What ebay feedback does this seller deserve?

[RSS]

Originally Posted by Redwoood

just to clarify, I will definitely explain the situation in my comments, regardless of what option I choose.

Poll is up.
Neutral is an option is it not? If yes ... give neutral ... with your words tending toward the negative. For example: Item was NOT as described ... however Seller refunded my purchase.

 

[RSS]

Originally Posted by LatinStyleLover

I have three responses to your most recent post:

1. I am so glad I am not a Seller.
I imagine most of us are glad you aren't either.

Originally Posted by LatinStyleLover

2. I do not think that people who think the way you do should be buying on Ebay, period. You seem to be expecting 5 Star, First Class Neiman Marcus service/pricing at K-Mart prices. That is not Ebay or at least not what I expect Ebay to be.
One should certainly be able to expect honesty. And again ... we too are very glad you are not a seller.

 

[Rambo]

Kind of sucks that you can't slam this guy for selling you used **** he listed as new because of retaliation.

Also, its kind of hard to be explanatory in 80 characters. Just saying.

 

[Redwoood]

Originally Posted by LatinStyleLover

[...]
How many times have I read the rants on here from people who have bought an item that was not as described and were pissed off because they had to pay return shipping? I have been in that boat and let the seller know that I expected return shipping to be paid if he was expecting a favorable rating from me. That has always worked and then, having been made whole, I leave positive feedback.
[...]

Again, how exactly does this work?

Originally Posted by LatinStyleLover

[...]
Most Sellers I know now look exclusively at a buyers "feedback left for" record since their feedback for items purchased is meaningless seeing as they cannot receive a negative or neutral anymore. Buyers who leave excessive negative feedbacks, neutral feedbacks, or seem to have a flare for leaving positive feedback with entirely negative comments are being blocked from bidding on auctions. As Crane's stated: "If I don't like how you do things you won't get what I'm selling." The sellers I buy from would do just about anything, including taking less money, than to deal with someone like you.

Guess what, if sellers think it acceptable to knowingly misrepresent a used item as new as long as they pay up when a buyer figures it out, then I don't want to do business with them either. In fact, if by reading such feedback, they self-select themselves out doing business with me, that would be really sweet. I'd rather not get an item I want, then get an item I don't want.
Any reputable seller who reads the entire comment should realize the shadiness of the transaction.

 

[J.Painter]

Originally Posted by Redwoood

So the guy advertises the item as 'guaranteed new' without tags.
I buy it, the package arrives, and whaddyaknow, there are signs of serious use, and it stinks of cigarette smoke.

.....

I should be happy, right? Mistakes happen, right?
Except that he relisted the item as 'guaranteed new' again. Now, while my transaction found a somewhat satisfactory/neutral conclusion, I feel like I should warn others of this scam artist.
I already informed ebay, but they are not gonna do anything.

So what kind of feedback should I leave?

Negative, with the comments explaining the situation. This wasn't a "mistake." This was him trying to pull one over on you. I'd say that if someone tried to scam me and only failed because I called them on it we had a very negative interaction.

Having sold many used motorcycle parts on Ebay, I understand how a seller and buyer can disagree on the degree of wear on used items as the rating may be subjective. The difference between brand new verse heavily worn and reaking of smoke is not subjective. If an item has ever been worn or used it ceases to be brand new.

It's an added bonus if someone chooses not to do business with you because you prefer getting items that are as they are described.

 

[pebblegrain]

either way is fine. a single neg is not like shutting his store down.

ebay allows you to leave negative in situations like this - they could easily disable the feedback feature upon full refund, but they do not.

on the other hand, he knows your address.

 

[HRoi]

i would just not leave any feedback whatsoever.

 

[Ataturk]

Of course you should leave negative feedback. That's what it's there for.

 

[gdl203]

Positive feedback because your own transaction outcome was positive to you - you were made whole.

You can add some warning text in comment if you feel like it's your role to play eBay police and warn other buyers that items they buy may not be new.

