Resolved Problem transaction with lelahel

I absolutely loathe doing this but I feel sick to my stomach about this transaction. I have tried to resolve this transaction through private messaging but so far there is no progress made at all. I feel like I should atleast let other users know what transpired because I personally have lost hope for an honest resolution.

On the 23th of October I first contacted user @lelahel about a Fairyland Feeple60 Moe FLA60 she was selling on the marketplace for 470$ plus shipping. She was very pleasant to communicate with and very fast with responding.

On October 24th I asked her what her lowest price was in order to let this girl move on to a new home. She let me know that she wasn't planning to lower the price of the doll. I told her I understood and that I just asked because the sales thread said that the price was negotiable. She responded to that with 'Price is negotiable if it is sensible.' so I assumed she thought I wasn't being sensible and let it go. I asked her if the doll needed any restringing in the near future and how her posing was and if there was anything else I needed to know. She responded telling me that the doll was a legit Fairyland doll so her posing was good and that she has never had any problems with Fairyland products because their bodies are well done. I told her that I would check my dolly funds and contact her. [Note that she never responded to my question if there was anything else I needed to know. She had a chance there to let me know that the girl for instance was damaged or chipped or anything else she felt would have been nice to share.]

On the 25th of October I messaged her saying I was able to check my funds and was willing to give the doll a new home for 470USD plus shipping which was her exact asking price. She converted her selling price to EURO and I agreed with her asking price of 405 EURO. I think she misunderstood me somewhere along the line because she did end up paying for shipping to me. She asked me if I was okay with the color difference between the head and the body which I assured her that I was if it was accurate to the pictures (which it was).

On the 26th of October I transferred her the money through Paypal and she set out to ship the doll that very Friday and I received a tracking number that same evening.

On the 30th of October the doll arrived at my doorstep and that is when things went south. Up until that point lelahel has been kind and did exactly what was expected of her as a seller. I unboxed the doll and inspected her and found there was damage while the doll was being described as having 'no damage' and 'no modifications' in the sales thread.

You can read the screenshots below for the private messages that transpired after that. If preferred I can post the previous conversation in screenshots as well.

Spoiler: Private Messages

Here is the album link that I sent lelahel to provide her with visuals of the damage.

Here is the original sales thread. Please note the following which is written in the thread:

Damage: no damage (There is clear damage, chips and scratches, which should have been mentioned)

Modifications: no modifications (It is clear that the doll has been roughly sanded. Perhaps by the user who owned the doll before lelahel but she didn't bother to mention this either. Not a big issue since I don't see seam lines as damage however it is always nice if a seller alerts you to them especially if it was a shoddy sanding job.)

Yellowing: no noticeable yellowing (There is obvious yellowing since lelahel herself said the body and head do not match in color. This is no issue for me but perhaps a good thing to note that here on the sales thread as well in the future when selling other dolls?)

Price: US $470 plus calculated shipping (negotiable) [Despite what it may seem to the seller I wasn't trying to be rude but was merely inquiring since the price said negotiable.]

Another important thing to note is that lelahel herself wrote;

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After receiving the doll and our private messages seeming to be resolving nothing I also did my own research and ended up finding a few of the previous owners of this body and head. Please note that in the private message screenshots lelahel said the following on the 31st of October:

She says she is surprised to see the damage on the shoulder. As a doll owner myself I know there are always minor things that can escape our attention when handling, dressing and cleaning our dolls but here is the catch: Lelahel bought this body as part of a Feeple60 Moe Chloe from animemom in 2017.

Please see the sales thread animemom posted and note the following:

Lelahel, could you explain why the person who sold you the doll already mentioned the damage and you keep insisting that the doll has no damage at all? Could it be that perhaps you neglected to mention the existing damage on purpose? A doll does not magically get repaired so it's impossible for you to claim no damage when her second owner already mentioned damage when it was sold to you. It might be possible for you to overlook damage you may have caused but how can you be surprised about the damage that had already been mentioned when she was sold to you?

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I already had to pay a photographer in order to provide you with better photos of the damage than just the cell phone photos I could provide and you keep insisting there is no damage. I will also have to hire someone in the future to redo her damaged face-up, replace the eyelashes that got damaged in transit and hopefully hide whatever damage is still able to be hid. I can not have her wear anything but long sleeved turtlenecks or long pants or damage will be noticeable at the moment. You might think that is not your problem and perhaps it is not. However fact remains that you lied about the doll having no damage in your sales thread and you also did not mention anything through private messages besides the color difference between head and body.

