Customer Buys After Reading the Word Flaw!
Hello all, I have never been on here before, but would like to know if anyone has encountered a sale like this. A customer purchase a nice Vintage jar from me, and in my Title, the word FLAW was at the end because it did have a small chip under the lid of it. I even had that it had the chip in my Condition Description (up above the full description). So when he purchased it, I thought, well he must be alright with the FLAW. Boy, this sale was just out of control. He wanted a refund because the FLAW was not listed. Ha, I put the word FLAW in all my titles so you can see it up front. And if you could see the original listing today, it's on there. I struggled hard what to do because I have been selling for 15 yrs and I sell on here to help my family out and do things for my grandkids. I do not get much Social Security. To make a long story short, the text got worse and just about went to having eBay step in. After doing some research, and other inquiries, I felt like what is the use. eBay rarely ever sides with the seller. I have worked too hard and I am trying to keep my status. Plus, I am a person that cares. I guess I am just letting off some more steam, because I know eBay would have probably helped the customer because of the Covered by eBay thing. Anyhow, just wanted to know if anyone had maybe a similar situation. Everyone take care and Good Luck and Happy Sales to all you sellers on here.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·7 months agoThe word flaw just kind of blends into your title:
William Yeoward Crystal Buzzy Honey Jar Etched Clear Glass Cut Crystal Flaw FS!
“This William Yeoward Crystal Buzzy Honey/Jam Jar with Spoon is in very good condition. One thing this is not the little spoon that came originally with it. I got this jar at a High End Estate Sale. You can see the name William Yeoward on the bottom of it. But there is a small chip up under the rim of the top. I never saw it until I put my magnifying glass under the lid. Thank youâ€
fern*wood
·7 months agoI certainly can see that!😉
christworks
·7 months ago@teresastreasures2010 You have a great sell-through rate, so you are doing many things right. You have been given some very good advice. I hope you heed it.
I am going to chime in with a couple of things. I read the negative and neutral feedback you've received. Most of them center around clothing not smelling good. Each time you state you don't smell anything.
I have many allergies and I do not smell things well either. When you buy clothing at a thrift store or an estate sale, you really need to wash it. In fact, eBay's policy requires used clothing to be properly cleaned. I use a detergent free of dyes and perfumes. Absolutely nobody wants to receive something that smells like cigarette smoke. If you cannot smell well, you need to be washing things even if they look clean. Plus, you don't want to bring someone else's bugs into your house where they might infect your things or the rest of your inventory.
I just wanted to pass along some additional advice after reading that feedback. I hope you take it under advisement.
wastingtime101
·7 months agoGood advice. OP's descriptions state she does wash items before selling them, so it may just be the level of exposure. Once cigarette smoke is embedded it's nearly impossible to wash out. Since she appears somewhat noseblind to cigarette smoke and she's thrifting from various sources, I'll add the advice to put a disclaimer in her listing descriptions. Something like ...
All clothing is washed prior to listing. As our product comes from various sources and estate sales, we cannot guarantee the item's history was smoke free.
Hard goods should also be thoroughly cleaned. For example those chicken salt and pepper shakers look pretty dirty, especially on the inside of the handles, and there's what appears to be sticker residue possibly from a thrift price tag.
OP for that sticker residue you can smear it with dish soap, let it sit for 15 min, then wash it and it should come off.
We are not picking on you, OP. We are offering tips because you're very nice and you've been open to the feedback offered so far and we want to help you make your selling experience even better. 🙂
adamcartwright
·7 months ago@teresastreasures2010
Piling onto advice from @wastingtime101 and @christworks :
For smells, what you can try is pre-washing your clothing with white vinegar.
I just pour at least a cup or much more in with the "free" detergent and let it soak for awhile before completing the prewash cycle.
Then launder as usual with your "free" detergent, adding about 1/2 cup or more of baking soda to the load. The baking soda softens the water, allowing the detergent to better penetrate fabric.
This process is what I use for pet messes or sweat in works clothes and synthetic workout clothing. It should really help with the cigarette smoke, also.
I've even gotten a revolting stale smoke smell out of vintage Tupperware by submerging it overnight in vinegar and water.
christworks
·7 months ago@wastingtime101 I did not know the extra HTML formatting de-prioritized the description on the app. Thanks for sharing that.
@teresastreasures2010 Depending on the item, you can also take a few seconds and do a video to point out any flaws or damage. I have only been doing videos for electronics to show they work or if something does not work. Over the past few months, though, I have done a handful of videos for non-electronic items but had some type of flaw or damage that may not be easily visible in pictures. If the listing has a video, it is the second thumbnail in the photo lineup, so not easy for buyers to miss.
broto_64
·7 months agoOh but the FLAW needs to be up front and right at the beginning, not at the very end.
tobaccocardyahoo
·7 months agoToo many buyers buy on the Ebay apps. Too hard to get to the description. Yes, the description should describe the flaw, but the images should make clear what the flaw is even on a smartphone screen.
