Why are people unlike the books they buy?
I've had this experience so many times now, it can't be a coincidence. I'll sell a book about religion, for example, (a book about how to be a better person, more forgiving, etc.) and invariably the buyer is the customer from hell.They'll accuse you of all sorts of things -- padding your shipping charges, lying about the shipping date, stealing their money, misrepresenting the book's condition. And when it becomes obvious they're wrong, do they apologize or forgive? Noooo.
Why do so many buyers of heavenly books treat other people so viciously -- the exact opposite of what the book is about? I guess they just want the book on their coffee table to make it look like they're a great person. Meanwhile, the way they act violates the principles of every religion on earth.
Here's another way many buyers are unlike the books they buy: People who buy comedy books often don't have a sense of humor.
Recently I sold a copy of "America: The Book" by Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's Daily Show. The book is a parody of an American history textbook, and even includes a fake school stamp inside the front cover, "This book is the property of..." It's mildly funny, but any moron would know the stamp isn't real because ... because, well, I don't have enough fingers to count the reasons.
Well, wouldn't you know, the buyer was outraged and left negative feedback because I "hadn't mentioned the school stamp in my description."
I wrote to the customer and assured her that the stamp was a joke and was meant to be funny.
Like most customers with bogus complaints, she couldn't bring herself to admit she was wrong, saying: "I haven't seen the book before, so I didn't know the textbook stamp was part of the design. I have gotten other "like new" books before from eBay with a similar stamp, and those stamps were real."
Hey, thanks, you should be a comedian.
Have you ever had a customer who wasn't like the book they bought?
posted by Steve Weber at 9/10/2007
32 Comments:
Hmmmm. Now that you mention it I've had a couple of religious customers that were annoying. Overall, though, I breathe a sigh of relief when there is a mishap with an order of a religious book because the customers tend to be gracious about it. By far the worst experience I had was with a Half.com customer who bought a Miles Davis CD from me. Boy are jazz aficionados picky. But I killed him with kindness and eventually he chilled.
I've had a few customers that left bad feedback because they didn't like the book itself. Not the packaging, price, condition - just "I thought this book would be different". Hey, if it's a book called "Ben Hur" and it's by Lew Wallace and the product description tells you what the book is about, and you read it and don't like it, that's not _my_ fault. I've gotten books I've been disappointed with, but that's the breaks of the game.
I ended up by accident sending a hardcover of a book to somebody (instead of the paperback) and the person complained and returned it, saying she was giving the book as a gift to a 13 year old and she _had_ to have a paperback....
I've had several customers complain about design issues of a book, just like your example of the property stamp. I sold a book where the cover was artificially aged to resemble parchment. It was a spiffing new book, but you should have heard the customer rant!!!
I sold a book with a circular hole in the cover: complain, complain, complain. How did he think I or anybody could managed to put such a perfect, circular hole right through the middle of the cover?!
I was also accused of trying to pass a cheap reprint off as the real thing. "I bought this book 10 years ago and the cover was pink. The book you sent me is blue. It is a cheap knock-off, you are trying to pass off as the real thing."
Needless to say, that for this brand new 2007 edition, the Amazon picture was - you guessed it - BLUE!
Yup, I've had the same experience.
One was a pastor who was angry about the book's condition. But the book looked untouched enough to be on a bookstore shelf new, except for two or three short passages highlighted in yellow, so I had described it as "Good" and said, "Includes a few passages highlighted in yellow.
Another was apparently a child psychologist, a woman who bought a book about conducting therapy with children who had been abused.
Her first email was sent late on a Saturday evening, accusing me of not having mailed her book. Delivery Confirmation said the book had been delivered a few days earlier, and after I gave her that information, she wrote back to say she'd found it. But she left a 4 feedback with a comment about slow delivery. I guess I'm lucky to have gotten the 4.
A couple of other situations didn't necessarily involve religious issues, but there was something uniquely bizarre about them.
One was a woman who bought a book through Amazon, then asked me to do a search for a particular author for her. I found 22 books she wanted by the author, gave her a 30 percent discount over the usual charge, and shipped them Priority Mail, without charging her for shipping. And she left me a 4 feedback, saying only that she was "completely satisfied."
