ebay feedback- neutral or negative?

[Radiance]

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?

[Teddy]

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.

[Rhubarbpie]

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.

[MikeysGrrrl]

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?

[Radiance]

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

[MikeysGrrrl]

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

[Sarahlacewing]

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.

[Radiance]

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.

[Sarahlacewing]

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.

[Unicorn_pops]

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!)

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Keep us updated!    Argh, newspaper!

[Radiance]

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!

[MikeysGrrrl]

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.

[Stormness_1]

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!

[bluerose9978]

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.