Seller on UK eBay sent defective razor

[Bluedevil]

I received a Gillette English Tech razor in the mail from a seller on the UK eBay today. The threads on the aluminum handle were stripped. The seller displayed the razor completely assembled in the picture on the auction.

The reason I did business with her is she had over 1000 feedbacks posted with a 99.9 % positive feedback.

This is the message I sent her upon finding the razor handle was defective.

I received the razor today. I am very disappointed. You did not disclose that the handle would not screw into the head of the razor. This makes the razor worthless, for shaving or for display. I have done business with several UK sellers and this is the first time anyone has cheated me.
I did business with you because I thought with the large number of positive feedback you had I was dealing with an honorable seller. I guess I was wrong. I know the amount of money is small but there is the principle of fair dealings when doing business.

I am going to leave highly negative feedback, unless you refund my money!

I have not as yet posted any negative feedback against her. I am going to give her a chance to respond to my message.

What do you guys and gals think about my responce? Was I too harsh in the words I used to describe my feelings about doing business with her?

See update below.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

Bluedevil...a similar situation happened to me once and I feel your pain. It is however against ebay rules to threaten negative feedback unless a refund is given. I'd send another (more calm) email and give her a chance to do the right thing. I say this because she could send your email to ebay and they COULD suspend your account. I know that sucks but it is better to stay calm and get this done than cause problems for yourself.

 

[ouch]

Never threaten anyone with negative feedback, just do it. And do it at the last moment, so they can't return the favor, as so many unscrupulous sellers are wont to do.

 

[New2DEShaving_Montreal]

Or, we can just totally avoid Ebay, and just deal amongst ourselves, with HONOR.

 

[Handy]

Never threaten anyone with negative feedback, just do it. And do it at the last moment, so they can't return the favor, as so many unscrupulous sellers are wont to do.

How do you do it at the last moment? Is there a time limit for leaving feedback for seller and buyer?

 

[subrosa]

I would just go ahead and leave negative feedback, you can resolve the negative feedback with ebay and the seller can have it removed (you both have to sign off on it) once your issue is settled.

 

[slcsteve]

I can understand your being disappointed and angry but I probably would have been quite a bit less harsh, allowing her to respond to a "calmer" email. Hopefully the seller will make an effort to placate you. I've nearly responded just the way you did in a few instances but tempered my response in an edited version before hitting the "send" button. Still, I don't blame you for being pissed.

edit: Let us know how it goes.

 

[robertw]

I agree with slcsteve. It's all too easy to fire off a angry letter. IMO, all that does it cause the other person to clime into their bunker and prepare for war. I hope everything works out for the best for you though.

 

[ouch]

How do you do it at the last moment? Is there a time limit for leaving feedback for seller and buyer?

I think you have 30 or 90 days to leave feedback. I forget which. Just make a note to yourself to leave the negative minutes before it times out. This way, the seller can't hit you with one in retribution.

I've always had a problem with the feedback system, as I feel that the sole obligation of the buyer is to pay in a timely manner. A lot of sellers complain (no surprise there) about buyers being unreasonable, but guess what- tough. The onus is on the seller to deliver the goods, as described, and to take care of any complaints, just as a real business would have to.

A seller should give the buyer a positive feedback as soon as he receives payment. Anyone who withholds feedback until I give them a positive won't get my business a second time.

 

[AaronX]

I thought with the new feedback system the buyer can only get positive feedback as long as payment was sent. So this would make waiting to the last minute unneeded right?

 

[Must Dash]

Or, we can just totally avoid Ebay, and just deal amongst ourselves, with HONOR.

I'm with this guy. Except that I spell the word 'honour' correctly

Cheers


Jeremy

 

[AaronX]

Except that I spell the word 'honour' correctly

What next you'll tell me there's a U in the word color... seriously

 

[Must Dash]

What next you'll tell me there's a U in the word color... seriously

OK. I apologise.

Cheers

Jeremy

 

[JimmyHAD]

I thought with the new feedback system the buyer can only get positive feedback as long as payment was sent. So this would make waiting to the last minute unneeded right?

Yes that is the new feedback policy. The seller cannot leave any feedback other then a positive and the buyer has to wait 3 days before he can leave a negative. Sort of like a waiting period for buying a handgun. We don't want to do anything rash.

When you pay with Paypal which I am assuming the buyer did, you can file a dispute and they will stand behind the buyer more often then not.

 

[lordhamster]

Your email was out of line at this point. To say you were cheated is to imply intent to defraud. Most likely this is a seller who simply doesn't know much about razors.

Given the high feedback you mentioned, I would have sent a calm polite email explaining the situation and asking how the seller would like to resolve it. In my experience on Ebay the high positive feedback sellers I deal with ALWAYS work to resolve the issue.

If all else fails, file a claim with paypal/ebay and THEN as a last resort leave the negative feedback.

The current email you've sent is the equivalent of yelling and threatening to sue McDonalds because they forgot to put the cheese on your cheeseburger.

 

[Bluedevil]

Update:
The seller refunded my money and I sent a message apologizing for the angry message about me going to send negative feedback. I sent the angry message when I had a pretty bad day and finding the razor was defective had sort of lit my fuse. All is well. No one but me will who she was.

Also she sent me back the following message:

Hi , No problem, we all have bad days. Hope you have received the refund okay.
Regards *****

 

[Antique Hoosier]

Update:
The seller refunded my money and I sent a message apologizing for the angry message about me going to send negative feedback. I sent the angry message when I had a pretty bad day and finding the razor was defective had sort of lit my fuse. All is well. No one but me will who she was.

Also she sent me back the following message:

Hi , No problem, we all have bad days. Hope you have received the refund okay.
Regards *****

She turned out to be a professional classy individual after all...

 

[New2DEShaving_Montreal]

What next you'll tell me there's a U in the word color... seriously

Actually, there is. According to Canadian English, I spell Honor and Color incorrectly, but I've decided to go green...err...save cyberspace or whatever it is. Hahaha...I have tried to pronounce some words the way they are written, and colour and honour didn't come through right. I am thinking of changing the spelling to Kh-ulerr and On-err.

 

[Roman414]

I would have given her the benefit of the doubt or at least have left her a graceful out..."this one must have slipped past you..." When you put people on the defensive things can escalate that really didn't have to.

 

[ScottS]

Update:
The seller refunded my money and I sent a message apologizing for the angry message about me going to send negative feedback. I sent the angry message when I had a pretty bad day and finding the razor was defective had sort of lit my fuse. All is well. No one but me will who she was.

Also she sent me back the following message:

Hi , No problem, we all have bad days. Hope you have received the refund okay.
Regards *****

Good for you. You did the right thing, and you'll both feel better.