E-bay feedback dilemma - opinions sought

[poppo]

Once again, I don't want to throw out names since I can sort of see the seller's point of view.

So I spot a S+ glass kit that I had been sort of looking for. It is listed as new. Not used, not like new, but new. Twice it is noted in the listing that it is a brand new glass kit (with minty reel strips). Starting bid is $10. Now I probably would have bid on it anyway, but how often do you find new S+ glass? So I bid on it and I also put in a max bid that I could live with for getting a brand new kit. Well, it turns out that nobody else bids on it, and I get it for $10 + $15 shipping.  Well, I get the glass and it is obviously not new. It is still in good shape but has all of the classic signs of being installed in a machine for a long time. The main giveaway was the 'gunk line' around the belly glass from around the fame and the award decal all browned around the edges. It also had a surface scratch on the belly glass, but you can't really see it unless you were looking for it. My first thought was that he sent me the wrong kit, so I look back at the auction pictures and sure enough you can see some of this stuff in the pictures.

So I send the seller a courteous message saying that I got the kit for a good price, but it was not new as he listed it. I was really only looking for a 'Sorry about that, I made a mistake' or something similar. Instead I get a reply where the guy really goes off on me, telling me to get life and I should not be whining about 'stealing a new kit from him'. He had more 'colorful' comments too, but that was the jist of it.

A few more messages go back and forth. I try to explain that I was not complaining about the price, but only that he listed it as new and it wasn't. I even told him to look at his own pictures and he could see for himself. He does calm down a bit, but still insists that I don't know anything about slot machines etc. etc.

So now is my dilemma about feedback.

On the plus side, I got a 98% kit for a good price.

On the negative side, it was not as described, and I could have ended up spending more than I did if someone else bid. Plus the guy was extremely rude in his responses.

Now, I can understand that he probably didn't make anything on this, and is probably just blowing off steam because I was questioning him over the good deal. But IMO that's not my problem, that's the way e-bay works. As a seller, sometimes you don't get what you expected. And this was really about the principal of it. IMO the final price is irrelevant if the item is not as described.  But even after several messages, he was standing his ground that I had no right to complain because of the price I paid. I will also admit that I could have looked at the pictures more closely and asked some questions. However I have actually been blocked from bidding on items just for asking a question or for requesting more pictures, so I did not want to take the chance. And since he had 100% positive feedback, I had no reason to doubt what he claimed.

Oh, BTW he did offer a refund, but only if I returned the kit 'in perfect shape' which of course was not possible.

So what sort of feedback would you leave and why?

[cowboygames]

In my opinion, if you're happy enough with the kit overall it would probably be best to leave decent feedback this time and take your business elsewhere in the future. If the bidding had gone to a new kit price it might be worth making a bigger deal, but in this case it probably ain't worth it. I paid $250.00 for the last new s+ kit I bought. It was a 3 coin Haywire Deluxe. Probably over-priced, but I hadn't found NLG yet either

[poppo]

... it would probably be best to leave decent feedback this time and take your business elsewhere in the future.

LOL. He already told me to stay away from his auctions, so I'm sure I am already on his blocked bidder list.

BTW, I paid about the same as you for a new Haywire Deluxe kit a few years ago. I have no regrets about it. New S+ glass is rare, especially since Express Imaging quit making copies.  In this case it was glass I was already interested in. But if I ever see a new kit, I would probably bid on it (up to a point) just because it would be rare. And that is part of the reason I am irked. I did get a good deal, but it would have been a great one if had it been as described.

[knagl]

If you don't mind burning the bridge, leave a neutral or a negative and explain that the item was not "new" as described, and that the seller was very rude when you questioned him on it.  eBay's new rules do not permit a seller to leave a negative feedback on your account.  The "worst" they can do is leave a positive feedback with negative comments in the text.

You got a great deal, yes, and maybe don't have much to gripe about since it was a good deal, but the bottom line is that you didn't get what was advertised, and other potential buyers should be entitled to know that if this seller advertises as, "new" that it may not be, and that the seller has a bad temper and isn't the greatest person to deal with if there's a problem.


Edited to add: Since the seller already told you to 'stay away' from future purchases from him, you've got nothing to lose.  Give him a negative for being an ass.  Maybe he'll learn from the experience, maybe he won't.

[poppo]

One of the problems with e-bays feedback is they really don't give you much room to leave your reason. Not saying that one needs to write a novel like above, but the 80 characters or whatever it is, is not much. I need to learn some of that texting shorthand or whatever it's called.

Dis selr not 4 u cus 2GTBT 

[coorslight115]

Neutral, product not new as described and seller hostile when confronted

[cowboygames]

I'm generally a prettyy laid back person, lately though I've been a little edgy. Long winter, lot of wind lately, whatever. Anyway, last friday I was dealing with a guy that wanted to buy two of the machines I had for sale. He was going on and on about how clean they were and how the pictures weren't clear enough and what not. I was getting pissed. Buy or don't buy, ya know? Hell , I don't need the money just the room, so I don't really care but i was getting pissed anyway. About 5 minutes later my fire pager goes off for a medic assist. When we get to the scene it turns out the son of a friend of mine had hung himself and she'd found him when she came over to check up on how he was doing. He'd always been a nice kid. Thirty five years old, going through a divorce, hasn't been able to find good employment for a couple years. Too much to overcome? Who knows, but he didn't think so. Anyway, I wasn't pissed anymore when I got home. Went and delivered the machines to the guy yesterday and he seems a good fellow. Might even be a friend in the future. Point is, some things just aren't worth getting worked up about and it's best just to let it go. Is this a little extreme? Maybe, but a point is a point. One mans opinion...

