posted on October 11, 2013 06:42:07 PM new
Sold a hanging mobile to a buyer. Item is brand new in unopened package. She receives it, then emails me stating that it is tangled up and one piece is broken. Asks for a replacement.
The item is packaged in a way that prevents it from being tangled... unless it gets tangled once the buyer opens it and tangles it up while handling it.
This was the last one, so I contacted the company who agreed to send a replacement once she sent a photo of the item with all of the pieces cut off. She emails me back stating she spent an hour on the phone with eBay trying to attach a photo and now she wants a refund. So, I tell her to return it.
She claims to have sent me pics of the cut off pieces, but I never received any photos. Today the package arrives and not only is it tangled, but mangled as well. The pieces are all bent up and some have splatter all over them, like a coke exploded. They were not cut off the mobile as she had claimed to do. The paperwork also had splatter on it. It looks like a child or a cat got ahold of it.
I called eBay and was told there was little I could do other than to report the buyer so they can monitor her for other issues, but for me it is nothing more than the "cost of business" on eBay. I sent the refund, blocked her immediately.
posted on October 11, 2013 07:27:42 PM new
There are more incidents like this on Ebay,blame it on the economy,minimum wage,single mother,Obamacare,locusts,Black Plaque.
I have a buyer from Tasmania doing the same,item arrived broken and it is all my fault and cant produce a picture.
Or item is cheap ,so ?
nickpick on vintage item and wanna hear what you have to say?
I am still smarting from negs left months ago,I am no longer a top rated power seller ,do I care,I dont care anymore!
Oh,there is an article on Donohue recently,saying Ebay does not compete with its sellers,like AMZN,it is a technology partner with its sellers !
Some technology partner?????
posted on October 11, 2013 08:06:56 PM new
I have had similar issues. Brand new clothing item, new in packaging & buyer claims it smells awful. I have sold several of identical items & have given others away as gifts, no odor!!
Had 3 feedback remarks saying vintage dolls smelled musty!! The dolls are sometimes 50 years old people, could you pass the sniff test?? They were stored in a dry closet, not a basement, not an attic and in their original boxes.
posted on October 12, 2013 06:53:09 AM new
Many are resellers,if they can get a partial refund from you,then they can make more.BUY LOW AND SELL HIGH.
If they can get it free,then their cost is zero.
posted on October 12, 2013 08:24:49 AM new
Here is the firs email from this customer. item is new in packaging from an upscale children's store.
"I received the pajamas and they smell horrible of mildew! I soaked and washed them twice in hot water...the second time with non-chlorine bleach...and they still smell after drying! The washing machine now smells from them, and I had to take a shower to get the smell off my hands?!?!?! I should not have to be spending my Saturday like this on a brand new with tags in package item I was going to surprise my son with! I'm so disappointed! I confused how you could sell this."
Sold & gave as gifts the same items, glowing reviews!!
posted on October 12, 2013 09:21:23 AM new
merrie- you shouldn't sell smelly items as new... don't you know??? lol.
I worked in a dry cleaner when I was in college and there is no way odors are not released once it has been cleaned. She is obviously lying, but that story goes beyond the realm of reality.
The reality is that this is a problem in all retail sectors, no matter what is sold. People buy big screen TVs to host superbowl parties and then return them (they could easily rent one). Retailers have struggled with this problem repeatedly and it is the cost of doing business... but the thing that is most frustrating is that this isn't the cost of doing business for eBay. They take no risk in this at all and their protection policies are horrible for sellers.
posted on October 12, 2013 01:10:29 PM new
If just her hands smell,why shower the whole body?
She probably uses the line on many sellers,not just you.
Once I sold some slighly worn and like new shoes to a buyer,she said the minute she slipped her foot in,the heels broke and she presented a repair bill almost the same amount as she had paid me.I read her feedback,there were comments from other sellers who were getting the same emails.
I ignored her and never hear from her again,but now we cannot leave negative comments in positive feedback,thats one of the 3 million rules from our 'TECHNOLOGY PARTNER' Ebay!
posted on October 12, 2013 01:25:16 PM new
Just thought you would get a kick out of all of these emails.
