I am a little nervous...

[hikarupanda]

Ok, so I just sold my chanel bronze baby cabas on ebay, this time paypal hold the $$ for 21 days, which has never happened to me before. But I was like fine, I will just send it to the buyer and as soon as she gets it and leaves me a positive feedback, I will tell paypal to release the hold earlier.

Well, buyer got the bag today, she said everything is great (I have only used the bag twice) except that she's complaining about this little "dip" on the leather towards the bottom of the bag. To be honest, this little dip did bug me a little when I bought the bag from the chanel boutique, BUT I also see this on other bronze baby cabas - SA said that's just the texture of the leather and they all have this kinda texture here and there, so I picked the one that has the smallest "dip" and at the least noticable area (that bag was selling like a hot pancake with long waitlist, I was lucky to be the 1 st on the waitlist so I had the luxury to pick and choose among several of them to pick the best out of all of them.

Now the buyer isn't too happy about it, she said she had never heard of this kinda issue on the metallic cabas. She doesn't sound like she wants a return or refund, she said she will try to "fill it in" (which I don't quite understand what she's trying to do with the leather).

I worry that whatever she will do may make that little dip worse, and what if after she makes things worse she wants a return? and obviously I don't even know if I should ask her "when are you going to give me a positive feedback?"

The dip, honestly, is too little to be noticable, I am normally very anal about my bags but even I was able to live with it because what can you do when you really want the bag and all that you have seen have this kind of texture.

To be honest I didn't mention anything about this on my listing because as my SA told me, this is NOT a defect; it is just the way the leather is.

I hope she understands that, as the SA told me, that's just the way the leather is and it isn't caused by me!

I don't know if I should just suggest her just to return it, or just crossing my finger that she will let it go, enjoy the bag, and who knows when will she give me a positive feedback!

 

[onegirlcreative]

You know, I would explain to her thoroughly that the MINUTE she alters it in anyway, that you will not accept the return/refund. If she is pissing & moaning about this "dip," then to be honest, I wouldn't even bother with it. Just tell her to return the bag and upon receipt of the bag, you will give her a full refund—BEFORE she ruins it. I wouldn't chance it.

At least after this, you can resell and disclose in the auction with pictures and description this "dip." Explain that if this dip bugs them, to not bid.

In the meantime, I couldn't stress more to not have the buyer do anything to alter this bag, especially if she's trying to make the dip better/less noticeable. If she does, she will not only make it worse, but she would still want to return it because she ruined it, thus blaming you for this. And you wouldn't be able to resell it at a reasonable price.

I hope this helps. Sounds like she's already a PITA.

 

[hikarupanda]

You know, I would explain to her thoroughly that the MINUTE she alters it in anyway, that you will not accept the return/refund. If she is pissing & moaning about this "dip," then to be honest, I wouldn't even bother with it. Just tell her to return the bag and upon receipt of the bag, you will give her a full refund—BEFORE she ruins it. I wouldn't chance it.

At least after this, you can resell and disclose in the auction with pictures and description this "dip." Explain that if this dip bugs them, to not bid.

In the meantime, I couldn't stress more to not have the buyer do anything to alter this bag, especially if she's trying to make the dip better/less noticeable. If she does, she will not only make it worse, but she would still want to return it because she ruined it, thus blaming you for this. And you wouldn't be able to resell it at a reasonable price.

I hope this helps. Sounds like she's already a PITA.

Thanks for your suggestion!!! Compared to my other buyers who all love the chanel/LV I sold to them, I do think that this buyer is a little anal (I mean, I think I am anal about my bags and seems like she's even worse than me!)

I did what you suggested because I do worry that she can only make it worse! So this is the email I just sent her:

Hi again,

By the way, are you sure you are going to keep the bag? If the dip is bothering you to the point that you cannot accept it, then I would suggest you to return it back to me for a refund.

I just want to clarify that whatever you are going to do to try to alter it/fill the dip in/make the dip less noticeable, the MINUTE you alter it in anyway, I will NOT accept the return/refund.

If you decide to return the bag without altering it in any way, then upon receipt of the bag and after I inspect it to ensure that nothing has been altered/changed from the condition it was in when I sent the bag to you, I will give you a full refund minus shipping and handling (of course, since paypal is still holding up the fund and I have not received the money, I need to figure out how this should be done correctly).

Please let me know what your decision is as soon as possible. If you choose to return, please send the bag back to me (I must receive it within the next 7 days) WITHOUT altering the bag in any way so that it is in its original condition when I shipped it to you. Please send it back with insurance and tracking info, and so from there we can proceed and move forward.

