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$500 eBay Scam: Buyer Claims My 1999 Pokémon Fossil Pack Opened "By Itself"!
With a lot of money on the line, I'm not going to let this guy get away with it.
Issue #58
This week has been a bit of a pain in the ass for me to be honest. Yes, we had some great finds and sales, but we also had 2 returns. Returns are a part of the business, these 2 were worth a combined $700 and both should have been avoided.
The first is a straight up scam. The very, very brief of it is that I sold a pack of sealed Pokemon cards from 1999 for $500. Buyer received them, claimed they magically opened when he took them out of the box. Wants a full refund and eBay will side with him.
The second is one of the many VCR/DVD combos I’ve sold. I spent at least an hour helping this old woman attempt to play her (very old) home video tapes and she gave up and decided it didn’t work and is sending it back for a refund. At least with this one I’ll be able to resell it as I know it works, the Pokemon cards are now worthless after the buyer tore them open and probably took any good cards that were inside.
If you want more details and to listen to an old man rant about selling on eBay and getting scammed out of $500, listen to the latest episode of the Flip Weekly podcast released this morning - I was angry, a bit unhinged and totally not expecting this to happen.
In This Issue
What I Bought
A $15 Salvos price sticker over an old $49.95 Toys R Us sticker.
Another case of saved by the sticker. What does that mean? It means an item that has an old $49.95 Toys R Us sticker on it automatically priced at $15.00 by the thrift store regardless of if the sticker value is correct, outdated or not.
Let’s use a real life example. Let’s think of the most valuable thing we’ll never own… a gold bar.
A gold bar in 1900 was worth approximately $8,268.
A thrift store receives a gold bar, sees a price tag of $8,268 but doesn’t want to put a full price sticker on it, so they halve it and say the gold bar is now for sale for $4,134.
However, the sticker is 100 years old and the real price of a gold bar in 2025 is $780,000.
Bit of a mistake, yeah? That’s what happened here, except the Disney playset wasn’t worth $8,268 100 years ago, nor worth $780,000 today.
In this case, we have a Disney Fairies Pixie Hideaway Playset from 2006 that is actually worth close to $300 despite the sticker saying $49.95. We don’t have a sold comp, we just have an active listing with 12 watchers from the US.
$165 USD is approximately $260 AUD.
It’s not appreciating as quickly as gold, but we still have an item that is worth more today than it was 10 years ago. A few things I liked about this item that immediately stuck out to me before looking it up:
It’s Disney which means a huge market.
It’s sealed with a million different little items inside that could easily be lost.
It’s dated 2006, almost 20 years old.
Combine all 3 and it’s worth picking up so no-one else can get it and do a little Google Lens research. After seeing the 1 active listing that was priced at $300 with 12 watchers, I decided to put mine up for $200 as my box wasn’t in as good as condition as the Americans plus I love a quick sale.
What on Earth is this?
My strategy for plush is simple… I look up anything that’s a bit different. To me, this guy looks like a character in some sort of game, movie or television show. If it’s some random teddy bear? I’ll probably pass, but a cactus with a dope purple vest? Must be from somewhere.
His name is Spike, he’s from a mobile game called Brawl Stars. I don’t know how people play mobile games on such tiny screens but this one has at least 17,000,000 monthly players.
Cool…
Fast paced 3v3 & 5v5 MOBA and battle royale made for mobile! Play online with friends or solo across a variety of pvp arena game modes in under three minutes.
Unlock and upgrade dozens of “brawlers” with powerful super abilities, star powers and gadgets! Collect unique skins to stand out and show off.
You can get the unbranded Spike plush toy quite cheap:
Every day of the week.
However this particular plush that is officially licensed…
Um..
What..
Da fuck..
Judging from the sold comps and active listings… this may be a $200 - $300 plush toy. Why? I don’t make the rules but probably because:
The manufacturer released official Brawl Stars plush toys in limited quantities.
Once sold out, they don’t get restocked, driving up resale prices.
Brawl Stars (unbeknownst to me) has a huge fanbase, and collectors seek out official merch.
Spike is one of the most popular characters. Yes, a cactus is one of the most popular characters.
Use this information however you will. I’ll be sure to report back if I sell this $8 plush toy for hundreds of dollars.