Lastly, the woman who emailed me from her husband's computer, and then became angry when she didn't have an answer from me on her business email account at her job. Sheesh.
Despite those rare situations, my buyers are almost always great.
How about this one - I sold a medical reference book to a doctor. Clearly stated as an ex library book with the usual stamps and stickers. His receptionist emailed me and said that the doctor wanted to return the book for a full refund. The reason? They felt the book was obtained by illegal means. They figured I had stolen the book because the stamp said "property of Marion Public Library"! I thought doctors were supposed to be smart! Hmmm.........
I haven't had a similar experience, but I must say the negative feedback from the john stewart book was hillarious. that will be something you look back on in a few years and will have a great chuckle. thanks for brightening my day.
People in my store buying religious books present me with the most problems. They argue about the price, mostly, and point to various flaws. The books are always priced too high for them(and they are really the lowest priced in the store). A book on Buddha's wisdom was stolen from a display table outside the store.
I'm hoping a recent customer isn't like the book he bought! It was about a Mafia hitman, and the customer was Italian, and he lived in New Jersey, home of the Sopranos ... I know that's stereotyping ... but ... I wrapped his book the way he requested, and made sure all my ducks were in a row. Didn't want him reading the book, being unhappy with it, then practicing on me! (That darn bookseller - I'll teach her!) Tee Hee!
I had a judge in New Orleans get all sideways about a cookbook that he ordered. THe book was sent out in the original shrinkwrap and he went off on a rant about how over-priced it was and used copy to boot. A-Z eventually paid him and did not deduct from me...then Katrina came and washed him and his precious book away...poetic justice
Yep, I've had a few incidents just like that. One rather high church official was furious he didn't get his book, until I pointed out politely it went to his church address and del. confirmation said was delivered safely and had he asked about it arriving at his office. He then wrote a huffy note saying he, of course, never gives his home address online. Yeah, okay, but the book arrived at his office safe and sound after all and in good time. No apology, nothing.
Someone who signed their name as Reverend (and was pastor for a real church, I looked it up) wrote to me at ebay to blast me for supposedly saying in my description that book and dustjacket were in good condition, yet I "deceptively" did not include photo of dustjacket (although I have about 3,000 feedbacks at 100% and this guy had 15 feedbacks, 1 negative). I wrote back and pointed out that the description I had written clearly said there was NO dustjacket, hence the photo that did not show a dustjacket. Geez!!
There were several others like that, but then, too, I've had a lot of good experiences as well with religious officials, etc., many of them very pleasant and professional, so it's a mixed bag, more good than bad fortunately.
My biggest beef is actually with some first-year college students, who really ought to be smarter (but again, I say some because it is also a mixed bag, I've also had a lot of great buyers who were first year college students). However, this has happened twice with textbook sales. These two customers, with orders pretty close together in time but at different times, e-mailed and asked if particular textbook was something like 5th edition when it obviously said and was listed under something like 3rd edition. I replied each time that text was an earlier edition(just as stated) and I would be giving a refund since there was obviously a misunderstanding (although heading and description matched on the edition being offered). No, both people said on these two transactions, earlier edition should do, go ahead and send. Then, when book arrived, they sent me e-mails ranting that it was the wrong book and they wanted a refund. So I gave them a refund, no problem. Only they kept writing and saying with nasty e-mails that they never got their refund, where was it, they had been waiting, etc., and they needed their money to buy newer textbooks. I pointed out to both that they did, indeed, receive refund, since I had a record of it and, since I only take amazon.com payments..which means they had to use a charge card to pay originally (probably their parents' charge cards) the refund credits would show up on their charge cards, and not in a check that would be sent directly to them, as they seemed to believe. After I told each one that, I never heard again from either buyer, but neither left me negative feedback.
Kids! It is kind of funny that they would assume this dumb scheme would work, except it was annoying, but that's kids for you. Well, I should say just some kids. There are a lot of really smart kids out there as well, as well as nice ones who buy from me...but in the meantime, I quit selling textbooks, too much hassle and just not worth it to me.
