Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

[platinum1]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

That sucks to hear how racist some athletes still are. I thought we had gotten beyond that...

Trust me worst ones are the old timers that are bench coaches now.

[frikativ54]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

Trust me worst ones are the old timers that are bench coaches now.

Wow - Do they say racial slurs, or just ignore you? I'd think that a lot of the young ones would be nicer, though. But I come from a tolerant place, so I was surprised when I met some people at my first college that had bigoted views towards blacks and Jews. I sure hope that they treat you better, as the old-timers retire.

[treant985]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

Back to the OP about dealing with mlb.com--one person mentioned sending a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. I heartily recommend this course for your bent line-up card. I've used it to deal with several companies that sent me dysfunctional equipment or incorrect bills and then gave me the run-around. In pretty much every case, a simple complaint to the BBB website (it might take 10-15 min to fill everything out but it's worth it) got it resolved quickly and very satisfactorily. I believe that the BBB sends a letter to the company saying they've received a complaint, so it's something that gets forwarded to the people at the company who actually know what they're doing.

If nothing else, it might make it more likely that mlb.com will send lineups in better-protected coverings in the future.

[frikativ54]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

Back to the OP about dealing with mlb.com--one person mentioned sending a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. I heartily recommend this course for your bent line-up card. I've used it to deal with several companies that sent me dysfunctional equipment or incorrect bills and then gave me the run-around. In pretty much every case, a simple complaint to the BBB website (it might take 10-15 min to fill everything out but it's worth it) got it resolved quickly and very satisfactorily. I believe that the BBB sends a letter to the company saying they've received a complaint, so it's something that gets forwarded to the people at the company who actually know what they're doing.

If nothing else, it might make it more likely that mlb.com will send lineups in better-protected coverings in the future.

I am going to call the Mariners back tomorrow and follow up; they told me they'd help, but then the Red Sox series came (and luckily went). If I go the BBB route, is there any obligation for me to send the lineup card back? It is in my possession, and I am keeping it. I just want MLB practices to change, regarding how they package lineup, and at least a partial refund for my damaged goods.

[chakes89]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

Here are my thoughts on your situation for what it's worth (if anyone cares):

You got something from a game your favorite player accomplished something very special in. You should be happy and grateful you were able to get something so nice, instead of complaining about a very small issue.

You should just be lucky the lineup card survived the game and wasn't thrown away.

Come on, it's not like they tore it in half, set it on fire and sent you the ashes.

It just had some slightly bent corners that are not even noticable when framed.

[frikativ54]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

Here are my thoughts on your situation for what it's worth (if anyone cares):

You got something from a game your favorite player accomplished something very special in. You should be happy and grateful you were able to get something so nice, instead of complaining about a very small issue.

You should just be lucky the lineup card survived the game and wasn't thrown away.

Come on, it's not like they tore it in half, set it on fire and sent you the ashes.

It just had some slightly bent corners that are not even noticable when framed.

I am grateful that I got stuff from Bagwell's 2,000th hit game. But MLB.com Auctions should take the same care that they did with the baseballs that I ordered as they did with the lineup card. And the corners were more than just slightly bent; it's hard to capture bent corners by means of a digital photograph.

If this were eBay and a seller damaged a 1/1 card because of a poor packing job, they would offer a partial refund. I've had this happen to me, and the card had a lot less damage than does the lineup card. Plus, two other people on this forum had similar issues. I hope to apply pressure on MLB.com Auctions, so they clean up their act.

I did follow up with the Seattle Mariners, and they forwarded me to MLB's office in San Francisco. The CA office told me that I needed to talk with their billing department tomorrow morning; I will definitely keep pressing with this case, until everything is resolved to my satisfaction. MLB.com Auctions ought to be accountable to the customer, and that is the bottom line.

Does anybody know of an MLB number where someone has had success complaining about MLB.com Auctions?

If I don't succeed tomorrow, I might have to go the BBB route.

[maccamania]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

I ordered a game used red sox ball on 6/26, never received yet & customer service gives me the standard need more time garbage...looks like I am going to have my cc company fight this one for me.....

[frikativ54]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

I ordered a game used red sox ball on 6/26, never received yet & customer service gives me the standard need more time garbage...looks like I am going to have my cc company fight this one for me.....

