Opinions Needed: eBay Seller Question

[jaywings19]

I sold a Ruutu/Koivu (pictured below) back on October 20th. The winning bidder (located in the USA) wanted to pay with a money order, but decided to hold off payment because of my eBay "suspension." I didn't mind and told him that it should be resolved shortly.

To make a long story short, the buyer still blew me off for about 2 weeks even after I was reinstated... using the "busy at work" excuse.

I finally got the money order on November 17th and promptly mailed the card out.

Today, I get a message from the buyer stating that they are "supremely disappointed" that there is a "gaping chunk of the card missing." He is referring to the small white area on the upper-left corner. I didn't explicitly mention that spot for 3 reasons:

1. It was a common flaw from 03/04 Rookie Update (even on the non-auto'd rookies)
2. The spot was clearly visible in my scan provided with the auction
3. I had to cut some corners while listing 150+ items in one night (see reason #2)

What (if anything) would you offer this buyer?

I don't have fear of a chargeback since this was a money order. So the only thing at risk is a negative on eBay (would be my first). Of course, I could retaliate with a negative.

 

[PenaltyMan]

Bozos like this you just gotta get rid of 'em. Offer him the money back less shipping after you get the card.

 

[penguinsrock93]

I think its a touchy topic because a lot of people like their cards to be in perfect condition. The damage on the card is not very big but its there and it should have been mentioned at least. I think a partial refund is warranted...give him something like 20% of the sale back to make him happy. Next time mention a flaw like that it only takes 35 more characters of your time.

 

[Iceman]

Different monitors show the images to different qualities. He may have seen it, he may not have. You didn't explicitly say it had a flaw, but it's his responsibility to ask about condition if it is not clear. You could do a straight refund less shipping once you got the card back in hand. Or alternatively 10-15% would probably be the difference. It's not a huge gaping chunk, more like a little whiteness on the corner. Which is not bad. Good luck with straightening it out Jay.

 

[djsports]

I agree with the partial refund of about 15 to 20%, you still get some coin and the buyer should be happy that he gets the card.

 

[DredJAw]

Its a tough call... I think most of us are anal about the condition of the card. Look at it from his point of view Jay.

If you were the buyer and you received that card with a "chunk" missing and the seller didn't explicitly mention it, how would you feel?

I'd imagine you would be pretty upset and do the same thing and request a refund (even if it means returning the card).

I'm not trying to be an *** or anything like that. I know where the buyer's coming from. I think it'd be right to ask him if he wants a partial refund... if he says no and he wants a full refund then I would say you should honor that.

 

[DredJAw]

and another thing quickly....

Most people are EXTREMELY concerned with condition of ROOKIE cards. Especially high end rookies. Baseball collectors are fanatics about that.

Because you didn't make any mention of it in the auction I would think your at fault (sorry- don't mean to be an ***).

I see some auctions that I want specify the damage and I would bid accordingly. If its for a RC I would never touch a damaged one.

 

[No No No.....The other Steve]

If you mentioned in your auction to look at the scan for card condition then the buyer should have emailed you with any concerns prior to bidding, plain and simple. It's like buying a used car, it's not new, check it out before you buy it and ask any questions you deem important.

 

[BravesFan4Life]

I would tell him that he could see it and should have not bid on it because it is obvious in the scan. I dont see why your so afraid of a negative. Leave him one for first giving you bs about paying even after you were reinstated and then complaining about the card even knowing that it was damaged from the scan. Its important to nail douche nozzle's like him with negs so they can get kicked. If its your first neg your only going to drop to 99.9, i dont think people will care about that one neg, heck i think most expect most sellers to get a few over time. Dont give in, no refund and if he negs you retaliate or even give him a precursory N-bomb.

 

[WingnutRon]

I think you should give him a full refund regardless of whether it is in the scan or not. If there is a defect in the card it should be noted in the description and since you failed to do so I think you as the seller are at fault regardless of your reasons for not disclosing the damage.

As a regular seller, you will be better off in the long run by giving a refund and then relisting the card with the damage disclosed properly. Sure this particular card will sell for less, but you'll make it up on your other auctions by not having a negative feedback indicating you sell damaged goods.

More than my 2 1/2 cents but I've been burned by a couple of E-bay sellers that forgot to mention damaged corners, etc. and it is a real sore subject with me.

Good luck with it,
Ron

 

[hockeytown]

I think eveyrone has covered it really well...i will simply add for me personally i would be somewhat disappointed if the card was like that as small as it may be i would want to know it before buying---main reason being it would affect directly the amount of money i would bid on the item...that is just me...i would give the buyer some opitions..
1. full refund but he has to eat shipping
2. % refund for the flaw
3. just leave things the way they are and eat the negative
4. ask the buyer what will make him/her happy

just an idea but really comes down to what you think/feel....jason

 

[quincy]

Though the scan does show the flaw, some details are just less prominent than when you actually hold the card in your hand. To be fair to the buyer, he may have seen it initially and just didn't like it up close.

I think the civilized thing to do here is to offer him a refund for the auction close price only - minus shipping of course - once he returns the card.

 

[jaywings19]

Thanks to everyone for their opinions. I've offered him either the Full Refund (minus shipping)... or a Partial 10% refund. I'll let you know what he decides to do.

 

[capsfan30]

I say do a full refund minus shipping upon returning the card.