I think I've heard that eBay sellers can not leave negative feedback to buyers (because this had caused buyers to be afraid of leaving negative feedback in fear of retaliatory feedback left on them....which did happen to me once). But, what about neutral feedback? Can sellers leave neutral on the buyer?

Yesterday I received a dance set for my daughter (DVD, headset and dance mat). Sellers description: "This was given to me by a friend who has moved and it was never used by myself. It is in used condition, but everything seems to work fine even the headset microphone. The DVD is a lil scratched but does not effect the game."

When I opened the box it immediately smelled like smoke. I took the folded up mat out of the box and could right away see that there was a bunch of hair sticking out from underneath. I started to unfold the mat and found that there are a bunch of areas underneath that had very wide tape peeled off. This left it sticky so all those areas are full of dirt and *tons* of hair. The DVD is very scratched. There's no way I'm letting me daughter put this mat on our carpet.

I e-mailed them and I tried to be nice. This is what I said, "This arrived today. I don't mean to be rude, but felt I had to say something. For one thing, it smells like smoke. The mat is soooo dirty. The bottom must have had sticky tape or something torn off, so there's so much dirt and tons of hair (human, animal or both) stuck to where the tape was. I'm glad I didn't pay anymore for this because its condition is disappointing. I'll have to do a lot of cleaning of this before I even let my daughter put it on the floor. A little cleaning of the mat, headset and dvd case would have gone a long way in making this a bit more appealing."

I was hoping they would offer a refund (but I won't pay return shipping). Here was their reply: "I apologize for that, I should have checked it a lil better. I picked it up at a yardsale for my niece and she never wanted it. I checked to make sure it worked and that was it. Again I apologize!"

Well, so now what?? She even admits she didn't look it over better. Anyone with eyes could see. And, because she didn't look at it better I'm stuck with it. My daughter wants so bad to use it, but I don't even have the stomach to clean this up right now (I mean, it is really sickening. I don't really like other peoples hairs on my things....and this is enough to make a wig, I swear).

I'm already looking for another set. Should I ask for a refund? Let it go? I hate leaving negative feedback (she did apologize), but I'm certainly not leaving positive. If I leave neutral, can she leave neutral to me?? With shipping I paid $10.25. I know that's a pretty good deal.....but, not if I end up having to buy another one.

File a claim BEFORE leaving feedback and do it quickly. I was an eBay powerseller and have more experience with disputes than I care to admit. Not because I was a poor seller, but I have been a buyer for 7 years and lost a lot of money due to poor policy in the beginning.

A seller cannot leave anything but positive feedback for a buyer, regardless of how awful the buyer may/may not be (which is why I quit selling). However, it is ALWAYS best to file a dispute in these cases because you are entitled to a working item in good used condition (and the seller lied about the condition/origin to boot).

I would file the dispute ASAP and be sure to keep all the emails you sent/received.You will find the link here: http://resolutioncenter.ebay.com/

Select "I received an item that does not match the seller's description" and click Continue. It is a simple and quick process. If the seller will not cooperate, they will give your money back. period.

This may seem harsh, but you expected the item "This was given to me by a friend who has moved and it was never used by myself. It is in used condition, but everything seems to work fine even the headset microphone. The DVD is a lil scratched but does not effect the game" and it was actually bought at a yard sale and was obviously more than a lil scratched? That alone will let you win the dispute. Nowhere did the seller mention the damage from tape or the fact that it was filthy. Sellers like this are what make eBay a bad place to shop. An apology does NOT remedy the fact that the item is basically unusable.

This is the ONLY way to handle a problem of this type. Few sellers want any problems with their eBay/PayPal account and will generally respond to a dispute quickly & efficiently. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask

Cindy

I agree with Cindy - file the claim. Also - it appears as though the seller has changed her story - first on the listing that claims it was a gift from a friend and now she purchased it from a yard sale? Hmmmm.....

I received something once that was all smokey - ick!!!! I filed a claim and it was resolved real fast! An honest seller, who wants and needs the business, will make remediation real quick! I don't think you are being unreasonable at all.
Heidi

Thank you Cindy and Heidi for your suggestions. I didn't realize there even was a dispute thing I can file (or whatever you call it). I thought it was odd, too, that her story kind of changed....first saying she was given it and then telling me she bought it used. But before I got these replies from you both, I did e-mail her back last night. I said:

"Hmmm....so, because you didn't look it over better, I'm stuck with it. That doesn't seem fair. I would have never bought it in this condition. I guess I'm going to try to find another one because this stuff won't just wash or wipe off....it's stuck on there".

I'm kind of hoping she'll just feel compelled to give me a full refund on her own accord. But, I haven't gotten a response yet. Maybe I should have just outright asked for a full refund, I don't know. I wasn't yelling or anything....but, I know it's hard to judge how an e-mail sounds. I probably do sound a bit snippy.....but, it does make me mad. I think I'll wait a few days (because it's the weekend, they might be gone). If I don't hear from her in a reasonable amount of time I will file the dispute. Thank you for telling me about it and for giving me the link. I'll let you know what happens.

File a claim. I had almost the exact thing happen with a Palm cell phone I bought. It definitely did NOT match the description. The emails the seller left me were so incriminating that Paypal settled it before the time she had to respond. They told me they would deal with her.

Yes, File a complaint!!! We purchased a "laptop" for my sister a year ago and what we got was trash that took 3mo to arrive. I filed a claim and paypal returned us 100% of our money. Make sure you file soon because their is a time limit on how long you have to file.

Well I just finished filing the dispute. I asked for a full refund. I don't know how they'll respond, if at all. The last e-mail I sent was last Friday and they never responded. Hopefully the claim through PayPal will "wake them up". I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again for everyone's advice. Oh, and in the meantime I purchased another one...haven't gotten it yet, but the seller assured me it is clean.