posted on February 21, 2001 07:22:20 AM new
After enduring just about all the lousy service I could handle in the last few weeks, I finally neg'd a seller for poor packaging.
FWIW, the product arrived undamaged, but I spent more than $25 on something and paid a small surcharge on the shipping so I thought that I was more than entitled to decent packing. It was a slim book, but there was no cardboard to prevent bending, no padding and no water protection. I had asked that it be packed well, but apparently that wasn't enough. Just a plain priority envelope. Furthermore, the paper label was taped on in such a way that it could have easily been torn off.
I'm sure there are those who might take issue with me for this as the book was ok, but a nickel's worth of packing material and a few extra seconds of attention is not too much to ask.
posted on February 21, 2001 07:29:45 AM new
"But did you agree to the shipping before hand? Then you have no right to complain!"
I'm getting tired of this too. I think negging these sellers who charge enough for top notch shipping, but ship cheap and poorly is a good step in the right direction. Good job. Unfortunately, it may end up costing you a neg too.
posted on February 21, 2001 07:53:57 AM new
"I had asked that it be packed well" but you apparently did not provide for or pay for any specific packaging instructions.
It arrived safely, possibly by luck, but it did. Was it shipped in a timely manner, too?
If you are not impressed with the packaging, then leave either a positive or at very worst a neutral, something like "Great book, fast shipping, packaging was inadedquate though."
But you have absolutely no reason to leave a negative. If the book was excessively late, lost, damaged or something, I could see your point, but this time the seller's packaging job made it through ok, so be relieved rather than angry!
posted on February 21, 2001 08:04:11 AM new...a nickel's worth of packing material and a few extra seconds of attention is not too much to ask.
If the seller had spent a nickel on packaging, and the book arrived in exactly the same condition as it actually did, you would have left a positive?
Maybe it's just me, but I don't know if a negative is the way to go because, even though there were no problems and the item arrived in good condition, something might have happened.
Perhaps a seller should post a negative because, even though the buyer did pay, he might not have. Would that be reasonable?
posted on February 21, 2001 08:15:34 AM new
There's a little tutorial about posting FB and it says something to the effect, before leaving a negative, you should make every effort to work out the problem with the buyer/seller even if that means pulling contact information and making a telephone call!
I mention that, only because from reading these threads, I get the impression very few really bother with that.
Did you email the seller that you were NOT satisfied with the way it was shipped and let them know that is an issue with many buyers?
If you had done that, and they had responded with an apology and a thank you for pointing it out to them, would you still have left a NEG?
I have to go along with those that said a NEUTRAL at best.
posted on February 21, 2001 08:20:13 AM new
Speaking as a seller who takes pride in packing well, I have no problem with you dropping a neg on this guy's head. Consider it a service to other potential bidders who might not be so lucky.
--------------
Don't take life so serious, it ain't nohow permanent.
posted on February 21, 2001 08:22:26 AM new
FWIW it was not shipped timely either. So a premium price on shipping is all the more irksome. And there was writing in the book that was not part of the description. The poor packing was strike three.
BTW I ship dozens of items each month. They go out next business day and they are packed very well.
I have successfully completed hundreds of auctions as buyer and seller. I rarely neg a seller, but I will no longer pay top dollar for an item and settle for second rate service. This is eBay, not a local garage sale, and sellers need to be clear on the difference. A lot of sellers have proven to me in the past that they don't care when you email them;this way the seller is now on notice and his potential bidders will be too.
It so happens he can't retaliate as he already left feedback, but if he were to, he would just dig himself in deeper.
posted on February 21, 2001 08:32:43 AM newThis is eBay, not a local garage sale
This is Ebay, not a large mail order company.
What kind of feedback did this seller have?
Were they newbies? Perhaps they didn't know any better.
What did the auction's S&H state?
Did they over charge you?
Did you ask for a refund prior to leaving a negative?
Was the item as advertised?
Did you try to work this out with the seller before leaving negative feedback?
Leaving a negative feedback (1) for an item that arrived undamaged and as advertised, and (2) without contacting the seller to work things out are just very, very wrong in my book.
It so happens he can't retaliate as he already left feedback
And this is exactly why so many sellers don't leave feedback until the buyer leaves feedback. Because some customers are unable to be pleased. And some customers don't even give the sellers the CHANCE to make things right.
