What kind of feedback would you leave for this person?

[Haruna]

I recently purchased a large lot of ponies on Ebay and received them last Friday. I was super happy with the lot as a whole; most of the ponies just need cleaning up. I thought it was a great deal. The only thing is, the second auction picture shows some Strawberry Shortcake dolls and some random plastic horses in the lot, but I didn't receive them. (I only received the Littlest Pet Shop cat out of the random items.) I wasn't buying the lot for them; I just passively thought it might be nice to get them, too. One was a Littlest Pet Shop zebra, and I thought I might sell the Strawberry Shortcakes with some other SS stuff I've been accumulating. In the auction description, all it said was, "Lots and lots of My Little Ponies.  Finish off your collection with all of these," not mentioning any other toy lines.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/My-Little-Pony-/121349919304?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=w7Iof2M6u6FPOcYBGujOtG7uqg4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

I'm confusing myself over what kind of feedback to leave. I think the seller shipped them well and left a nice note on the package receipt, and all of the ponies are accounted for; he also has 100% positive feedback out of 333 (16 as a seller). When I sent a message saying I was really happy with the lot overall, but wondered where the SS dolls and plastic horses were, he said that he was really sorry; he'd given them to the little girl around the corner because he thought no one would want them.

I don't know if I should just say in a friendly way, "Okay, that's fine! In the future, though, try to picture only what you're selling," and give him positive feedback, or if I should ask for a partial refund (which feels kind of greedy, as he had to pay $10 more shipping than he charged anyway, judging from the price on the package). My main concern is leaving honest feedback to help the next buyers-- I don't really know if this guy made an honest mistake or kept them for some reason. I think it's just an honest mistake, but you never know.

Any opinions on what I should do?

[ponylady]

That's a tough one because the SS dolls are clearly shown in the picture. I would message him back and ask why he would think it was ok to list them in with the lot (picture and all) and then not include them??

[Navi]

In that situation, I'd probably just not leave feedback at all.

If I was happy with the ponies, and I got a good deal, I'd call it a draw. Maybe he really did just goof up and give the dolls to the neighbors kid or whatever.

[Thunderwing]

It looks like two SSC dolls, and two Herself the Elf dolls. Being naked, they are only worth a couple bucks each. So it probably wasn't a case of him wanting to keep them to resell, unless he kept them because of a last minute bite of the nostalgia bug.  I can't say if any of the plastic horses might be valuable, but nothing really jumps out at me.

That said, I definitely see the conumdrum.  It's an awkward situation. Considering he lost money on the shipping, I would probably leave a positive noting that you were overall happy with the lot you won but that the dolls were missing. If I was considering a neutral, I would give him the chance to do a partial refund first to make it up to you. But even a neutral seems a bit harsh. I'd do a positive with the note I mentioned about the missing ones, and send them a message saying that if they list something, they need to actually ship it!

[ponylady]

I am not sure I see your point Thunderwing?? So what if the dolls were only a few bucks a piece, they were pictured and should have been included. What if a few of the My Little Ponies were missing from the pile??

[NoPonySpecial]

For sure message the seller and say something along the lines of "Look, I happen to be happy with the purchase so I'm not going to make a big stink about it, but seriously, don't do that kind of thing again."

I guess I'd leave good feedback, but I'm not sure that'd actually be the right thing to do. Maybe no feedback at all? You could even tell him "I'm not unhappy, so I can't leave bad feedback, but I am not comfortable leaving good feedback because of this really bad selling practice you pulled."

[brighteyes]

Is it possible that he just forgot to include them?  He may have set them aside for some reason and forgot to include them.  I'd message the seller an give them an opportunity to explain first before leaving feedback.

ETA:  Oops I didn't read carefully enough.  If he didn't include them on purpose than I would probably leave a neutral.  That's not cool and something other buyers would want to know.

[lunar_scythe]

with over 300 feedbacks, I think this seller should have known better, honestly.  Sure, only 16 are from selling, but even as a buyer, he should know that people expect to receive everything pictured. 
On the other hand, he may have left them out to try to save himself on shipping, since he had to pay so much extra?
Either way, it isn't right, he took the pics and put in the shipping info, so it isn't your problem, it is his, to be blunt.   Maybe tell him next time, he shouldn't really make assumptions, and check with his buyer before deciding not to include part of the pictured items?  He could have messaged you and asked if it was ok to leave those out, since shipping was going to be so high, if that's what it was.

[Thunderwing]

I am not sure I see your point Thunderwing?? So what if the dolls were only a few bucks a piece, they were pictured and should have been included. What if a few of the My Little Ponies were missing from the pile??

My point being it wasn't a couple of Party Pleasers worth $50 each - in which case I would suspect it was a seller who found out they had a hidden gem and decided to hold them back and sell separately, or a seller who had someone else send a message asking to buy the dolls separately after the close of the auction, etc.  Since the dolls were not valuable, his excuse of having given them to a kid is probably legit.  Still not right, but his actual reason.  So I would be more inclined towards leniency, a disgruntled positive or maybe a neutral - but not as harsh as if I suspected foul play.

[Haruna]

Thank you guys so much for your advice! I'm leaning towards mentioning to him and in my comment that some of the items pictured weren't included, and I think I'll give him a positive.

[squishy turdl]

Looking at the pictures, I think he may have even just thrown them out because they are in pretty grotty condition and didnt know any better. I think before doing your feedback just send the seller a message and ask what happend... he might even still have them and assumed you just wanted the ponies so didnt include them, doesnt seem like anything malicious, he might he be willing to send them over for you.

[lunar_scythe]

Looking at the pictures, I think he may have even just thrown them out because they are in pretty grotty condition and didnt know any better. I think before doing your feedback just send the seller a message and ask what happend... he might even still have them and assumed you just wanted the ponies so didnt include them, doesnt seem like anything malicious, he might he be willing to send them over for you.

the seller tol her he gave them to some kids, thinking she wouldn't want them.

[squishy turdl]

You're right, sorry... I don't know how I missed that!

[Stormy31685]

Haruna,

     You are being too nice about this in my personal opinion.  I do understand that you want to keep the ponies, but those dolls were pictured and should have been included.  To be honest, I was watching that listing and had I been the winner, I would have been highly disappointed to not have received those dolls with the lot.  As for shipping, if he underestimated his shipping costs, that's just too bad.  I have underestimated shipping and lost money in the past, but I would never expect my buyer to deal with an item not described just because I undercharged for shipping.

Furthermore, it is sellers who do these kinds of things that cause eBay to put more pressure on already good sellers to meet very stringent sales and customer service goals.  You as a buyer are in the driver seat anymore when it comes to eBay's policies and regulations. 

Now, perhaps this seller did not have bad intentions when he gave those items to a little kid, but that does not excuse the fact that it should not have been done. 

Lastly, those dolls are worth more than the $10 you weren't asked to pay by the seller, and if it had been Barnacle, Steamer, Flutterbye, and Bubbles missing from the lot, this thread would have gone differently.

Sorry to be heated about this, but it was not fair to you and if I were your seller, you would have received a partial refund or the option to return for a full refund (without paying for return shipping), and it would never have mattered that I lost money on shipping.

[kakenterprise]

I have to agree I'd personally be unhappy if I had won that lot.  I bet if the seller had bought the lot and not received all that was pictured that they'd be unhappy too.