I had an incident just a couple of weeks ago. A guy started emailing me, accusing me of unethical business practices, because I did not make a counteroffer on the book THE IMPERSONAL LIFE (a book about spiritualtiy!!). It took me a few minutes to figure out what had happened. I had chosen the "auto decline" option when I listed the book on ebay, and he had offered less than what I was willing to accept. When his nasty emails kept coming, I read his feedbacks. He obviously has issues, and I figured if he purchased the book, there would be problems for me. So I blocked his bidding. His emails kept coming anyway. I finally told him that one gets much more with kindness than harsh words, and that we should lay this to rest.
Oddly, the next day, someone offered me an acceptable amount for the book. I accepted the offer, and have yet to be paid, or hear back from the buyer. I suspect this guy had another ID, purchased the book, and shafted me.
Lucky for me this guy is very unusual. Even when I've messed something up, my customers have been great. Hey, I guess they are the ones who need those religious titles to work on their characters.
I'm pretty new, but yes, I had an experience about 2 months ago, a customer purchased a Religous book,and Emails me about his disatisfaction about the Condition.
Called me a Liar, etc even before I responded. I took care of him Proffessionaly, and resolved the issue by giving him a full refund. I agree with you Steve, I was shocked by his attitude.
well, one comment, people that are forgiving and nice and kind probably won't need to buy a book to learn about being forgiving. Just a general statement. Just like you have a healthy thin figure, you won't need to buy a weight loss book.
I had an in-store customer today who wanted a 30% discount on a Bible because this used book had a "used" sticker on it. I agreed, to make a sale. 30 minutes later she brought it back and wanted to exchange it for another higher priced book, at an even exchange. I declined. She paid the difference. She's been in before, always wants books for less than marked price.
Steve, you must have read my mind. I was thinking of this same thing the other day. My 2 worst feedbacks have come from buyers of religious books. Then again, to be fair, I sell a lot of religious books and most of my buyers are good, so maybe these 2 were coincidences. BTW, it always amazes me to see the things people choose to criticize in feedbacks - things we booksellers have no control over, such as the mail service or the contents of the book.
I find it rather amusing that most of you are taking this opportunity to bash Christians or other people of faith with this blog. I really think this more a reflection of your own personal bias against those folks. I think you feel that if you somehow knock them down a notch, it will make you feel just a little bit better about yourself. I personally have had much more trouble with book sales to people from New York City and Los Angeles, European customers and of course, college students. There are bad and dishonest people wherever you go in life, however, in general I personally have found that most people of faith I transact with are my very best customers. Feel free to start the criticism of this post. I wouldn't expect anything less...
Well, I made one of the above entries, and I happen to be a Christian, and go to church almost every Sunday. I don't think we are bashing people of faith here. We're just pondering, and laughing about how ironic it all is.
The thing being bashed is hypocrisy, not religion. Nobody brought up "Christianity" or "faith" until two comments ago.
People are unlike the books they read because ... they need to read them! And then take what learning they can from them! Their subconscious knows this and propels them through hard experience to reach for what they don't have. You, dear booksellers, provide the evolutionary ladder for them to do so, a worthy enterprise. That's why booksellers sleep the Sound Sleep of the Righteous.
I have one going through now. Book sold on eBay last Monday. Advert said,
"buy it now for xx amount = postage paid" - Nothing extra tacked on. You pay what you bid!"
Of course there is a button to click and make the payment right away.
I find quite often that people bid and pay asap. Some even add a bit for insurance and tack a note on with the payment.
I have two email addresses for PayPal. - One Primary and another (older one) for secondary. Somewhere along the line eBay or PayPal sends the buyer my old PayPal/email address and I can't figure out where it comes from to change it. Believe me I've looked on both sites.
So this buyer mixed up the words of the two addresses. - Instead of sending the money through PayPal to ABC@123.com or XYZ@789.com (both good addresses) They sent it to ABC@789.com - The payment is in Limbo and eBay tells me so...
No response through eBay's message system for two messages sent and tonight (as I'm writing this) I get a message saying, "Ebay just notified me that my payment is "unclaimed". Just checking to make sure it was sent to the right place....." -
No response from two previous messages. Another message sent again. - Question - Will I get a response or a negative???