I told her to return item and I would refund.I said I would take it to the retailer for a replacement, or she could do it herself if she was near a store.
Her reply:
"Thx...I took the tags off and washed them. My husband threw the packaging out...the shipping package and pj package out bc it was smelling up the kitchen. Do you still think you can return them? How long have you had them? There is definitely something wrong with them. I thought it was weird too because they are new?!?!"
posted on October 12, 2013 01:59:06 PM new
So, her response is... change the subject away from returning it to giving you a plethora of reasons why she made the item nonreturnable???
Seriously, I would ask her to video record her setting the item on fire and send it to you for proof of destruction. That is how absurd it is getting.
posted on October 12, 2013 02:08:07 PM new
Next email:
"Hi, sorry for taking so long to reply. I have a baby so things get hectic! If you have more can I send these back and you swap out, send me an unpackaged other one that smells clean and then you'll have a package to take these back in?
I don't live near a store and shop online because of baby.
Thanks"
My response:
Hi, I do not have another one of these. I also would be hesitant to send another pair since I had those PJs in my house & packaged them, etc & could not detect any odor. So, I am afraid that another pair my not be appropriate since you may be more sensitive to odors that I am and my friends. If you return them, I will try to get to the bottom of this with the retailer. We try to please, but I really am baffled by this since I have had so many of the PJs and no problems. We do invisibly mark all of our items prior to shipping to insure in the rare case of a problem we can correctly identify that the product is ours & how to correct the problem going forward. So, if you return them, I will try to return them for some kind of explanation and refund your money. Sorry for the inconvenience.
I did not really mark them.But, I do have others & sniffed them all, no noxious odors!!
posted on October 12, 2013 02:14:20 PM new
I have a few issues with your situation merrie.
1) she washed the item. I would think that after a buyer has washed the item that they have accepted it in good faith as appropriate, unless you suggested she wash it to remove any of her "claimed" odors.
2) she tossed all of the packaging. again, if there is a bad odor when you open an item, why would you toss the packaging if your intention is to return them?
The fact that she seems concerned that the item is nonreturnable is a red flag. I would bet to say that she claims the stamp was washed off after they blasted it with a pressure washer. lol.
Once you finish this transaction, no matter how it ends, I hope you report her. I reported my buyer. I hope that this system of eBay's actually works, but I have a feeling it is nothing more than a way for them to make sellers feel like they are doing something good.
[ edited by shagmidmod on Oct 12, 2013 02:16 PM ]
posted on October 12, 2013 02:25:36 PM new
Shag:I agree. I have never had a customer with this level of drama. The transaction was not a large $$ amount & I want her to at least have to go to the trouble of returning the item. For curiosity sake, I want to SMELL this!!
Latest:
"I'm sorry...I'm not trying to cause a problem. They just smell REALLY bad. If I put them in the mail back to you can you please confirm how much you would refund me and if there are any stipulations? I'm not sure why you told me you marked them. I'm not trying to return something else. I also worry whatever you did to them may have come off in the wash. Does it withhold hot water and non-chlorine bleach? Thank you and I'll make my final decision after I hear back from you. It's just a lot for me to deal with having 2 little kids."
Me:
Hi, When I receive them, I will refund your purchase price plus shipping once I confirm the horribleness of the smell. I would not agree to a return of new item after it was washed unless there is a really good reason, (obviously, I cannot resell them if they have been washed and are not in original packaging) that is why I need the item returned so I can confirm the odor & hopefully get some answers from the retailer. I mentioned the marking only as a comment as to my experience with selling on Ebay. I does hold up to washing. I am sure you are not trying to return something else. I am sure you would not go to this much trouble to return a $10 item since you are a seller on Ebay, also. I would just like to get to the bottom of this as it is so unusual. As stated earlier, I have had a number of identical items and no odor. Thanks"
She does sell on Ebay. I just want the item returned. I am not going to refund anything until I get the item back. I realize what you say is true,Shag, why wash something that would stink up your whole house?!
