending.

From the buyer : http://forum.rebelscum.com/t1112956/

purchased this one on my cell phone and didn't spend more time really looking over the photos (my bad). The mismatched colors of the 2 hands is what really raised my concern once I could see it in person. My apologies to the seller - I've been burned in the past and jumped quickly on this, and will close the case if this is indeed how they are supposed to be.

Sure this is not Hamilton's brother by any chance?

Thanks Marco   

It's actually not a issue to me that the guy is concerned and being cautious - if he is worried I don't blame him at all for asking questions   

If he had contacted me before he opened the case I would have started a thread myself to ask for other opinions . My biggest concern is that I could have screwed up and missed a obvious problem - if I did I certainly want to know . I inspect all my figures very closely and take a lot of pride in trying to describe my figures well (with lots of pics ) . If I screwed up I would be hugely embarrassed but I would want to know   

I would just been nice if he would have waited for a few more opinions before he jumped the gun  

Education is what TIG is about ...

If I missed something on one of my figures I want to be educated how to do better   

If the buyer is in error then he needs to be educated why ...

We can all make mistakes but we can also gather together to correct them  

IMO you do a sterling job as a dealer James! (You share the same ethics as me).
I'm glad things have been resolved, but if not, I'd gladly buy the figure from you to prove any doubters wrong.  

James, this should not be a concern to you, those that know or have dealt with you know you are a honest, fair, and friendly person.
Unfortunatelly it seems that there is a lot of new "collectors" that have no morals, or just don't know enough to collect the stuff they do.

Did the buyer open a case before messaging you?  
If so that is a bit off... I've had a bunch of issues with sellers on ebay that I didn't know, especially when I was new, but never went the route of case first, seller questioned (or open forum WTF post) second.   

Anyway........ glad you and the buyer came out ok but sucks than any negative light was thrown your way in public.

You're a top seller man and person, so I am sure it won't impact you at all but it still sucks.

cheers man!

Sorry to hear about this recent trouble you've had James   
Whenever I have problems with deals on ebay, I always try to resolve the matter, by contacting the seller first.
Rather than opening a case against them straight a way .
It's a shame that your buyer jumped the gun and drew false conclusions, based on a shaky third party opinion.
I'm glad though that the matter appears to have been resolved and I don't believe this will affect your honest and highly respected reputation as a seller.

Thank you for all your support guys   

The case is closed and the buyer is happy now   

He even sent me a apology (and posted it at rebelscum) :

"Dear ourchickenshack,

I want to take a moment and apologize to you regarding the Ben Kenobi figure. I realize that I was too hasty in rushing to judge the figure, and should have reached out to you first before opening a dispute. I have closed the case and will be leaving you positive feedback. This has reminded me to slow down when purchasing online, and to be sure to reach out first befit rushing to a conclusion. Thanks for your patience. "


my reply :

"Thank you sir - I am glad you were able to determine that the figure's paint was indeed authentic

I don't blame you at all for being cautious and asking questions . There are a lot of shady sellers out there and we should all take a good long look at what we purchase . Hopefully the next time you run into a problem you want hesitate to ask the same questions - just wait until you have more of a "group" opinion before jumping the gun

I have absolutely no hard feelings and would love to welcome you to come join as a member at TIG as well "


  

I'm pleased to hear that your excellent reputation remains intact James & that the buyer has apologised publically to you!

Solved in a typical TIG gentleman's manner!  

That's just great, James!

Really pleased this got sorted James  
Some of my favourite vintage figures came from ourchickenshack, Top Seller, Top Bloke, and I'm proud to say a good friend  
Cheers Andy  

Glad all is sorted James. You're a top bloke and responsible seller. Kudos to the buyer for his final
message back to you too.

This thread needed to happen, this guy is dodgy as fuck!

There is no way someone can offer such good deals on such a regular basis without been dodgy!

Joking a side You're the man James people like this guy drain me