Difference in American english and British english has caused confusion - UPDATE

freddie_2

Dont shout but I sold one of the Happy Feet comforters on e-Bay for a good price. It was sent to America and the buyer has contacted me to say it is not a Comforter as a comforter is a blanket and this most certentaly isnt.
I have checked on Wikipedia and discovered this -

comforter is a type of bedding — a soft flat bag used on a bed as a type of bed cover. It is filled with either an artificial material (such as polyester batting) or a natural material. A comforter usually doesn't cover the pillows or box spring of the bed. It is basically a thick, fluffy blanket that people put on their bed to achieve a much higher level of comfort and warmth. A similar type covering made from feathers (often including down) is generally referred to as a duvet.

In British English, a comforter can also mean a baby's pacifier or soother.


What do I do? It is obvioulsly a case of language but for £2.00 postage, what size did he expect it to be!!

UPDATE

He left me neutral as it wasnt a comforter, I emailed again and explained that I had already explained it was and was a case of language confusion so I didnt feel I deserved a neutral. I got this reply -

''I did this because despite your explanation, I still feel that I anticipated receiving one thing and got something different. I didn't give you a negative rating.''

He has now offered to withdraw his feedback but he cant do this, can he?

soolin

If you had a photograph of it or a half decent auction text then surely the bidder must have known what he was buying? I fail to see how an auction for an English 'dummy' if photographed or described would be very hard to mistake for a blanket type comforter.

Tell the buyer that you stand by your auction text and photograph. Eben if he tries a paypal chargeback he will have to send it back for a refund.

Soo

frivolous_fay

In the spirit of international relations, you might offer a refund. Do explain that the word means something a little different in the UK so that they can see it wasn't your fault.

frivolous_fay

I think 'pacifier' means dummy... getting confusing!

freddie_2

It wasnt sold as a dummy but a comforter as that is what it is, in Britsh english.
I did have a photo of it still in the packet which was taken close up so should have given an indication of the size.

frivolous_fay

Perhaps this may help the buyer realise the translation problem:

http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C12&from=R10&satitle=comforter&sacat=19068%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D3&sadis=200&fpos=AL1+1EZ&ga10244=10425&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1

soolin

I've never heard a dummy called a comforter before and to me a comforter is like a duck down filled quilt. However, regardless of any misunderstanding in language as long as the description was good and the photo clear then I can't see that the buyer can claim he didn't get what was being auctioned?

Soo

frivolous_fay

Ok, correct me if I'm wrong OP, but I don't think we're talking about dummies, or pacifiers.

Click my link above to see what I think we're talking about

shellsuit

Link not working Fay

shellsuit

Freddie if you don't want to link to your auction, or give the listing number, do you have the pic which you could post here?

frivolous_fay

Hm, link works for me.

All I did was go to ebay and search for 'comforter'