eBay feedback query, how would you handle this?..

[Beosystem10]

Right then, so today, the speakers I bought for my recently acquired JVC 5-piece box arrived. Thing is, they arrived in perfect condition but more by luck than any skill on the part of the breaker who sold them in the art of packing securely.
Inside the Citylink bag were two envelopes, one pair of the JVC speakers in each. By some pure fluke, none was marked or damaged and all are in the described condition but the packing was so bad that sharp braking by the delivery driver would have caused magnets to punch their way through cones or worse and as for securing these things within the courier's supplied outer bag - in the case of Citylink these are like bags for life but smaller and slightly thicker - none had been done; no card to separate the pair of speakers, nothing to stop their moving around, rubbing at each other and potentially worse.

So they turned up very quickly after buying, they are fit for purpose and they do the job too as luck would have it (the job being to stand in for my originals while I summon up the nerve to refoam those) but what would any of you do? Leave a neutral when the seller did at least send good items and accepted my cheeky low offer? Leave positive as he did for me but with a slight sting such as "Good item, quick delivery, intact in spite of packing technique" or message the seller before leaving feedback in an attempt to give him some subtle guidance in the art of packing delicate stuff?
He's a specialist Mazda MX5 and MG breaker, so although these JVC speakers were o/e dealer fit to MK1 MX5s he is more used to selling engines and other larger pieces of cars.

I'm toiling with this one as I got the stuff and all's good, but I don't like thinking of someone else buying from the same seller and experiencing the same standard (woeful) of packing as one of these days, some delicate bit of someone's pride & joy is going to arrive broken unless someone pulls the seller about this.

 

[k2j]

IMO: Leave positive as he did for me but with a slight sting such as "Good item, quick delivery, intact in spite of packing technique"

I like to keep it on the positive vibe. Keep up the good luck man!

 

[blu_fuz]

I usually keep it on the positive side but will note in the comments maybe something that they can improve on.

 

[frontside5]

"Good item, poor packing."
You're just calling it like it is. Also, some parts do require care. I've bought motorcycle fairings (odd-shaped and flimsy plastic) and packing is very much a factor. Same can apply to center consoles and the like.

 

[im_alan_partridge]

This did happen to me. Sort of.

I purchased a new Lasonic from the US and the ebay seller simply used the thin printed Lasonic carton (the box with the big colourful picture on it) as the shipping carton rather than putting the printed carton inside a thick, double skinned, plain, shipping carton.

This resulted in 3 bad things.
1, the nice printed Lasonic carton had packing tape all over it.
2, every party that handled the parcel from the US to the UK knew exactly what my shipment was.
3, the thin carton was badly trashed on its journey over to me. The thing had rips, tears and actual holes in it.

When I got home from work and saw this box waiting for me I just thought the absolute worst, I was convinced the thing would be at best just not work, or at worst be smashed to bits. But low and behold the boombox was in perfect condition and in perfect working order, all the things a brand new product should be, even with that new box smell.

So heres where I was in the same position as you. Perfect item but terrible packing and it arrived in one piece more by luck than judgement.

I too was thinking that the next person may not be so lucky so I messaged the seller, including pics of the trashed carton, explained that it was a miracle the unit was not damaged and that when I previously purchased a Lasonic from the US it was double boxed as the in way ive explained above.
I received a very cordial reply thanking me for my feedback and my business and "they will let the warehouse know"
I left positive feedback (as the actual product was undamaged and shipping was fast) but marked them down on the star rating system for bad packing.

I guess my seller was a company selling electronics and your seller is a car breaker so maybe mine should have known better in the first place, so maybe our stories are not alike at all and ive just typed my longest post in ages for no real reason.
Still hope you enjoyed the read

 

[redbenjoe]

"Good item, quick delivery, intact in spite of packing technique"

this is perfect -

except i would add " very weak packing " instead of ' technique '

but ... positive , yes

 

[Beosystem10]

Thanks to all of you for the comments and Dave, yes, I did enjoy the read, mainly because it's relevant and I totally get the importance of preserving original boxes in cases such as your Lasonic. Whenever I get a radio that has an original box, the first thing I do before making the payment is ask the seller whether they'd be prepared to get a bigger box or in some other way pack the original to protect it. Naturally, I offer to cover the cost of extra packing as required and 9 from 10 times they don't charge for it as sellers seem to appreciate being given good advice. In this case though, I didn't think I'd have needed to ask for better packaging, so was assuming (always a bad idea, assuming) that the guy would pack things sufficiently for any eventuality.

