buyers!
I'm finding out that buyers want flawless items! Preowned is not off the rack new! A little stain in the shirt can be washed. A broken clasp can be replaced! etc, etc.... I don't always catch every little thing. Sick of them! Ready to close my account!
37 comments
sin-n-dex
·11 months agoI have a blanket with some light small stains... no matter what, drycleaned half a dozen times, they don't come out. No one buying a stained thing is going to assume they can get the stain out.
I have a gold bracelet that I bought and found out the clasp was broken after I got it. That was 10 years ago, it's sitting in my jewellery box not being fixed because I can't get around to it. I might have rethought getting it if I had known the clasp was broken, now I have to pay a jewellery a few hundred for a 14kt clasp and to get it fixed.
Buyers don't want to buy problems, it's important to describe your goods accurately.
C.
inhawaii
·11 months agoI found out that buyers expect what is described and pictured in the listing.
The nerve of them.
krazzykats
·11 months agoHydrogen peroxide will remove stains and odors while cleaning and disinfecting your washer.
It's safe for most fabrics and, when applied immediately to "protein" stains, often removes them completely.
Warn: Always test it on an inconspicuous area of the fabric first.
á“šá˜á—¢
luckythewinner
·11 months agoeBay policy expects you to completely and accurately disclose the item's condition. IMHO you will continue to accumulate returns and disputes if you sell damaged items without disclosing the damage.
adamcartwright
·11 months ago@chapeau-noir
The paint was inside the lapel, but would have been visible if the jacket were open. There were also stains on the exterior.
You nailed it when you said some people are just stain masters. What is stained to me may not be stained to someone else, or they have plans for an interesting textile -- apply a patch or appliqué, use the fabric for another project, etc.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·11 months agoNot all stains can be washed out. If a buyer purchases a clothing item and no stains are mentioned or pictured then they of course should expect a refund.
If they purchase a necklace why should they be out money or time to replace a clasp?
chapeau-noir
·11 months agoWe used to have a few stores like that, but with property values the way they are, they can't afford the overhead. The last one closed some years back.
Now we have Ross Dress for Less - the local one is full of ho' clothes - weird in an area of family gardener types who hike, bike and hang out at coffee houses and go to author talks. So a lot of us shop at the thrifts.
albertabrightalberta
·11 months agoThe implication you made with that statement is that you sold an unwashed item. As such, you should review the used clothing policy --- particularly this part, because you violated the policy in selling an unwashed used item:
christworks
·11 months agoThat language is subjective. Items that are dry-clean only cannot be washed. A better way to look at it is that items need to be sanitized, whether that be washing or dry-cleaning. Notably eBay removed the requirement that sellers state this in their clothing listings.
On a broader topic, if you are selling used clothes, you need to wash it. You don't want to bring people's junk into your home!! The first thing I do when I come back sourcing is to go through everything - outside. Doesn't matter if it comes from an estate sale, yard sale, or thrift store. For clothing I check pockets (still hoping to find some cash - hasn't happened yet), make sure I didn't miss something big when I initially looked at it, I make piles and start washing. I use free & clear detergent so it does not mess with anybody's allergies and does not leave a notable smell. If I'm not listing those things right way, they go into airtight bins until they are listed.
roccotacodad54
·11 months agoI hear you about not bringing things into the house right away. After having centipedes crawl out of a box from an eBay order awhile back I now examine all things coming into the house from eBay, thrift stores, yard sales etc. in my shed.
I am amazed when people sit on or buy fabric covered furniture in a thrift store. All kinds of creepy crawly things might hitchike home with them.
tmtt_26
·11 months agoDisclose the issues with your items and you will have a lot less issues from your buyers
meme6253
·11 months agoClothing like any other item needs a full description of any issues & Photos to show the issues, Customers want to know what they are getting, If you do not disclose the issues, Then the customer receives a surprise that they are not Happy about & can be used against you with an NAD, Describe & Show the issues & you should be fine.
gurlcat
·11 months agoMaybe I'm mistaken, but my whole life I thought the definition of a "stain" is permanent discoloration.
Like the difference between dirt and a stain is whether or not you've already tried to wash it. -If it washed away, then it was just dirt. If not, it's a stain.
(Yes even stains might be removable with some product that specifically targets their particular chemistry, but I'm just talking about washing with ordinary laundry detergent).
iamalwaysright
·11 months agoHm you know I never really thought about it. I guess up thru now I've been using the word "stain" to describe any discoloration left embedded into a fabric or material regardless if it's temporary or permanent.