Thanks,

 

[hikarupanda]

^ the buyer emailed me back: definitely PITA!

"I mean that I will have my cobbler try to fill in the hole so it's not visible (luckily I do think it's cosmetic and doesn't present a longterm problem). I disagree with you that it is part of the nature of the leather of this bag -- if that were the case there would be more than one. And I have owned many distressed bags of every type of leather and have never seen anything like this. I don't want to make this a bigger issue than it is but I also am not going to believe something that goes against reason or experience."

So this is my reply:

"Hi,

All I am saying is repeating what my SA told me when I purchased the bag AND what I have seen on the other ones I have seen in that boutique. You can definitely have your own opinion.

On the other hand, I am offering you an option to return/refund under the disclaimer I explained clearly in my previous email. Just let me know what your decision is.

Thanks."

 

[hikarupanda]

OK, so my question now is, if she wants a refund, how do I do it with paypal still holding up the $$$?? Has anyone done that b4?

 

[linpaddy]

You've made your point. And you have copies of the emails you sent her.
If she decides to 'alter' the bag in anyway, you're not responsible.

I wish you best of luck. It sounds like she wants to keep the bag if she's having her cobbler work on it!!

 

[hikarupanda]

You've made your point. And you have copies of the emails you sent her.
If she decides to 'alter' the bag in anyway, you're not responsible.

I wish you best of luck. It sounds like she wants to keep the bag if she's having her cobbler work on it!!

Yea, she just responded saying that she has no intention to return it.

I just think that it is so hard sometime to buy and sell online as we all have different standards, something to me is so little and not noticeable (and it's what nature makes it) maybe a big flaw in your eyes. I just wish buyer realize that buying online is gonna be always different from buying in an actual store, in which case you can see with your eyes and touch with your hands every inch of the bag b4 you pay and walk out of the door.

I still want to be nice and polite to her, so I sent her another email, just hoping that I will still get a positive feedback so that stupid paypal can release my $$ sooner:

"Hi,

I am sorry that you are not completely happy with it. I truely didn't realize it could be an issue as I really just took what I was told by my SA. I hope that you will enjoy the bag in good health. And as I am trying to accomodate my buyer the best I can, I still hope that you will consider providing me a postitive feedback so that paypal can release the funds earlier. I do hope to get the funds earlier as my little one is coming out pretty soon and there will be quite a lot of expenses coming.

Take care,"

Yes, part of the reason why I am quite desperate to sell all my bags is because my 1st baby is coming very soon! There will be a lot more expenses coming and I just need to spend a little wisely, carefully. But the stupid paypal 21 day hold AND the ebay 30 day listing restriction truely don't help!

 

[moi et mes sacs]

I dont see why the lady didnt visit or at least call her local Chanel boutique to chec what you are saying rather than try to sound like a reasonable person who can work it out herself. If she is definitely keeping it, it sounds like she was after a partial refund and I am glad you made it clear that she could return it and did not give her that option.

 

[louis fanatic]

paypal with release your funds before the 21 days if you provide them with the tracking number and their system realize that the item has been delivered. i have the same problem now each time i sell. i just add the tracking number into PayPal and usually they release the funds a couple of days after your courrier company says the item has been delivered. not sure if you added a tracking number to that item. if you did then just wait a couple of days, if not then you should do it rather then wait for buyer to leave feedback (esp. when she plans to 'fix' the bag).

 

[hikarupanda]

paypal with release your funds before the 21 days if you provide them with the tracking number and their system realize that the item has been delivered. i have the same problem now each time i sell. i just add the tracking number into PayPal and usually they release the funds a couple of days after your courrier company says the item has been delivered. not sure if you added a tracking number to that item. if you did then just wait a couple of days, if not then you should do it rather then wait for buyer to leave feedback (esp. when she plans to 'fix' the bag).

Yea, I have uploaded the info on paypal. And I also called them just now, they said the fund should be released 3 days after delivery date, so that's 9/1.

Selling with ebay and paypal is just too much trouble these days. I have 2 more bags I want to sell, but I think I will take a break from all these first...

 

[onegirlcreative]

Wow. IMO, this buyer seems like—since she has no intentions of returning it—she is trying to get you to give her a partial refund, which I am not into. It seems like a lot of these buyers are trying to do this, and I think it's crap, personally. If you don't like it, return it for a FULL refund. There are no partial refunds here—this isn't an outlet, for crying out loud.

Let me ask you this, did you disclose this "dip" in your auction with pictures and a description? If you did, then she purchased it at her own discretion and has no recourse, IMO.

