The MLP Arena
TCB => Trader & Shipping Support => Topic started by: Radiance on August 19, 2013, 07:39:40 AM
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OK, I just received a pony I won on ebay. The seller wrapped it in newspaper so it arrived very dirty, the mane has several plugs that have been cut though the auction pics were from an angle that does not show the cut plugs. Also, auction stated item would ship in 3 days, but it took about 10 days before the item was marked as shipped.
I've never left negative or neutral feedback before and I'm not sure how it affects the seller. Is this bad enough for negative feedback?
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I would definitely contact your seller before you leave feedback in this case. Let them know your concerns and that you are unhappy with the way the pony was packaged since it did cause some staining to the pony. Do you still want to keep the pony? If so, you could request a partial refund for the cut hair plugs and newspaper residue you now have to try and get off.
It's only fair to contact the seller first and allow them to make it right before you leave neutral or negative feedback. This will also teach the seller not to wrap ponies in newspaper (this is one of my pet peeves). Some people just don't realize it will leave that black ink on the pony and you bringing it to their attention might prevent others from having the same issue. ;)
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First I would message the seller and explain what has gone wrong. How they respond should dictate the feedback you give them.
A short while ago, I bought a MLP mug off ebay which arrived broken. I immediately messaged the seller and explained what happened. They got back in touch within an hour of me sending the message and apologized for the breakage and offered me either a full refund or a replacement with goods to the value which hadn't been bid on yet. I got a full refund and gave them a positive feedback since it was handled well with good communication.
Neutral feedback is just as bad as a negative for sellers. If a seller accumulates a certain amount of negative/neutral feedback, it affects how they can sell, for example, they may not be allowed to sell to international bidders, they may not be eligible for discounted ebay sellers fee's and so on. Of course after a lot of negatives/neutrals, they can be banned altogether.
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You've got some great advice already, I fully believe in contacting the seller prior to leaving feedback and expressing your concerns so that they can address them. Also can you put up a link to the completed listing just so we can all see what the pony in question looks like as well as what the desciption was?
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I contacted the seller & asked for a refund on the shipping cost, mostly because the item was stained by the newspaper. I'll update the thread when I get a reply. Here's the auction link; the cut plugs are on the bottom row under the mane- you can't really see from the pic:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231017934052?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
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Thanks, I was just reading the listing over. I see others have been unhappy with shipping times in their feedback.
Do you think that they just missed the plugs on the pony? Is it something a non collector would notice?
I'm sorry to hear that your pony arrived stained from the newspaper, hopefully a quick spa treatment alleviates that issue.
Best of luck and keep us updated. Hopefully they do something to make it up to you :)
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I think the forelock looks cut in the picture so if that was the hair issue I think they could get a pass for that, but you should definitely message them about the newspaper. I'm glad you did. Newspaper is never ok. It can (and has) cause real damage to the pony and they probably don't realize it. This is important for them to learn. Since their oversight caused damage to the pony which made it worth less than you paid, a partial or ship and return is deserved. If they refuse I'd say that would be grounds for neg or nue. Keep us updated.
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There are more cut plugs down the mane; it's not just the forelock. The seller replied asking what was wrong & that I could ship it back for a refund - shipping. I included a detailed description about the cut mane & the news paper smudges in my initial message, so I'm not sure what else to tell them. And I really don't want to ship it back as shipping will be high & I can repair the damage. I just would not have bought that particular pony for that amount with the hair cut, nor would I have paid that much for shipping if I'd known they ship using news paper. I sent the seller another description of what was wrong.
They sell other vintage, collectible toys so I hope they take the bit about news paper to heart. Maybe they just didn't realize it would stain.
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Perhaps you could compromise and get a full refund? After all it wasn't your fault the pony was damaged. It was their error. They had to pay to send the package to you, and you have to pay to send it back for your refund. So it makes more sense to me that both parties should be out the same amount in shipping instead of you having to pay return shipping and also not receiving your full purchase price and shipping in return. Because then you'd be out double the shipping and they'd be out nothing. And that doesn't seem fair given the issue was caused by their negligence.
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You'd be out more to return it since you'd have to send it to Canada with tracking. Because you'd have to prove it arrived to get your full refund of the purchase price plus the originial shipping. You'd just be out the cost to ship it back to Canada...and if that's their only solution to the cause of damage due to poor packaging, then I'd leave a neutral with dinging stars on description and shipping. Good Luck! (Do Not mention anything about feedback in any messages also!)