I'm curious (and a bit overanalytical). You mentioned if it washed away, then you called it dirt. And if not, it's a stain. What if you didn't wash it yet and are unsure if it's permanent or not. What would you call that discoloration at that moment? Lol, this just made me think of Schrodinger's cat. Or would you never call something a stain if it hasn't been washed yet?
Also, what if it's a temporary discoloration and made by a substance unknown to you. What do you call it then? Would you make a guess and call it like "ink" or "ketchup" or even "something" on my shirt?
It's sounds logical that "stain" would only be permanent. But I wouldn't know what to call it in some other cases if I did.
participatrophy
·11 months agoWhen I'm pretty sure it's not gonna come out I preemptively just call it stained. I don't know why I bother making the distinction because it almost never comes out but when I'm still in the wishful thinking phase, I tend to go with soiled.
gurlcat
·11 months agoHa, the Scrhodinger's Cat analogy isn't all that absurd really. But what, then, would be the box? The "dirty clothes hamper"? -No, we're still clearly optimistic at that stage. The real box is the washing machine *and if you use one, the dryer, which I don't -laundering is where the vast majority of would-be stains can be mere dirt, if you know what you're doing. -Wash in cold water, wash whites separately, hang-dry, and pre-treat GENEROUSLY, remembering to also allow the pre-treatment to set for at least 5 minutes before turning the machine on. I go through about as many fluid ounces of this stuff per wash as I do laundry detergent (which most people actually use too much of).
Some people go so far as to carry around one those stain 'pens' but really the only potential stain that needs immediate treatment (that I can think of) is red wine or grape juice.
The rest (animal/vegetable fats, grass, sweat, etc. can be allowed to dry and deal with later). Blood could take a whole paragraph, but you're at least halfway home if you just remember that soaking in COLD water makes a huge difference (never expose blood to hot or even warm water; it literally cooks hemoglobin into fabric).
Better yet, just be a male who avoids fights and DIY, or a female "before or past a certain age range" who also avoids fights and DIY, to avoid blood as much as possible. 🤣
OR double down and just wear it! Let everyone tell you "You've got red on you" like Shaun Of The Dead!
pickapaper
·11 months ago"A little stain in the shirt can be washed."
Depends on what the stain is and if the fabric is washable.
Some stains don't come out and some fabrics are dry clean only.
toysaver
·11 months ago"A little stain in the shirt can be washed."
Then why didn't you wash it? Some stains are permanent. I personally clean anything and everything I bring into my home, usually within the hour. Clothes are especially full of personal cooties. No way I want that in my midst.
soh.maryl
·11 months agoYes, a "little stain in the shirt can be washed" by the seller before shipping.
And a "broken clasp can be replaced, again by the seller.
It seems like your pre-listing inspection process may need to be tightened up a little.
iamalwaysright
·11 months agoI can agree with that. But the problem is that the phrase "little thing" is subjective. What may me a mountain to someone is a mole hill to you.
broto_64
·11 months agoUnder promise, and over deliver.
adamcartwright
·11 months ago@jimj2013
I sold a stained shirt the other day.
The stain was clearly marked in photos and also described in the description box.
It was a good brand, quality shirt, and I knew it would sell.
krazzykats
·11 months agoIt must have been one extraordinary shirt stain. A stain, no matter how dramatic, is still just a stain. —Definitely not something I'd throw my wallet at!
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adamcartwright
·11 months ago@krazzykats
Come to think of it, that's not the only stained garment I've sold recently.
I also sold something with paint spatters. In a highly contrasting color.
I disclose everything in detail. It's up to the buyer to decide whether or not to throw his wallet.
chapeau-noir
·11 months ago"Art to wear".
krazzykats
·11 months agoIf I see clothing that needs repairs before I can wear it, I won’t buy it. But I rarely shop for clothes online anyway.
My reasons are simple: I just don't want to deal with repairing it, so most damaged secondhand clothing has no value to me...
There might be an exception, but I haven't seen one yet. JMHO. (Yes, I am that old.)
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chapeau-noir
·11 months agoMany of us do not sell damaged clothing.
ETA: Though we seem to be the red-headed stepchildren of eBay.
gurlcat
·11 months agoThe only time I've ever worked a retail clothing job was a few months at this store in Little Rock Arkansas, in 2005, called 'Half of Half Name Brand Clothing'. There's a whole chain of them clustered from North to South in the central U.S. They're like the "end of the road" clearance step after TJ Maxx and Ross etc., but some of the pallets also came directly from the original stores, and some were returns, so they might have broken closure hardware, missing buttons, or even the occasional (gross) makeup or deodorant smudges. Oh and the pallets were just completely packed with no care about wrinkling, so you might pull out a 100% cotton 'whatever' and it wouldn't have a single square inch without any creases, LOL.
