The Preamble
With the local toy market sorely lacking in NECA Aliens action figures, I decided to take the plunge last Saturday (August 22, 2020) and ordered several figures from three independent Shopee online sellers. It was my second time to use the Singaporean e-commerce platform and first time to transact with foreign sellers.
Over the next few days, one seller sent a message informing me that one of the action figures that I was looking for—NECA Aliens: Colonial Marines Director James Cameron—was unfortunately out of stock.
Not a problem.
After all, I still had three more figures on their way.
Now, things became a little more interesting when one of the two remaining transactions arrived this morning…
This Morning…
At around 9:00 am, a courier arrived with a sealed package that seemed to be too small to contain both the NECA Aliens action figures that I had ordered (These were the discontinued Aliens Series 9 Private Vasquez and Private Frost).
I immediately assumed—and rightfully so since the price I paid was for two figures—that the seller may have decided to remove the figures from their respective clamshells in order to save on shipping.
“That makes sense,” I said to myself as I reached for a pair of scissors to liberate my newly acquired Colonial Marines.
As I opened the package…well, you can see it for yourselves.
The Horror…
“Ugh, this one looks like Ace Ventura gave it a couple of swift kicks before it was delivered.” I said silently to myself. (Mouth agape.)
To make matters worse, there was no Private Vasquez figure to be found.
Needless to say, a complaint and request for a refund was immediately filed with Shopee.
Learnings
I’ve had most of the day to process this unfortunate event and here is what I have learned:
Temper your excitement. - Don’t commit to anything until you have all the facts.
Make contact with the seller to make sure they have the item that you want in stock. - This is self-explanatory.
Cash on Delivery. - COD should be your go-to preferred mode of payment.
Release your anger - If a transaction goes sideways, best to give it a couple of hours before writing the seller.
Anything else that I should add to the list?
About
Tedi Villasor is—among many things—an indie comic book writer (Lindol, OBIsessions) based in the Philippines.
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