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Feb 21, 2001 08:37 AM ]
posted on February 21, 2001 08:34:50 AM new
Sorry, as a buyer, I have to agree that a negative was too harsh, at least in my opinion from the given details. If the item arrives safely, I would not leave a neg. If it took two months to arrive after paying or I had been charged $5 shipping for a cheap envelope and a $1 stamp, I'd probably leave neutrals like
"Slow delivery: item arrived safely... two months after I paid"
or
"item arrived safely... but charged $5 for cheap envelope and $1 stamp"
If it weren't one of these but I still had an issue, I'd leave a qualified positive such as, "item arrived safely, though packing was very minimal."
I'd reserve negatives for damage not covered by insurance (or something similar), clear misrepresentation of the item in the original ad, total non-delivery, or similarly severe problems.
----
What's being done in the name of direct marketing nowadays is crazy.
The above are all just my opinions, except where I cite facts as such.
Oh, I am not dc9a320 anywhere except AW. Any others are not me.
Is eBay is changing from a world bazaar into a bizarre world?
posted on February 21, 2001 08:42:06 AM new
By the way, how much DID you pay for shipping and how much was the postage? And the small shippuing surcharge, was that you flipping him a quarter while giving him a sneer of comtempt for the audacity of charging you money shipping. Darn right he deserve a neg because he is just a mere pissant and you are the big bad buyer. Doesn't matter if you got what you wanted, as you wanted, when you wanted, these peons must be trained to keep their heads bowed when addressing us, the buyer.
Too bad eBay doesn't NARU for arrogance, you'd be long gone.
posted on February 21, 2001 08:45:48 AM new
sunylyn1950,
I would have to agree. I just don't understand why someone would leave a neg without trying to communicate with the other person and work something out. I often wonder how they manage in life. They are generally the ones who moan and groan but never do anything about. How sad.
I recently had someone that never communicates with me and left me a neg and said there were "pages missing and chapter from the book". It was a brand new book and I've sold 10 of them so far. There is a small possibility that there was a publishers defect and if that was the case I would have refunded the price to her. But if I don't know what is going on, how can I do anything for her? Problems can't be solved without taking an initiative.
posted on February 21, 2001 08:52:16 AM new
Seller's rating is under 30 and mine is over 500.
It is not arrogant or harsh to tell the truth.
It actually doesn't matter that it is eBay. It is business. Big or small, you should treat your customers like they are your only one.
I emailed him before shipment to pack the book well. He did not. That's why he got the negative. Emailing him afterwards is locking the barndoor after the horse is out.
posted on February 21, 2001 08:58:58 AM newSeller's rating is under 30 and mine is over 500.
So instead of educating this seller on how to pack well, just leave them a neg. That'll teach'em, right?
It actually doesn't matter that it is eBay. It is business. Big or small, you should treat your customers like they are your only one.
And the buyer does not need to treat the sellers well? Are the buyers "above" the sellers? I think not! A little courtesy email from you explaining to the seller that you were not happy with your purchase for whatever reason - may have ended up on a positive note.
I emailed him before shipment to pack the book well. He did not
Maybe in HIS eyes it WAS packaged well! Newbies do not know exactly how to ship each and every item! When I was a newbie I had made my share of mistakes when packaging items. I took my buyer's comments to heart and learned exactly how to "package well". You can't learn if someone doesn't tell you that your method does not work.
posted on February 21, 2001 09:01:53 AM new
"but a nickel's worth of packing material and a few extra seconds of attention is not too much to ask."
Especially if you paid for it. I had to pay a seller $7.70 to mail a single video tape, figuring it would well packaged (s I am used to) It arrived in a brown, non-padded envelope with $1.95 postage attached. It wasn't damaged, but what a rip for the postage costs.
posted on February 21, 2001 09:01:57 AM new
mballaj,
Your attitude toward business transactions is appalling. I am a high-ranked seller and always try to fix any problems my customers have when they receive their items. Only problem is.... you can't fix the problem if the buyer never contacts you about it! You didn't even give this guy a chance! If you had contacted him politely and explained that everything was received all right, but that the packaging was poor and you felt cheated on the "handling" end of things, you might have found that he would have refunded the handling charge (you certainly don't deserve any other compensation since the item was received undamaged and the postage was spent). If you had any questions about how the item was going to be packaged, you should have asked before bidding. It is not the bidders place to tell the seller how to pack their merchandise. It is the sellers responsiblity to pack the item well enough to arrive safely. It seems like your seller lived up to his end of the deal. You really should learn how to deal with problems in a more professional manner.
posted on February 21, 2001 09:03:53 AM new
99 3/4% of what I buy is glass. Sometimes I wonder how the item got to me based on the packing. However, if I received it in one piece, I rant for a few minutes and then let it go. I wouldn't post a negative for what I think is inadequate packing because after all I did get it just as described. In addition, my definition of good packing may not be the same as the sellers definition. It is all relative and depends upon where you stand what view you see. food for thought.
posted on February 21, 2001 09:15:50 AM new
When I decided to "try" my hand at selling, I wasn't sure what I wanted to concentrate on, so I listed a few items of a mixed nature. I had picked up a box of books at an estate sale and some of them were really "beautiful" books! I know nothing about selling books. These were old and had very ornate leather bindings.
