Thoughts on Neutral and negative feedback on Ebay?

Hi all, just wondering about something at the moment. It's not specifically transformers related in this case but may still be relevant. I'm unsure about leaving feedback for a transaction and what the implications are.

I've been looking for a hardcover version of a star wars novel and found one pretty cheap. I bid and won the auction. The listing is here:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Star-Wars...vip=true&rt=nc

Of particular note is the condition section, which is listed as 'near new' and has a description of what that means and further down in the listing the seller wrote "Read once. Bought second hand so cover is a little frayed". I asked about the condition/wear and the seller uploaded some photos which all look good.

I received the book last week after a drawn out saga regarding the postage with I think a n00b mistake on both our parts (what the hell is pitney bowles limited and why is my money going there? i better report it...) and the first page has the corner torn off and a library stamp and a few pages where the publishing details are there is a library sticker.

Now this was not mentioned at all and imo does not constitute 'near new' or "No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins. May be very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover.". I am aware that I was buying a second hand book which was already bought second hand but if you don't say that the book has torn pages and stamps then I don't expect to see them when I receive it. Looking through the user's feedback 1 person has left neutral feedback saying that the particular item was 'listed as near new but had creases and the postage was more than what they paid for the item' which is pretty much the same situation that I am in.

I'm unsure if I would have bid on the item if it was listed as damaged and stamped, I have been chasing up some comic TPBs and have definitely skipped on buying some based on the condition. It was cheap and available and said near new so I went for it.

So basically I'm a bit hesitant because I almost feel like it is a social faux pas or something and I don't want to be "that guy" but I believe I've basically been misled about something. A lot of us here are pretty specific collectors in a hobby and honesty and condition of items is pretty important.

What are people's thoughts about this and has anyone been in a similar situation? The seller was good to deal with and communicate and helpful but I think has been dishonest in this item.

It seems like such a trivial thing that is working me up a bit...

I'd try and contact the seller. If you get a partial refund, leave neutral feedback. If you get nowhere, or he insists sending it back at your expense, lodge a claim with PayPal and leave negative feedback.

E-bay is red hot on "item not as described" purchases now and you have a very strong case. I'm pretty sure if you want your money back you need to start a dispute in the correct drop down option and the seller has to pay return shipping, alternatively you can contact the seller and try to resolve it amicably and perhaps gaining a partial refund would be best but this has recently been limited by e-bay/paypal from personal experience. Another way they are trying to stop people giving them millions of dollars in fees every quarter. :mad: Your situation is weighted heavily in the buyers favour.
E-bay do seem to change their policies as much as I do undies so this info may be out of date now.

Not taking postage into account, I think you still got it for a good price.

Having said that, if I were in your shoes I'd probably feel mislead and pretty ticked.

If you don't mind me asking, how much was postage, since you stated that it was less than you were charged. If it was only a dollar or two, I'd say that's fair for time and materials, especially if it was a new package.
If it's more than a few bucks, I think your within your rights to ask for a partial refund of the shipping cost.


I think the cost of postage is a separate issue to the state of the book as well.
I'd take a few photos of the stickers and stamps inside the book and send them to the seller explaining how you feel misled and that if you'd have known the book was in that condition you may not have even bid. you're entitled to something there, see what they say.

On the other hand, apart from that the book looks to be in pretty good nick and the story pages, which are the ones that really matter (to me personally) , appear to be fine.
If it's a hard to find book, perhaps you're better off getting a partial refund on the shipping and being happy that you have it at all.

hopefully this has been some useful food for thought.

Pitney bowles limited is a shipping company that handles sending things overseas for US Ebay sellers(among other things). The seller sends them the item and they pack it and send it on to you. Not really suss, though not really fair priced and ebay makes it quite tricky for US sellers sending internationally to not have to use them. That said going through them does make life easier for the seller and when the stars align just right you can get a savings on shipping because it wasn't worked out right when invoicing and they have to eat the extra cost

thanks for all the comments. it wasn't the smoothest auction, i'm wondering if it was the seller's first time shipping internationally. i didn't click the fine print or details regarding the ebay global shipping thing and i'm not sure if the seller did either. after i paid he sent me a message saying 'i thought you were in australia, paypal is showing a uk address', then i checked my account and my payment split into 2 amounts which didn't match the item/shipping price and only 1 was for the seller so we both freaked out a little haha.

the book in hardcover at least does seem to be fairly expensive and not readily available to international people on amazon and ebay. i ended up winning the auction at 2.75 pounds. i asked him if there were different options for postage as the ebay global shipping option was relatively expensive for the item. he went to the post office and the quote was 8 pounds which was half ebay's price, so i paid 10.75 pounds. the money isn't the issue, if i was to ask for a refund it would basically be compensation for being misled.

he didn't mention the tear or stamps or anything even after i specifically enquired about the wear and condition, just added a couple of photos of the closed book. so aside from the original listing there was a second opportunity to mention the damage and he didn't say anything.

i know it's not much and flicking through the book the rest of it seems fine it's both the principle and also the collector/ocd aspect of every time i look at it i would feel dirty and ripped off haha. there is definitely a part of me that wants to get rid of it and try my luck finding another one. how stupid is that... :/

i think i will send him a message first with a photo and tell him i'm pretty disappointed. i'm not sure if i will ask about the possibility of a refund or wait for him to respond and see if he offers.

