Disclosing Items Come from a Smoking Environment

[kalyoth]

I was always curious - why does ebay not require this disclosure from it's sellers? There is quite a large group of people that can't stand items from smokers. Then there are also the damages dealt to various forms of merchandise from smoke that discolor or ruin collectibles.

[maxine*j]

How could eBay set a policy that covers every single thing someone out there is sensitive to, allergic to, or just doesn't like?  Perfumes, dryer sheets, fabric fresheners, molds, cat hair, dog hair, bird dander, horse hair, donkey hair, peanuts, latex, pollen, household cleaning chemicals, dust mites, lanolin, nickel, and on and on.

Anyone who has a medical issue or simply a strong dislike for this or that should buy only in-person so as to avoid problems.

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[maxine*j]

Of course I never used this disclaimer when selling books, but I had a lot of fun composing it:

This is a used book. When I invited it into my home, it seemed clean and tidy.  During its stay with me, it has lived a sanitary, smoke-free life.  Prior to that, I cannot say.  It may have spent time with a smoker, or near a smoky fireplace.  One of its former readers may have owned cats or dogs, donkeys or parrots.  It may have shared a bookcase with great vases of ragweed and bowls of peanuts.  The book may, at times, have been enveloped in clouds of perfumes or billows of gluten.  It may, poor thing, have been handled by someone whose aura was dim or whose chakras were misaligned.  Given all the risks, if you are of an extremely sensitive or delicate nature, I beg you to buy the book new.

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[maxine*j]

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@greatmidwestcoin wrote:

...   I have bought probably over 10,000 items off of eBay in my 24 years of being here and could count on one hand the number that I felt came from a smoking home.  The number from my own experience is much less than .5%...

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Not surprising, given that even 25 years ago only 23.3% of adult Americans smoked tobacco.  It's now down to 11..5%.  (Figures from the CDC.)

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[keziak]

I've h ad more problems with that sort of issue in selling secondhand books than smokiness. Occasionally one has an odor like that and I struggle to describe it in the listing since I do not use Febreze or air fresheners myself. It just seems to be the cause of the "floral" stink.

[meme6253]

I have been blamed for smoke odor & we do not smoke, Cardboard boxes are a very porous material & can absorb odor very easily, & a seller should not be held responsible for something completely out of their control, A box could be along side another that has perfume products or cleaning supplies, or your postal carrier might use that box to support his lunch & It could wind up smelling like any of those, Now that said if a seller is a smoker they could probably disclose that!

[css2001]

I recall reading some seller's feedback where a buyer left either a neutral or neg complaining that their item had a strong perfume smell. Another complained about febreze. During covid I used to lightly sanitize my items as a courtesy and never had any problems.

[steve_stuff]

How's this one -

"Comes from a planet where some people smoke and they may also grow/eat peanuts."

or

"Bought used so may have been near to or in contact with something you don't like"

[albertabrightalberta]

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@kalyoth wrote:

I was always curious - why does ebay not require this disclosure from it's sellers? There is quite a large group of people that can't stand items from smokers. Then there are also the damages dealt to various forms of merchandise from smoke that discolor or ruin collectibles.

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Interesting.....none of your current 5 listings nor 1 completed listing have any disclaimers about odors, mold or allergens with which they may have come into contact. 

[b86fiero]

Agree with these issues

[b86fiero]

When listing jigsaw puzzles I found this under item specifics Features: Pet-Free Household and Smoke-Free Household.

Anyone can look at my round jigsaw puzzle listing to see it in item specifics.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

Ever notice how the item never "smells vaguely like"? It always "reeks" of whatever.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

We're already headed down that road it seems sometimes.

[yuzuha]

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@kalyoth wrote:

To those of you who have gone out into left field answering - I am a buyer & a seller / collector. I try to consider the recipient of my products. I can see the majority with flippant answers truly do not care as much for the buyer as they perhaps should.

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More like people are being realistic. With the majority of items acquired secondhand there is no way to know for sure whether they have come from a smoking environment, and some people are more sensitive to smells than others. What might not smell at all to one person might reek to another.

[lux.ra_14]

Any older item has been exposed to smoke over the years. I don't smoke, but as a bookseller I can guarantee that an antiquarian book has been in houses with some or all of the following: cigarettes, cigars, pipes, open fireplace hearths, woodstoves, coal grates, etc.

It's up to sellers to disclose odors. eBay can't mandate it. Small advantage for booksellers that the "old book smell" has taken on a certain nostalgic romance. There are candles for it, of course,  and even old book perfumes. 

[gloryglorygifts]

Maybe the OP bought something from a seller on here and it smells.