Stains on used clothing, as a buyer how do you handle it?

Mumolulu

I have recently had 2 transactions with stains on children's clothing, both of which in my opinion have been unwearable.

The first seller wanted me to return 3 t shirts, one of which was stained, but I wouldnt, wanted a refund, which in the end she said she would only refund 50p which really annoyed me, but I got a bargain, and they were designer items.

The second seller, was a t shirt again, and she wants me to return it.

Where do I stand with these kind of situations? Both items were won for less than £2 so I do get bargains, but isn't that what its about? Is it acceptable to sell second hand childrens clothes with blatant stains on? One of the stains was a huge black mark on a white t shirt, the other I think looks like mould.

I would always refund any item a buyer wasn't happy with, and have on occasion sold things with the tiniest of marks, hardly noticeable, but if the buyer emailed once it arrived and wasn't happy, I would have refunded no qualms.

What is the general opinion of this kind of situation?

Dizzie77

Are these stains? or marks?
If you're not happy with the items, why don't you want to send them back?

Mumolulu

Dizzie77 wrote: »

Are these stains? or marks?
If you're not happy with the items, why don't you want to send them back?

Both stains and marks :huh: whats the difference? They don't come out in the wash!

I don't particularly want to send them back because I work full time, it takes time at the weekend to then get to the post office, I have to repack it, and use my own money to return it (which I then dont get back) so why else would I not want to return it?

choc_mouse

Mumolulu wrote: »

Both stains and marks :huh: whats the difference? They don't come out in the wash!

I don't particularly want to send them back because I work full time, it takes time at the weekend to then get to the post office, I have to repack it, and use my own money to return it (which I then dont get back) so why else would I not want to return it?

Totally agree here. Low value transactions that go wrong tend to annoy me the most because you lose out if you keep it and lose out if you return it for a refund.

Bin it, (take refund if offered), leave negative feedback with fair reason e.g. described "as new" but t-shirt had stains on. It's the only way to teach sellers they can't get rid of their junk by mis-selling it; assuming the stains were not pointed out in the auction hence the anger with it being not as described....

Stryder

you leave negative feedback when a refund is offered???????

So if this happened in a charity shop would you react the same? I think when full refunds are offered surely it is deserving of either neutral or positive feedback. You can not expect a refund for free!

If an item is misold via a genuine mistake then a refund should be fine. As for you time going to post-office - simply tough! the other option is to shop on the high street that takes more time than the odd visit to the post office.

You should only get wound up if there is a cyncial miselling, like the wrong size sent out with the tab cut off, or a noticeable mark/tear purposely hidden by seller. In these cases I think its fair to ask for refund and the extra postage, and if that is offered neutral feedback saying after sales was good, item rubbish. Any less is deserving of negative feedback.

Dont forget though, on low sales prices the sellers probably only covering costs and a little extra so if you attack them, selling becomes a minefield and we get less sellers.

choc_mouse

Stryder wrote: »

you leave negative feedback when a refund is offered???????

I take it you're a seller? No, don't worry - I also judge by the response from the seller. I've had some sellers that couldn't care less and I could clearly detect a bad attitude from their emails. They get a negative.

If a seller was really apologetic and offered to refund 100% of what I paid that would be a neutral (or even a positive if I'm in a good mood!).

There's no hard and fast rule but if something was not as described, I automatically favour a negative and it's up to the seller to win me over. I would not have brought it in the first place e.g. if I had known there was a stain on it.

Stryder

i am both - small scale both at that.

but if the item is:
sold as seen (with pictures); or
described as marked or not being in perfect condition, then you have to accept responsibility.

if someone purposely described it incorrectly, fair enough - give them 1 chance to rectify and then if not, leave negative feedback or dispute.

I just find ebay is rather anti seller these days. I guess in my mind when i buy I expect a few fault unless they go out there way to say "mint" or BNWT, etc. when I sell, i try to be explicit and say "untested, sold as seen" when I am not 100% sure on something. I still find 1% of buyers will still have unreasonable expectations. The problem is the rating system is really unfair as all you need is a couple of buyer trying it on and suddenly your account is worthless!

GRRRRrrrr ebay

and there charges are too high

grrrrrrr hmmmmm you think i am going to get sent to Vents and Praises lol

theonlywayisup

Mumolulu wrote: »

The first seller wanted me to return 3 t shirts, one of which was stained, but I wouldnt, wanted a refund, which in the end she said she would only refund 50p which really annoyed me, but I got a bargain, and they were designer items.

You cannot expect a seller to give you a refund unless you return. Marks and Spencer wouldn't hand over your money without the item, why should the seller.

Ebay and Paypal require you to return the item for a refund. Any seller that gives you a refund without this, is not deserving of the negative you give.

Maysie

On low value stuff its a real pain.

I have taken photo's of fault in the past to help me get refunds. If a seller says return i will but if they dont' pay the return postage they will get a negative. Why should anyone be down money at the end of the day for someone elses error.

I have found using the oxy stuff brilliant for getting out stains its worth trying on low value stuff. I just wet stain and leave oxy on for awhile then bung in the wash. Its pretty amazing stuff its my fav stain remover. My son is a nightmare messy eater lol

Christmas_

I had this issue yesterday on two skirts I'd bought, however they were faults that weren't described, not stains.

The first skirt was bought for a wedding, something I told her about specifically before bidding as I'd asked for a BIN. She wanted to charge me £15 in which was a little steep for me so I let the auction run and bid for it at the last minute, paying £11.10 for it.

However, when it arrived, loads of the sequins on it were missing and it wasn't mentioned at all. It wasn't the odd sequin either, there were some massive parts, including 30cm row where they'd all be missing like this:



When I complained to the seller, she offered a £5 refund straight away - replying within 15 or so minutes. Very happy, will use the refund to buy some more sequins and mend the skirt.


The second seller I paid 3.20 to for another skirt, but when trying it on there was a massive tear in the lining:



It can't be mended - it'll need patching instead. When I emailed the seller they replied the same night (in a very confusing email that didn't make sense) offering a full refund of the 99p I paid [Which confused again me as I'd paid 3.20 and about £2 for postage). I explained that and said I loved the skirt - which I do, it's a perfect fit too, but the tear wasn't mentioned at all in the listing and again they said they didn't know what else to do if I wasn't going to return it, so I requested a small refund to purchase a bit of similar coloured material from Boyes or the like to patch it. Seller agreed and refunded a pound.

Both got + feedback which reflected there'd been a problem and that the sellers had been happy to put it right to a mutually great way.

pinkshoes

Stryder wrote: »

if someone purposely described it incorrectly, fair enough - give them 1 chance to rectify and then if not, leave negative feedback or dispute.

But in this case they're low-ish cost items, so the seller should have asked for proof of the stain, then either refunded 1/3 of the total price paid (i.e. the OP bought 3 tshirts, two of which are fine), or pay for return postage of the one item, and give 1/3 refund.

It's not economically viable getting them to send back all 3, and not what the OP wanted.

Some sellers just lack common sense, which I often think deserves a negative, particularly when a situation was their fault and much more easily resolved.