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Keep us updated! :( Argh, newspaper!
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I heard back from the seller. Said she lists so much she can't possibly see every little flaw and she didn't think newspaper would stain but I can clean it off easily. Again told me I could return the pony for a refund- shipping. I basically told her I didn't want to return it, that I could repair the damages and that shipping would be expensive (like what Unicorn pops said basically thought I didn't mention feedback). So I asked again if she would consider refunding the shipping cost. We shall see... But regardless I will not be buying anything from this seller ever again. Her attitude, I don't know... when you sell collectibles you need to list their problems if they have any, it's important to collectors!
I'll update what happens :) Thanks for all the advice!
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Glad to hear that you'll be able to remove the stains :) Hopefully the seller gives you a little something even if it's only half the shipping, it was their error, keeping fingers crossed for you.
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Honestly if she sells high volumes of collectibles, and knew enough to know that this version was rarer, she should know about checking for hair-cuts. I'd have had enough with that last message, and have given her a neg - with dings for description and shipping - you're more patient than me!
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I heard back from the seller. Said she lists so much she can't possibly see every little flaw and she didn't think newspaper would stain but I can clean it off easily. Again told me I could return the pony for a refund- shipping. I basically told her I didn't want to return it, that I could repair the damages and that shipping would be expensive (like what Unicorn pops said basically thought I didn't mention feedback). So I asked again if she would consider refunding the shipping cost. We shall see... But regardless I will not be buying anything from this seller ever again. Her attitude, I don't know... when you sell collectibles you need to list their problems if they have any, it's important to collectors!
I'll update what happens :) Thanks for all the advice!
It shouldn't matter how high the volume she sells. She could at least take pictures of the major flaws or say it has a haircut. Even someone who is not a collector would notice a flaw that big. For what you paid for her, she should not have newspaper stains or a cut. If she won't give you some sort of refund, since she was not willing to be very cooperative, I would probably give her a neutral or ding her stars like storm said.
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I'm sorry but if she is selling as much on ebay as she is, she would have to be a complete idiot not to know the consequences of shipping in newspaper. The fact that she has been as unhelpful as she is so far, is not ok.
If something happens to me with a pony and the seller is nice about it and apologizes, I am very forgiving. But I have no tolerance for rudeness when it is clearly her fault.
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I think it's fairly common knowledge to let the potential buyer know exactly what they are buying including any flaws and take photos accordingly. The item description seems like she just purposely left out the haircut. The fact that you're being lenient about that is a huge plus on her side and saying "oh well newspaper marks easily wipe off" when they don't always isn't a good solution from her. A seller should always be willing to work with their buyers unless they're obviously being scammed.
If you're leaving neutral or negative feedback please include the haircut because she'll most likely write under your comment that she attempted to rectify the situation with a refund.
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I messaged the seller again- I have not heard back since my last message. I'll give her 24 hours to respond and then it's feedback time, I guess. Anyone can make a mistake, but I don't think this seller really cares about trying to make things right. All I want is my $7 shipping back! I feel that if I sent the pony back for a refund I'd need to use trackable international shipping, which is expensive, and I'd just be throwing money away with nothing to show for it. And this poor dirty pony just keeps looking at me like, "Why haven't you cleaned me up yet?"
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OK, I just received a pony I won on ebay. The seller wrapped it in newspaper so it arrived very dirty,
I used to pack the ponies in newspaper when i first started selling :blush: I never knew it would stain! The first buyers didn't say anything about it so i have send a few ponies this way, this could be a honest mistake from the seller, i know i never did it on purpose :)
But i get that there are other issues here too. The haircut should definitely have been mentioned by the seller. I hope you can get some sort of refund; otherwise you might mark the item as 'not as described'
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On the one hand it was their mistake and they should be willing to work with you. Because it was negligent on their part.
However, on the other hand they have fulfilled what is required of them by offering you a refund upon return. They aren't obligated to compensate you any more than that.
In the end, was the damage to the pony easily reversible or was the staining something that could not be removed?
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The seller has said she would refund my shipping fee tonight. I have not tried to clean the pony up yet so I'm not sure how easily the newsprint stains will come off. I've had some ponies that had been packed in newspaper come clean with just soap & water, but I have some that had really tough stains. The ones on this pony are not too bad so I hope she comes clean, and I can style her mane to cover the cut part at the base.
