Seller cut the item with scissors

[bigdeals.etc]

So this happens pretty rarely... about a handful of times during my ebay career. The buyer stabs and impales the package with wolverine-like scissors and tears the item to shreds and cries to me about it. Okay maybe I embellished a bit there, but that's how every seller hears it right? Actually buyers usually just tell me they cut it or play dumb about a hole in the item and upon questioning and investigating we discover that the buyer accidentally cut the item.

That's why I've always included a warning label on every package I send out. It says "CAUTION: Do not open w/ sharp objects to avoid item damage". Since then (years) no one has complained to me about a cut item, until now. The buyer complained that the poly bag was sealed too tight and needed scissors. She cut the item and is asking for a free one.

What would you do?

[mcdougle4248]

I would send the buyer another item.  That's just me, generally speaking I am a sucker. 

[thevintagesilvershop]

I can’t open poly bags without scissors or a knife. How would you expect your customer to open one?  When I pack things in poly bags, I make sure there’s plenty of room around the object to avoid damage. 

[2015mhfashions]

Seriously you can't open a poly bag without scissors or a knife ? Easily opened pulling apart with fingers, maybe i have strong fingers.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

I would start putting thin cardboard around the item so that the buyer can tell by feel where not to cut. 

[monster-deals]

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@thevintagesilvershop wrote:

I can’t open poly bags without scissors or a knife. How would you expect your customer to open one?  When I pack things in poly bags, I make sure there’s plenty of room around the object to avoid damage. 

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I expect them to use their hands.

[emerald1830]

I agree especially when it's wrapped with a thick pile of tape..that happened to me once on a sweatshirt that was squeezed in so tightly in the poly-bag..

[iprefervintage]

I can't open a poly mailer without tools because of arthritis. It's our job as sellers to package items so they wont get damaged during transportation and while opening. Sounds like you need to order larger poly bags.

[coffeebean832]

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@bigdeals.etc wrote:

The buyer complained that the poly bag was sealed too tight and needed scissors. She cut the item and is asking for a free one.

What would you do?

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Offer the buyer a discount on a new shirt and remind her that eBay polymailers- if that's what you use- are perforated so she wont need scissors to open the package.

[bigdeals.etc]

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@iprefervintage wrote:
I can't open a poly mailer without tools because of arthritis. It's our job as sellers to package items so they wont get damaged during transportation and while opening. Sounds like you need to order larger poly bags.

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That's fair. As mentioned, this has only happened to me a handful of times during my ebay career... hundreds of thousands of sales. That's a pretty low percentage and from the those photos I've seen it seemed  inevitable that the buyer would have cut the item anyway if the bag was larger.

I'll probably just replace it and be done with. They'd better not cut the item again otherwise I'm out. Fool me twice, shame on me.

[gracieallen01]

Just because many of today's population is oblivious to what they are doing half of the time, doesn't mean that the seller has to take the blame for their lack of foresight or consideration for the fact that there is something in the package, that they bought, that they wanted, and perhaps they should be aware, alert, focused and oriented as to what they are doing when they try to open the package.

(personal opinion - your mileage may vary)

[vinylease]

Seriously? Can't open a bag without damaging the product? 

At what point should a buyer assume some responsibility for his/her actions? Depending on your margins, it might just be more profitable just to tell the customer that they're responsible for their own actions.  Maybe the next time they order something he/she will be more careful opening the package. 

[monster-deals]

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@iprefervintage wrote:
I can't open a poly mailer without tools because of arthritis. It's our job as sellers to package items so they wont get damaged during transportation and while opening. Sounds like you need to order larger poly bags.

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Sellers cannot peer into the lives of every buyer they run across with a crystal ball.

If a seller has specific difficulty opening packages that sets them apart from the vast majority of ebay users, they should be discussing that with thier seller previous to a sale... Most are happy and willing to help.

[raven.m12]

I usually write "open carefully" and "cut here" on poly bags. So far no complaints

[coffeebean832]

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@iprefervintage wrote:
Sounds like you need to order larger poly bags.

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I don't think there was any info provided to jump to that conclusion. The buyer said it was "sealed too tight"- they didn't say it was stuffed too full. A tight seal can mean a strong glue strip- and if that's the only issue then all a buyer has to do is shake the package so the item falls to the bottom leaving enough gap at the top to snip the corner then slide the scissors along the top.