Broken Ebay Pen And Customer Service

[vonderlasa]

I recently purchased a pen from a well-known dealer on Ebay. They have had frequent positive feedback here on FPN as to customer service. The pen, which is a vacumatic filler, does not work. What they have offered to rectify the situation is for me to send it back to them for repair [in a foreign country] at my expense. Am I wrong to be upset? Suggested remedies? Positive or negative feedback for them?

And if it would be cheaper to have it fixed by someone in the USA, what would you do?

[jar]

When we buy from ebay, we do assume responsibility beyond what we might assume with a purchase from a local B&M.

 

Look at the costs involved. Is it cheaper to send the pen back for repairs? How much value do you place on the times involved?

[PatientType]

In an very similar situation, except a different brand of pen, I sent them a polite note through the Ebay email (so it would be documented) indicating that the item wasn't in the condition advertised and that I wanted a full refund but would absorb the cost of returning the item. I indicated that it was my expectation that the pen should be fully examined by a seller prior to sale and I wanted to cancel the transaction amicably. (My intention was to infer that I would escalate the complaint if needed.) I mailed the pen back to them the same day. My thought was that if they had their item back and they had my money they can't keep both. The simplest and safest thing for them to do would be to give me a refund. Otherwise they'd have to mail the broken pen back to me at their cost and risk PayPal and Ebay complaints plus a negative rating.

 

I got my money back about ten days later when they reversed the PayPal transaction. My postage cost was only about $3. Of course, that was one experience with one vendor. I counted myself as being fortunate.

 

 

I edit this post to note that in the original Ebay ad, the description did say that the pen was in "very good condition." Had it said, "fixer" or "sold as is" I'd not have taken the actions that I did.

Edited October 21, 2009 by PatientType

[penspouse]

Three times I have received a pen that was not as expected and had been advertised as in good condition. I really wanted the pen and did not want a refund. My response through eBay was "The pen arrived today. Thank you for your timely shipping, unfortunately, (problem stated). Would you be willing to do a partial refund"? I was willing to accept a "no" if there was an offer for a full refund upon return of the pen and still keep the pen. I REALLY wanted it.* If they asked how much I wanted refunded, I told them "Whatever you feel is fair". All three times the seller offered a refund more than what I would have asked for.

 

*ETA: I knew hubby could fix whatever the problem was.

Edited October 21, 2009 by penspouse

[blueblazes]

I would go the cheapest route possible. If the cost of shipping (including whatever insurance you might tack on) the pen back might be greater than what could be taken care of by a domestic repair person. Heck, depending on the repairer, the pen might be in better condition than what you'd get from the original seller. Your situation has happened to me a couple of times with international items and it turned out to be cheaper for me to keep things domestic.

 

BB

[MarcShiman]

Vintage fountain pens on Ebay go about 60-70% of what they would be on this board, and in many cases much less than half of what they go for on some of the larger pen dealers' websites. The downside? You are going to have some unpleasant surprises. Over the years, I've bought many pens that weren't described particularly well, and only a few that were borderline fraudulent. But I've only had two pens that were absolutely unrepairable - so I consider this all the cost of doing business on the 'bay.

 

Having said that, I try to get back something (as mentioned above), but I don't get terribly upset by it.

 

One thing that I've come realize is that the term "restored" means very little on Ebay - a lot of the restore jobs are simply awful. There are a handful of sellers that I trust implicitly. If I don't know the seller, I half expect to have to tear the sac out and do it again.

 

I would get it restored by someone you know and trust, and hope to recoup the cost of the repair. The seller might be willing to pay that cost (and might not) - but at least you get the pen you ultimately wanted.

 

Marc

[eric47]

I recently purchased a pen from a well-known dealer on Ebay. They have had frequent positive feedback here on FPN as to customer service. The pen, which is a vacumatic filler, does not work. What they have offered to rectify the situation is for me to send it back to them for repair [in a foreign country] at my expense. Am I wrong to be upset? Suggested remedies? Positive or negative feedback for them?

And if it would be cheaper to have it fixed by someone in the USA, what would you do?

 

Aside from the non-functional filling system, do you like the pen? Condition good, etc.? If so, were it me in those circumstances, I underline the fact that not only you but they have to pay international shipping to send it back, plus repair (time, parts) costs. Then ask instead whether instead of sending the pen back, whether they'd consider a partial refund. Throw out a figure more or less what you'd have to pay for the repair, or if you will how much they charged in the auction to ship the pen too you -- maybe you'll come close to breaking even. If they're not interested, and you think the pen has been incorrectly described, then ask for a full refund (and file a report so its documented before time runs out).

 

I had something similar, a pen that was misdescribed in length, probably a typo. I ended up with a medium rather than the large size on a But-it-now. I explained the situation and that I was still interested in the pen but not at the closing price. We agreed to a partial refund to bring my cost down to more-or-less what would be market value for the pen in its condition. They were happy because they sold the pen without further fuss, and I got the pen at fair rather than inflated price.

 

Even then I still got somewhat bit, because the nib was cracked under the section -- couldn't be seen until my restorer took the pen apart. But that's one of those risks taken with an unrestored pen.

Edited October 22, 2009 by eric47

[aldica]

I recently purchased a pen from a well-known dealer on Ebay. They have had frequent positive feedback here on FPN as to customer service. The pen, which is a vacumatic filler, does not work. What they have offered to rectify the situation is for me to send it back to them for repair [in a foreign country] at my expense. Am I wrong to be upset? Suggested remedies? Positive or negative feedback for them?

And if it would be cheaper to have it fixed by someone in the USA, what would you do?

You may find it impossible to send it back and retrieve it. The customs rules may not allow your pen to enter the country. I've had that problem on ebay, where a seller offers a full money-back guarantee, assuming I return the merchandise. There-in lies the problem, returning the merchandise may be near-impossible.

 

Depending on how important negative feedback is to the seller, you may wish to negotiate a discount and repair it in the USA.

 

Just a thought.

[andyk]

Hi,

 

Sorry to hear about your problem,always a pity when this happens.

 

At the risk of causing some upset though, I never take the words good condition to indicate working condition, if it doesn't say working in the listing, then always a good idea to ask just in case. To me good condition suggests cosmetically good, but even then is down to personal assessment.

 

Andy

[Bearcat]

I recently purchased a pen from a well-known dealer on Ebay. They have had frequent positive feedback here on FPN as to customer service. The pen, which is a vacumatic filler, does not work. What they have offered to rectify the situation is for me to send it back to them for repair [in a foreign country] at my expense. Am I wrong to be upset? Suggested remedies? Positive or negative feedback for them?

And if it would be cheaper to have it fixed by someone in the USA, what would you do?

 

 

The only thing that makes eBay even marginally workable is the "feedback" system. If this pen was not as described, you should post negative feedback with that comment. It is about the only thing that keeps eBay from being even worse than it is.