Also, if it was that bad I think I would have been able to sniff something through the packaging as I was quite near the item during listing, packaging, etc. The packaging was not air tight. It was in plastic with a snap at the top, not sealed.
posted on October 12, 2013 02:37:27 PM new
Just as I suspected about the washing. I don't get the drama either. My item was $35-40. I really think a cat or child got ahold of it when it arrived.
posted on October 12, 2013 02:51:23 PM new
We'll see if it gets returned. If she threw away the packaging, she does not have my address & has never asked for it.
posted on October 12, 2013 04:30:59 PM new
why dont you just tell her since she has washed it,she cant return it.
If she leaves neg feedback,report to Ebay.
posted on October 12, 2013 05:00:37 PM new
lost, I guess I am just curious about the hideous smell and what lengths people will go to. She could claim INAD even though she does say the item was new.
posted on October 12, 2013 07:46:52 PM new
You can call Ebay and have her neg removed.
Ebay customer service has heard this many times,this housewife is trying to put more meat on the table by getting something for nothing.
Taking a shower after washing your item??
posted on October 18, 2013 06:21:57 PM new
End of the smelly PJ sage, hopefully:
I've decided not to take the time to return the item since refund is under confirmation of the horribleness of the smell. Like you said, you don't notice anything with the others(so you probably won't with this) and you mentioned that if you reship anything else I will probably still have an issue with what I smell. It is true that I am very sensitive to smells but anything new should definitely not smell like mildew, especially after washes. I don't want to be out what I already paid plus an amount to ship back to you just to hear I won't get a refund. I'm going to chalk it up as a bad eBay experience and throw them out. perhaps you just can't smell it. not sure.
I am not going to even reply. I guess she wanted to keep the PJs and get a refund, also with me accepting the fact that a brand new pair of PJs smelled "horrible."
posted on October 19, 2013 01:04:01 AM new
I am glad you got the pj problem settled. I will say that I received a brand new memory foam mattress topper that smelled like mildew to me at first. The smell disappeared with time. I wonder if there is something in synthetic materials and/or fire retardant that has this odor that people who are sensitive to odors can pick up.
-------------------------------------
posted on October 19, 2013 08:07:10 AM new
I have heard that some memory foam mattresses had an odor from reviews online. Also, I have purchased sheet sets had had a chemical smell, but that smell went away when washed. This was sooooo extreme, needing a shower, washing machine got stinky, etc.
So, why not return it?? Also, where did she keep this vile set of PJs while waiting to resolve issue?? Buried in the backyard??
posted on October 19, 2013 10:25:34 AM new
I am curious to know if she has a front loading or upright washing machine.
There is a big lawsuit against front loading washing machine companies, the newest one on Whirlpool for mildew problems. Maybe (and this is a stretch), she wasn't smelling the PJs, but something else she washed in her front loader. When she washed the PJs they also then smelled like mildew. Everything else she wears smells like mildew now, so she had to take a shower!
You can find many stories online about mildew and mold in washing machines.
posted on October 19, 2013 02:05:08 PM new
If there is a mildew problem with her washer,she probably knows it already since she has a family with a young kid.
It could be something else she placed in the washer in the same load as yours.
posted on November 8, 2013 02:00:47 PM new
Smelly PJ lady just left neg FB. I told her she could return them, she said it was too trouble, but not too much trouble to annoy me & cause trouble!
posted on November 8, 2013 02:36:40 PM new
Kozersky, did do a reply. I am actually on vacation right now. Have wifi & ipad, so saw the neg. first one in years. I am going to report her to ebay when we return. Never did that before so don't know whether I have a case or not. We'll see!
posted on November 11, 2013 06:27:05 PM new
I'm not sure how eBay will handle it. I am very curious to know if they will stand behind the seller regarding the feedback.
They do seem to have a different tone, but I have not had a feedback issue for quite some time, and hopefully it will stay that way.