I'd definitely contact him and say hey what's up, this has pages missing which while not major (since you say it's just publishers info) I wasn't informed about this.
Generally a decent seller will apologize and offer some compensation for the oversight, but if you're not happy with the reply you can take it a step further through ebay/paypal.
If it gets to that point I would be likely to leave a negative, because while it's not a major damage it's still significantly not as described and if you need to go through the claims system then that's a paddlin'... I mean strike.

I'd definitely send pictures of the damage and stamps. tell him you feel misled and see what he says.

In response to your actual thread title, which I never actually commented on earlier:o

If he tries to make amends and sounds genuinely apologetic for not mentioning the stamps and other damage, then in the end I'd probably give a Neutral.

Negatives tend to sting on eBay, especially if it's not an actual business and doesn't have high turnover. He has already done a lot for you by investigating prices at the post office etc. so he has put some effort into being a good seller.

I always give'em a chance to give me a full or partial refund or replace the item before I leave negative feedback. If they don't do any of the above then negative feedback is what they get and deserve

One of my pet hates with feedback is when the Seller waits to leave feedback only after you do. They basically holding the Buyer 'hostage'. There is no valid reason to behave like this.

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Originally Posted by Megatran

One of my pet hates with feedback is when the Seller waits to leave feedback only after you do. They basically holding the Buyer 'hostage'. There is no valid reason to behave like this.

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Very much agree with this. As a buyer, once you've paid up then your end of the transaction is done so the seller should leave feedback first. I've seen numerous excuses like waiting for the buyer to post feedback so they know the item has been delivered.

Ok, I sent the seller this message:

Hi, the book and your card arrived a week or so ago. I want to say thanks for the help in dealing with the postage and paypal situation. However I also need to say I'm pretty disappointed with the condition of the book. In the listing it was mentioned as "like new", which as part of the description says "No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins." Also in the listing you have included this comment: "Read once. Bought second hand so cover is a little frayed". When I specifically enquired about the wear and condition you added a couple of photos and didn't mention anything else.

When I opened the package I found that it seems to be an ex-library book with a stamp inside, a torn page and stickers on 2 other pages. I'm pretty annoyed because a) this is definitely not like new and does not match the condition the listing says, b) you didn't mention any of this in the original listing information or comments and c) you also didn't mention anything when I specifically asked about the wear and cover. As big fan and collector of Star Wars and Transformers figures, books and comics I take pride in what I've managed to collect and enjoy over the years and having items in good condition is very important. If I had known about this I don't believe I would have bid on it. I think you have been a bit misleading at the least and perhaps deliberately dishonest.

I'd like to hear what you have to say. Cheers,


This was the response:

Hi Phillip,

Apologies about this, I didn't actually know it was torn or had a library stamp. As I said, I've I lay read it once and that was a while ago now. I understand as a collector you like everything to be at a certain condition.

All I can offer is a full refund. Or if you'd like to send the book back and I can refund you for it if you want to find a better condition book?

Thanks

I accepted the offer of full refund and it has gone into my account. Now is neutral feedback still a fair and valid response? At the end of the day taking emotions etc out of the picture, the seller offered something which clearly did not match the advertised condition, had a chance to correct it and provide more information but didn't and hence i was not satisfied with the product. i did get my money back. I'm not sure if that counts as positive, do you think neutral is reasonable?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by philby

Ok, I sent the seller this message:

Hi, the book and your card arrived a week or so ago. I want to say thanks for the help in dealing with the postage and paypal situation. However I also need to say I'm pretty disappointed with the condition of the book. In the listing it was mentioned as "like new", which as part of the description says "No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins." Also in the listing you have included this comment: "Read once. Bought second hand so cover is a little frayed". When I specifically enquired about the wear and condition you added a couple of photos and didn't mention anything else.

When I opened the package I found that it seems to be an ex-library book with a stamp inside, a torn page and stickers on 2 other pages. I'm pretty annoyed because a) this is definitely not like new and does not match the condition the listing says, b) you didn't mention any of this in the original listing information or comments and c) you also didn't mention anything when I specifically asked about the wear and cover. As big fan and collector of Star Wars and Transformers figures, books and comics I take pride in what I've managed to collect and enjoy over the years and having items in good condition is very important. If I had known about this I don't believe I would have bid on it. I think you have been a bit misleading at the least and perhaps deliberately dishonest.

I'd like to hear what you have to say. Cheers,


This was the response:

Hi Phillip,

Apologies about this, I didn't actually know it was torn or had a library stamp. As I said, I've I lay read it once and that was a while ago now. I understand as a collector you like everything to be at a certain condition.

All I can offer is a full refund. Or if you'd like to send the book back and I can refund you for it if you want to find a better condition book?

Thanks

I accepted the offer of full refund and it has gone into my account. Now is neutral feedback still a fair and valid response? At the end of the day taking emotions etc out of the picture, the seller offered something which clearly did not match the advertised condition, had a chance to correct it and provide more information but didn't and hence i was not satisfied with the product. i did get my money back. I'm not sure if that counts as positive, do you think neutral is reasonable?

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You should do a positive feedback, neutral is very unreasonable considering you have full refund and the item still.

I know you think this guy deceived you, but when approached about it he's given you a refund and claimed no knowledge of the damage.... Give him the benefit of the doubt.

I'd be giving him positive feedback quoting " had a few hiccups with sale, seller was happy to fix once approached" which is now the truth, or just don't leave any feedback at all.

We've all had things go south on eBay, leaving anything but positive/no feedback would be kinda poor form on your part now in this instance.

Just my two cents :)

That to me is a response which warrants positive feedback as well.

ok thanks very much for your help! I left positive feedback with 5 stars except for the item description part and a little note and sent a message to the seller.