If you didn't disclose it, then perhaps the fault does lie with you, however, you have offered to give her a full refund upon receipt of the bag (untouched, of course), but she is choosing to turn this option down. Therefore, let her do with it as she wishes as she is planning on keeping it, so what else does she want you to do at this point?

Ugh!!!!!!

 

[hikarupanda]

^ No, I did not mention the dip at all in my listing because, as I said earlier, I truly think that's just the way the leather is - as I was told by my SA AND I have seen little dips like that on other bronze cabas in both BH chanel and SCP chanel (some of them are actually bigger and more noticeable, that's why I picked the best out of all that I have seen/can find).

At this point I don't think she really wants me to do anything, as there's really nothing else I could do besides a full refund (which she turns down). I mean, she really needs to either keep and be happy with it, or not happy and return it back to me. That's all that I can do as a responsible seller. KWIM?

However, knowing that there are very anal, demanding buyers out there, I have learned the lesson and maybe in the future should be even more precise about describing every single little detail of a particular bag, but geez, this is distressed leather and not supposed to be smooth, how many pictures/words I can use/post to describe the entire bag!? If people are so anal about it, they really should not do shopping online and only buy in an actual store where they can see and touch the bag for themselves.

To be honest, because I myself am so anal about the details of bags, I personally do not buy handbags (esp. high end bags like chanel) on ebay, or even online store!

 

[onegirlcreative]

^ No, I did not mention the dip at all in my listing because, as I said earlier, I truly think that's just the way the leather is - as I was told by my SA AND I have seen little dips like that on other bronze cabas in both BH chanel and SCP chanel (some of them are actually bigger and more noticeable, that's why I picked the best out of all that I have seen/can find).

At this point I don't think she really wants me to do anything, as there's really nothing else I could do besides a full refund (which she turns down). I mean, she really needs to either keep and be happy with it, or not happy and return it back to me. That's all that I can do as a responsible seller. KWIM?

However, knowing that there are very anal, demanding buyers out there, I have learned the lesson and maybe in the future should be even more precise about describing every single little detail of a particular bag, but geez, this is distressed leather and not supposed to be smooth, how many pictures/words I can use/post to describe the entire bag!? If people are so anal about it, they really should not do shopping online and only buy in an actual store where they can see and touch the bag for themselves.

To be honest, because I myself am so anal about the details of bags, I personally do not buy handbags (esp. high end bags like chanel) on ebay, or even online store!

I don't blame you. You know, it sounds like it really isn't a big deal, but you're right, there are people who are REALLY anal about stuff like this, and I guess with a CHANEL, I don't blame them. I can only imagine how much she spent on it.

 

[kicksarefortwids]

i owned a bronze cabas briefly when they came out and to be honest, i don't understand what this "dip" is you talk about. in any event it sounds like the buyer isn't going to ask for a refund so let it go and move on. so what if she is considering a partial refund? until she asks for one, it's not a problem, right? as a friend once said, worrying is like paying in advance for a debt that never comes due. you can speculate all you want about what might happen and the worst case scenario, but what will that get you? sleepless nights and worry lines! personally, i describe bags in great detail and i tend to make things sound worse than they are rather than make them sound better. even if leather is naturally distressed, i describe the distressing (unless it's obvious from the pictures but even then i might say a few words). i once described a balenciaga bag as distressed as opposed to smooth and a couple people asked me, how did it get that way and what's wrong with it? i describe every dent, scrape, mark (even if it's clearly a natural part of the leather) and scratch (even if it came to me like that from the store). i figure i would rather people refrain from bidding than bid and be disappointed. as a buyer as much as a seller, i have come to expect that kind of description, especially if i am spending thousands of dollars. as a seller i consider it the price and risk of selling online. but as i said before, it doesn't sound like anything is going to happen so don't get in a twist over it!

i also meant to add that personally, i prefer overcommunication about a problem to no communication and the filing of a SNAD -- that is the worst! or how about people who file a SNAD months or years later (and sometimes after leaving positive feedback) -- now THAT is truly insane!

 

[hikarupanda]

^ I also do try my best to descibe my bags with both pics and words. But I have sold many other chanel and LV bags b4 on ebay and I never ever had problem with my descriptions, my buyers always leave me positive feedback with statements saying that items come as described or even better. So no, I don't just post blurry pics and hide any problems intentionally if I see that there are flaws in the bag. Again, I think that's just simply because she and I have different standard as to what's considered a defect/flaw.

Well, I have tried my best with the refund option and again she said she will not do a refund. She said she will try to fix it and if it can't be fixed and it still bugs her, she rather sell it again. So yes, I think I should stopping worrying about it as I have done the best I could to try to accommodate her.