That really sucks. As for my situation, after talking with MLB.com, they wrote the auctions site, and that was the only way I got a response. Here is what they said. Note - there was absolutely no offer of a partial refund. What do you guys think I should do? I love how they didn't even personally address it to me. Here's the letter:

Dear Fan,
Thanks for your email.
We apologize for the condition of your lineup card when it was received and we will will be sure to pack them differently in the future to make sure that they are better protected.
Thanks for taking the time to write!
Regards,
MLB.com Auctions

[markfd]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

MLB auctions does not have a refund policy is states all sales final. Your lineup card looks nice in the frame, forget about it. If you do not like the way MLB auctions treated you then do not use them.

[BaseballGM]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

I recently won a line-up card and it was sent in a large sturdy UPS box. It has a tiny rip on the bottom of it but I'm pretty sure that happened when taking it down from the dugout. But, the way it was shipped protected it pretty well IMO.

[sylbry]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

"Items are sold in "as-is" condition. Due to the unique nature of each item, all sales are final. It is up to the discretion of MLB.com whether or not a return request will be accepted. In rare cases of shipping damages, please contact MLB.com Customer Service within 48 hours of delivery for return instructions."

These are the terms you agreed to when purchasing the product. No where does it state a partial refund may be given. MLB.com has acted in good faith by offering a refund which you declined. I suggest you stop being unreasonable unless you want MLB to axe your account.

[joelsabi]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

i bought a lineup card from mlb.com and the vender was steiner. the seem to be extra protection from being shipped in an envelop and a box. some of the vender maybe dont have the experience as steiner. i wonder if there is a way you can give the vender specific handling/shipping instruction as you can on ebay prior to bidding. that may be the solution. is there such a mechanism?

[frikativ54]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

"Items are sold in "as-is" condition. Due to the unique nature of each item, all sales are final. It is up to the discretion of MLB.com whether or not a return request will be accepted. In rare cases of shipping damages, please contact MLB.com Customer Service within 48 hours of delivery for return instructions."

These are the terms you agreed to when purchasing the product. No where does it state a partial refund may be given. MLB.com has acted in good faith by offering a refund which you declined. I suggest you stop being unreasonable unless you want MLB to axe your account.

I don't think asking that MLB.com Auctions ship my item with the utmost care is unreasonable. Nor is a partial refund asking too much. However, I will take them at face value that they will change their practices. It would be ridiculous for them to axe my account, as they would be losing out on dollars. And money rules the world. So long as I am a potential customer, I don't think they would axe my account. It's not like I used profanity and told them where to stick it in my email. You know there's a problem in the world when people think that mere customer service is asking too much. This could have been resolved in 15 minutes if MLB.com Auctions simply had a phone number I could call.

[frikativ54]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

i wonder if there is a way you can give the vender specific handling/shipping instruction as you can on ebay prior to bidding. that may be the solution. is there such a mechanism?

Next time I order something off of MLB.com Auctions, I will give them specific shipping instructions. I wouldn't stop using a certain place because of one bad experience. If they clean-up their act, then I have no problems doing business with them again. After all, they did pack my baseballs well, and they have some unique stuff on their website.

[frikativ54]

Re: Absolutely Horrible Experience With MLB.com AUCTIONS

Update:

After the Mariners team shop followed up with MLB.com, and after I wrote another disgruntled letter, I finally got some resolution on the lineup card matter in the form of a $50 partial refund on the $150 purchase. Plus, they are going to look into their customer service practices. So - I think that all's well on that front. I only wish that they had a phone number for quick resolution of customer service issues.

However, when reviewing my credit card statement last night, I found that they had charged me $40 ($10 per baseball) to ship four baseballs, and then shipped them all in the same package. Surely, that kind of practice isn't fair. Part of me would like some of the shipping money back, but part of me just doesn't want to deal with their customer service any more. I'll probably handle that tomorrow morning. Anyway, below is their letter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear "Frik",

Thank you for your e-mail and again we are very sorry for the condition of the lineup card and will make every effort to ship these with better protection in the future. I have refunded your credit card $50 to help adjust the price based on the damage you reported. I hope this satisfies you on this front, but we will also look into our customer service records to try to improve the experience you have had trying to address this issue.

Thank you for your understanding,

Sally Tansill
MLB.com Auctions