Another eBay question

[egoldber]

I bought Sarah a dollhouse on eBay. Its an older version of the current Fisher Price Loving Family Classic dollhouse. (The dollhouse is really the same, just some of the colors and decals are different in the new version.) But I got it for $5. It was a no reserve auction and the seller had a VERY sparse description and a lousy picture. The description said it had been well played with and had a few marks on it, but lots of life left. I e-mailed the seller and asked a few questions about the condition. She said it had a few crayon marks but was otherwise OK.

So I bid the starting bid thinking I wouldn't win, but I did. I sent her PayPal last Monday, she shipped on Wednesday and I got it today. All very prompt. Also as an added bonus, I thought I was buying just the dollhouse, no furniture or dolls, and it did come with 3 dolls and a few pieces of furniture.

I didn't get a real chance to look at it until tonight after Sarah went to bed. Well, a "few" crayon marks was a bit of an understatement, but it wasn't so bad. BUT I was appalled at how FILTHY it was. Like dirty filthy. Like I could see fingerprints in the black kind of filthy. I spent a half hour with a bottle of 409 and some Clorox wipes, and it doesn't look bad now. Even most of the crayon marks are now gone. I haven't started on the accessories yet, but they are similarly filthy, although I expect them to clean up mostly OK.

But what should I do for feedback? Is it unreasonable to expect an item to be CLEAN when you receive it? I use eBay a lot as a resource, but I honestly haven't done a lot of buying and selling on eBay, so I'm a bit of a newbie at this sort of thing. But I would personally by embarrassed to ship an item to someone in that condition.

WWYD?

[starrynight]

I wouldn't sell anything dirty! If the seller didn't want to clean it herself the least he/she could have done was note in the description it needed a cleaning. I have seen people do that, so at least your aware kwim?

I would either not leave feedback at all or leave neutral feedback saying item was very dirty but seller shipped out okay or something like that.

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

OMG edited because I said hospital instead of post office...I'm a nut!!!

That's a hard one...because for me you couldn't pay me $25 (honest to god) to just go to the post office...and I think I wouldn't be up for wrapping any package and going to the post office for $50, so that you got it for $5 makes me think "wow I can't beleive the gal did it for that"...but then again that is her problem if she didn't put a reserve etc...

What would I do??? I'd leave her positive feedback jsut becasue i imagine a stay at home mom trying to make a few bucks (literally) and most go by feedback when buying. But I wouldn't blame you no matter what you do. I guess you'd have to clean it anyway , it's probably why I don't sell anything on Ebay the prep to get it out just is time consuming.
Neve
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[houseof3boys]

I would leave neutral feedback and email her and tell her before you do it. Just say perhaps she didn't realize that it was so dirty but that you spent 30 minutes cleaning it and you were under the impression that it was in better shape (since ok condition has nothing to do with filth in her mind) and you just wanted to let her know that you are leaving her neutral feedback.

Did she leave you feedback already?

On the plus side: you got extra furniture and it was only $5 but I would still be pissed at all that nitty gritty cleaning you had to do.

[sweetbasil]

I'd either let it go, like Neve, or contact the seller and see what she says. I try to always work it out with a seller before leaving any feedback that's less than positive; that's how I'd want a buyer to handle it if I sold them something they weren't satisfied with. JMO....

[peanut4us]

It all depends, quite frankly, on whether the seller already left you feedback. If so, then I would leave neutral. If not, then i would not leave feedback until they do. You don't want to get burned if the seller doesn't seem to have any sense of cleanliness.

[egoldber]

I forgot to mention that the seller already left me positive feedback. She left it immediately after I made payment. You know the standard non-helpful eBay feedback (Great buyer, super eBay-er, A+++++, LOL!!). I would contact the seller, but I'm not sure what I'd even say to her. I don't expect any money or compensation, I was just a little appalled at the dirt.

I guess I'm inclined to just not leave feedback.

