Nutjob seller on ebay....

[svleonard]

I sent the following message to the seller anniemichelleplanet asking if the G1 Trickles she had for sale had any cancer spots. 

My message to her: 

Dear anniemichelleplanet,

Does this pony have any cancer spots, pindot mold, or discoloration?

Thank you,

- svleonard

Her response:

Dear svleonard,

Did you really just type cancer? Have so consideration for others. my grand mother has cancer and to toss that around is shocking. go away.

- anniemichelleplanet

She has 100% feedback, and she seems to have a lot of vintage ponies for sale.  However, her unprofessional attitude and rude tone have raised red flags for me.  Also, she never did answer my question.  I just wanted to warn people; if you message her asking about cancer spots, you might get an ugly reply! 

[Shiromisa]

Does she appear to be a collector? The turn of phrase might seem weird to someone who's not aware what it means with regards to pony collecting.

[svleonard]

I don't think she's a collector, because there were also some wrong things in the listing.  However, she does have a large amount of vintage ponies for sale.  How am I supposed to know if she isn't familiar with common collector's jargon?  I ask about cancer spots all the time, and I'm never gotten a response like this.

[Corona]

Wow, even if you were not a collector and confused by the lingo snapping back like that is not professional at all.

[kellyponyfeathers]

I think it just shocked and offended her, given the situation with her grandmother.  Try apologizing for the unintended offense, and just explain that "cancer" is a term that collectors use to describe the brown spots that form as the plastic ages and begins to break down.  Confetti is particularly prone to them.

Yeah, maybe she was quick to take offense, but try to see things from her perspective, and explain your own point of view.

Edit:  Oops, you said Trickles, not Confetti.

[NovelNerd]

I think it just shocked and offended her, given the situation with her grandmother.  Try apologizing for the unintended offense, and just explain that "cancer" is a term that collectors use to describe the brown spots that form as the plastic ages and begins to break down.  Confetti is particularly prone to them.

Yeah, maybe she was quick to take offense, but try to see things from her perspective, and explain your own point of view.

I'm going to agree with Kelly here. The term pony cancer is one I myself try not to use much outside of this forum. I typically try to call them age spots or something else. She did snap, but I can see how a non pony collector with that background would take that offensively. I would also suggest explaining and apologizing.

[Sunshine]

I think it just shocked and offended her, given the situation with her grandmother.  Try apologizing for the unintended offense, and just explain that "cancer" is a term that collectors use to describe the brown spots that form as the plastic ages and begins to break down.  Confetti is particularly prone to them.

Yeah, maybe she was quick to take offense, but try to see things from her perspective, and explain your own point of view.

I'm going to agree with Kelly here. The term pony cancer is one I myself try not to use much outside of this forum. I typically try to call them age spots or something else. She did snap, but I can see how a non pony collector with that background would take that offensively. I would also suggest explaining and apologizing.

Agree too... I always say age spots or brown spots - that way, even a non-collector would know what a brown spot is... I've never actually thought that it would be offensive to someone (saying "cancer") - but, I just don't do it myself because I doubt most people would know what that is in general... but, well... what can you do. Some people are more sensitive, it was an honest misunderstanding...

[Shenanigans]

Wow, very rude to a potential customer! I would not deal with her because she apparently doesn't value customers.

[Emberfly]

Wow, that does seem really rude, even assuming she's really sensitive about cancer.  My Grandma died of cancer and I don't get offended at the term for ponies.  Maybe it's due to my familiarity to it, I don't know.  Still, if you're not sure of the collector jargon, that was a rude way to respond.  And if she's selling so many ponies and such I'm actually surprised she hadn't come across this term before.  Sorry you got such a rude response.    It might help to explain to her what the term means and that you didn't mean to offend, but I honestly don't think I'd bother.

[Ghost]

I'd say it might have been something with a very emotional charge to them.  We don't know what the effect of their sick relative has had on their life and someone using the term in such an offhanded manner might have made them react differently than they normally would.  Based off one instance I would go with having stumbled into an emotional minefield that caused them to react in such a manner rather than any potential fishiness.  It would also explain why they wouldn't care about driving off a potential customer as highly charged emotions could easily push them into the mindset of "I don't want anything to do with someone like that!"
Of course they could just be using it as a way to dodge the question, but with the one point of data I'd give the benefit of the doubt of it being an emotional response from someone deeply affected rather than one of a nutjob.

