posted on November 27, 2005 11:30:26 PM new
Fluff is absolutely right here.
Why not drop the personal freedom issue, which seems to go hand in hand with entrepreneurial gusto, and think about customer service.
It's one thing to buy used, but the film of tar that gets ON stuff as well as IN stuff is disgusting. I guess if you sell to someone who smokes, they can just lick the nicotine off the ceramic tchotchke?
Not judging your lifestyle, heck you can insert needles loaded with e.coli up your fingernails for all I care, but stank is stank.
And when your cilia isn't burnt off your lungs and trachea and sinus cavities you CAN smell the smoke.
posted on November 27, 2005 11:30:54 PM new
We don't have "smoke paranoia", we have senses of smell undamaged by years of constant exposure to cigarette smoke.
Personally, I don't care whether you all smoke or not (well, I do, but you're responsible adults and can make your own decisions) but if you do, and you smoke around the items you're selling or the packing material you're using, please don't tell me that the unmistakable odor of cigarette smoke has to be in my imagination--it's not, and it's also amazing the unlikely objects that can be permeated by cigarette smoke, which, incidentally, isn't always removeable. I do appreciate when sellers mention that their homes or offices aren't smoke free, and I don't bid on those auctions.
posted on November 28, 2005 04:41:38 AM new
I am surprised at many of you.
A buyer leaves a POSITIVE but mentions the smoke smell ("As represented. Prompt ship. Smoking business/household" ) . She doesn't ask for a refund, partial or total, doesn't leave a neutral because the smoke smell wasn't mentioned, isn't asking for special treatment, etc.) As for imagining the smoke smell, well, nobody has ever done that to me (I don't smoke any longer and refuse consignment items that smell smoky usually, except on occasion will accept one and very CLEARLY state that it has a smoke smell), and as it happens, it does come from a smoking household so I think we can let the poor buyer off the hook on that count.
OP wants to pull the legs off a spider because she wants FB and requests it, sending her taunting emails and such. Others of you think she deserves a negative.
OP has acted rudely. Others are defending or ignoring his actions for reasons of their own, IMHO reasons that are indefensible.
If I were treated as the buyer is being treated, I might consider abandoning eBay. I would personally have mentioned the smoke in an email before leaving feedback. If a sincere apology weren't forthcoming, I would have left a NEG myself... and you can stuff it in your pipe and smoke it!
Right now, I'm disgusted with some of my fellow forum members. Shame on you. Re-read the OP and ask yourselves if that is reasonable behavior and the way you would want to be treated.
Claude
[ edited by cashinyourcloset on Nov 28, 2005 04:42 AM ]
posted on November 28, 2005 08:11:00 AM new
I wrote the above before my second cup of coffee. Please reduce the volume 2 notches. I am no longer disgusted by anyone, I am annoyed instead.
posted on November 28, 2005 09:23:45 PM new
My two cents about cigarette smoke/smell: I may be the only human being, non-smoker, who doesn't mind and actually sometimes enjoys the smell of fresh (not stale) cigarette smoke. As a rebelling teenager, I occasionally dated boys who smoked--partly to irritate my parents who were looking for sin in every corner--and that may be the reason I actually like to be near smokers sometimes.
I do think, though, that smokers have no idea how that smell clings to them. I have a friend who occasionally rides with me in the car, and she is a big smoker (not in my car). When she gets in the car, the odor is amazingly powerful. She probably isn't sensitized to it anymore and doesn't realize how obvious it is. I can see that it would be a real problem for someone who's allergic, as one of our daughters has always been.
______________________________
posted on November 28, 2005 09:49:17 PM new
One of the other posters said it best. The buyers objection should have been made via email, not displayed in feedback. I am sensitive to certain hair sprays and perfumes that some women seem to think is great. I would not want someone critizing me in feedback about the smell of smoke. By the same token, if I smell perfume on something I buy, I would not proclaim in the feedback forum that the seller was shipping from a French brothel.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on November 29, 2005 04:09:25 AM new
sparkz,
As the one who said I would have objected first in an email, I did not mean to imply that it is unfair to mention the smoke in the feedback. I would personally have sent an email first indicating that they should have mentioned the smoke. Frankly, I would probably have wanted to return the item; why is it my job to attempt to get their stink off an item?
However, if they responded with the snide crap that they did (e.g., "I'll let you know when I quit smoking" ) , I would have given them a negative (something along the lines of "Rude, deceptive, expect smelly item if you buy" ) .