I couldn't always tell if the customers were dishonest or just ignorant, but we had similar situations when I worked at a Borders bookstore.
Aside from the ironic stories above, my favorite started with the fellow who brought in a book he'd insisted he'd bought at the store and now wanted a refund for, despite the fact that it was obviously a used book. How obviously? It had been printed in the late 1940's. When the guy argued with me, I pointed out the date inside. When he tried to argue that this was just the "copyright" date (it was a book of Poe's stories!), I pointed out the stamp from a local used bookstore inside the front cover. He snatched the book away and huffed out of the store.
--Danny Adams
Okay, we have an online store and a brick and mortar store both. I have had people complain that they haven't gotten their book when delivery confirmation shows they've gotten it. As best as I could piece together, they used the book and since it "hadn't arrived in time" gave me negative feedback and returned it for a full refun. That was one of my worst. Another was the customer who paid for expedited and I shipped media--sometimes I just don't see it. I refunded her the shipping costs, and told her I'd refund the full book amount if she wanted to just refuse it. She ranted and raved for three days, and then oops, the book was there, she was so sorry, etc. In our street-front store, we use a trade credit system to bring your cost down on the books, but we do have to have a cash flow. There are a few customers who feel entitled to use their credit for their whole purchase, even though for the eleven years we have been in business, the policy has been half credit, half cash plus tax. Those are my rants for the day. 99% of my customers are gracious, kind, or at least benevolently neglectful.
I recently had a customer complain that my standard shipping was too slow. She loved the book, but thought it should have come sooner. She bought it on September 5th and received it on September 10th. I didn't even bother replying. :)
Let a customer have a say. There's a textbook I want for review (I actually graduated in '66) and I have tried twice to order it. One dealer got very snippy informing me that it was correctly listed as "Instructor's Manual." That's what "Im" stands for, don't you see. Another dealer sold me a four-chapter excerpt. The word "Abridged" was prominent on the front cover but it wasn't on the invoice.
When times were tough I clerked in a college bookstore. One customer presented an unsigned credit card, which I wasn't supposed to take. But I did take it with her college ID, which I started to write on the back of the signed document. "What do you need that for? You don't need that!" she snapped. Some time later a manager came to me. Apparently she had gone to Customer Service and played the race card.
I realize this is a bit off-topic, but as someone who's been buying books on-line (as well as in stores) now for over a decade, I can say that 99% of used booksellers are fantastic, and go above and beyond the "call of duty." But there is that other 1%. Some of the stories are simply unfunny (mainly sellers making off with my money and never sending my books), but some have their humorous side as well.
The first story involves a seller from Florida who sold me a copy of Cremo's "Forbidden Archaeology" which was described as being "like new." When I got it, it did look like new, until I looked under the dust jacket and discovered that the cover was completely encrusted with mold. When I e-mailed the seller to complain, she explained that the high humidity in Florida meant that most books there are covered with mold, and that apparently, this is so common that Floiridian booksellers don't even think twice about it when describing their books. Unfortunately, when I told her that I didn't buy this explanation, I never heard back from her, and never got a refund.
The other memorable story is the bookseller who sold me a copy of a Velikovsky book, claiming that it was signed (and priced accordingly). When I received the book, it turned out not only to be ex-library, but the signature was in fact a facsimile that was printed on the endpapers of the book. When I pointed this out, the seller claimed to have been fooled, although at the very least he did give me a partial refund since I said that I'd be willing to keep the book for a lower price.
I intend no disrespect to the vast majority of booksellers who are honest and customer-friendly, but there are indeed "sellers from hell" as well!
Ahh… Where to begin?
Well, first, to weigh in on the religiosity debate, I gotta say my buyers of religious books (and/or self-help books) are among my most gracious customers. One never knows WHERE the whackos will come out of the woodwork.
I’ve been selling books on Amazon (and, prior to that, Half.com) for about 5 years. I try my very best to describe each item (flaws and all) thoroughly, so customers get a very good understanding of what they are getting. This USUALLY works out great, and the vast majority of my buyers are excellent. They’re grateful, I’m grateful, and everybody is totally happy with the transaction. This is, in fact, so routine that I have come to expect it.