Apps have made a seller's job harder and the time spent on a listing longer, and the number of returns higher for items which are not perfect.
Fortunately, most of my buyers are old fashioned and do their shopping on a computer with a monitor large enough to accommodate their older eyes.
squinkercat59
·7 months agoI consider a flaw and damage two different things. A lot of items have a manufacturing anomaly, such as a popped air bubble in the glass or finish, or some streak in the coloring, or printed funny, that was done when it was made. That would be a flaw, and sometimes makes an item even more desirable, depending on what it is. A chip or crack I would consider damage, and not a flaw. Either way, a close-up photo is the best way to go. Granted, a lot of people don't even look at the photos OR read the descriptions, but at least you would have a better argument.
teresastreasures2010
OP7 months agoHello, and thank you so much. You are right about the difference between flaw and damage. It never crossed my mind. Thank you for this! Take care and good luck to on your sales. 🙂
fullers_uk
·7 months agoIts 2026, people speed read to see what they want to see, maybe 18 words out of 100 read, its not just on here its everywhere, as to caring, ebay is a machine that has no feelings.
inhawaii
·7 months agoThe disclosure of a "flaw" should be in
BIG BOLD RED TEXT
so there is no way they buyer can miss it.
wastingtime101
·7 months agoExtra HTML formatting (bold, color, size) hides the description on the app behind an extra click. Last stats I read said 60% of buyers purchase on eBay's app over the website.
I suggest using plain text with no formatting so more buyers will see it. YMMV.
adamcartwright
·7 months ago@wastingtime101
After you gave us that advice, I have been transitioning all of my listings to plain text.
In order to highlight a sentence or phrase in particular, I just use all caps and/or asterisks.
So far, so good.
I know some people are offended by all caps, but c'est la vie.
wastingtime101
·7 months agoIf you don't want to use all caps @adamcartwright you could do something like (using OP's item for reference):
Sometimes just a couple words in caps is enough to call attention.
jonathanbrightlight
·7 months agoI would definitely agree. Using all caps is either considered rude or is difficult to read for most people. A few words in caps is often very helpful. We sometimes do that in our titles to call out details we want to make sure get noticed.
kandf_vintage_finds
·7 months agoSorry you are going through this.
For future maybe not list your damaged goods
Good Luck!
teresastreasures2010
OP7 months agoHello, and thank you. I know what you mean, but I thought I would get a little something for it with the chip when I compared it to some others like it with flaws. It's OK. All is good, and I have learned a lot on here from all you good people giving advice to help. Take care, and have a good night
a_c_green
·7 months ago@teresastreasures2010 : In addition to the great advice already offered: I would not put more than a few words in the Seller Notes adjacent to the Condition line. The Seller Notes field is heavily truncated and needs two sequential clicks to even get to its fully revealed state.
Leave your detailed description for the Description field further down. Putting it in Seller Notes instead is most likely not going to get it read. My standard practice for Seller Notes is simply, "Please see photos and description below for full details." If a special mention of flaws is needed (think of Seller Notes as being your headline of important things to mention), I put that first, so that it's in full view.
For example, in this case I would list the item as Used, and for seller notes: "Small chip under lid. Please see photos and description below for full details." Then the buyer would know to look for the flaw in the photos, and for more info in the description.
Have the buyer return it for a full refund. If it sold once, it will sell again, and with a more clear description, it will not come back a second time. Good luck.
teresastreasures2010
OP7 months agoHey there and thank you for your reply and really good advice. I mean it! This was a really bad experience for me and hope not to ever go through something like this again. But it seems like sometimes, no matter, what I have heard eBay seems to always side with customer. Honestly, what hurt the most, was the way the buyer talked. It's OK, I am moving on. LOL Thanks again and take care!
kensgiftshop
·7 months agoYou can't take it personally, if you do it'll drive ya crazy.
gurlcat
·8 months ago@albertabrightalberta @wastingtime101 🤣 Yall beat me to those points because I had reached my image limit and had to go back and delete some old ones (which takes for-e-ver to process for some reason).
gurlcat
·8 months agoLooking at the listing, apart from the mere word 'Flaw' in the title, I can see why the buyer didn't realize there was actually damage.
* The chip isn't clear (or highlighted) in any of the photos
* Your item description doesn't mention it
* eBay truncates the Condition description and if the buyer doesn't click 'Read more' they won't see where you mention the chip, which at the end of quite a bit of talk. You should give the bad news first, so it isn't missed.
According to official eBay policy, our photos are not supposed to contain any text. But I for one don't take chances when it comes to INAD claims. I will do anything and everything to make sure no buyer can say they didn't know about a flaw.
