Among other sources I get many pens from eBay. Occasionally one will arrive with undisclosed damage, like a cracked nib or cap lip. An otherwise rather nice Swan 3260 arrived yesterday but it had a crack in the cap. Those repairs are too time-consuming to be worth the effort so I requested a return. The seller, 1968mandy2011, refused the return, saying that the pen was good when it left her so I must have over-tightened the cap. Never mind the fact that that’s not how cap lip cracks happen, the crack was ingrained with dirt and clearly old.
I told her that I would wait eBay’s statutory eight days and refer the matter to them for judgement. It was only at that point, fool that I am, that I looked at her feedback. With less than 500 sales she has six negatives and three neutrals. Judging by the buyers’ comments she makes a habit of concealing flaws in the goods she sells and adding insult to injury by blaming those she has wronged.
She couldn’t leave well enough alone and kept messaging me with increasingly vituperative insults. I brushed them off calmly. I’ve been there before! Eventually her comments descended into obscenity and I reported it to eBay. This morning I received a return-paid label from eBay.
I don’t usually write about eBay disputes and I don’t usually name and shame but while this one was amusing it was also unpleasant. I suspect that others less persistent than me may have lost their money for useless goods. Best to avoid 1968mandy2011, I would say. She will have seven negatives shortly.
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Sorry you had to go through that and glad you stood your ground. I’ll never understand people like that. Thanks too for the warning.
Years ago there were often problems with returns and I learned how best to deal with them. In recent times changes in eBay rules have made the whole thing a lot easier but there is still the occasional nutjob out there. Strange behaviour! Instead of just having a pen returned she has earned another negative and has incurred the censure of eBay. Beyond understanding, really.
I second jomatthews’ support for standing your ground. If people do not do that, eBay won’t do it for them. There was a sense of deja vu reading your article in that I have sometimes bought without reading the reviews first. Note to self …
Frankly, I rarely read eBay feedback reviews now. EBay’s rules have improved sufficiently that I know that if I get a pen with undeclared damage I’m going to get a full refund. People like the seller I wrote about are slow learners. Actually, I have to say there was maybe a bit more than that. She needs help with anger management and she has a chip on her shoulder bigger than all creation.
Nicely done.
Thank you. It afforded me some amusement. When she finally refunded me she she told me how good she was being in doing so.