Complaint Review: Loren Stachak - Internet

I have been bullied for over 3 weeks by Loren Stachak of Allen Park MI, who has been trying to block the return of non-conforming, defective goods he sold me on his account LStachak on ebay.  

(He also opperates on Rebelscum.com under the name "Fettfocus")

I bought a collectible vintage toy from Stachak on an ebay auction that I won in around June 22, and he switched the item in the auction for a poor quality substitute when he sent it.

I received a beat up & damaged example, when I was expecting the near mint condition sealed item from the pictures on his listing.

The listing clearly implied I would receive the same one by describing some minor dirt that worked its way into the clear package and was visible in the photos, in addition to asserting its excellent condition and lack of other damage.

He shipped me a completely different one that was severely damaged, with a torn open package, no such dirt, and incomplete. I could tell immediately that he had swapped the nice one from the auction with a poor condition substitue.

The one he sent me just wasn't even the same as what was pictured on the listing. I had paid top dollar, and I reported to him immediately that the item recieved was not the one from the auction.

He gave me lame excuses trying to blame it on shipping damage or fragility, but the shipping box was pristine, and the action figure's weapon was missing. It was obvious from the first response that something suspicious was going on, because if it broke open during shipping, the missing parts should at least have been loose in the sealed shipping carton.  They were not there, and I knew from this that he was lying to me.

He's done everything in his power to sabotage the return and block me from sending it back and refuses to refund for it unless I take a loss on the case. I'm getting the picture of a jaded ebay seller who is trying to punish the buyer for returning non-conforming goods and block the consumer from their legal right of refusal of defective, non-conforming goods. 

This has spilled over into the collector forums on the popular website Rebelscum where I posted a watch out thread warning other collectors about him with clear photos and comparisons of the item I received against the photos from Loren Stachak's listing, and he brazenly lied about the whole thing and tried to blame me for not returning it!

I had stated I would return it and asked to return it over a half dozen times by that point and even gave him instructions on how to print a postage label, which ironically were nearly the same instructions as the ebay CS provided.

He even went further than that and lied again, accusing me, the victim, of scamming him by sending him back a poor condition substitute!  I was mortified.  I could not believe this scammer would have the audacity to attack the victim and throw the scam right back in my face.  

But in doing so I actually caught him!

In the long run his misguided effort to defend himself and cover up the scam actually worked in my favor, because he immediately put his foot in his mouth and lied in a way that I was able to verify with third party sources. In fact I would go as far as to say that his own statements in defense in the watch out thread actually helped me win the case with ebay!

Aside from lying about which figure he had actually shipped me, he lied about his conversations with ebay customer service over the phone and told the collecting community that he had convinced customer service to give me free return postage prior to the obligatory 3-day waiting period and escalating the case to customer support to make a ruling, something that ebay never does. 

When I called ebay to escalate the case and finally return it, I decided I would double check his statements in case I had made a mistake and misjudged him.

I asked customer service if he did in fact call in to get me an advance return postage label as he claimed in response to defend himself in the watch-out thread on RS. He had pointed to this in an effort to defame me and wrongfully claim that I wasn't returning it.  At first I expected only to be able to verify that he called, in the hopes that this would indicate his willingness to resolve.

But to my astonishment ebay CS actually told me they keep a logged transcript of all calls and responses from both trading partners as part of the case notes, and that they told him the exact opposite of what he claims in the watch out thread!

Yes he did call ebay on June 26, but the assertion that he sweet-talked ebay into providing me an advance return shipping label, and that I was refusing to utilize it, was a complete fabrication!

Instead of verifying his defense in the watch out section, I had inadvertently proven him a liar, which strongly implicates him in covering up his nefarious deed. If it was either a mistake or even if he believed his claims, why is he lying about it?

In this way I proved that he was lying in an effort to make the victim look guilty and distract the collecting community from the real fraud that he was perpetrating.

It took ebay CS all of about 30 seconds to find the case in my favor after that.
I didn't have to go over how the item I received was different from what was listed (I had already uploaded pictures to compare it in the resolution system, same as I did in the watch out section).

The phone call to ebay CS was entirely centered around Stachak's statements on RS as well as ebay, and it was ebay CS who actually confirmed that he was lying.

I also pointed out that he lied again on his feedback claiming I refused to return it. When I went back and counted all of the requests, promises, or mentions of return shipping where I told him that I would in fact send it back, I counted a sum total of 12 times where I either specifically stated that I would send it back or implied that I would return it by requesting a return label or actually instructing him on how to provide the postage that would allow me to do so in accordance with ebay policy and contract law.

I run a furniture business, so I was well aware of my rights in the case of non-conforming goods, and I double checked his listing, which had absolutely no terms regarding returns other than the typical "no returns" policy, which is common knowledge and states in ebay policy doesn't apply to SNAD (significantly not as described) cases.

