tree*fern
@castanea_sue wrote:And furthermore, I don't think I have ever listed anything with detached pages or cracked spines. And if I did, I wouldn't even call it a reading copy.
@castanea_sue wrote:I said "mostly" and immediately noted the exceptions, in the condition line under the title: "Books are mostly good to very good. Breed to Come has several loose pages, although all are present. Some have yellowed pages,one or two with names, stains or other marks. Details below. Please see pictures and feel free to ask"
I'd like another opinion here. Was I out of line with this type of condition description? What should I have said? I gave a detailed description of each book in the body of the description.
BTW tried to take this out of the public arena, but am having trouble with the PM.
In general you did this the right way, with detailed condition descriptions of each book in the lot, and additional photos clearly showing damage details. You just need to fine-tune your condition grading skills, which everyone needs to work on.
For a lot, the primary condition you choose for the whole lot should be the worst condition in the lot, even if there's only one book in that condition. No surprises for buyers who don't read everything.
When the condition seems to be in between, choose the lesser condition. It's better to have a buyer be pleasantly surprised by an item in somewhat better condition than they expected.
Lot books together by both author/topic/genre and condition. I think it's best not to combine too broad a condition range, no more than two (e.g., Acceptable to Good; Good to Very Good; Very Good to Like New).
Sell the poorest-condition (Acceptable) books together in a separate lot, but first research to check whether they're desirable / saleable in that condition.
Keep in mind buyers often don't read descriptions or click for more details (on a phone), so the approach in your general condition description for the lot is OK. You just needed to fine-tune the condition grades.
Look at the criticism in a positive way. This is an opportunity to show in public that you're a seller who will handle problems and unhappy buyers with professionalism and courtesy, not defensiveness or anger. Show others that you're willing to listen and learn, even when the constructive criticism is harsh. Better to hear criticism on the boards than to hear it from an unhappy buyer who wants to return for refund. Also, you're helping others by providing a practical example of what the OP and others are saying about stock photos for books, and hopefully others can learn from your example.