[jay]

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
The first question you need to ask yourself is what do you expect to gain and what are the concequences.

In real life feedback is a gift - good or bad.
If this was my favoriate steak house and I had a less than great meal I would take the time to speak with the owner and tell him that I was a regular and that tonights meal was a bit off.
I offer this feedback becuase I care. If I didn't give a rats ass I would simply not go back and wouldn't be bothered.
What am I expecting by offering this feedback ??? in my case I am hoping to have a better dining experience the next time I come back and I would explain that when offering the feedback.
I highly doubt that I would be banned from the restaurant.

I really hesitate to leave negatives but in your case this turkey has thrown down the guantlet and banned you from his auctions.

I would probably go one step further and post in the Ebay - The Good Bad and Ugly thread the sellers name.
I would Neg him and say "Buyer Beware - USED Products Misrepresented as New gets hostile when confonted"
You never expect to deal with him again so I would email him the NLG link to show him exactly what he has lost by being a jerk.

A real life example is the dude whos guitar got wrecked by United and then got the run around.
He created a music video and posted it on YouTube. He now signs it during live concerts.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/5YGc4zOqozo&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/5YGc4zOqozo&rel=0</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/P45E0uGVyeg&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/P45E0uGVyeg&rel=0</a>

[CaptainHappy]

  I am with Jay on this one. It is not a $$$ thing, it is a customer service thing.  Yes it was probably a great deal, but to me that is immaterial, and should not excuse their behavior. You did nothing wrong, so why should you feel bad about anything. You may not have any more dealings with this seller, but one of us might.... I would like to avoid someone who treated my friend so poorly, there are so many better sources out there. In society today, there is just too much poor customer service and customer relations out there right now, and the only way to vote on this is with your wallet, and with your honest discussions with your friends. If I have a bad customer service experience I tell the management as they may not be aware, and on the flip side of the coin if I have exceptional customer service, I go the extra mile to report that as well!!! (Plus it is fun to see the look on their face when you ask for them, and actually do the opposite of what they are expecting in giving positive comments about a great experience.) Just my too many cents worth!!!

CaptainHappy

[OhioGaming]

Oh, BTW he did offer a refund, but only if I returned the kit 'in perfect shape' which of course was not possible.

So what sort of feedback would you leave and why?

I understand that the auction was for NEW and would also be upset that it wasn't when it arrived. Then on the other hand a 98% glass and strips for $25 is a steal. Since you have the image of the glass from the auction then you proof that the NEW glass is in PERFECT SHAPE and could be returned .. even though it is not worth the effort. I won't say what to leave but on the feedback section since that is your decision and isn't there something in the feedback section that you can check about the correctioness of the auction?

There has been a time or two that I received an item and was not 100% happy with it and decided it was not worth leaving feedback since it could just be a pissing contest in the feedback section.

[Frank A]

Just say " 100 % OK for price and delivery, but only 85 % for description. Buy again ??? "  This can be interpreted as positive and negative. Good luck. It sounds like the seller is less than 100 %, so a rating of 85 % may be considered generous. Good luck. Sometimes you just don't get the satisfaction you want and as my wife says so often " Just let it go "

[poppo]

Just to be fair, here are parts of the actual pictures posted in the auction and there were some things that I should have questioned. And here is a quote of what it said:

"You are bidding on a new 9 inch IGT 2 coin Gold Mountain glass kit. ..... This kit is new and the strips are in mint condition."

Now had I looked closer, would have seen the marks from the belly glass frame and the used mounting tape on the award glass. I have circled the surface scratch, but unless you look really hard at the picture and known what to look for, I would have not spotted that. Now the reel strips were not listed as new, but as 'mint condition'. However, they had some globs of glue or something that I circled that took a while to clean off. Maybe my expectation of 'mint condition' is too high. 

Now this really is not a big deal and I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I just want to be fair with how I rate it and not let what he said get to me. I'm leaning toward a positive with a comment of "Glass not new as stated but a good deal. Look closely at pics before bidding" By leaving a positive, I think it prevents him from leaving a rebuttal statement.

[stayouttadabunker]

Brand new reel strips have what looks like "brown paper bag" type of
rectangular paper backing that you peel off when you install the strips on the reels.

They're for protection of the adhesive double-backed
tape that runs on the bottom of the strips.

Bally also covers each individual reel strip with clear plastic film.
I'm nothing precisely sure what IGT does as I've NEVER had brand new IGT strips.

[poppo]

Just for the record, there was never a claim that the strips were new. Only that they were in mint condition. They were in excellent shape except for the globs of whatever on them. They eventually did clean up (flitz to the rescue) and look fine.

Anyway, thanks for the input from those who commented. Time to just let this one go.

[knagl]

By leaving a positive, I think it prevents him from leaving a rebuttal statement.

He can still reply to your feeback no matter what kind you leave.  I still contend that the fact that he didn't make as much off the auction as he hoped to does not justify him being an ass when questioned about the details of the auction.  Those are the breaks, and you have to expect as a seller that if you start an item at $10, it may only get one bid and sell for $10.  If he wanted to insure that it would sell for more than that, he could have and should have put a reserve on it (or started it at a higher price).

For the record, this is the same clown that sells "custom" college and pro sports team rip-off kits (they're not licensed by the teams, but he changes the logo/name just enough that it's not quite copyright infringment) for $625 a pop.

[poppo]

He can still reply to your feeback no matter what kind you leave. 

Out of curiosity, where is this option? I looked at some of the positive feedback I have received for items I sold, and didn't see any place to add an addtional comment. I assumed it was only available for neutral or negatives.

[knagl]

Out of curiosity, where is this option?

http://pages.ebay.com/help/feedback/respond.html