Except…
Yes, there are the customers from hell. One apparently cannot avoid them.
On the only-fairly-slightly-irritating scale, there are the weird 4-out-of-5-star feedback respondents. Without explanation for withholding that last star, they leave comments (and these are COMPLETE quotes) such as:
"thanks"
"great"
"My order arrived several weeks early and in good condition. Thanks."
"I'm satisfied with this book"
"thank you"
"Book arrived in good time and good condition."
"good product good service"
"great seller - top class!!"
"quick delivery no issues. thanks."
"Arrived quickly and in okay condition. Many thanks."
"fine transaction."
"prompt service"
"Arrived ahead of time, and in good condition."
"excellent delivery, good product"
"Very smooth transaction. Great communication. Excellent value!"
"Shipment arrived on time and in advertised condition. No problems."
"no problems"
"Fast delivery"
"received book in good shape" (Note spelling.)
"The book was in good condition"
"Very prompt and was kind enough to send me a shipment confirmation email. No problems with the order."
"on time ,good condition" (TWO of those, both from the same buyer. Apparently his standard response. Note punctuation.)
"order arrivied early" (Arrivied???)
"decent shape, fast delivery" (Noted "Light wear & spine creasing...!")
"Book in a good state, it arrived for before delivery estimate (only 10 days for a transatlantic shipping)." (And STILL only 4 out of 5 stars?)
"Little slow in sending, however book good and as represented." (Grrr… I always post within 48 hours. Delivery is then up to the POST OFFICE.)
"Thanks, but I wish I hadn't had to pay so much for a recycled lib. book!" (This one in particular frosts my ass because it was sent TO a bookseller, and described, “1993 1st edition hardcover in Mylar-protected dustjacket. Ex-library with usual marks. DJ has approx. 2"x2" cut out of top of rear cover. OUTSTANDING except for noted flaws - Clean, tight, bright, square, solid.”)
Okay, those people drag my points down, and I understand you can’t please all the people all the time. C'est la vie.
But then there’s just a little more psycho…
2 (of 5) stars… "book is in awfull condition are falling apart" (Awfull? WHAT are “falling apart?”) My reply - "Peter - "Somewhat scuffed, dirtied & creased, small amount of underlining. Text tight, square, solid." Shipped to Denmark in 3 days! Why 2 of 5?" (For the record, the book was far from the greatest copy ever, but it was totally intact, solid, and definitely a GOOD condition book.)
3 (of 5) stars… "Great delivery time. Book very used." Uhh… Item as described - "1st printing paperback. Light cover scuffing, underlining & highlighting to text. Binding firm, square, solid. Trace spine creasing. A pretty nice reading copy."
3 (of 5) stars… "book not condition expected, S & H charges excessive" (Despite full item description and standard Amazon shipping fees, as if I controlled this. My response: "I must confess I don't understand buyers who don't read the full description of the books they buy, or complain about the shipping charges which I don't control.")
2 (of 5) stars… "I'm sure the book started off as described but was poorly packaged and was received some what the worst for wear" (Worst? Do you mean WORSE?) Didn’t bother responding to this one, but I’ve had no other complaints about packing in several thousand sales…
3 (of 5) stars… "Disappointed that book was a book club edition" Response: "Um... It wasn't. "NEAR NEW 1st edition HARDCOVER in excellent dustjacket. One page dogeared, else like new." I try to NEVER misrepresent an item."
3 (of 5) stars… "The order was not shipped by expedited shipping. I paid for expedited shipping." SHIPPED FIRST CLASS. When explained to customer, got no response whatsoever. Left my response on Amazon: "Your book shipped 1st class. That IS expedited shipping! (You got it in just a few days, 2000 miles away!)"
Then, of course, there are the good days…
5 stars:
"This was the best and most helpful seller I have ever encountered on the net a credit to Amazon Thankyou AAA+++"
"They got the book here way before the delivery estimate and the book was in better condition than I thought. Overall, I would definitely buy from this seller and recommend anyone to do the same."
"This was as good an online transaction as I could hope for. The used book was in better condition than I expected, arrived quickly, and was properly packaged. The seller acknowledged my order and notified me of shipment, and, delightfully, included another similar book free of charge. Praiseworthy."