Furthermore, Stachak's statements on Rebelscum forums are completely inconsistent with the ones he left in the resolution center. On RS he tries to inflate himself and look like the good guy by stating that he "doesn't care" what condition it's in anymore, that he will take it back regardless of whether or not it matched the description, and he promises to refund me for it if I return it. He still neglects to do his due-diligence and his legal obligation in providing the means of return, leaving me no option but to escalate the ebay case. But he clearly makes it look like he is willing to take the return and refund in full with postage if I send the item back.

However n the resolution forum, he flatly refuses to either accept the return or to refund for it at all. On ebay resolution he says literally that he has no intention of refunding and will not take the item back.

I returned the substitute figure swap he sent me within 24 hours of being given the appropriate capability to do so by ebay CS, and I was forced to wait 2 weeks for it to get there, because UPS stupidly neglected to scan the box at one point. The earliest date I was eligible and officially authorized to return it was July 1. It was logged into the system with tracking on July 2. However there was a gap in the tracking between USPS handing it off to UPS on the 3rd or 4rth and it registering on UPS tracking on the 16th. Loren Stachak used this as an excuse to block the return and neglect to refund me.

When the box finally did arrive back to him, he promptly sent it back to me again!! and I still didn't get a refund from him, despite his public promises on Rebelscum and the fact that I had won the ebay dispute. I called UPS who told me he literally called them himself and refused the parcel, sending the return back to me.

I had to call ebay and appeal a case I had already won! The reason notated by ebay was that Loren Stachak had promised to refund and never sent it. UPS registered the tracking as the receiver of the return refused the parcel and canceled the return order.

The bottom line here is that this guy has seriously questionable ethics no matter what way you slice it.
If he had simply made an error in sending me the wrong action figure, why not just say so & diffuse the situation from day 1?

I realize most people will read this and say "all this over one action figure?!" but please keep in mind that these are mint condition rarities that can sell for hundreds of dollars sometimes.  The item in question here I paid a sum total of $74. These things are not cheap, and there is principal at stake. 

In further research I also discovered from sales history on ebay and worthpoint that Stachak has had four of these figures, and they are not that common- TIE pilot in sealed Kenner ESB factory bag packaging, which comes up for sale only a handful of times in a year on ebay. Yet Loren Stackak has sold one in Novemeber, one in Feb, and the one I bought in June, plus the beat up substititue he shipped me instead of that one, makes 4. 

He obviously has the stock to have sent me the wrong thing. As a retailer myself, if I have duplicate rare items, and the consumer says I sent the wrong one, my first response is to check my stock and assure the consumer that I've sold others without complaint, and to ensure that the correct one from the advertisement was sent.

It's extremely suspicious that Loren Stachak has neglected this. Did he even bother to check to see which one he sent me after I reported receiving the wrong one? His only response was that they are fragile and it must be shipping damage, which was obviously false.

And last but not least, I found an ancient report from someone else on ebay who left a negitive feedback with an eerily similar claim. I don't normally put much stock in feedback so old (13+ years!!!), but the details are a little too similar for my comfort level. Another ebay buyer claiming he promised a near mint, sealed item, and he delivered a resealed card & lied to cover it up. I have been unable to reach that person to confirm the report, but the details are a little bit too close to this case to simply disregard it in my opinion.

I got a refund from ebay under buyer protection, but sadly I still lost part of the purchase price- it turns out I had used an ebay coupon to make the purchase, which is non-refundable under ebay Buyer Protection and anyhow would have expired by now. So even though ebay found in my favor (twice) my refund amount is $20 less than the purchase price plus shipping. On the other hand, in his efforts to bully me into accepting a defective substitute, the idiot sent the thing back to me a second time, so I have it again after returning it. Ironic, no?


I'm sorry this is so long- it's a really unusual case with a lot of twists and turns.

The only other thing I would like to point out is that I checked with an attorney who confirmed that the seller was responsible for the return shipping cost, because Stachak was in breach of contract with a responsibility to cure at his expense. In neglecting that responsibility he has violated contract law as well as ebay policy, which actually supports this.

And I don't think anyone could argue with the obvious lack of integrity and business ethics here in sending me the wrong thing, trying to force me to keep it, making it difficult to return, passing his expenses onto me, lying to the entire community as well as myself, and promising to take it back and refund me regardless of the circumstances, but then failing to do so.

This guy is all kinds of wrong on so many levels. I've tried reaching out to him on private messaging, ebay messaging as well as phone calls (he gave ebay a fake phone#, but I looked up his real one). He hangs up on me and will not explain himself.

I'll eat the $20 loss of buying power and get rid of the substitue to make up for it, but I strongly feel I am still owed an explanation and apology here.

Loren Stachak aka LStachak (ebay) aka fettfocus (Rebelscum), if you are out there reading this, you owe me a huge apology!!!