Cool Shoes, Paraphernalia & Desiderata - Page 377  

I hear you GQ.

The "wow" was more in relation to the rarity factor than the asthetic of the shoe itself. I'm not a big fan of exotics.

I have one pair of Fenestrier crocs.

these could be a nice deal for somebody, not my size:

Sutor Mantellassi Suede Monks

Shipping & Handling seems a bit high at $34.60...

Hi Folks,

I bought a pair of AE park aves off of ebay. The seller has a 100% positive feedback rating. The seller stated: "These shoes are in very good near new condition only having been worn a few times."

I am not happy with the condition of the shoes. Specifically:
- There is a one inch scratch accross the surface of the right shoe that looks someone took a serrated knife accross the surface. It is not deep but I can feel it with my finger.
- There are multiple scuff marks where the color of the leather is lighter than the rest of the shoe. One of these is about 1.5 sq inches and goes through the finish to the underlying leather.
- The soles do look like they have only been worn a few times. However the stitching is a little uneven.
- On each sole is a 4 point star cut out of the leather about 1/4 inch. The number 39 is written on each sole and one says ld-p in red.

So, I'm thinking these were seconds and the seller neglected to mention it. Yes?

Think I should complain/return?

tia,

Wow I'm sorry to hear about that... they certainly do sound like seconds... do you have a link to the original auction?

I also had to hunt down the seller as he didn't ship and didn't repsond to email for about 10 days. Here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=230152008217

Thanks. Well sounds like a bad experience all around -- as the shoes turned out to be misrepresented and furthermore you had to go to some effort to get him to ship even though you paid promptly... and then not responding to emails for well over a week is just unacceptable IMHO. His return policy seems rather vague... do you know if he would accept them back? Perhaps minus shipping costs and a restocking fee? Do the shoes fit well? If you polish them really well will that take care of the scuff marks and leather discoloration to some extent? I think if I were you, I'd try to return them to "wash my hands" of this lukewarm experience... but then you run the risk of not getting a full refund (if any) and you might even run getting a less than positive feedback (out of spite). Which direction are you leaning towards now -- returning them or trying to clean them up a bit? Was your total price $90? Pretty good deal... (but not if it's not what you expected...)

I'm leaning towards writing a non-accusatory note laying out my problems with the shoes and suggesting a refund of $90. I'll pay shipping back to him. He will lose shipping costs to me and he will be out the insertion fee. Ebay will refund his final value fee to him. I'll propose neither of us leave the other feedback.

Sounds good! Now let's hope he doesn't take ten days to respond to your note... Let us know how it plays out...

What about a vintage pair of 1930s shoes I bought where the seller had trouble getting back to you within 24 hours then apologises. Next you ask for a different postage rate eg not the USD39 but the normal USD25 and she tells you she has an automated eBay system that does not allow for changes in the postage rate! This costs me USD15 approx for her to have the privliege of running an eBay site part time at actual cost to the buyer. What do you think I should do re feedback?

I have become much more reticent in providing negative feedback since the time that:

- I bought an item on ebay for a great price
- The seller said he shipped
- After a week I asked him if he shipped and he said I didn't pay
- I sent him the paypal confirmation
- He said he no longer had the item and refunded my money
- I gave him a negative.
- He gave me a negative (my only one)
- I complained to ebay and they said there's nothing they can do about it

Since I occassionally sell computer hardware on ebay, my rating effects final prices. In the end, he was wrong but, given ebays policy, I should have walked away without giving him a negative.

In your case, a) its not clear that the seller deserves a negative and b) I wouldn't give a negative in fear of retaliation.

here's my note...

Hi,

I received the shoes today and I don't feel they are in "very good, near new condition". Here are my observations:

- There is a one inch scratch accross the surface of the right shoe that looks someone took a serrated knife accross the surface. It is not deep but I can feel it with my finger.
- There are multiple scuff marks where the color of the leather is discolored (lighter) than the rest of the shoe. One of these is about 1.5 sq inches and a tiny portion goes through the finish to the underlying leather.
- The soles do look like they have only been worn a few times. However the stitching is a little uneven.
- On each sole is a 4 point star cut out of the leather about 1/4 inch. This is commonly done with seconds to prevent return.

You have a 100% feedback rating, a sign of an integrity and honesty and I'm sure you would have mentioned in the auction notes if you had known these were seconds. I propose:

- shipping these back to you at my cost.
- You provide a refund of $90
- You apply to ebay for a refund of your final value fee
- Neither of us leaves the other feedback

Please let me know if you are ok with that.

thanks,

What about a vintage pair of 1930s shoes I bought where the seller had trouble getting back to you within 24 hours then apologises. Next you ask for a different postage rate eg not the USD39 but the normal USD25 and she tells you she has an automated eBay system that does not allow for changes in the postage rate! This costs me USD15 approx for her to have the privliege of running an eBay site part time at actual cost to the buyer. What do you think I should do re feedback?

Well done. He should be amenable to that...

If that's the case, she should have offered to PayPal you back the difference (USD14) in a separate transaction...