pita buyers

[e-cheddar]

i have a new, sealed Bluray for sale on ebay.

Potential Buyer: Is this adult-owned (no smoking, pets or kids)? Is this the Target Exclusive?

Thanks!

Me: adult owned but with lots of smoking, lots of pets and lots of kids. Target edition.

Potential Buyer: Are you joking? I ask because one time I got a blu ray that reeked of smoke and other odors that I couldn't keep it.

Me: [buyer blocked].

seriously, its not an angora sweater or a plush baby toy.   how ridiculous!

[yccomo]

Agreed, I am a huge fan of blocking in a proactive manner. Life is too short. 

[pburn]

As a former smoker (for 38 years), I don't think we realize how much our stuff stinks. A year or two after I quit, I opened up a purse I'd stashed on a closet shelf, and the inside of it still reeked of cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke permeates paper, like books--again, after I quit, I borrowed a book from a smoking friend. Smelled awful. Clothing, everything. I can't believe I smelled like that for 38 years.

I think of how much money we spend on scented soaps, shampoos, deodorants, perfumes, toothpaste, mouthwash, breath mints, only to end up with our dominant smell being that of an ashtray.

You can't smell it, but, believe me, everyone else can. It's one of the top three reasons I quit.

I think you did that buyer a huge favor by blocking him/her.

[epowerbargains]

You made a very good point.

I don't think that potential buyers who ask questions are a pain - they are being proactive and trying to avoid rather than start problems. The OP 's buyer may have allergies or as you point out a sensitivity to smoke. 

I have received purchases from sellers who smoke or have a smoker in the home and I was shocked at how the smell was so strong. I had to throw out all the packaging in the outside trash and wash the purchase. 

[ohnojoey]

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@pburn wrote:

As a former smoker (for 38 years), I don't think we realize how much our stuff stinks. A year or two after I quit, I opened up a purse I'd stashed on a closet shelf, and the inside of it still reeked of cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke permeates paper, like books--again, after I quit, I borrowed a book from a smoking friend. Smelled awful. Clothing, everything. I can't believe I smelled like that for 38 years.

You can't smell it, but, believe me, everyone else can. It's one of the top three reasons I quit.

I think you did that buyer a huge favor by blocking him/her.

---

So true, smokers can be oblivious (and quite defensive) to the stench of their houses, clothing, cars, body, and possessions, and the damage to kids and pets lungs.

Cigarette smokers stink!

Smoking with kids and pets in the house is nothing to be proud of.

In all the years of buying things on ebay, only one item was returned by me, a vintage stuffed animal toy that reeked of smoke and had the extra bonus of pet hair all over it. The seller said it didn't smell and was clean. Hahaha!

[castlemagicmemories]

Potential Buyer: Is this adult-owned (no smoking, pets or kids)? Is this the Target Exclusive?

Thanks!

I didn't know that an item that was adult owned precluded it from being with smoke, pets, or kids.  It doesn't.  Adults can and do (gasp!) smoke, have pets, and/or kids.

[castlemagicmemories]

You can use Febreeze on an item with a smoke scent, or place outside for awhile, being sure it won't rain or snow, and the fresh air will remove the smoke scent.

[fern*wood]

If there was smoking in my home, I would add that information to my listing descriptions.    We always advise buyers to ask if it is important to them and the listing doesn't say.   I don't know if your answer was serious, but if that was sarcasm, I don't feel that was necessary.

[rpalma]

Maybe you don't understand that something that is "new" isn't "new" if it smells like cigarette smoke?

Or if it smells like cat pee?

I wouldn't ask that question on ebay because experienced sellers would already have had negatives if they were selling like that, but I sure ask about smoking and cats before I drive 30 miles to a house sale.

[pburn]

That's an idea, although I wouldn't recommend using Febreeze on books or magazines or crafting/scrapbook paper or fabrics susceptible to staining by liquids or a host of other items. Putting items outside might help, too; however, I've had foam rubber accent pillows (both solid and shredded) that retained an unpleasant odor after being outside for a lengthy period of time. Just depends on the item, I guess.

The real question to my mind is whether a buyer should have to go to those lengths when receiving an item they paid for without being alerted to problems with smell. I believe eBay's position is that "offensive" odors are not considered eligible for "SNAD" returns--I suppose it's just too subjective.

[femmefan1946]

The first question is reasonable.

Non-smokers really notice the stench of cigarette smoke.

An addicted friend switched to vaping and it has made a huge difference in our relationship.  We can be around each other indoors now.

The response to the seller's answer would make me Block the buyer.

Potential Buyer: Are you joking? I ask because one time I got a blu ray that reeked of smoke and other odors that I couldn't keep it.

[nc-daydreamer]

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@ohnojoey wrote:

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@pburn wrote:

As a former smoker (for 38 years), I don't think we realize how much our stuff stinks. A year or two after I quit, I opened up a purse I'd stashed on a closet shelf, and the inside of it still reeked of cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke permeates paper, like books--again, after I quit, I borrowed a book from a smoking friend. Smelled awful. Clothing, everything. I can't believe I smelled like that for 38 years.

You can't smell it, but, believe me, everyone else can. It's one of the top three reasons I quit.

I think you did that buyer a huge favor by blocking him/her.

---

So true, smokers can be oblivious (and quite defensive) to the stench of their houses, clothing, cars, body, and possessions, and the damage to kids and pets lungs.

Cigarette smokers stink!

Smoking with kids and pets in the house is nothing to be proud of.

In all the years of buying things on ebay, only one item was returned by me, a vintage stuffed animal toy that reeked of smoke and had the extra bonus of pet hair all over it. The seller said it didn't smell and was clean. Hahaha!

---

My Mom smoked while carrying me. In the 50's it was a fashion statement, no one knew then it was a problem for embryo's. It was part of the movement to prove equality between the sexes. So I don't blame her. 

Therefore, I grew up in a smoking household. Although I never smoked, I had become accustomed to the smell. I wondered why I had to defend myself as a non-smoking person. Now I know, I probably smelled like it.

As a result of all of this, I was born asthmatic - but no doctors ever mentioned it was due or triggered by smoking until I was an adult. 

When Mom died and we went to paint her room to sell the house, nicotine was so thick on the walls, we could not paint it - we had to wash years of yellowing stains from the walls before we could do the job. If it did that to the walls in the house, I shuddered to think of what it was doing to her lungs. I cried. 

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@pburn wrote:

You can't smell it, but, believe me, everyone else can. It's one of the top three reasons I quit.

---

^^^THIS^^^

30 year ex-smoker here. Stink is the #1 reason why I quit.  Seriously.

If I smelled that bad to myself, I can't even imagine how bad I smelled to everyone else.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

You can use Febreeze on an item with a smoke scent, or place outside for awhile, being sure it won't rain or snow, and the fresh air will remove the smoke scent.

---

No it won't, unless your nose is deaf. It'll just smell like smoke and Febreze.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Right Febreeze is just an extra layer of fake chemicals on top of smoke. Eww.