Buyer "Feedback" (or Not)

[fargoisinsocal]

I recently purchased an HP Ink Cartridge from a seller who listed it as a “Brand New, Original, HP”, with an Expiration date of Feb 2021.  The price was reasonable, shipment & delivery was prompt. Rec’d on 12-21-2019 and was “pleased” with my purchase….until I noticed that the expiration date of the item he/she shipped to me was/is June 2019.

I know this does not mean the cartridge will not be useable when installed, depending on several possible variables, but my existing cartridge is still good for now, so I can’t know until I try it.

So I contacted (e-mailed) the seller, and when I called him/her on the discrepancy in the listing, here’s how the conversation went:

Seller:  “Ok, just return it if your not happy”

Me:  “Too much of a hassle to return as you probably know, so I'll keep it and, as stated, hope it works for me. $ not the issue. Lesson learned, hopefully for the both of us. Regards.”

Seller:  “Ok, but I’m offering 100 percent refund”

As I stated, $ is not the issue, so I did not reply. But notice, he/she did not offer an apology, which would have been nice. I just wanted him/her to know it’s not good business on his/her part.

Here’s my question….Is “feedback” mandatory?  I have never left negative feedback and will not in this instance, however I have misgivings about leaving neutral or positive feedback for a seller who is not 100% honest. Is it OK to not leave any “feedback” at all?

[fern*wood]

Sure it's okay not to leave feedback--it is completely voluntary.  The seller will probably be pleased. 

[loveyourimagination49]

Feedback is voluntary and you have 60 days to leave it, or not.

[fargoisinsocal]

Thanks for ur response, just wanted to be sure (it's OK)

[inhawaii]

Everyone will have their own opinion on this matter.

If it were me, i would leave a neutral.

"Listed with Feb. 2021 expiration date. Received with June 2019 expiration date." 

[mam98031]

As others have shared with you, feedback is a voluntary system.  So it is completely up to you as to what you want to do.

While I agree that the seller should have apologized to you for the error, your seller did offer you a reasonable solution to the problem, you just chose not to take them up on the offer.

As the seller, I would have apologized, but I also would have offered you the same solution to the problem.  

The seller made a mistake, they were willing to give you all your money back upon return.  Other than an apology, what else did you want the seller to do?

Please understand sellers get emails from buyers all the time fishing for partial refunds for one reason or another.  Some are reasonable and but more and more of these emails are people dreaming up a reason to get some of their money back when there really isn't a problem.  Sellers are in a difficult place to determine if what the buyer is saying is true or not all the time.  The standard thing a good seller should do in cases like this is offer to take the return for a full refund to the buyer.

Now PLEASE do not take this the wrong way, as I trust that your issue is as you describe.  But to a seller when a buyer declines returning the item for a full refund, it usually tells us there really wasn't a problem to begin with.  That the buyer was just fishing for a discount.  AGAIN, I am NOT saying you were being dishonest.  I'm only saying that this is how it looks to sellers sometimes.

As to FB.  I personally don't think the seller's FB should be damaged in any way.  The seller offer a perfectly good resolution to the matter at hand, you just chose not to avail yourself of that solution.  And you had every right to do that, but to then take it out on the seller IMHO would be inappropriate.  

[3eyedfishcatcher]

You probably should put the cartridge in your printer just to do a test print. Then if it works replace the tape that stops the ink from flowing. If the cartridge will not print then return the item as not being what was described in the listing. Be sure to include a picture of the different expiration date.

For the most part that date is probably a sell by date to ensure the ink will be fresh and not dried out. However it is possible some HP printers could get that date off of the cartridge and reject the cartridge. My HP printer is picky and will not accept generic cartridges and tries to block refilled cartidges. Really the only issues with such items is HP wanting to keep 100 percent of cartridge sales through HP and their retailers.

You may want to consider a neutral feedback that the seller is using misleading expiration dates or images that are not of what you will receive. Mainly to warn other buyers.