First thing you do here? Open it up and count the pieces. 16 to each side.
I’ve had a lot of successful picking up pop culture chess sets from thrift stores in the past. From Lord of the Rings The Two Towers to… Lord of the Rings Return of the King. Oh, and Star Wars. The default figures for me so far have been assume a $50 sale price on Marketplace or $100 on eBay. I’m sure there’s money to be made in chess sets that aren’t pop culture related, I just don’t know anything about that. Do you? Hit me up.
Pre-owned versus brand new.
Signed copy? Don’t mind if I do.
Hannah Gadsby appeared on my radar long before their stand-up special Nanette (makes me better than you, right?). Gadsby starred in an Australia television show called Please Like Me, which aired from 2014-2016 and they also had multiple writing credits for the show. The show had high praise from people who resonated with the (sometimes dark) themes. In 2017 the it ended and Hannah would start to write the stand-up show Nanette which would go on to win an Emmy, a Peabody but unfortunately losing the Best Real-Life Hero award in the 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards.
If you haven’t seen Please Like Me on Netflix or ABC iView, check it out. If you haven’t seen Hannah’s stand up, watch it before you judge or base your opinion on what your favorite podcaster says.
Anyway, I found a signed book of Nanette. $5 into minimum $50.
What I Sold
This first item didn’t make it into Flip Weekly when I bought him back on the 15th of January however he’s gone on to sell in 2 months.
What a cutie, original tag and everything.
A plush for $5 sold for $49.95 + overseas post to New Zealand.
Majority should recognize this character created by Hanna-Barbera in the late 50’s as Boo Boo Bear, a friend of the ever popular Yogi Bear. You may not recognize however the tag that was on this $5 plush.
Recognize it?
The tag is from Wonderland, an amusement park in Sydney that operated for 18 years. The park featured all of your standard rides and attractions with characters and themes from Hanna-Barbera animation shows such as Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones.
Wonderland shut down in 2004 due to poor management however the CEO decided to place blame on… well practically everything else. Take a read of the hilarious excerpt from this Sydney Morning Herald article 21 years ago:
Wonderland Sydney, the Eastern Creek amusement park that has attracted millions of thrill-seekers for 19 years, will close its gates for the final time in April.
Management says September 11, the Bali bombings, the collapse of insurance giant HIH, the SARS virus, and now the Asian bird flu "have simply taken their toll" on business.
Stephen Galbraith, chief executive of the Leisure Theme Parks Sunway Group, also blames "consistent losses" on the Asian financial crisis, the collapse of Ansett, the Iraq war and last year's bushfires. The Malaysian company Sunway Group, which has part-owned the theme park since 1997, blames Wonderland's demise on everything except poor management.
I was excited to find this plush in the wild because I have faint memories of visiting Wonderland. All I remember is a very rainy day, riding the ‘The Bush Beast‘ which was Australia’s biggest rollercoaster at the time. I don’t know much about rollercoaster’s but I’m going to assume the reason why they make them primarily out of steel is you can get those smooth finishes. Wooden rollercoasters? Yeah, those things are rough. We had heavy rain pelting down on our faces, stinging with each drop, whiplash and nausuea from the constant bumps of the uneven wooden slates… it was like speeding down a road filled with potholes and aiming for each one.
This is an animated GIF. It might take a second to load.
It doesn’t surprise me that it shut, but it did surprise me to see this plush in the thrift complete with tag. I figured we have 2 potential buyers here: Hanna Barbera and Yogi Bear collectors plus Wonderland Sydney nostalgia heads. It’s always beneficial to have items that can be admired by multiple different buyers and the fact I hadn’t seen really any other Wonderland Sydney merchandise around in the thrift made me pick it up. 2 month sell through rate isn’t what I usually aim for, but it’s pretty good for a plush and $5 into $50 is nothing to complain about.
$3 into $80.
A pat on the back for this find, a $3 action figure that has sold for $79.99! The buyer wanted this so bad they paid a total of $140.79 which included taxes and postage to Greece. You can watch a short video of me finding this figure in the thrift on Instagram here.
This is simply a paperweight but it’s old Nintendo / Super Mario which is highly collectible.
Even this raggedy Wiggles DVD sold for $35 plus it’s off overseas for an extra $21.75.
