Ebay WAHM item - what would you do?

[chlobo]

I bid on a shopping card cover made by a wahm (not one recommended here, I should have known).

Anyhow, the woman was very nice and put up with a lot of emails back and forth about fabrics. I eventually bought my own and mailed it to her and she deducted it form the auction price.

Anyhow, I got the cart cover and I don't like it. It has way too much stuffing and its very lumpy and sure to get lumpier when I wash it.

As a seller, she did do what she "advertised" and in a timely fashion. However, I'm not happy with the final product. What would you do? Contact her? Leave bad feedback?

[Saartje]

Leave positive feedback on eBay: she did fill the terms of the contract, and that's what that's all about.

Leave an accurate review in the appropriate forum here.

Contact her about what you dislike about the cover -- she may offer to fix it, and even if she doesn't, maybe she'll adjust her design and some other mom will benefit. Be sure to update your review with word of her response. ;)

[pritchettzoo]

Contact her with your problems. You can leave a technically positive review saying, "On time, good communication, but cover too stuffed & lumpy." I'd wait and see how she responds to your complaints though. She could be a new WAHM and still working out the kinks on her pattern and the only way she'll know is if you tell her.

Anna
Mama to Gracie (Sept '03)

[Dscvrlifewith3]

<<I bid on a shopping card cover made by a wahm (not one recommended here, I should have known).

Anyhow, the woman was very nice and put up with a lot of emails back and forth about fabrics. I eventually bought my own and mailed it to her and she deducted it form the auction price.

Anyhow, I got the cart cover and I don't like it. It has way too much stuffing and its very lumpy and sure to get lumpier when I wash it.>>

I used to be a powerseller on eBay, selling my wares and doing custom orders just like the WAHM you mentioned above. First, it would be wrong to leave her negative feedback, and IMO poor conduct to say something negative about the product in the feedback. Go to the appropriate forum here and write a critique on why you didn't like it. I will state my reasons below:

1) The seller fulfilled the agreement, even accepting fabric you sent her and reducing the price of the item (which probably cut into her profit because I am sure she gets fabrics at cost or near cost)
2) The item is not what you expected. However she still made you her product. Maybe her product is supposed to be "stuffed" and the end result may be lumpy. Someone else may love it. (I'm sure you checked her feedback :) )

As someone who customs sews and bends over backwards to give my customers what they want, sometimes its just impossible. There expectations or vision may be something I either can't do or don't do. Often they want something, have a vision of it, and when they get it, its nothing like they imagined. This isn't the fault of the person who made the item.

Try selling it to someone else or give it as a gift. Definitely right a nice note with a critique of the item, saying why you didn't like it and it wasnt what you expected to the WAHM personally. It may help her perfect her item in the future.

Take care,
Kim

[chlobo]

Thanks for the feedback. I definitely was feeling awkward about leaving negative feedback so I probably wouldn't have done that.

She did say in her auction that the winner could buy their own fabric. And for what its worth it was clearance fabric at Joann's so it was pretty darn cheap.

I guess I'm just disappointed with the end product but I know that doesn't mean she didn't do what she promised.

I will send her an email with my feedback.

[firsttimemommy]

Hi Carren!

I agree with the other posters - negative feedback would not be appropriate - but you can certainly not RAVE in your feedback either - if an item is not what I expected/liked (but still represented correctly by the seller) I just say good things about the communication, etc. in my feedback.

I also agree with Kim in that it is hard to buy something sight unseen and no matter how hard you try, as a seller/designer you can't please everyone, and as long as the item is not defective, it is no one's "fault" if the match isn't perfect between customer and product. So a note to her would be a great idea so she can use the feedback and possibly try to resolve your unhappiness.

I design and make shopping cart covers and if someone wasn't happy with my product, I would DEFINITELY want to know - constructive criticism is always welcome! Did she state a return policy on her auction? I know if I was selling new products on ebay, I would allow returns of unused items/in new condition for a full refund. If what the customer didn't like was "fixable" I would offer to do that too.

I would defintiely post a review here AFTER talking with her, so you can state what you didn't like, but also what positive steps (if any) the seller was willing to take to resolve it (sometimes great customer service MAKES the company since products are often not perfect in one way or another). Good luck!!! I'm sorry you were not pleased! That's a bummer!

Ronda
Proud Mommy to Jenna Leigh 1/03 and Jake 4/04

"If you live to be 100, I want to live to be 100 minus one day, so I never have to live without you" ~ Winnie the Pooh