Getting this off my chest.

[MiRaja]

See, I was the kid that grew up in the stinky house and my parents both knew.  I managed years ago to convince my mother to quit thankfully and she has forced my dad to smoke outside since she now collects dolls.  ( She wouldn't before because she didn't want to ruin them) but I still went through my formative years being bullied for smelling like an ashtray among other things.  But the fallout when mom quit and grandma, who smoked, gave mom some dolls she had. . .  I remember trying to clean them with vinegar and all but the smell always came back and they were all vinyl dolls.  Granted there are tons of different recipes for vinyl but from my experiences it will never fully come out.

[NovelNerd]

People who smoke cigarettes do definitely know that it causes an effect, and they do in fact know it makes things stink.  If they don't mention it, it's likely they don't care or they think they can get away with it.  It's not that they didn't think about it, especially if they're selling collectibles.

This is completely untrue.

Agree

I grew up in a smoking house till eventually when I was older dad stopped and mom smoked outside. My parents didn't think about the smell because they really couldn't smell it anymore at that point. My wife now puffs on electronic cigarettes but when I first met her she was a major chain smoker and lived with another couple of smokers. I smoked when I first met her and didn't notice. Over the course of or early dating history I stopped and then could literally smell it everywhere. It tracked so badly when we moved in together I told her there was no way she could smoke in the house and spent a week washing her clothes and stuff to get rid of the smell.  I don't know about other smokers but when you're smoking lots of times you no longer smell it. I don't think a lot of people do not intentionally when they dot mention it. I know some people even think if they shut the door to a room the smell "isn't in there". Of course that's not true, but if you cannot smell it then I guess you might think that.
I don't see it as being intentional unless the seller was to at something indicating they knew and didn't give that information or if they had feedback or something mentioning it from a precious transaction. I try to give people benefit of the doubt and not assume everyone is out to ruin my day with their bad habits.

[Stormness_1]

I grew up in a smoking home, and I'm only just being able to smell smoke smell, five years after I was last living at home. It can be unintentional, but it's definitely something I think about when I list an auction containing something I've owned for a long time and spent any time in that house. Baking soda is my best friend, I treat everything with smoke smell with it, clothes, bags, toys... you name it.

[ponylady]

I have to say I agree. I am sorry but it is nearly impossible to know an items exact history.  And when you are selling on ebay you buy from all over whether it be ebay, garage sales, estate sales, etc... etc..  We have to remember sometimes that vintage collectables are over 30 years old when smoking was in style. It was not frowned upon like it is today. People smoked in their homes, the streets, restaurants, bars and did not think about the long term effects it had on their household goods. I know when my grandma died (from smoking) we never noticed the smell in her home till we had to clean it. 

Anyways I know I have had a few cases that the pony showed up smelling like smoke. I don't smoke and obviously despite my efforts to clean them to the best of my ability, being sealed in a bag can bring out the smell.  I try and make sure this does not happen but it can despite not being a smoker. Because to be fair I don't sniff everything that comes into my home or sniff it before I buy it. I just assume it needs cleaned whether it does or not and go about my business. I also am not going to ruin a sellers reputation over me assuming anything either but that is just me. I like to play nice on ebay and unless the seller has completely scammed me or screwed me around will I leave anything less than a positive. I believe in Karma. 

Anyways ...back on topic....have you heard back from your seller archidraca?

[MiRaja]

People who smoke cigarettes do definitely know that it causes an effect, and they do in fact know it makes things stink.  If they don't mention it, it's likely they don't care or they think they can get away with it.  It's not that they didn't think about it, especially if they're selling collectibles.

This is completely untrue.

Agree

I grew up in a smoking house till eventually when I was older dad stopped and mom smoked outside. My parents didn't think about the smell because they really couldn't smell it anymore at that point. My wife now puffs on electronic cigarettes but when I first met her she was a major chain smoker and lived with another couple of smokers. I smoked when I first met her and didn't notice. Over the course of or early dating history I stopped and then could literally smell it everywhere. It tracked so badly when we moved in together I told her there was no way she could smoke in the house and spent a week washing her clothes and stuff to get rid of the smell.  I don't know about other smokers but when you're smoking lots of times you no longer smell it. I don't think a lot of people do not intentionally when they dot mention it. I know some people even think if they shut the door to a room the smell "isn't in there". Of course that's not true, but if you cannot smell it then I guess you might think that.
I don't see it as being intentional unless the seller was to at something indicating they knew and didn't give that information or if they had feedback or something mentioning it from a precious transaction. I try to give people benefit of the doubt and not assume everyone is out to ruin my day with their bad habits.

It is really different though, when you're selling on ebay, you know there are people who are nonsmokers, and you know items can pick up cigarette odor.  If you're going to sell in any sort of marketplace online, you have to do your best to describe everything to a buyer ( even though obviously buyers can be unreasonable ) but scent is definitely something that is key.  When I was first selling on ebay, a lot of guides even went onto disclose whether your home was a smoking or nonsmoking home and whether there were pets present and such like that.  I don't know about now, but it seems like something that would be rather obvious.  I have cats and I always let people be aware of that in case of allergies, and I would want the same considerations from people who smoke.  If a person smokes and cannot tell there is smoking scent, they need to say, "I smoke, so I do not know," so people know. 

Yes, we cannot know the exact history of toys 30 years old.  Generally, most of what I deal with can be upwards into a century or more old, so trust me when I know when I say that, but a quick sniff test is kind of part of the package of selling.  Does the item smell musty?  Mildewy?  Smoky?  Etc, and if you don't have a good sniffer, say so!  That's fine.  And I don't believe in ruining anyone's reputation being an ex-seller myself on ebay, which is why, myself personally, I would wrote them a strongly worded if but polite letter saying they need to be more observant in the future of such things.  Especially over a small enough item.  I wouldn't leave them bad feedback in most situations, unless there was due cause, but I would likely refuse to leave any feedback at all.  But that's me, and it's more looking out for the seller if you think about it, because if they are a smoker and they're listing things willy-nilly without an mention of it, they ARE going to get a bad apple who IS going to murder their feedback, and I don't believe people who smoke should be barred of selling and what not, but it should be stated in auctions, and that will be the very last I say of it all. 

[ponylady]

Let's all just agree to disagree and keep this on topic.

We are all obviously going to have different opinions on this and that is wonderful. But the fact of the matter is going to solely lie in the hands of the seller at this point. If she makes it right..awesome..if she doesn't then the OP can handle it from there.