I didn't know anything about shipping so I used an imaginary number that seemed reasonable to me. It turned out it WASN'T!
I was emailed by a potential bidder (who turned out to be the winner and the only bidder on the item), and asked if I knew the item could be shipped cheaper at "book rate".
This "buyer" ended up litterally walking me through the entire process and when she finally received the item, she emailed me to let me know there was a "problem". The book smelled like cigarettes! I had not even considered an oder issue when it comes to books! I emailed back my apology and I actually felt like crawling under a rock. I was soooooo embarrassed. She "educated" me about what to look (and smell) for when buying books for possible re-sell. Even gave me a few pointers on how to "de-orderize" offenders!
If I had simply discovered a big glaring:
COMPLAINT:Book reeked of cigarette smoke!!!!!!!
I would have been devastated and probably never ever ever have even gone back to the auction site!!!!!!
I am grateful to that buyer!
I also do not buy or sell books anymore!
[ edited by sulyn1950 on Feb 21, 2001 09:17 AM ]
posted on February 21, 2001 09:28:23 AM new
ExecutiveGirl
My role as buyer is to respond and pay promptly and leave feedback on the transaction as to how I thought the deal was.
I am not paid to teach a seller how to run a business. Unasked for advice doesn't usually set well with most people and none of my past experiences in emailing sellers that their practices were off the mark ever worked.
I tolerate quite a bit of substandard service and I do not leave negative feedback to punish anyone.
It is for the eBay community that I leave feedback. It's long overdue that people separate feedback from personal attack. Nor should I be attacked for stating the truth.
posted on February 21, 2001 09:30:58 AM new
"99 3/4% of what I buy is glass."
Kind like Ivory Soap eh ... not quite "pure"
"I wouldn't post a negative for what I think is inadequate packing"
Either would I, nor would I/did I post a neg in the example I stated. I knew that the seller wanted over $7.00 to mail the tape and I paid it. I was a bit pissed at the packaging and the fact that he really spent considerably less that what I paid for the postage. Rather than argue with the seller and get the "but it's my handling costs" BS lecture, I simply took him off my list of people to buy from.
PS ---- EG ... check out the guidelines. It is all explained very well there, and it works great. I'm not sure if you can invite the "other party" though if you weren't directly involved in the transaction. You have some excellent questions that need an answer
posted on February 21, 2001 09:31:06 AM newThis is eBay, not a local garage sale, and sellers need to be clear on the difference.
It actually doesn't matter that it is eBay. It is business. Big or small, you should treat your customers like they are your only one.
This is exactly the attitude that drives away the small, occasional seller of unique, unusual merchandise --- and will contribute to leaving eBay as a vast wasteland of dutch auctions for questionable diet products and thousands of Ginsu knives. (No offense to Ginsu knife sellers, but I prefer a little variety in my merchandise.)
posted on February 21, 2001 09:32:45 AM newMballai:
You failed to answer the majority of my questions.
You also conveniently ignored the fact that YOU didn't like it when a NEGATIVE feedback was left for you when the buyer failed to contact you first to let you know there was a problem.
How can you justify that it is ok to do that to another seller but not tolerate it when it's done to you?
posted on February 21, 2001 09:33:06 AM new
mballai...The shipping in this auction was $4.00...Did you email the seller BEFORE you bid and ask questions?? I think not....You received the item in good condition (in the neg you left for this seller, you did not mention that "there was writing in the book that was not part of the description"....nor did you mention it in the top of the thread.) It truly does not matter to many buyers and sellers that your FB is much greater than this seller. This seller looked pretty darn good to me ('till you came along) and still does. Sorry, but something here just very wrong and I would sure like to hear from this seller!
posted on February 21, 2001 09:38:03 AM new
I ship all my packages the same. I make sure what I send is packaged well. I put the product in the box, put some baggies w/ air in it to make sure it does not slip, then I wrap the box w/ shipping paper. I also use priority tape on 5 sides of the box leaving the 6th side to write the address.
My package could be droped off a building and not be damaged.
-Trey
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"If your mind can concieve it, and you believe it, then you probably can achieve it."
