Can you stand one more ebay thread???

[bcarson]

Okay I have a question. I have purchased between two acounts almost 100 items on ebay. I have had my share of good and bad. I have good feedback on both of my accounts. Well here is the situation. My dh purchased two vintage Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for me as a birthday gift. They arrived yesterday. He had actually already shown them to me on ebay. The one thing that really stuck out is that the item decription said no odor. I really beg to differ with this guy. They reeked so bad of cigarette smoke. The box even smelled. I could smell it the minute I opened the box. What would you do? I don't want any money back but at the very least I feel I should say something. I know I may offend the smokers but can they really not smell that??? It was terrible, I don't know if I will ever be able to get the smell out to enjoy them. I could probably pick apart his choice of good condition also. He mentioned nothing of soiling and the picture did not show it. That I can let go because I know what vintage can mean. He has already left his feedback. Should I at least email him and give him a neutral. I don't feel it deserves a negative because he did well on shipping, communication ect... I just am not sure how to be tactful about it. I am tempted to say dude they smelled like an ash tray!

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

I would say something to him. I would even go so far as asking for a partial refund. Explain to him that it does have an odor of smoke and that it is soiled. He has already left feedback for you, so he can't leave a retalitory negative. You could file a complaint with PayPal (if you used it to pay) and ask for a partial refund. Good Luck!

 

[Cindy B]

I have I think two vintage ones in my house... I know I at least have Ann and I had Andy somewhere. They have definetely been played with for many years!

Sorry that they smell of smoke. I put smoke free in all my auctions even if they are shipped from my suppliers!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Personally, I would return them and politely ask for a refund on the item AND the shipping, with an explanation that they smell strongly of cigarette smoke.If he declines, I would leave a neg. If he refunds 100%, I would not leave any feedback. I would not leave positive feedback.

 

[littleshamrock]

Personally, I would return them and politely ask for a refund on the item AND the shipping, with an explanation that they smell strongly of cigarette smoke.If he declines, I would leave a neg. If he refunds 100%, I would not leave any feedback. I would not leave positive feedback.

I am an Ebay seller, and have a question for you (no flames here, please);
Why wouldn't you leave feedback?? If everything he did was good, and he refunded the money without a problem, I would say that is good customer service, and deserves positive feedback (with a notation that there was a problem with the items, and that he refunded the money). You have a chance to explain your reason for giving the feedback in the comments, so you could do so there. In any case, when I was a smoker, I NEVER noticed anything smelling smokey, but now that I've quit (it's been a few years), I smell it everywhere. Maybe he really didn't realize it smelled, or maybe he stored it/obtained it somewhere that was smokey?? Who knows. I personally wouldn't ask for a refund over that, because smoke doesn't bother me as much as it may some (I have worked in bars for years), and I think the smell will disipate after time. But, if you do want your money back, and he is pleasant about it, I think that deserves good feedback. Just my $0.02!!

 

[jennifer293]

I have ordered several home interior pictures that smelled soooo bad of smoke, and what I did was I left them in the box they were shipped in and set them outside overnight. I have a covered porch though.

I have heard smokers say that they cannot smell it in their own home, but when they went on vacation and opened their suitcase in a fresh room that the smell about knocked them down.

I would send him an email and let him know that although he shipped fast, and had great communication that the dolls smelled like smoke and you would like to send them back and get a full refund.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I am an Ebay seller, and have a question for you (no flames here, please);
Why wouldn't you leave feedback?? If everything he did was good, and he refunded the money without a problem, I would say that is good customer service, and deserves positive feedback (with a notation that there was a problem with the items, and that he refunded the money). You have a chance to explain your reason for giving the feedback in the comments, so you could do so there. In any case, when I was a smoker, I NEVER noticed anything smelling smokey, but now that I've quit (it's been a few years), I smell it everywhere. Maybe he really didn't realize it smelled, or maybe he stored it/obtained it somewhere that was smokey?? Who knows. I personally wouldn't ask for a refund over that, because smoke doesn't bother me as much as it may some (I have worked in bars for years), and I think the smell will disipate after time. But, if you do want your money back, and he is pleasant about it, I think that deserves good feedback. Just my $0.02!!

No flames taken or given here, either. My logic (and it IS my very own, quirky logic) is that it wouldn't be right to leave a positive without mentioning the cigarette smell to warn other potential buyers, BUT if the seller is so cooperative as to refund 100%, including shipping, then it probably wouldn't be very nice to leave feedback (even positive) that mentioned the cigarette smoke. So I wouldn't leave any at all.

Of course, it all depends on how much the smoke smell bothers the OP. I wouldn't be able to have anything smoky in my house--I detest the smell. OTOH, I just bought 3 scenic matted photos on Ebay of one of my favorite vacation destinations, and one of the photos was blurry. I still left all positive feedback and no mention of the blurry photo because the prices were excellent and I still like the blurry photo. It will be just fine for decorating my office at work (which is what I bought the 3 photos for.)