Old school, unusual Bop It’s usually sell pretty well.
Sold on Marketplace. We love our tins, especially Playworks branded.
$500 eBay Scam: Buyer Claims My 1999 Pokémon Fossil Pack Opened "By Itself"!
When I first started seriously getting into reading 2 years back, I didn't have a bookcase. Books yes, place to put them no. I took the trip to the Swedish devil's labyrinth and picked up a simple white bookcase that could house all of my books once I finished reading them plus extra room for a few more.
At this point in time I was styling my home and I came to realize that the empty spots on my bookshelves didn't have to be empty, you could fill them with things that weren't books. Makes sense. Looking at design ideas on websites like Pinterest I could see a lot of generic items... things like candles, vases, unusual statues, not exactly something I'd want to put on mine.
I decided the best course of action would be to fill up the shelves with items that mean something to me. You'll know from reading Flip Weekly I have a soft spot for old school media players, like the iPod, which I quickly started to collect and fill up the shelves. Over time I'd fill in the gaps with family photos, paintings my niece had gifted to Uncle Mat, little knick knacks plus a few other different items.
One of the categories I decided to buy was Pokemon. It was a big part of my childhood, one of the things I was definitely all-in on. You know how kids are, one summer it's Toy Story, the next it's Marvel. Anyway, what better way to represent Pokemon on my shelf than to buy a Pokemon Fossil booster pack from 1999. These packs can be found online from time to time, but they go for a lot of money. Why? Picture any kid obsessed with Pokemon in the 90's they're opening the pack, not holding onto it for 30 years.
Before it was in the hands of a scammer.
I looked online and found a reputable Australian based company that had 1 for sale. This company to this day sells exclusively Pokemon related items, mostly graded cards and other packs. After talking with the owner and seeing proof that they source vintage sealed packs from Heritage Auctions in the US, I was confident with my purchase and a week later it arrived.
I hadn't handled a pack of Pokemon cards since I was a kid and to be honest, I was sort of nervous. I didn't want to accidentally open the pack, I mean they're 30 years old and opening anything sealed (when you buy it specifically because it's sealed) becomes virtually worthless with any small tear or imperfection. I didn't have to worry though, this pack was solid, there was no way I would accidentally open it and up it went on my shelf. It stayed there until I'd have friends or family over who would want to take a look, I mean it's a pretty cool conversation starter.
An old photo. I swear to God that isn’t my pop, I was selling it for a friend back in 2023
Despite all of that handling, plus having been moved around the shelf and moving house, the pack remained perfectly sealed and one of my favorite things to display.
Jump forward to 2025, I'm accumulating more and more books to the point where I'm thinking about either getting another bookcase or upgrading the existing one. I go over what I have displayed on the shelf to see what I should keep and what I should sell. Whilst Pokemon meant a lot to me as a kid, I don't get the same enjoyment from it anymore, maybe because I sell a lot of Pokemon items so seeing them come and go has made them lose their charm? Regardless, I decide that I'm going to sell my vintage graded Pokemon cards plus my sealed booster pack.
The market in 2 years has gone up, the booster pack is now worth $500. That's great, I list it for $500 and a few days later it sells on the 10th of March. It sells for full price, to an eBayer who lives just 30 minutes up the road, has only 1 piece of feedback and has been a member since the 9th of March. This should have been a red flag but I regretfully didn't look into it at the time.
On the 12th of March I receive an email from eBay saying that an item is to be returned. I'm shocked when I see it's the Pokemon cards. Here's what they had to say and it includes a picture.
The pack was labelled as brand new but it has been resealed when i opened the box top was crinked and pack opened easy as when touched at top
The image that was attached to the refund request.
I have so many things to say about this. First off, holding up a packet like that is not proof of anything. Second, he’s said that the “pack opened easy as when touched at top”. This is one that makes me the most angry. I’ve handled these cards so many times over the past few years and not once did they ever feel like they were even slightly going to open. Heck, before selling them I took them out in public to the post office to weigh them - they’ve survived so many journeys except apparently this one when they traveled 30 minutes up the road and were handled by this guys grotty fingers. Thirdly, if this was me and I purchased a sealed item and it was beginning to open, I wouldn’t proceed to take everything out of the packet or box, I’d stop what I was doing, take a photo and leave it alone. Anyway, I see this and I’m not happy. Here’s the following messages between us.
