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eBay buying crap

A

Asusrles

Junior Member
Long time lurker, first time poster.

I bought some books on eBay and they came smelling like cigarette smoke (they didn't disclose it). I sent a complaint to the seller asking if we could work something out because of the cigarette smoke smell. They said I can send them back, but because of the cost to return them I decided to stick them in the garage with baking soda to air them out for a while.

One thing that gets me the most is when sellers don't disclose that their stuff reeks (especially cigarette smell), so I left them negative feedback telling others about the cigarette smell. Now they left me a positive feedback, but in the comments they're calling me a "scammer" for requesting a partial refund.

I've been on eBay for about 15 years, I've never left a negative feedback before. I've actually never communicated with a seller either. I usually just click "buy" pay five seconds later and away I go.

I was wondering what you all thought about the situation and if there anything I can do about that? I'm wondering if it breaks any eBay polices, because it's essentially a negative feedback.
 
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What condition did the seller state they were in? maybe you can use that clause to return them... that's your best bet

oh btw, welcome to ATOT
 
assuming you want to keep the books, i wouldn't do anything if i was in your situation because their feedback was positive. negatives are read much more frequently.
 
Asusrles said:
Long time lurker, first time poster.

I bought some books on eBay and they came smelling like cigarette smoke (they didn’t disclose it).
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As a former smoker, I can safely attest to the fact that smokers do not know their stuff smells like smoke. The smoke is so pervasive that it gets into everything and after a while it becomes the smell of "normal". So I don't think the seller was trying to hide anything or rip you off by not disclosing the smell, it's just that he doesn't even notice it.
 
MrDudeMan said:
assuming you want to keep the books, i wouldn't do anything if i was in your situation because their feedback was positive. negatives are read much more frequently.
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I think you’re right.

I think my mistake was that I sent a message to them trying to resolve the issue first. From reading around, I guess I should have left them a negative feedback first and never said anything. It would have left them with no room to accuse me of being a scammer.

I think in the future, I will leave negative feedback first, then let them counter first. That way I can avoid being called a scammer.
 
GagHalfrunt said:
As a former smoker, I can safely attest to the fact that smokers do not know their stuff smells like smoke. The smoke is so pervasive that it gets into everything and after a while it becomes the smell of "normal". So I don't think the seller was trying to hide anything or rip you off by not disclosing the smell, it's just that he doesn't even notice it.
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I would agree with you, but they claim that they don’t smoke nor does anyone in their house smoke. Well, needless to say, the stuff was around someone who smoked. 🙂

It would be a different story if they said, “I’m sorry, we smoke and I didn’t realize it, I’ll cover shipping back”.
 
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Smokers can't tell what it smells like. If it's not sold as "brand new," you really can't complain. You should change your feedback to positive.
 
Negative for smoke smell? Seems a little excessive to me, especially for a book.
If it were a $1000 laptop or something, I could understand.
 
edro said:
Negative for smoke smell? Seems a little excessive to me, especially for a book.
If it were a $1000 laptop or something, I could understand.
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Yeah, I might have gone neutral

But then again, I wouldn't want books that smelled like smoke
 
GagHalfrunt said:
As a former smoker, I can safely attest to the fact that smokers do not know their stuff smells like smoke. The smoke is so pervasive that it gets into everything and after a while it becomes the smell of "normal". So I don't think the seller was trying to hide anything or rip you off by not disclosing the smell, it's just that he doesn't even notice it.
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Probably this.

Same with any smell in a home that a person is constantly used to.

Although, I don't it was fair of him to call you a scammer.
 
I have been around a lot of old books and many have an "old book smell" that I think some would confuse for being a smoke smell. Are you sure it was smoke?
 
edro said:
Negative for smoke smell? Seems a little excessive to me, especially for a book.
If it were a $1000 laptop or something, I could understand.
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the price of the item doesn't really have anything to do with this issue. i definitely wouldn't want to read a book with a strong smoke smell for 8-10 hours especially considering how close it has to be to your face. anyway, misrepresentation of the item is the issue here.
 
CZroe said:
I have been around a lot of old books and many have an "old book smell" that I think some would confuse for being a smoke smell. Are you sure it was smoke?
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old book smell isn't as strong as smoke smell in my experience. i've said the word smell too many times in my head because it's starting to sound funny and lose meaning.
 