"Best on-line purchasing experience of my life"
And on and on…
(I LOVE these guys…)
My most bizarre experience in book dealing was, oddly, as a BUYER. I won a 75 cent paperback on Ebay, and shipping was something like $2.00. Cool. It was STILL less than going to my local used bookstore and getting the book. (Which, in hindsight, I probably shoulda done.)
Nothing can ever be easy.
The seller INSISTED that I HAD to pay $1.50 for insurance for the book.
I noted that I was willing to take the risk with the post office, since I’d never lost a book in thousands of mailings, with no insurance. Besides, I countered, insurance would TRIPLE the price of the book.
He remained adamant. (Like, to the point of shrill and crazed.) I went so far as to tell him I’d pay the $2.75 (no insurance), GUARANTEE him nothing but feedback praise (even if he NEVER SENT the book), and pointed him to my 100% positive feedback rating.
He flipped out.
He CANCELLED the sale, reported me as a non-paying bidder, and left (to this day, my only) negative feedback.
(I found out later that he had several negative feedbacks for his erratic behavior. I contacted his buyers (many of whom had never gotten their items) and set up a network of people warning current bidders away from him and his items for sale.. He was my hobby for a few months. In the end, we probably cost him about $250. He has since been kicked off Ebay.)
But hey, without the freaks, how interesting would life really be?
This is why I use 2 ebay accounts. One for selling and the other for buying. Before I had 2 accts, I received 1 negative once as a buyer of an item on my 2500 100% feedback account. Luckily I was able to convince the seller to remove the feedback. After that I opened an account strickly for buying. It is better this way also because if the transaction goes bad and the seller does not make it right after given the opportunity, I don't have any hesitation leaving a negative. With my Seller acct, I always feared retaliation.
Possibly the weirdest comment I ever got (on a stated ex-library book with the usual markings)was:
"Wow! Thanks for sending the book with all the ex-lib markings, I love seeing the history on these things!"
I'm still a bit confused as to whether he was serious or not.
The weirdest request for a refund I ever got was a guy who bought a book on making kilns, photocopied it, and wanted to return it for a full refund (shipping included). He was very up front and honest that he'd photocopied the book, but since he "didn't need it anymore" he felt I should give him his money back.
I didn't.
Glad to know its not just me that those cranky people buy from. After maintaining a 100% positive (5 stars) on all my sales, I had 2 negative hits in ONE WEEK! One was because the audio book I had sold a customer 'they used bad language in it' !! (I'm supposed to censor them first?)
The other one was for an autographed out of print 1st edition, that originally sold for $3.95. I listed it as 'fair' condition because it was a bit ragged. But since it was the only one listed and autographed I put it on for $25. This woman bought it then had the nerve to complain because the price was actually only $3.95 and she felt there had been a misunderstanding and 'is Amazon owned by someone else now that are selling used books?'
Whatta ya do? I wrote her back and told her she could turn around and make a profit on it if she wanted, I didn't hear back but then I still had the negative feedback.
I just sold a book on how to deal with 'problem' people. What's the buyer like? I suppose you can join the dots yourselves...
I was the "anonymous" who posted the 10/17/07 comment above. Thought that would be my last word on the subject, but a recent buyer has prompted at least this one more post.
First, the book:
Microsoft Office 2003:Introductory Concepts and Techniques, Premium Edition - A required textbook at several community colleges nationwide. [My best guess is that my buyer (We'll call her Marcia Ruiz)('cause that's her name) is a fresh-out-of-high-school 1st year community college student.]
Next, my description as posted on Amazon, and re-iterated in TWO emails to Maria:
Used - Acceptable. GOOD+ 2007 edition, marred by removal of rear cover (thus acceptable.) CD-ROM (unused, still-sealed) included. Light edgewear and scuffing; text clean, tight, square and solid. NOT spiral-bound. A quite nice copy despite noted flaws.
Price: $29.99.
[The next-cheapest copy at the time was $43.88. THAT copy was in worse shape: "NO CD, NO COURSE CARD/BACKCOVER!! Books have varying amounts of wear, highlighting and may not include CD. Usually ships within 24 hours in quality packaging. Satisfaction guaranteed."