But they're not kidding about the "Name Brand" thing. -None of the inventory was originally anywhere like Walrmart or even Old Navy, but more upscale, including some of the highest-end fashion stores. But in most cases the "half of half" price thing was actually an understatement; it wasn't unusual to see something with its original tag of $250 now priced at $20 or whatever. And things originally priced $30-40 could be dropped to literal Goodwill prices, like just a few bucks. I had shopped there a few times before working there, always managed to find a few things I loved for crazy cheap.
But once I worked there a while, I realized there was something "weird" about some shoppers -they'd buy heaping whole cart-fulls of all different sizes, genders, ages, etc., like who all were they shopping for?!! That's when a coworker explained they were eBay resellers. This was long before I sold on eBay myself, and also before I learned how to sew. So at the time I just thought they "couldn't" be making much money of these old messed-up garments. But now I wish I lived in a town with a Half Of Half, because if you knew your brands well, and knew how to fix this or that little flaw, MAN you could definitely make incredible profits.
Note: Of the items we got that were true clearance (not returns) there was often a 'reverse bell curve' with regard to sizes -the tiniest and the hugest. That would make it a perfect eBay inventory source, because although no local foot traffic customer may need her bustier to have a G-cup bust, someone 'out there' in eBay land is bound to!
pickapaper
·11 months ago@gurlcat
"NBC" (Name Brand Clothing or 1/2 of 1/2) was one of my favorite stores and I used to go there weekly for about 10 or 12 years. They still have one store in my area but it moved and is now about 25 miles from me so I haven't been there for a long time. I got some really good stuff there including high-end clothing but one had to be careful because sometimes things would be damaged; sometimes could be mended, sometimes not. They also got a lot of jewelry, household goods, small appliances, purses, and cosmetics. Every week would be different. Depending on what the items were, women would line up and fight over the things because they were so cheap, especially Dooney and Coach bags. One of these days, I need to go back there and see if it has changed.
gurlcat
·11 months agoDid you shop there just for yourself/household, or as a reseller?
I never saw anybody fighting over things, but it sure could be hard to put items out on the racks sometimes. We would hang new items on these rolling racks, divided by clothing type and size, and then once we would roll one out from behind the 'employees only' area, people would come grabbing, getting in the way, putting things back in the wrong place, etc. And we just had to put up with it because there was no rule against it.
pickapaper
·11 months ago@gurlcat
I just bought (mostly clothing) for myself, never for resale. They sent out flyers announcing what they would have for that week. The things I saw women fighting over were the handbags (mostly the Dooneys and the Coach) and high-end cosmetics, which I thought a lot of it looked "tested". I'm not one to get in the midst of those cat-fights; I wasn't wanting for myself, and I wasn't looking for resale items so I steered clear. I remember one time they got in a shipment of down comforters and my sister bought a bunch of them and made a killing reselling them. She also went after those purses, to resell.
As I said, I haven't been there for a few years now. It would be a destination place for me now and not worth the drive. But I still wonder if it is the same.
I did run into a lady a few weeks ago who told me she shops there regularly because she is a waitress and has to wear black clothes to work and she finds clothes there she can use for work, for cheap.
chapeau-noir
·11 months agoI'm like the Wizard of Stains and there are some stains even I can't get out - so buying stuff with a stain unless it's from the thrift is a non-starter for me, though I've sold things with dye flaws before, but usually quite subtle.
adamcartwright
·11 months ago@gurlcat
I would love that store.
ten_o_nine
·11 months agoYou're right, a little stain is just a minor detail that adds character. And a broken clasp? That's just a free accessory that says, hey, this item has been around the block a few times!
sammiea1460
·11 months agoIMO, your buyers are "helping" you become a better seller of pre-owned items. Perhaps conducting a more careful examination will help you discover any flaws before your buyers discover them.
I believe this may also help you when purchasing your inventory.
I assume your categories are extremely saturated so everything you can do to make your item "ready to use" is to your benefit.
jimj2013
OP11 months agofair enough, my bad
jonathanbrightlight
·11 months agoBuyers don’t generally require the item be like new. What they do require and should be able to expect is to get what they ordered. If you’re sending items with stains that were not disclosed in the listing description and photos, they are right to expect to return them.