[PrincessKelliee]

I would also try to explain and tell her that you didn't mean any harm. I am also very careful whenever I use the word Cancer Spots, I only use it when I am sure of the fact that I'm dealing with another collector. My Grandmother had cancer years back, but I don't get offended when anybody uses the word cancer. Where I come from, it's even very common for the youth to use it as a swearword, which is terrible..

When I told my mom about cancer spots, 

"Ooh no, this pony has cancer!"
"It's made out of plastic???!"
"Umm, it's a term, for these brown spots"
"Make sure to never use it outside of this house, people might think your insane"

 

[ponybabe]

Based on the fact that her grandmother has cancer and she may very well be unfarmiliar with the term, I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and explain what pony cancer is and tell her it's a collector term, that you didn't mean to offend and am very sorry to hear of her grandmother's illness You don't have to buy from her if you don't want to, just smooth things over so she doesn't think you're deliberately being insensitive.

I can understand people who don't know the term being sensitive about it's use concerning inanimate objects (MLP), especially if a relative is currently ill or has recently died of cancer My father died of cancer 14 years ago and if I didn't know this term or much about ponies, I might have gotten offended too, especially if it was around the time of his diagnosis or recently after he died, since cancer is a horrible disease

[ponylady]

I think it just shocked and offended her, given the situation with her grandmother.  Try apologizing for the unintended offense, and just explain that "cancer" is a term that collectors use to describe the brown spots that form as the plastic ages and begins to break down.  Confetti is particularly prone to them.

Yeah, maybe she was quick to take offense, but try to see things from her perspective, and explain your own point of view.

I'm going to agree with Kelly here. The term pony cancer is one I myself try not to use much outside of this forum. I typically try to call them age spots or something else. She did snap, but I can see how a non pony collector with that background would take that offensively. I would also suggest explaining and apologizing.

I am going to have to agree also. I had a run in with someone a couple years back but I was the seller. They were quite offended I used the term in my description. I did try and explain but they still didn't seem to understand. I then just quit using the term in my listings to prevent future upsets. It wasn't worth another fall out with a potential customer.

[Ringlets]

I think it just shocked and offended her, given the situation with her grandmother.  Try apologizing for the unintended offense, and just explain that "cancer" is a term that collectors use to describe the brown spots that form as the plastic ages and begins to break down.  Confetti is particularly prone to them.

Yeah, maybe she was quick to take offense, but try to see things from her perspective, and explain your own point of view.

I'm going to agree with Kelly here. The term pony cancer is one I myself try not to use much outside of this forum. I typically try to call them age spots or something else. She did snap, but I can see how a non pony collector with that background would take that offensively. I would also suggest explaining and apologizing.

I am going to have to agree also. I had a run in with someone a couple years back but I was the seller. They were quite offended I used the term in my description. I did try and explain but they still didn't seem to understand. I then just quit using the term in my listings to prevent future upsets. It wasn't worth another fall out with a potential customer.

I agree as well ^^  she probably just reacted badly due to it being a sore subject (since a close relative is sick) and not understanding how collectors use the term .   Apologising and explaining may help this seller calm down a bit and be more understanding or less likely to freak out if other collectors ask her about pony cancer spots in the future.
 Like other people here I  now tend to just use the terms brown spots or brown splodges or brown marks etc to ask other non pony collectors/sellers about cancer spots   

[svleonard]

Thanks, guys.  I will try to use the term age spots from now on.  I realize that calling her a nutjob is pretty harsh; I was just angry because I felt like I had simply asked a legitimate question, and instead of an answer, I get a very ugly, unprofessional response.

I did respond to her message, explaining what I meant by "cancer" and stating that I did not mean to offend.  I did not respond to her tone or her petulant "go away" in kind, although it took a lot of self restraint not to!  Now I have no desire to do business with this seller, even if the Trickes (my grail) is mint!