Am I in the wrong??

babyfruitella

thistledome wrote: »

OP, I can't find a 12" Lotso bear with a stick like yours. All the stick ones are described as 7" or 8". Are you sure it was 12"?

Yeah, here's a couple of other auctions for the same bear that have already ended. The first one is the one that prompted me to sell it in the first place.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260690209690&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
And this is the one I directed the buyer to:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160509051880&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Now, if i'd listed as this person has, I could understand my buyer being annoyed as this clearly states interactive which the bear ISN'T!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120650298010&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

fred7777

babyfruitella wrote: »

I can't see what I did wrong!

I can't really say if you were right or wrong & looking at the replies so far it's a hung jury!

A you know you got a neutral because the buyer is disappointed because she payed over the odds for something which is not what she though she was bidding on. Unfortunately your description is accurate so they can't dispute it as being not as described.

Buyers can leave whatever feedback they want regardless of whether or not anyone thinks it is fair. That's the way ebay works.

You could have avoided a neutral by offering a refund (full or partial) but the buyer could still have left negative feedback.

You could have avoided a neutral by making the description clearer and adding that it was not interactive then this buyer wouldn't have bid and the price would be lower.

babyfruitella

ceebeeby wrote: »

It's Christmas - might have been the last £34 she had to buy this - they do LOOK alike?

They look alike in the sense that they're both purple bears. But thats where the similarities end IMO. The fur, the size, the walking stick in hand all suggest its a different bear.

piratefairy

I do think that they look similar. But probably not to someone who knows what they are looking at / for.
If your auction stated the size etc of the bear and a clear picture, I don't think it can be argued it was misdescribed. Yes, you could have added that it wasn't the interactive one, but i can understand why from a seller's PoV you wouldn't, as you'd know that it would fetch less.

As a bidder, the "ask a question" function can be invaluable. If an auction doesn't say something is included, I wouldn't assume it was, I'd probably ask, but maybe that's just me. I think the bidder, if she thought it was the other bear, should have checked to make sure if she felt the auction listing was in any way ambiguous.

However, from a seller's PoV, if someone had been disappointed with soemthing they had purchased from me, I'd want to do all I could to make sure they were happy. If I'd had a situation like this, and could have easily understood where the confusion had come from, I would have perhaps offered a partial refund of the postage cost. Again, maybe that's just me, but it would be important to me that I kept a buyer happy.

soolin

I would also urge caution at suggesting people list all the things an item isn't as that can be construed as keyword spamming.

IE, if i sold say a blue and white pot I couldn't put it was not Wedgwood as that would mean i was using a phrase that would possibly mean my item was seen by people searching for Wedgwood.

piratefairy

Ooh I hadn't thought of that, Soolin.

Is that only shown up on a search if it says e.g. "not wedgewood" in the title, Soolin?
Or is there a means of searching "wedgewood" so that it would show anything which listed it in the text body of the auction!?

Crowqueen

You are permitted to put things in the description that you aren't in the title. Does it really hurt to put a line in what you're writing saying "this is just the normal version, not the special version?" or "This is the condensed version of the book, not the full version"? That's hardly keyword spamming and it goes a long way to making the description clearer.

In an ideal world, sellers should make things as clear as possible. Sorry, but if I have to ask what I'm buying, I normally move on to an item with a clearer description, so it's the seller's loss if they don't fully describe something. From a seller's perspective, it also cuts down on the possibility of this sort of thing happening and make their buyer happy. The object is not to grab the money and shove a hand in the buyer's face if there's a problem with what you wrote. The object is to try and make people happy so they will feel good buying from you, and by extention, from eBay itself.

It's a funny old world when the person with the responsibility is advised not to take it and to foist it on someone who doesn't have all the information available to take it.

reehsetin

I don't sell on ebay often but when I do I use this motto - "A person is smart. People are dumb".
For example I sold some Uggs, I specifically stated they weren't the deckers brand uggs just to protect myself from an idiot complaining afterwards that they aren't 'Uggs'.
I agree your description is clear and I don't think the seller has much of a case (how is every seller meant to know an interactive version exists?). I wouldn't refund as you don't know what state it would be in now.

jasmineswhiskers

Crowqueen wrote: »

"This is the condensed version of the book, not the full version"?

Sorry, but if I have to ask what I'm buying, I normally move on to an item with a clearer description, so it's the seller's loss if they don't fully describe something.

Stating a book is the condensed version would be common sense - after all you would be saying what the book IS not what it ISN'T (I like the car analogy in post 6). If you list what an item isn't you could go on forever!

Why would you not want to ask questions if an item doesn't have a clear description? Some of my best buys have been these kind of auctions if you know what you're looking for, bad pics, minimal details etc.

To the OP - I agree that your item was listed fairly - some peeps are just TSFE!

hermum

If there are 2 similar toys on the market, as a buyer I would have thought that it was down to you to ensure that the one you are bidding on is the one you actually want.
If this had been the interactive toy it would have said in the listing, as it's the more expensive one.
OP at least it was a neutral & not a neg that she gave you, if anyone's interested in looking they'll see that she was a wally. Hopefully she hasn't knocked your stars.
I've got a telephone table to list, I wonder if I should point out that you can't actually make calls with it?