Quick question - what would you do?

[estatesalequeen]

A buyer purchased 4 mugs - all with a dark brown foot.

After receiving the mugs, she sent me a message stating, "Not four brown it’s two brown two black" and sent a photo. Two brown and two black. 

She then sent a Positive Feedback, "Arrival Fast Packed perfect! Two are black, two brown bottom not four brown."

I know I sent 4 mugs with brown feet because that is all I had.

Do I respond to her message? If so, what would you say? I would offer to refund but I don't want the different colors sent to me.

Do you think her message is looking for a response? 

[dirk12955]

I'd say if she left positive feedback,  She must consider the transaction complete.     I'd call it a win 

unless she pops back up later with a complaint.

You can engage her in a conversation,    But maybe not poking the tiger is better.   

[kensgiftshop]

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@estatesalequeen 

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Looking at the images, it does look like 2 different colors.

Tell them they can return them for a refund and see what they say.

[fashunu4eeuh]

I agree with the other poster--two black, two dark brown in your photos. So this was an honest mistake. Contact the buyer with your apologies and ask if they want to return for refund. Since they already left positive feedback, they are likely okay with what they received. But if it were my sale, I would acknowledge the goof.

[estatesalequeen]

The buyer's photo showed the 2 brown and 2 black.  My photos do not show this. 

[eunster1313]

Unless the message was in the form of a question needing a response she may

or may not be fishing for a partial refund.

It's never wise to poke a sleeping bear so I wouldn't do anything at this point.

[luckythewinner]

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@estatesalequeen wrote:

The buyer's photo showed the 2 brown and 2 black.  My photos do not show this. 

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The people commenting on this thread are not looking at your buyer's photos - they are looking at your photos in your listing.

When I look at yout photos in your listing, it looks like two brown feet on the left and two black feet on the right.

[chapeau-noir]

I see two brown and two black in the original seller photo, but honestly, if attention had not been called on it, I wouldn't have noticed, they are so close in colour, like deep midnight blue and black (which happened to me twice). 

If it were me (since I see the two colours) I would simply acknowledge the mistake,  express appreciation that it worked out after all and thank them for their business and feedback.

[wastingtime101]

I agree with the others that your listing photo appears to have 2 brown on the left and 2 black on the right.

Seems like your buyer is satisfied enough to keep them, but I would still acknowledge the mistake and probably offer a discount for the trouble.

[kensgiftshop]

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@estatesalequeen wrote:

The buyer's photo showed the 2 brown and 2 black.  My photos do not show this. 

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In your photos, the one on the right is black, but the left is not black, it looks more of a brown color.

[rosie247]

I have to agree with the others. In your photo one looks brown and one looks black. I'm surprised the buyer didn't notice, 

[a_c_green]

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@estatesalequeen wrote:

Do I respond to her message? If so, what would you say? I would offer to refund but I don't want the different colors sent to me.

Do you think her message is looking for a response? 

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While there is general agreement (me included) that your photo shows a brown foot on the left mug and a black one on the right, your buyer has already shot off her ammunition with a Positive feedback comment, so in other words, your percentage is unaffected and the comments themselves will roll off the first page soon enough. If she does eventually request a refund and/or a return, at least that won't show to future prospective buyers.

At this point, my first thought was to let it go and not respond unless an actual return request is filed. There would be no point in debating the color with the customer; it would only keep her attention focused on the color mismatch, and she would probably end up wanting to either haggle a partial refund or return the whole set. 

On the other hand, bothering to take a photo to send along with her message does show that she took the problem seriously enough to contact you about it. I think I would send a standard, polite response that cuts to the chase: "I'm sorry that you're not happy with the items. You may return them for a full refund." Leave it at that.

If she does eventually return them, refund her and relist the mugs in two listings as two different color-matched pairs. You could also have each color listing reference the other one, in case someone looking for the black version comes across your listing for the dark brown version first. (A choice listing might be another option, except that the colors as photographed are so similar that it's hard to tell them apart in the first place. Listing them separately lets you flat-out declare and display that one set is dark brown and the other is black.)

[penguins_dont_fly]

You offer Free Returns.

Your pictures definitely show 2 different colors. Black on the right and Brown on the left.

"Dear Buyer: I am sorry that you are unhappy with your items. All of my listings have a 30 day Free Returns policy. Please return the mugs for a full refund.  I apologize for any inconvenience. Thank You, Seller."

The issue here is NOT the feedback.  The issue here is standing by your Free Returns policy.