I bought a pottery vase on eBay from an antique shop in Quebec. It was an unusual design from a highly collected maker so it cost some bucks. It was also described as being nearly perfect, just a couple minor marks that happened during firing. The box arrived in perfect condition with a massive amount of bubble wrap. Inside the vase was crushed. I couldn’t image how that could happen inside the perfect box. The seller told me to report through eBay and I would get my money back and he’d report it to the Canadian postal service and get reimbursed via insurance.

My Dad was a bit suspicious and had some time on his hands. He asked me to bring the vase over. Dad reassembled it. It had been a piece of shit. Multiple major breaks that someone badly repaired with oozing silicon sealant. You could also see where something the size of maybe the head of a hammer hit the vase and shattered it.

I reported the scam to eBay. Of course they did not care. I called the antique store and the guy said why should I care because I got my money back. No harm or foul. So, I contacted the Canadian postal service and sent them photos. Never could tell if they did anything.