I got the package out to the post office WITHIN 1 HOUR after her order came in. I was pretty pleased with myself - I knew that I would definitely have a satisfied customer on this one.
But no...
Her feedback:
3 out of 5 - "Would have liked a cheaper price due to the back cover missing, other than that recieved book fast!"
[Note: I don't sell a LOT of books online, so a 3 rating dropped my overall percentage points quite dramatically. I went from 100% positive for the past 30, 90, and 365 days down to 86% in last 30, 95% in last 90, and 99% in last year. HUNDREDS of 5-star ratings were shot by one 3-star rating.]
So I emailed her:
Marcia -
I just saw the feedback you left for me at Amazon for Microsoft Office 2003: Introductory Concepts and Techniques, Premium Edition. I'm sorry you were disappointed in any way with my service, but I believe you may have acted a bit unfairly. I described the book on Amazon site as follows: Acceptable Condition - GOOD+ 2007 edition, marred by removal of rear cover (thus acceptable.) CD-ROM (unused, still-sealed) included. Light edgewear and scuffing; text clean, tight, square and solid. NOT spiral-bound. A quite nice copy despite noted flaws. I re-iterated this description to you in my confirmation email (an email MOST sellers don't even send.) The copy I sold was BY FAR the cheapest copy on Amazon. As I write this, the cheapest copy is $43.88, with NO CD and no back cover! That's 50% MORE than my price, for a far lesser copy.
As I mentioned in my initial email to you, "I value this feedback highly, as it shows other buyers what kind of a seller I am, yet most buyers do not remember to leave a comment. If for any reason I do not rate 5 stars out of 5 with this transaction, contact me. I strive for 100% customer satisfaction, and will do everything possible to make each sale perfect."
Your 3-out-of-5 rating SERIOUSLY damages my rating and reputation. I have had virtually nothing but 5-star ratings for well over a year, because I A) fully describe my books, B) provide personalized service with every order, and C) guarantee satisfaction. I would consider it a great favor if you would amend your feedback comment, or, if that is not possible, to remove it completely.
I do hate to disappoint a customer anytime, and I am more than willing to own up to it if I do something wrong... but I don't think I misrepresented the book or was in any other way negligent in this case. Please let me know what you think or what you can do.
I will be hoping to hear from you. Again, apologies for any disappointment with this order.
Best,
David
She ignored this.
I sent, a week apart, two MORE emails, "Still hoping to hear from you on this. Please contact me."
She finally responded:
"Im sorry my feedback hurt your rating, maybe i miss read your description. However i still feel i should of paid less for the book. Im not sure what you want to hear from me, i mean i cant change my feedback now.I stated that other than the price everything else was fine. Please dont bother me anymore."
Okay, I was (and remain) appalled... I find at LEAST 14 spelling, punctuation, or grammar mistakes in her 5 sentences. And this, I thought, is a COLLEGE student.
Sheesh.
I responded on Amazon to the feedback she had left, so future buyers could get SOME idea of what went down here: "This seems rather unfair. Described online and in TWO confirming emails (sold/ shipped), "Acceptable Condition - GOOD+ 2007 edition, marred by removal of rear cover (thus acceptable.) CD-ROM (unused, still-sealed) included. Light edgewear and scuffing; text clean, tight, square and solid. NOT spiral-bound. A quite nice copy despite noted flaws." Book in post office 1 HOUR after ordered."
I also emailed her one final time:
Marcia -
Thank you for your reply.
You DID pay less for the book because of the missing cover. Mine was the cheapest copy.
You can REMOVE your feedback at www.amazon.com/feedback. I would very much appreciate that.
I will not bother you again.
-David
She has apparently decided not to do the right or honorable thing, and the feedback remains. Guess it's true what a friend of mine often says, "Ya can't fix stupid."
Thanks to this blog, for letting me vent. :>)
Cheers,
David ("Anonymous")
Addendum to my 3/15 post, just above... Marcia has finally removed the unfair feedback. Who knows? Maybe she read this blog!
Sometimes things DO work out right!
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