So I slept on this and have just sent the seller a message explaining that, although I've left him some positive feedback on the basis of his sending me good things that are fit for purpose, quickly and cheaply, he might care to review his packaging policies. I've explained the importance of protecting fragile things like speakers and I've done it in a message that wouldn't offend him or send him to sleep before he gets the point!

 

[Northerner]

Yep, that's what I would've done in those circumstances

 

[Beosystem10]

Cheers Si, seems like I did the right thing then.. Or rather it did, right up to the point when I got a rude message in reply from the seller, in which he called me something unrepeatable that rhymes with back to front, and said that I wasn't simply one of these but an ungrateful one at that! He reckoned that it would teach me not to make low offers on BIN items!
My approach in that case would have been not to accept that low offer in the first place , if accepting that offer meant that I couldn't then afford to pack an item correctly.

Such is life, onwards and upwards eh.

 

[milosancho]

Similar situation, I purchased a Technics Turntable SL-1200 and by pure luck I received it with zero damage. The seller used a box way too small for this heavy unit and for packing material he used whatever old t-shirts he could find. Yes, he used old t-shirts! I was furious....I paid $350 + $45 shipping for the thing!

After calming down I sent the seller a message....telling him that his packaging could use a ton of improvement and he/I was lucky the item was not damaged in shipping. The seller did not respond. I did no leave them feedback and they did not leave me feedback. Done.

 

[Northerner]

Cheers Si, seems like I did the right thing then.. Or rather it did, right up to the point when I got a rude message in reply from the seller, in which he called me something unrepeatable that rhymes with back to front, and said that I wasn't simply one of these but an ungrateful one at that! He reckoned that it would teach me not to make low offers on BIN items!
My approach in that case would have been not to accept that low offer in the first place , if accepting that offer meant that I couldn't then afford to pack an item correctly.

Such is life, onwards and upwards eh.

What a wanker...well at least you can take comfort in being a better man about it...not as good giving viscious feedback though

 

[Beosystem10]

What a wanker...well at least you can take comfort in being a better man about it...not as good giving viscious feedback though

Yes, that's a word I may have used, but before he can pull it he'd need to find it!
I wouldn't have left vicious feedback for the simple reason that the speakers are ok - in fact they're more than ok sonically, they're stunning in their new rôle but that's a whole other story - and they survived their journey, but the thing is; I post frequently on a couple of car fora and on there, many members have MX5s as spare cars or track day toys so by posting his details in these venues, he will lose business and of that there's no doubt since we're a ruthless bunch when it comes to putting down those who do bad eBay.

 

[Reli]

I would leave a Neutral. Seriously, does every student deserve an "A"?

 

[Beosystem10]

No, but there was no intent to deceive, the items were fit for purpose and I did mark him down on the stars, which will hurt him more than anything I could have done with feedback since he's a Power Seller and an agent, both statuses that are subject to review where a trader's DSPRs are compromised.

 

[Reli]

Leave a neutral too, so that future buyers will more easily spot your comments about his shipping. They deserve to be warned.

 

[Beosystem10]

Leave a neutral too, so that future buyers will more easily spot your comments about his shipping. They deserve to be warned.

Neutral isn't an option as I could only change the rating if I'd originally left a negative so it's not possible to do that but they'll spot the comment about the bad packing easily enough unless they're speed reading the feedback pages. Another reason I didn't leave other than positive feedback for him was that he could then have applied for permission to change the rating he left for me, a healthy positive.
Most of this guy's sales are for heavier stuff that sends out strapped to pallets or crated for shipping by the specialist couriers who handle that sort of thing, he only had four of the MX5's speakers and the remainder of the parts weren't stuff that would be especially vulnerable such as the car's roof, wings (fenders your side of the water), seats and the glazing . The last of those things was marked for collection only, thank goodness for that!

 

[Cpl-Chronic]

The seller is just pissed that you nailed him for his sloppy packaging & nicked him on a star for seller rating. BOO-HOO!! His bad manners indicates he could care less, once it's shipped off & will be unreliable when issues arise. I bet he's also the kind of bloke who calls 'all sales final' if you have any issues with the item, once delivered.

What's his eBay handle so we know this clown?

Cpl