 

[MrG]

Originally Posted by LatinStyleLover

I hate to be the voice of dissent, but I disagree. YOU were made whole. He even refunded return shipping, which neither Ebay or Paypal require. Feedback should reflect YOUR transaction, not someone else's future transaction. For all you know he may have a duplicate of the item and it is the duplicate he is now selling. Regardless, he made you whole and has earned positive feedback, from YOU.

Now, it might not hurt to explain in your positive feedback comments that the item was advertised as new, but wasn't, but seller made you whole. But to hit him with a negative when you have not been personally harmed at this point, when he went beyond what is required, no way should he get a negative or neutral.

How many times have I read the rants on here from people who have bought an item that was not as described and were pissed off because they had to pay return shipping? I have been in that boat and let the seller know that I expected return shipping to be paid if he was expecting a favorable rating from me. That has always worked and then, having been made whole, I leave positive feedback.

Obviously, I am in the minority here so I am guessing you are going to nail this guy. I think it is really too bad, myself.

Originally Posted by gdl203

Positive feedback because your own transaction outcome was positive to you - you were made whole.

You can add some warning text in comment if you feel like it's your role to play eBay police and warn other buyers that items they buy may not be new.

+1 to both of these. The seller made it right, including compensating you for return shipping. There's no justification for anything but a positive. I further agree with gdl on the note in the feedback - if you really feel like you should make a statement about the details of your transaction, a comment in the feedback would be the appropriate place.

 

[Ataturk]

Okay, so, let's go over this again.

The seller promised you something you wanted, for a price you were willing to pay. Then they failed to deliver, wasting your time. Now you have good reason to believe they misrepresented the item in bad faith. So they're not just careless, they're crooks.

But somehow you're "made whole" because they paid for the return shipping? Give me a break.

 

[Jekyll]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Positive feedback because your own transaction outcome was positive to you - you were made whole.

You can add some warning text in comment if you feel like it's your role to play eBay police and warn other buyers that items they buy may not be new.

In what way was the transaction positive? He received nothing and wasted time. At best, the transaction was neutral.

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Jekyll

In what way was the transaction positive? He received nothing and wasted time. At best, the transaction was neutral.

A transaction where the buyer is not satisfied with the product and the seller agrees to not only a full refund but also to pay return shipping out of his own pocket is entirely satisfactory IMO. The seller actually lost money on this aborted transaction to make sure the buyer was happy. Really, what more could the seller have done after the OP indicated he was not happy to make it more positive?

 

[Jekyll]

Originally Posted by gdl203

A transaction where the buyer is not satisfied with the product and the seller agrees to not only a full refund but also to pay return shipping out of his own pocket is entirely satisfactory IMO. The seller actually lost money on this aborted transaction to make sure the buyer was happy. Really, what more could the seller have done after the OP indicated he was not happy to make it more positive?

Assuming the OP is telling the truth, it's not a simple case of the buyer being unsatisfied with the product. The seller knowingly misrepresented his item. If a car-dealer knowingly sells you a lemon, then agrees to refund your money, it's not a positive transaction.

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Jekyll

Assuming the OP is telling the truth, it's not a simple case of the buyer being unsatisfied with the product. The seller knowingly misrepresented his item. If a car-dealer knowingly sells you a lemon, then agrees to refund your money, it's not a positive transaction.

That's his interpretation. Anytime someone buys an item that is not NIB or NWT - whether it's called practically new, guaranteed new, mint, etc... - there is a risk that the condition gets debated. If the seller is a high volume ebayer, he may have inspected an item, considered its condition as new and listed it as such. He could have bought it as NWOT... Who knows? It could have indeed been new, never worn but with shop wear, and smoke smell does not indicate wear, simply that the item was in a smoker's environment.

The point is that he agreed to refund the purchase and even pay for the return shipping - by most eBayers' standards, he went beyond what is expected in such a situation. We have to agree to disagree here, I guess, but I really can't think of anything else the seller could have done at that point to make the transaction more satisfactory.

Maybe I'm more forgiving than most here but in this situation, I would give a positive feedback. Just my own take on this.