A good rule of thumb to follow: Use photos to show every detail as if there is no item description, and write your item description as if there are no photos.
teresastreasures2010
OP7 months agoYou are so helpful here and I thank you for taking your time to help me. Good luck on your sales and take care of yourself. Have a good night!
albertabrightalberta
·8 months ago@teresastreasures2010
In the buyer's defense, even knowing there's a flaw, I can't see it in any of your pictures and I've looked for it more than once!
In addition to the suggestions @wastingtime101 made, I have another suggestion to help buyers when an item has a flaw.
Show the flaw in a way that when the buyer sees the pictures, it can't be missed. (I didn't see the flaw in the glass honey jar so I used another of your listings for my example.) Use the "edit" feature in your photo software to draw and arrow or a circle.
teresastreasures2010
OP7 months agoHey, thank you again! Never thought of that! Appreciate this! Im going to take care of some of my flaws on my list. It's late here now in NC. So tomorrow, that is exactly what I will do. Thanks so much again! Very nice to help me. Have a good night.
wastingtime101
·8 months agoI'm not saying you did anything wrong here, but I'm going to point out reasons the info may have been missed.
To Start, some buyers only look at photos. I don't see the chip in your photos.
- How to handle it: Next time include more photos, no blurry photos, clear photos of flaws and consider adding arrows or circles to some of the images to point directly to the flaws. Make it impossible to miss in photos.
Second, eBay truncates extra long item condition fields. Buyers have to perform additional clicks to read more. A lot don't.
- How to handle it: Next time put the info in the item description in addition to the item condition field. Yes, it's duplicate work, but copy/paste makes it quick.
Third, you do say 'flaw' in your title, but I'll be honest it does not stand out. It's at the end and the title can be truncated depending on the buyer's view. What's FS? To me it looks like "Flaw FS!" and I don't know what that means.
- How to handle it: Put the word in all caps so it's harder to miss. If the flaw is a chip, use the word chip instead of flaw. Example: RIM CHIP
Sellers need to do everything they can to cover themselves because of different displays and buyers that don't thoroughly review listings.
As for the transaction that already took place: report the buyer for abusing the Money Back Guarantee since the flaw WAS disclosed. When you get the item back, relist but consider making some adjustments to the listing as noted above.
I hope this helps.
albertabrightalberta
·7 months ago@teresastreasures2010
You didn't respond to @wastingtime101 's question asking what "FS" stands for in several of your listings in which you mention "flaw" in the titles.
Does "FS" mean final sale? If so, you're in for a rude awakening for 2 reasons.
1. Several of your "FS" listings offer a return policy, meaning buyers can return items for any reason or for no reason.
2. Even if those FS listings were "no returns," there's nothing to stop those buyers from filing NAD (not as described) claims and getting to return the items whether you like it or not.
fern*wood
·7 months agoIt might stand for free shipping.
wastingtime101
·7 months agoWhether FS is 'final sale' or 'free shipping', the fact we don't know says it's something that shouldn't be taking up valuable title space.
"Flaw FS!" makes the title confusing. None of that needs to be in the title.
teresastreasures2010
OP7 months agoHello there, I thought I did, but FS means Free Shipping. I guess my bad. I have seen other sellers do this, but thank you for all your advice and I wish you good luck on your sales and have a great night! 🙂
wastingtime101
·7 months agoThis is important advice @teresastreasures2010 : just because you see another seller doing it, does not make it a good idea. Think about how the change will affect your listing before using a method someone else is using - that other seller may be misguided. Let's evaluate putting FS or Free Shipping in your title:
- What if you start using eBay International Shipping? Listing will be free ship to the US only so putting it in your title is misleading (false advertising) to international buyers that pay eBay for international shipping.
- What if you change your listings from free ship to paid ship - you not only have to edit your shipping, but you have to do extra work and edit your titles.
- Confusion from buyers that do not know what FS means.
- No buyer is going to search for "FS" and you want keywords in your title the buyer will search for. Title space is limited.
- It's not needed in the title because free shipping is up front on the listing, and in search, depending on view.
- There is a free shipping filter in search where buyers can filter to see only free shipping listings if that's important to them.
Conclusion: no real added benefit, possible buyer confusion, possible extra work, possibly taking the place of more important terms needed in your title. 🙂
Bonus info: you don't need to add things to the title like NEW or NIB (new in box) or any of that. Again, the condition is displayed prominently in the listing and in search, plus eBay has search filters for condition new vs preowned, etc.
teresastreasures2010
OP7 months agoHello, and I thank you very much. Appreciate the way you explained it to me. I honestly forgot about the pic of the chip, but after the sale, I assumed he had read the condition and thought he was ok with it. My Bad. You taught me something here, and thank you! 🙂 And yes, FS stands for Free Shipping LOL It did blend along the flaw, didn't it? Have a great night and good luck on your sales!