MrDudeMan said:
the price of the item doesn't really have anything to do with this issue. i definitely wouldn't want to read a book with a strong smoke smell for 8-10 hours especially considering how close it has to be to your face. anyway, misrepresentation of the item is the issue here.
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If it wasn't sold as "brand new" condition, then nothing was misrepresented.
 
Ichinisan said:
If it wasn't sold as "brand new" condition, then nothing was misrepresented.
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i disagree. if the book smells like smoke, it should be stated as such in the auction. the OP obviously agrees given his negative feedback.

just because something is used doesn't give you a pass to sell it in any condition without disclosing the issues. that just makes you (the seller) an asshole. there's also legal precedent for a buyer to college damages depending on the severity of the misrepresentation and/or willful non-disclosure. obviously it doesn't make sense to pursue that over a few books, but that doesn't make it less applicable as a concept.
 
can't believe I'm reading this. this is why I dont mess with ebay. you need to change that review dude, and never buy anything from there again. yes, you are too uptight.
 
Them calling you a scammer for asking for a partial refund for an item might be removed by eBay if you request. It is retaliatory, even if it is positive.

You should also change your feedback to neutral. The seller might not have been aware they books smelled like smoke (like all smokers, they are 'blind' to the smell) AND they offered to refund you if you sent to books back. You then chose not to do that. Sure, it sucks the books smell, but you bought used books.

Next time, message the seller with the question: Is the environment <item> was stored in smoker free? Do it through eBay and if they say yes, but the item reeks of smoke, you have a claim. Honestly, you could likely still win a claim and receive a full refund, but that is kind of a dick move.

MrDudeMan said:
You've completely missed the point of the review system.
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And, the OP reviewed in error. He was unhappy with the condition of the item and the seller was willing to accept a refund upon receipt of the item.
 
Should have just said he sent you a phonebook. Ebay has to then agree to a refund, lmao. Ebay is the biggest place for scammers, there are no repercussions.
 
Everyone does not perceive smells the same. It is very possible the seller smelled nothing. It is likely the buyer smells smoke. If the seller did not smell anything, how would they know to state it?

They offered a complete refund so I don't see what else they could have done whether they knew it or not.

I'm so old the idea of "smoke smell" is amusing because the smell was as ambiguous as breathing until the 1970s or so. The bars, theaters, and restaurants used to get a 2 foot haze from the ceiling when they were busy. At one time I thought a hangover was mostly from the smoke.


Jim
 
SP33Demon said:
Should have just said he sent you a phonebook. Ebay has to then agree to a refund, lmao. Ebay is the biggest place for scammers, there are no repercussions.
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eBay has to agree to a refund because otherwise, you can just claim you didn't get it or they didn't send the item, etc. When you a granted a refund, you have to input the tracking number of your package into eBay. Once that tracking number has reached it's location, eBay then issues the refund through PayPal (although, I don't know how long this integration will remain with PayPal being spun off on it's own). While, some scams certainly still exist (sending bad items back in return), it is the best system we can hope for. You won't get a system that allows people to do things without some kind of oversight to not have some that abuse it.

Some of the worst cases I've heard about were people buying Jordans, claiming they were fakes, and sending back fakes to the seller and getting a full refund.
 
smackababy said:
eBay has to agree to a refund because otherwise, you can just claim you didn't get it or they didn't send the item, etc. When you a granted a refund, you have to input the tracking number of your package into eBay. Once that tracking number has reached it's location, eBay then issues the refund through PayPal (although, I don't know how long this integration will remain with PayPal being spun off on it's own). While, some scams certainly still exist (sending bad items back in return), it is the best system we can hope for. You won't get a system that allows people to do things without some kind of oversight to not have some that abuse it.

Some of the worst cases I've heard about were people buying Jordans, claiming they were fakes, and sending back fakes to the seller and getting a full refund.
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Don't forget that even if you insure it through USPS, you then have to get the scammer to cooperate and sign a document to collect. They need a better system than this, such as outsourcing ebay reps to post offices to verify the contents of the package before it's sent. But that will never happen, too time consuming and ebay reps aren't SME's. For example, from your example - an ebay rep probably wouldn't know how to spot fake Jordans unless they were properly trained. Maybe AI will be good enough one day to accomplish product verification at the PO.
 
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