An eBay Near-Miss

[maggie~hamilton]

We had an Osterizer Galaxie blender that we purchased new in 1985. It was a wonderful blender and served us faithfully all these many years; and would have continued to serve us had I not ruined it by accidentally getting water inside it when cleaning the housing. Water from the fawcett sprayed inside, just enough to short it out.

Well, I really wanted to find another one just like it, being a creature of habit and having had such good luck with it, so I looked on ebay. What to wondering eyes should appear but one that was described, and looked in the photo on the listing, to be in immaculate condition.

So I got home today and there was a small box on the porch that looked like it had been run through a giant trash compacter or something. It was squashed, all beat-up and crumpled looking, and was a flimsy box closed with a couple pieces of crummy looking tape. I brought it in and told Arlee, "This better not be that blender..."

I should start my own TV show - "The Appliance Psychic."

Sure enough, it was the blender. Luckily, it was not damaged. But read the note I sent to the seller.

- - - - - - -

Hello, the blender arrived. I have to say, you certainly did a lousy packing job. Flimsy, worn out box, only a few handfuls of newspaper for padding, careless tape application to close it.

Did it not occur to you that this is a precision electrical device with glass parts? It's nothing less than a pure miracle that it arrived in one piece and, as far as I can tell, undamaged. Had it arrived broken, I would have been very, VERY unhappy.

Because of the shoddy packing, I can't justify leaving you good feedback. Now, I am not unreasonable -- I won't leave bad or negative either, since luckily it is in good shape, but I want you to know why I will not leave you any feedback at all.

You need to do better than this by your buyers.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[perc-o-prince]

in general...

Good packing, safe arrival = positive feedback.

Shoddy, careless packing, with OBVIOUS carelessness, safe arrival = neutral FB.

Shoddy, careless packing, damaged arrival = negative feedback.

$0.02

Chuck

 

[maggie~hamilton]

In general...

I agree with you. But I am going to wait for the seller's response before taking any action. If I get a flip-off in reply then we'll see what happens.

 

[rocketeer500]

I would have sent the same email

For what it's worth... I think the buyer has the right to receive the items purchased in good condition, plain and simple. The problem is the seller (some) don't really care how they package the item... they just want to sell it and get rid of it.

I have also received fragile items in packages that were falling apart. It's one thing that the item was damaged through transport, but it's another when the item is damaged through poor packaging in transport. You have to use a little common sense when packing an item. The problem is that some sellers lack a shred of sense.

As to your email, I have sent similiar emails to sellers; I sent one last week to a seller for the same reason: I received an item that was packed very poorly (the stuffing was falling out and they used "scotch tape" instead of packing tape). The item was unbroken, but it was through the grace of God that it arrived in one piece! I let them know that I had received it, and told them the their packing was very poor and I would not post any feedback on this transaction, as I didn't think they deserved it. I might have over reacted at the sight of the package, but, all in all, I thought it was justified.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[maggie~hamilton]

Update

Here's the reply from the seller, and my reply thereto:

=-> Thanks for the update on the packaging, and i used what i had to work with, i could have waited a few more days to send it to you while i looked for a different box. Thanks for not leaving me bad feedback, and i would like to say in all fairness the shipping was $22.20 and i paid out of my pocket the $6 difference and i was just going to let it go, cuz thats the kind of person i am, as long as the product made it there, then what is the problem! <-=

---

The PROBLEM is that it is nothing short of a miracle that the item arrived unbroken. And I do mean MIRACLE.

As to having to eat some of the shipping cost, I appreciate the hardship that may have caused, but it is the seller's responsibility to calculate and charge the correct shipping. With all the automatic shipping calculators available, that's hardly rocket science.

I will say, if you send out something like this to someone else and it arrives damaged as it MOST LIKELY will, they might not be quite so understanding. Along with giving you negative feedback for careless shipping, they're also likely to require you to go through the hassle of filing a damage claim.

"A word to the wise is sufficient..."

 

[maggie~hamilton]

Another eBay Brain Surgeon...

the blender seller's latest reply ...

=-> Just wondering, do you sell things to? If you do then you would know that even if you do use the "shipping calculators" its not always exact! I use them everyday and with something that heavy it cost alittle extra then it originaly said. Well, i havent had anything break yet, so if you feel better and are going to be able to sleep after getting that off your chest then GOOD for you!!! As for me i will continue on as i have, and i wont even ask for the $6 back. <-=

---

Obviously, there's no point in pursuing this any further. Clearly a moron.