Hi, The booster pack I sent you was not resealed. It was purchased from a reputable Australian company on October 4, 2023, with full documentation. Since then, it has remained in my possession, safely stored despite multiple house moves, inspections, and handling. If you still wish to return the item tomorrow, I will accept the request. However, I will also be pursuing my options through Small Claims Court, ACCC Scamwatch, and NCAT, as I believe this to be fraudulent behavior. Mat
Hi what company sorry and you would have the receipt with the item number then ? Forward it to me please as I have also reached out today to a collector shop in the city and also my legal representative about the matter in question happy to provide you my solicitors number if that helps with the documentation from the collective shop
Hi, The booster pack was purchased from a reputable retailer and was factory-sealed when sent. The listing accurately described its condition. If you still wish to return it, I will handle this through eBay s dispute process and, if necessary, escalate to NCAT and other legal avenues. Thanks, Mat
Hi what retailer so my solicitor can call them obviously if you can send me a copy of that receipt ill pursue it through them let me know please by midday today as I have a phone call with my legal representative at 1230 happy for you to take part in that phone call aswell obviously if you would like at it does involve you and mitigation might be an easier avenue for you
Hi, As mentioned, the pack was purchased from a reputable online retailer and was factory-sealed when sent. The listing accurately reflected its condition. I’ll be handling this matter through eBay’s dispute resolution process, as that is the appropriate channel for this transaction. If necessary, I’m also prepared to escalate further. I won’t be participating in any external calls, but let me know how you’d like to proceed. Thanks, Mat
Ok so just to clarify it was not a shop you purchased from and you don t have a receipt for purchase ? Ok happy to organise a return not a problem
Hi, The pack was purchased online from a reputable retailer, and I have records of the transaction. It was factory-sealed when sent, and the listing accurately described its condition. eBay’s dispute process will be my starting point. If the outcome is unfair, I’m prepared to escalate further through NCAT and other legal avenues. Thanks, Mat
Yes no problem let s organise this return and obviously I ve stated 100% I m happy to go down the legal avenue have documentation off a registered collectables company stated the pack indeed was resealed which again I have sent to my solicitor happy to go down that avenue for sure. As mentioned also am happy for you to speak with my solicitor i can give you there company name there office address and he s contact number and email if you d like happy to do that
Hi, I’ll be accepting the return. However, given the claims made, I want to ensure we both stand by our statements. I will be signing a statutory declaration before a Justice of the Peace within the week, affirming that the booster pack was factory-sealed and never tampered with. In return, I ask that you also sign a stat dec confirming your claims, including your legal consultation and the collectibles company’s verification. Let me know if you agree. Thanks, Mat
Yes not a worry have had a justice of peace sign all my documentation today and I have confirmed with my legal team thank you
Okay, so there’s a lot of back and forth there and a bit to unpack. So he’s received the package on the 12th of March and on the same day he’s opened it, contacted a collectibles company in the city and also contacted his legal representative. I don’t believe a word of what he says which is why I requested a stat dec that included his so called legal representative and collectibles company.
From a legal standpoint, it would be very hard to prove, from either persons end, whether the pack was factory sealed as I claimed or resealed as he claims. eBay has the same perspective and even with photo or video proof of boxing the pack, it doesn’t matter, they will side with the buyer. That means that once the pack is back in my possession, I can claim up to 50% off the refund because it’s not arriving in the same condition as it was sent. Yes, it sucks, but it’s something.
With that said, the additional information he has volunteered, including contacting a collectibles company and having a chat with his legal representative could be proved legally. If he’s lied about those meetings, one could argue that he’s lied about the pack.
To be perfectly honest with you, I know my truth, and the way this guy is talking just proves to me he’s full of shit. I accepted the return and he has until the 4th of April to return it along with “all of his documentation“. If there’s anything missing or doesn’t add up, I’ll take this further as I fully believe if this guy gets away with this once, he’ll continue doing it in the future. As of publication, he’s yet to return it.
That’s it for me this week guys, it’s been a rocky one but I’m positive next week will be better. Make sure to always test out your items, check out your buyers feedback and be more smart than me. See you next Thursday!
Mat.
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