[nohomama]

Just because the seller has already left you feedback, you're not obliged to do the same. My inclination would be to not leave feedback at all. If you feel you must, either leave neutral or positive feedback with a comment to the effect of "Received item quickly. Item was as described, however it was filthy."

[mharling]

If it were me, I would not leave feedback. But I would also consider sending the seller an e-mail stating that you won't and why. It would be worth pointing out that you were surprised about the cleanliness or lack thereof and make a polite suggestion that future auctions should have a statement about an item needing cleaning or that the item be cleaned up in advance. If the seller sees that not doing either of these things led to her not getting positive feedback, she may be inclined to be more responsible next time.

Mary & Lane 4/6/03
http://www.shutterfly.com/osnt.jsp?i=67b0de21b356c32425b2 - Halloween Pics!

[pritchettzoo]

I probably would just not leave feedback. In my experience, people whose stuff is filty are completely oblivious to that fact. Even if you had known it was going to have to be decontaminated, would you have paid $5 for it? If not, then contact her. Otherwise, just be glad you don't have to live in her house!

Also, for crayon marks, the new Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is supposed to be, well, magic. A friend's DS decided to color his wall during naptime and she is singing its praises.

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[AngelaS]

Did the description SAY it was clean? I have learned to NEVER assume anything from an auction. LOL I would figure that for $5, you got a STEAL and if you had to spend some time cleaning, so what? I don't think she deserves a neutral or a neg, as her item wasn't WORSE that described. I mean, once the dirt came off....you know you got a good deal.

I would probably NOT leave any feedback.

Also, the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser--is MAGIC! I was amazed... :D

[cinrein]

I would leave no feedback. I too would be embarrassed to sell a filthy item (unless I described it as filthy as was unable to clean it for some reason), but then again I like to think I keep a reasonably clean house. Some people just don't see dirt. Should she contact you asking for feedback (someone did this to me once), I'd explain why you can't leave her a glowing report.

Cindy and Anna 2/11/03

[nigele]

Yuck! I probably would not bother to leave any feedback. For $5, it's not worth hard feelings. FWIW, I would be annoyed as well.

Speaking of the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser - I wonder if it would clean a chocolate handprint off of my wall?!

[jojo2324]

I don't know what I'd do about feedback, as I'm no seasoned Ebayer, buyer or seller. I might email the lady, or just leave positive feedback because it was received so quickly and with "extras."

BUT the Mr Clean Magic Eraser is AWESOME!!! We have white walls, so I can't attest to its powers on colored walls, but it got everything off. (There were lots of scuffs and paw prints from the cats.) But, while it cleans really well, I'm not quite sure what it's DOING. I think it kind of re-wets the paint. Once it dries, it feels chalky.

[dogmom]

Jumping on your eBay thread. I just had a buyer not be able to complete her transaction, her e-check "bounced" with paypal I guess. The sale ended 3 weeks ago and Paypal just informed me that the transaction wouldn't be completed, I think they tried twice to get the funds. I emailed her and asked her what was up, and if she wasn't going to complete the buy could she please let me know in 24 hours so I can make a second chance offer. She wrote back (the first time she has responded to my emails) that the was having "problems with her bank" and she would rather "end the transaction than keep me in limbo." I actually think she got buyers remorse because the item went for much more than I expected. She has tons of feedback, mostly positive, but 3 with negative for non feedback. I told her I would leave her neutral feedback simply stating "Unable to complete transaction due to problems with buyers bank." Then this warning pops up on eBay about "be sure" and "think twice." Now, I think I am being very generous since now I don't know if the other person will buy the item and I may have wasted by listing fee, plus this is taking a lot of time from me. To make matters worse she won TWO items from me at the same time. Am I out of line for leaving neutral feedback. This is the think I HATE about eBay. Everything is A+++++, awesome stupendous, just for paying your stupid bill. How about, "quick payment, 2 days, happy to do business." I just don't want to get into some flame war with this person and have her leave negative feedback on me which hurts my selling in the future. How do you more experienced people handle it?

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03