 

[LoriZH]

I bought a guitar and amp that reeked of smoke, the guy had given me positive feedback almost as soon as I purchased it. I thought I would NEVER get the smell out of the guitar, case and amp, but after about a week of cleaning it and leaving it outside, the smell finally went away. I was upset at first, but it was a GREAT deal (I paid about 1/3rd of what it was worth) the seller was super nice and there were no long term effects on the guitar so I did leave positive feedback. If it didn't and the smell stayed I would have emailed him first and gave him a chance to rectify it in someway first.

I truly think that smokers just DON'T smell it, its weird but maybe smoking effects your sense of smell especially to smoke.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

I'm going to mention another possibility. I don't smoke, and am very sensitive to it. I have received packages that smelled strongly of smoke from auctions that said smoke free. Then one day, I noticed that my regular letter carrier was smoking in the mail truck. She is wonderful in many ways, but does cause my packages to reek. If the items are sealed in plastic, they arrive safely. If they are just placed in a cardboard box or tyvek envelope without plastic wrapping, then they pick up the odor.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

I meant to add, the seller should have packaged properly to protect from odor absorbtion and the elements. something should be said, but the seller may be telling the truth about non-smoking home.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

You might ask if he will pay for dry-cleaning first which would mean a credit back to you for a agreed upon amount. If you don't wish to negotiate, spray the dolls with Fabreeze and write a neutral or negative comment.

 

[bcarson]

Thank you all for the reply's. Well my dh is really in a holiday mood and had actually already left the guy positive feedback. He doesn't want me to say anything either. So I will leave it alone and hope that I can clean them with out ruining them. Good thing is there weren't that much money.

 

[can'twait]

Yes, smokers really can't smell the smoke. My MIL gave me a set of towels and said she washed them already. Well, maybe she did but they still smelled! She couldn't smell it. Sometimes I don't smell it when I'm in her house but when I leave my clothes and my hair reek.

If you leave them out for a few days they should be OK. I think some soiling is to be expected when the item is described as "vintage" instead of "mint", but if it's more than you expected I would mention it to the seller, even in an e-mail.

I bought a Vermont Teddy Bear from a seller who failed to mention her home was not smoke free. I was able to wash the little guy in the washer on gentle and he turned out OK, but I sent the seller an e-mail that I thought she should have mentioned it was not smoke free because the bear was for my DS5 and I wasn't too happy. I told her I was able to clean him up and it turned out OK. I left her a positive feedback because everything else about the sale went well and it was my fault that I didn't notice the auction didn't say it came from a smoke free home. She replied to my e-mail that she was sorry and didn't realize it smelled. Live and learn - next time I'll ask if the auction doesn't specify if the item is from a smoke free home.

 

[kelleigh1]

Febreeze! I wouldn't try washing them, but I would use Febeeze to eliminate the odor. While the Febreeze does have a scent, it dissipates along with the smoke smell. My husband smokes - not in our house or my car - and I steal his jackets and coats and spray them with Febeeze and it really does get rid of the odor.

 

[kizmac]

Smokers can not smell it.....in fact, I bought a refrigerator on Ebay from some smokers. I even went to their house to pick it up. Their house was beautiful and certainly did not smell at all like smoke. The refrigerator was gorgeous (as far as refrigerators go) .......but once I got it home in my smoke free house, it reeked! It smelled so bad of cigarettes I practically gagged every time I opened it. I read on the internet about using newspaper in a fridge to help get rid of odor so I did that and finally I have no odor.

Try wrapping the dolls in newpaper and letting them air out for a week or so. The smell should eventually go away. I know how irritating it is to get smoke smelling items from Ebay especially if it's not noted that they smoke. I usually assume that they are smokers unless it is noted smoke free home on their auction. I would email him and nicely state your disappointment and ask to send them back. I personally don't feel it's appropriate to refund any money in this instance because the smell will eventually go away. He probably didn't even know they smelled so he didn't try to pull a fast one on you, just an honest overlook imo. Usually on vintage items when noted no odors they are talking no mold or musty smells. As long as the dolls are as described I could not really understand leaving him a negative or a neutral on this issue. If he's nice and lets you send them back then he really deserves a positive. Hope it gets resolved for you!

 

[cascadecupcake]

LOVE my UPS guy, but he smokes. Sometimes my packages smell so awful! I'm usually delivered at the end of the day so it's a whole day in that enclosed truck with him. It could be that, as My2Cinderellas said. Give Frebreeze a try! And if you are in a suitable climate, try airing them out a bit too.

I hope the smell goes away for you!
And Happy Birthday!

 

[jessica52877]

I'm going to mention another possibility. I don't smoke, and am very sensitive to it. I have received packages that smelled strongly of smoke from auctions that said smoke free. Then one day, I noticed that my regular letter carrier was smoking in the mail truck. She is wonderful in many ways, but does cause my packages to reek. If the items are sealed in plastic, they arrive safely. If they are just placed in a cardboard box or tyvek envelope without plastic wrapping, then they pick up the odor.

I often receive packages from my fedex carrier that smell of horrible smoke! BUT it is him smoking and not the sender. I really feel as if it is wrong that they (drivers) can get away with something like this. I hate the smell of smoke and it makes me sick (literally). I usually too leave them outside in the box with it opened for as long as needed.

Jessica