[loveyourimagination49]

The seller should have sent the correct item and then the buyer wouldn’t have to worry about it.

[mam98031]

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@loveyourimagination49 wrote:
The seller should have sent the correct item and then the buyer wouldn’t have to worry about it.

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That is VERY true.  I take no issue with that whatsoever.  But unfortunately most sellers are mere humans and sometimes us mere humans make mistakes.  I know some don't believe sellers should ever make a mistake, so when they do they should be punished in some way.  I get that.

IMHO the only thing the seller in this case should have done that they did not, was to apologize.  They should have done that to be sure.  

I get it, you may not agree with me.  You may think the seller was unreasonable to offer to take the return and give the buyer 100% of their money back.  It would be better to damage their FB because they dare to make a mistake or making the assumption they did it on purpose.  

BTW, do you actually know if the item was wrong?  The buyer doesn't want to return it.

[inhawaii]

I wanted to share this feedback with you guys. One of the worst replies to feedback i have ever seen.  I stumbled upon this feedback because this seller stole my image from one of my listings. 

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK:  Bought test strips "expiring April 2020." Seller sent item expired 02/28/2019.

RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK: You paid 1/2 price w/ Free S/H & are complaining about 32 days Exp. difference?

The sellers math is not that good.  That's 14 months difference, not 32 days difference. 

[1tuna]

I know what I would want the seller to do,I would expect him to update the stock photo with the expiration date.If the seller is still trying to foist old ink on buyers that is not the way to go.

I do not like it when sellers refuse to accept that maybe they should change the listing so as not to rip off unsuspecting buyers.I can see it happening due to an oversight or something but not more than once

[mam98031]

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@1tuna wrote:

I know what I would want the seller to do,I would expect him to update the stock photo with the expiration date.If the seller is still trying to foist old ink on buyers that is not the way to go.

I do not like it when sellers refuse to accept that maybe they should change the listing so as not to rip off unsuspecting buyers.I can see it happening due to an oversight or something but not more than once

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You are making assumptions about the seller that we have no way of knowing is accurate.  That in and of itself is completely unfair.

Speaking for myself only.  I've made mistakes before in my listings.  When a buyer brings that to my attention, I apologize, I fix it and if they have purchased something from me, I offer to take a return for full refund to the buyer.  It appears that for some that isn't enough.  Dang, you talk about Ebay being hard on their sellers.  They haven't anything on some of the posters here.

Now granted this seller did not apologize to the OP and they absolutely should have.  They were wrong for not doing that.  But the seller did offer to take care of the buyer in a reasonable manner.  I make no assumption as you outlined here in your post.  

[loveyourimagination49 · Accepted solution]

The buyer doesn’t want to return it because it’s a hassle. They wanted what they ordered. The expired ink may work. They are willing to take that chance. I don’t know the OP or the seller.

[mam98031]

If the seller had not offered to do right by the buyer, the I'd agree, FB would be a good place to state that fact.  But that isn't the fact in this particular case.  Why are you so willing to accept have the FB of this seller damaged?  

Is there something I'm missing?  

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[mam98031]

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@loveyourimagination49 wrote:
The buyer doesn’t want to return it because it’s a hassle. They wanted what they ordered. The expired ink may work. They are willing to take that chance. I don’t know the OP or the seller.

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I understand that completely and that is the right of the buyer to make that decision. 

I know the OP said they weren't fishing for a partial refund.  In fact they didn't say what type of resolution the seller could offer that would be acceptable to them.  

So if you were the seller in the case as the OP outlines.  Let's say you thought your listing was correct.  What would you think when the buyer said they didn't want to return the item?  You want to tell me that you wouldn't think they were fishing for a partial refund or a full refund without having to return the item?

We've had so many threads on similar complaints by buyers.  Typically the recommendation to a seller is to offer to take the return for a full refund on the item.  If the buyer doesn't want to do that, then you know they were fishing for a partial or full refund and the product too.  There have been countless threads over the years where many posters have made such recommendations.

What makes this different?