You offered to refund me if I return the doll but I would like to give her a permanent home here if possible. I like her aesthetics and sculpt despite how much the damage bothers me when handling her. I feel like she is at home here. I also do not wish to deal with the whole trouble of repacking her, praying she does not get lost in transit and making sure she arrives at your house unharmed. I will miss her when she leaves the house.

Note that I am not asking for a full refund at all. I am merely asking for a partial refund because you failed to mention any damage, whether this was done on purpose or not. You lied about the state the doll was in. I am merely asking for a sign of good will from you since it will cost me dearly to have her fixed up if possible. Feel free to make a reasonable offer and I will surely consider it. I am also more than willing to deduct the shipping cost of 30$ from your offer because you were never meant to pay for shipping from the beginning.

I look forward to hearing from you and please bear in mind that I bear you no ill will. I just feel cheated and hurt by the whole ordeal and would to peacefully resolve this if in any way possible so we can both leave this behind us.

Hope you are well and have a nice day regardless.

 

I have no issue with a moderator reading all our private messages. I have nothing to hide.

As I have already told you in our private messages and here in the thread I would like to keep the doll because I do like her despite the damage. I am not trying to get a full refund nor do I wish to purchase a different doll nor am I trying to scam anyone.

What bothers me is the fact that you keep claiming the doll has no damage. Even now you ignore the whole thread and main issue and just claim I want both the doll and money.

As things stand now you received € 405,00 from me for a doll that was supposed to have no damage and no modifications and I received a doll with noticeable damage. I did not even receive an apology. Instead I just get falsely accused of trying to 'steal your money'?

How would you feel if you found a doll you really loved and it is supposed to be in good condition but when it arrives it looked like someone manhandled her? I'm sure you wouldn't just smile and be happy about it.

The issue here is that the doll is damaged. Especially the chest area is a disaster and impossible to ignore even when clothed. The issue here is that you yourself already bought the body when it was labeled to have damage yet you failed to mention the same damage or more when you sold it to me.

Mind explaining why you failed to mention it? Or are you still holding on to your claim that she has no damage?

I'm more than willing to discuss and negotiate so feel free to add your two cents or opinion and I will pick up on what you have to share.

Hope you have a pleasant evening regardless.

 

Lelahel,

I'm sorry to hear that the issue also has you upset but could you please stop avoiding the issue here. This keeps going on for so long because you keep dodging the questions.

Why did you not mention the damage through private message before I purchased her?

Why did you not mention the damage on your sales thread?

It's not possible that you did not know since the owner you bought it from already noted that she had scratches and a nick in the shoulder when she sold it to you. So please tell me why you decided to not mention the damage, I'd love to understand the reasoning behind this.

I am also not going to keep repeating myself. I have already told you why I do not agree with a full refund and returning the doll. On top of that I do not want to risk the same happening to the next person who purchases this doll although they would have atleast have this thread to fall back on.

As for the continued false accusations about me trying to steal money, I'd appreciate it if you'd give that a rest. If I was just after money I wouldn't be here in this thread trying to find a peaceful solution. I could have easily just opened a dispute through Paypal and escalate it to a claim. However I am trying my hardest to postpone that as that would mean your funds would be temporarily frozen and seeing as you run a business that would cause you several issues.

As I mentioned before I bear you no ill will but I'm starting to feel this isn't mutual. I was lied to and now you are trying to drown my voice out by screaming thief. You want me to keep the doll and don't talk about it anymore because that would be very convenient for you.

I've received no acknowledgement from you so far that the doll is damaged or that you lied to your buyer. I have received no apologies or any sign of good will ever since she arrived here. I will not be silent when wrong has been done. Please stop dodging the issue at hand and help me understand why you did what you did and maybe then we can come to an understanding.

Hope you have a pleasant day.

 

That is correct. I do not wish to return the doll because I for one don't want another user to fall victim to the same situation.

The least I feel I am owed is an apology and lelahel acknowledging that she was in the wrong.

I am aware that bad seam lines and pock marks are possible on a doll straight from the company. However obvious chipping and scratches are not. Fact remains that none of the damage was described in the sales thread or forwarded to me through any means. She keeps denying there is no damage and that is just dissapointing. I have another Feeple60 Moe body and she has none of said damage. If need be I can easily take comparison photos for the parties involved.

It is clear that lelahel is not planning to offer me any financial compensation and I respect her right to refuse though I'm thoroughly dissapointed by someone not taking responsibility for their actions. I'm aware DoA does not intervene in transaction related matters thus I might consider going through Paypal in the future. To be honest this whole situation has drained my energy more than I would have liked and damaged my trust in other people so I don't even know if I even want to bother anymore. I will have to check what the transaction counsellor has to say.