So a little while back I ordered a set of hot rollers** on ebay. Normally I leave positive feedback right away, but in this case I did nothing, for a few reasons:
Auction closed on a Sunday night, along with my immediate payment I asked to be notified of shipping. Seller replied to say that she would ship the next day on Tuesday, but USPS tracking shows she actually shipped the item on Saturday. So it went out four days later than I was told. FWIW shipping was USPS Priority.
Auction listed the item as “excellent condition showing minimal wear” and the picture had “like new” written across. In actuality, the clear plastic case has a number of scuff marks on it. Nothing that would affect functionality, but I personally wouldn’t try to re-sell or trade the set as “like new”, its obvious on first glance that it’s 2nd-hand. Probably 3rd or 4th hand.
The plastic case also has some smudges and dirt on it. Nothing repulsive, but she obviously didn’t bother to wipe it off before she packed it. I wouldn’t have lent it to a friend in that condition.
Anyhow, I was just going to not leave any feedback but then I got this email:
So what do you think? Should I reply and tell her my complaints? Leave neutral feedback? Leave “Got it, thanks. Period.” feedback? It’s really #1 that bothers me. She put in the auction that most items ship within 24 hours, and obviously I was the exception. I really don’t want anything from her, now that I own the set I’ll hold onto it, but I don’t really think this was an “A+++” sale.
I know this is a pretty mundane thread, but there are a number of ebayers here, and I see this as an opportunity to learn good ebay etiquette. So thoughts and comments welcome!
**Hair curlers that you can heat up. The curlers/rollers come in a plastic case that you plug into the wall. Not the set I bought but this is the idea.
Message her first and tell her what your dissatisfaction with the product is. She may offer to make it right, or not. Either way, her reaction will help you write your feedback.
I’d probably still leave positive feedback, but I’d use the more detailed rating system they have now to indicate that shipping was slower than expected, and that the product wasn’t described accurately.
Ugh. Has she already left positive feedback? If not, be careful. I recently bought some (new) underwear on e-bay, a brand I can’t get here. They didn’t ship right away, and only responded to my e-mails after I sent them two or three times. When I got the underwear, it was the wrong item. I e-mailed them about it, waited, e-mailed again, finally got a response. I sent them back at my expense (not a lot, but a couple of bucks) and they refunded me the original amount. They no longer had the item I originally bought and I was sick of dealing with them so I just accepted the refund and ate the return shipping. I left neutral feedback.
They started hounding me relentlessly to withdraw the feedback. As the feedback was totally accurate and I hated these people by this point, I refused. So they left me negative feedback (all screaming caps). It’s shit like that that makes me avoid e-bay if at all possible. I checked their feedback and noticed they had lots of “mutually withdrawn” feedback–something I watch out for now.
Anyway, my point is you might want to make sure you get positive feedback before you leave even a neutral. I really don’t love e-bay’s system, but it sounds like it might be a bit better now.
Definitely contact the seller with your concerns and give her the chance to remedy any dissatisfaction before you consider the transaction finished and leave feedback. When you do get the point where feedback is appropriate, keep it calm and completely factual.
I agree to contact the seller. I was selling some clothing a while back and one auction was for a pair of jeans. I did not inspect the item as well as I should have, the cuff of the jeans had a small stain, and when the buyer got the item they immediatly left a nasty negative feedback.
If they would have contacted me I would have offered a refund. It was only a couple bucks and would have been worth it to keep peace.
I believe it was before you could withdrawl feedback so I responded to their feedback that the did not contact me with their displeasure or I would have refunded their money.
It was the only negative feedback I ever got and it still bothers me to this day.
I have bought items that were not what I was expecting and I have always contacted the seller before leaving a negative.
Neutral if the seller just shrugs, I’d say. If the seller bends over backwards to remedy the situation, that deserves a positive (mentioning the facts, though), IMO.
Thanks all for the replies, I’ll send her a note. I didn’t at first because there’s not really any way for her to remedy the situation, I bought the set to use for a particular event and that event passed. I know that was the risk I took, but she lives in the same metro area, and if she had shipped when the auction implied (and when she told me she would) it would have gotten here in plenty of time.
But I suppose if she agrees with my points then she may want to do something about it, like SomeUserName said. And at least I can let her know to be more exact in her auction descriptions, she has a very generous definition of ‘like new’.
I would definitely contact the seller; even if it’s too late for a refund/exchange to be useful, they might try to work out a partial refund if you feel the item’s condition didn’t exactly match the description. I’d say neutral feedback is in order, unless they go out of their way to make it right. Even if they retaliate, one negative feedback isn’t going to ruin your reputation, plus you can always attach a clarifying comment. Personally I think it’s a bit silly how everyone on eBay has this paralyzing fear of the retaliatory neg.