posted on March 7, 2012 08:14:56 AM new
I sold a pair of chairs about 3 weeks ago and shipped them. They were used chairs, contemporary modern. We researched everything we could and labeled them "canvas coal" for the color by matching the chair to the website.
The customer purchased the chairs and while waiting for their arrival, purchased the matching sofa. He received the two chairs, left very positive feedback and was happy.
Today I get the following email:
"Greetings, thanks again for the packing and shipping of the chairs. I just received the matching sofa from Modernica yesterday and it appears we have a slight problem. I had asked you about the color of the chair fabric and indicated that I was ordering a matching sofa. You replied that the chairs were "canvas coal" and subsequently, I ordered the "canvas coal" sofa to match. Well, upon receiving the sofa yesterday, they do not match. I talked with Modernica last night and they suggested that the chairs are one of two solid black options that they offer, and not "canvas coal" which is more of a subtly striped dark gray and white striped pattern. So now, I have a sofa and two chairs that don't match. Not sure what to do here. Can you tell me why you thought the chairs were "canvas coal"? Thanks, Mike"
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When we researched the chairs on the Modernica website, the color palette clearly shows the fabric we sold him as "Canvas Coal". When we click over to the sofa and choose "Canvas Coal", it shows a completely different fabric as the buyer described.
So, Modernica made a mistake here. I have taken screen shots of the two different pieces of furniture and emailed them to the buyer to answer his question.
Obviously, this is a huge error (not as he implies a "slight" problem). The error isn't mine, and I hope he sees it that way... but my stomach is in knots over it right now. He paid us $1700 for the two chairs (new they retail for $1295 each) and just spend $2100 on the sofa.
You can see the difference by going to Modernica.net, choosing the "Outdoor" tab, "Case Study Stainless", and then click on the Lounge Chair and the matching sofa. You can see the difference in the photos. The color palette even shows it as black.
I am simply ready to pull out my hair on this as I would be really upset about it if I was the buyer. What would you do?
posted on March 7, 2012 08:38:59 AM new
Can you urge them to work with Modernica for a matching couch,Moderica has more resources than you do,may be they can come up with a solution.
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posted on March 7, 2012 09:01:30 AM new
I just called him. He was very cooperative and we discussed everything. It is quite obvious this is a problem with the Modernica website, and now the question is whether they will acknowledge the error and fix it. He thinks that the photo of the chair shows the same fabric, but the lighting makes it look much darker than that of the sofa.
He said that he called Modernica yesterday and they told him they have hundreds of colors of fabric and only depict 16 on their site. Of course, this is NOT mentioned on the page. Unfortunately, there are no labels on the chairs that indicate the color and fabric type. I referred to the color that was exactly as the photo shows.
When you place the photo of the chair next to the sofa in the same color name, it is obviously much different. The chair is black and the sofa is gray.
With a name like "Canvas Coal" how do you know what color you will receive? Seriously, coal is black.
[ edited by shagmidmod on Mar 7, 2012 09:10 AM ]
posted on March 7, 2012 09:28:34 AM new
Looks like its up to the customer if the couch was special order they own it. Maybe they can work an exchange, but Modernica is under no obligation to do so. So the customer can keep the chairs as is, maybe have them recovered, or send them back.
posted on March 7, 2012 10:26:59 AM new
The sofa wasn't special ordered. It was ordered from their 16 listed fabrics.
The customer wants the black fabric, not the gray fabric. The chairs he purchased from us are black.
The buyer purchased the chairs from us first. So, his issue isn't about how I listed them.
After he paid I was was packing them for shipment, he emailed me and asked for the color so he could order the sofa. He didn't wait for the chairs to arrive before ordering.
To check the color, I went to the Modernica website, pulled up the colors listed and gave him the color name based on the photos on their site. The chair photo in Canvas Coal shows the chair in black.
When you click on the sofa version, the color of the fabric shown in Canvas Coal shows it as dark gray with some striping.
I never looked at the sofa because I didn't have the sofa, I only had the chairs.
It appears that Modernica either used the wrong photo for the chair or they didn't properly color match the photos between the chair & sofa.
What perplexes me is why the buyer ordered the sofa before getting the chairs, and additionally, if he ordered them online he would have to see the photo of the sofa didn't match the photo in the eBay listing.
posted on March 7, 2012 02:08:28 PM new
well,why should he wait?
If he thinks he can get a matching set from the same maker,why cant he go ahead and order the couch.
What he should have learned from this is not to split the order,he should order the complete set from one place.
Say if I order a set of cups from Ebay seller and then order the saucers from Crate and Barrel,and it turns out they are made in different period and the color is slighly different,putting them together it is obvious they dont belong as a pair.
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posted on March 7, 2012 03:50:57 PM new
hwa - you are correct... but that isn't the problem. Modernica is just misrepresenting the color on their website.
i spoke with him again, and Modernica gave him pricing to have them "reupholstered". It is cheaper to do the sofa than to do the two chairs... ironically, you just unscrew the pads and return them. There are 6 pads on the sofa, while there are 4 pads on the chairs.
He asked if I would pay half the cost, but the problem is that Modernica has acknowledged the difference on the site and hasn't taken any responsibility for misleading photographs. I wish I could get on the phone and take care of it, because this isn't my fault.
In fact, the buyer told me he went to the website before calling Modernica to look at the chairs and pulled up the color and ordered it from them by phone. Had he ordered them from the site, he may have seen the difference in color on the sofa page.
So, 3 people (the original owner, us, and our customer) have all assumed the chairs are one color when they aren't. Seriously, how can 3 people see the same thing and Modernica wipe their hands clean of the problem?
posted on March 7, 2012 05:08:11 PM new
see,you keep calling your customer,thus giving him a a chance to ask you to foot half of the bill.
It is his fault for ordering in two places,so instead of saving money,he ended up spending more money !
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posted on March 7, 2012 06:25:16 PM new
actually, he called me. I called him once and I truly sympathize with him because both of us are frustrated with the information on their website that led to this.