It would cost me about $12 to ship the pony back with tracking, plus the original $7 for shipping that would not be refunded to me, so I'm really glad the seller will just refund the original shipping cost & let me keep her. Otherwise I'd be out $19 and no pony to show for it :(
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If you did decide to send her back, you would get the $7 orginial shipping back though.
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No, the seller said she would refund the sale price minus original shipping. I'm not sure if that works w/ ebay's policies or not. It doesn't matter anyway; seller said my $7 shipping would be refunded and it was not so I have left appropriate feedback. Wish I could have explained more but only 80 characters
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No, the seller said she would refund the sale price minus original shipping. I'm not sure if that works w/ ebay's policies or not. It doesn't matter anyway; seller said my $7 shipping would be refunded and it was not so I have left appropriate feedback. Wish I could have explained more but only 80 characters
So even after she said she would refund your shipping, she didn't bother doing it? What a piece of work there... another seller to add to the block list :( What is up with ebay and these sellers that don't list flaws and then argue about what you bought?
Yesterday I received a pony that I had ordered for my swap partner and the ebay listings shows silky hair w/tinsel streaks, the pony arrives and she has regular hair completely fried and frizzy beyong repair w/no tinsel. I argued with the seller for a good hour before she agreed to give my money back, she kept insisting it was the sae pony in the listing picture, I took pictures of the one she sent me, and said take a good look and you can clearly see that they are 2 completely different ponies...
I'm getting really tired of ebay and all the bs that goes along with it...
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I understand everyone is still upset, but I don't know if this situation warrants being put on the bad traders list. They offered a refund. It's true the refund should have and would have been forced to be full -item not as described- not just the purchase price, but also the shipping. The op chose not to accept it. They are not required to do more. Now everyone is totally able to put them in their own block lists if they want to because the situation was handled poorly and they ship ponies in newspaper.
But they are not required to offer a partial refund. They don't have to give the pony for free, take off half, refund shipping only, or something like that. The only thing they have to do is offer you a refund if you send it back and they did that. They have fullfilled their selling obligation.
I know everyone figures -hey I am not happy I can just get some of my money back and kep the pony-. Then at the end of the day you have the pony you wanted and you didn't have to pay full price for it. But does the damage warrant it? If you can just wash it off with soap and water, is that really worth a substantial refund? Now if the pony was damaged and it negatively effected the value and you were trying to get a refund so the pony is worth what you paid- great. But that isn't what you asked them for. You asked them for a refund of shipping costs. Not because they overcharged for shipping but because the item was damaged in shipping.
This seller isn't the best. I could see blocking them esp since they offered a partial refund and didn't give it. But in my opinion not accepting the proposed solution doesn't seem like grounds for them being put on the bad traders list.
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Well, the seller did agree to refund the shipping cost but then didn't do it. If she didn't want to do a partial refund, she should have just said so. And I never asked for this seller to be put on any list, just that I personally would not buy from them again.
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Well, the seller did agree to refund the shipping cost but then didn't do it. If she didn't want to do a partial refund, she should have just said so. And I never asked for this seller to be put on any list, just that I personally would not buy from them again.
Oh, I wasn't implying that you did want them put on a list, nor was I suggesting adding them to the bad trader list, just that I have no interest in personally dealing with sellers that can't be bothered to list things accurately and have a slow response time, or say one thing and then don't follow through.
I think my comment was misunderstood.
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Oh, see that's what I get for not drinking my coffee in the morning! The seller said there were some problems & they couldn't do the refund but will get to it later today. I'll change the feedback once it's received.
One of the pitfalls of online communication is you can't get the person's tone or expression from their words. And the use of emoticons is generally frowned upon in business communications, making them seem even more terse than they might be intended. So I guess the morale of the story is use those smileys whenever possible! :):):):) Yes I will be taking my own advice; I can be rather blunt IRL so I'm sure in written communication I'm a total beast :/
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While its true that the seller is not obliged to do anymore than offer a return/refund, she had agreed to do a partial so she should have gone through with it :awake: I'm happy that it was just a misunderstanding and that you and the seller can still hopefully work this out, and yes you can revise your feeback later if everything is ok :)
I hope that the seller has learned her lesson from this and doesnt use newspaper for packaging any more items in the future