posted on October 19, 2004 06:30:45 PM
I won an auction for some pattern booklets. I received the booklets today and one of the pattern booklets is missing pages. Also, they reeked very heavily of cigarette smoke. None of this was disclosed in the auction description. The seller has very good feedback and is a powerseller with 1160 feedback and only 1 negative. How should I handle this? I had planned to remarket these and sell them, but with the extremely heavy cigarette smoke and missing pages, I can't. Thanks.
posted on October 19, 2004 07:11:53 PM
Perhaps THEY are the Smoker,,,,,,,it's an everyday Usual event to them,no reason to POINT it out..I sell hundreds of storage unit things, We have NO idea if they were a smoker or not. We don't SNIFF everything in the unit. YOU should have ASKED them if this is your peeve. Course you will be asking thousands the same question. I may smoke and I may not smoke,,,has nothing to do with this......people FIND things where they find them......and You buy them. I would HATE to think I had to make MENTION everytime I listed some ting whether it was a smokers item or a non smokers item.......HECK, maybe it was from the BARN that Burned San Francisco to the ground........Now THAT was a Smoker. and How much did the buyer pay? $10000000000000000000............s.........
Ltray's right. Write the seller and let her know of the problem. Perhaps she will accept a return and refund your money. That's the simplest solution.
Failing that, you might be able to salvage the smelly ones. Fan them out in a box with a cover. Put in a dryer sheet. Or a paper towel you've dampened with Lysol or Febreze. Put the towel in an open baggie so it doesn't contact the patterns.
A binder of patterns I have smelled musty, like they'd been in a damp place. I fanned them out over the forced-air vent in my eBay room. Left them there all day. Spritzed them a couple of times w/Lysol. The smell went away. This might not work for smoke smell but it's worth a try. The idea is you need to get a deodorizing agent onto all surfaces.
posted on October 19, 2004 11:06:15 PM
Good ole sunshine is great for smoke or mildew. Just pick a sunny day and spread them out in the sunlight outside.
As for smokers... I smoke but it erks even me to open a box and smell ANYTHING, be it smoke, pets or perfume.
Since I smoke outside, I can still smell smoke on clothes and in carpets.
My ebay room is a no smoking zone. I know we smokers get used to the smell. Non-smokers may tolerate a little smoke, but you can't expect them to put up with something that reeks of it. Would you keep something that reeked of cats???
posted on October 19, 2004 11:24:04 PM
You can better believe I put this is NOT A SMOKE OR PET FREE HOME in everyone of my auctions ! lol 1 neutral for item smells like smoke and it was part of my template....and it was for a pair of shorts,something they were gonna wash anyways. Smoke odor is a huge deal,people with allergies or breathing disorders need to know these things. I do get e-mails from time to time saying what a breath of fresh air lol to see I'm human and have enough balls to say I smoke in my auctions.
posted on October 20, 2004 04:39:07 AM
Thanks everybody. From time to time I do receive patterns that smell of smoke. However, this has got to the be worst ones I have ever received. I do put in my auctions that I do from time to time purchase items from homes that are not smoke free and pet free as a disclaimer, but I cannot in good conscience sell these smelling the way that they do!
The other problem is that one of the books is missing pages. Someone cut out a few pages and it now causes the some of the other pages to fall out. This really should have been disclosed. I would bet, though, that she didn't know because in all probability she didn't check. It was the best book in the batch and the main reason why I bid on the auction.
I will be writing to her to explain what I have found and leave the ball in her court. I saved her box that she sent them in and can resend them back packaged the same way they arrived.
Jack -- I smoke too, but not in my apartment. My house is smoke-free. So this stuff really must reek to someone who doesn't smoke if I can smell it so strong. I think it's a bit unreasonable to have to ask every auction that I bid on if the item smells of smoke. That information should be disclosed in the auction so that bidders can make the decision for themselves.
posted on October 20, 2004 05:23:16 AM
Bizzy: I think that if pages are missing etc, you deserve a refund. I occasionally sell a magazine with missing pages, but ALWAYS say that in my description, thne it's the buyers choice. I think smokers often don't notice a smoke smell, but they really should say that it's from a smoking home. My worst one was a book with a cigarette end between the pages!