Claude
PS The tobacco lobby should be proud. If the item had arrived with undisclosed rust, cracks, scratches, etc., nobody would think it unusual to object.
[ edited by cashinyourcloset on Nov 29, 2005 04:10 AM ]
posted on November 29, 2005 07:03:03 AM new
Claude - I would hardly say that rust and scratches are the same thing as the easily removable odor of smoke.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
An intelligent deaf-mute is better than an ignorant person who can speak.
posted on November 29, 2005 08:13:47 AM new
What good would it do for the seller to remove the smell if its just gonna get right back on it or is in the packing suppies ? It would have to fall on the buyer. Thats why I put this is NOT a smoke or pet free home.
posted on November 29, 2005 08:15:54 AM new
Cash, I am the one who said they should have emailed and left it out of the feedback.
May I restate, "IMO, personal grievances should be discussed in email, not feedback!"
Buyer said they were happy with the item and the shipping.
I would have been as upset with the "smoking household" comment as I would have been if they had left a comment such as "Comes from a Pagan household".
Neither comment belongs in feedback.
I add a note in my packing slip requesting all of my buyers to contact me if there is a problem with their order. If they were to leave a negative comment in a positive feedback, I will most likely leave them a neg or a neutral for not giving me a chance to correct the problem.
Here is another instance of the same type of situation.
I not only hate the smell of FaBreeze (sp?) but I seem to be allergic to it. It puts me into coughing fits. I have quit buying clothing on Ebay because of it. But I would not dream of dinging FB to the seller stupid enough to use it.
We've had this smelly discussion on the board before. It seems everyone can find something that "stinks" about other people.
*!*!*When your ship comes in.... make sure you are willing to unload it.*!*!*
posted on November 29, 2005 08:24:48 AM new
LtRay,
I guess we both made a comment about emailing.
There are two reasons why I keep being involved in this thread, against my better judgment:
1. OP acted poorly, and it bothers me that so few on the forum seem to mind.
2. I think that a buyer receiving something that needs to be fumigated without having been warned in the auction is entitled to mention it in the feedback. As a seller, I would expect it. I would think that I had dodged a bullet if it was mentioned in a positive, and would thank the buyer for their kindness and reserve, rather than taunting them.
posted on November 29, 2005 08:46:06 AM new
I can't understand why people would object to an item smelling like smoke being noted in the feedback. I would have also emailed first as well, but I think the buyer is entitled to complain about it. At least you got a positive!
I think items that smell like smoke does have an effect on repeat customers. At least it does for me. I'm a collector, have purchased from one seller who has decent stuff, but it stinks! I won't buy from him again because of the smoke. I've never told him so, I just see it is him selling and do not bid.
posted on November 29, 2005 08:54:07 AM new
Cash, I understand your point of view. Yes, seller did not need to taunt the buyer, but aren't we all tempted to do that at one time or other?
And maybe I'm just too passive aggressive about such things.
I bought a gortex suit on eBay last year that was listed as being in good condition. Pictures were fuzzy, so I took her word for it as to condition.
It arrived with multiple cigarette burns and looked like a cat had used it for a climbing post. I guess I could have dinged the seller, but I felt the right thing to do was discuss it with them.
I went to the trouble of taking pictures to include in my email. She quickly refunded my money and told me to throw the suit away. She had to have known the condition it was in when she shipped it, so that part did tick me off.
But since she resolved the problem, I left her a + feedback.
OP's buyer did not give them the option of making it right. I think OP was generous to just try and ignore the comment but buyer refused to let sleeping dogs lie.
And we know what happens when you aggravate a sleeping dog
And speaking of sleep, its past my bedtime. See y'all tonight!
*!*!*When your ship comes in.... make sure you are willing to unload it.*!*!*
posted on November 29, 2005 09:53:13 AM new
Classic...I assumed the floozies in Paris use the same cologne as the ones in New Orleans. Don't they all buy it in 55 gallon drums from the same vendor in mexico?
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on November 29, 2005 10:19:22 AM new
LtRay: "Cash, I understand your point of view. Yes, seller did not need to taunt the buyer, but aren't we all tempted to do that at one time or other? "
I'm tempted to do many things, but Annette Bening won't return my phone calls I learned many years ago, and usually hold myself to it, that if an email feels GOOD while it is being written, you should sleep on it before you send it.
By the way, have you noticed that OP hasn't been heard from since she wanted to share the little chuckle?
I think I'm going to give this thread some rest, and get back to work.
