WWYD? Have I been fair in my description? Should I part refund or not

[alltoomuchrightnow]

I sold a vintage knit top from 1960s
I put full details in my listing , including this below (it wasn't hidden at bottom in 'small print'! I am always very honest in listings.)

''I have machine washed it twice on '30 delicates' and it came up fine. It does still have a vintage smell, certainly not unpleasant to my nose but definitely a vintage smell. Please do not bid if this is a problem! It's a smell of old fabric and not of anything human! A smell I actually quite like.. even Kate Moss said she likes the smell of vintage clothing too. Not all garment have it but this one does.''

well all you can do is write in the case that she can't return it in the condition in which it was sent and hope eBay give a no fault refund.

i did copy and paste it. perhaps that's why she's not replied.. as it's so obvious she didnt read it in the first place.

Come to think of it (sorry I'm such a ditz) if she has washed it even once Ebay will judge that she has accepted it in the condition it is. She cannot claim not as described. would be the same if she repaired it. So I don't think she has any basis to win a case.

But she could still leave neg f/back, so good to be polite & professional (as always).

yes ….not heard but if she kicks off i'll not give grief…. hmmm

If the smell is mothballs it will not come out however many times you wash it. This is the one vintage smell that cannot be shifted - despite what you might read. I had a silk dress and nothing got rid of it - washing (several times) a month on the line, white vinegar soak (several times) vodka spritzing, I tried the lot and had to bin the dress after many attempts. Some people don't mind this odour but I hate it and would not buy or sell anything with it even faintly. I have learned my lesson!

My advice is to refund buyer and either get the jumper returned or refund and tell buyer to bin it. It is not worth any bad feedback for that much. Especially anything that might say item was smelly - this will put off your future buyers.

I realise you mentioned it in the description but tbh whatever the rights or wrongs it comes down to whether your buyer is happy/unhappy and what they are likely to do re fb and low DSR stars which can affect your selling in future.

Personally I would refund return P&P too but you don't really have to and maybe you could come to an amicable agreement as you did mention it did smell a bit.

Have a very careful sniff of any vintage items you might buy and avoid anything with a mothball odour however faint the smell or gorgeous the item. I think you can pretty much clean and de smell anything else.

not mothballs but thanks for the tip. It's one of my all time most hated smells, I couldn't have anything moth ball scented near me
I haven't heard from the buyer so I hope that's it!

btw I have found a white vinegar soak the best technique on vintage items with a general "vintagey" smell that doesn't just wash out with a normal wash. Also the home dry clean sheets for the tumble dryer have also proved excellent and very cheap alternative to a pro dry clean.

Glad it seems to have worked out ok with the buyer.

thanks for tip as i have a stunning 60s dress with that smell so will try it
Didn't hear from buyer anymore
Going away next week so I hope she doesnt contact me then as i won't be able to do anything

This just proves to me that buyers do not read discriptions at all,I had a message from a buyer who insisted that the trousers she bought where not a size 16 and they would not fit a size 12 ? The size was on the label and I put waist and leg measurement on the writeup,I offered full refund on return but she declined and asked for part refund,why would she want part refund if they didn't fit ? remember girls from 15th September we have to refund return postage costs so be 100% vigilent on your discriptions or we will have defects flying all over the place.

NEVER give a partial refund. Either she wants the item or she doesn't. If she doesn't then it's only fair she should return it for a full refund.

We have had this happen. Some people buy imperfect things on purpose, then use that imperfection to try and get it cheap.

I sold quite a rare book once, full description including the fact that there was what they call 'foxing' on the inside cover (brown marks, basically).

Sold it for £50, buyer then said it was worse than described (it wasn't), but he would be "prepared to live with it" if I gave him £25 back.

I said no, the description was fair, but if he wanted to send it back, I'd refund him. Never heard from him again, he left feedback saying "prompt delivery", that was it.

Left pos fb but probably then dinged your DSRs for not getting half the money back.

There are some much worse buyers on ebay than there used to be and managed returns is an absolute joke. Sellers expected to pay for the return for people who don't check measurements before buying or change their mind. 2 buyers have returned items and both have taken 10 days to bother returning. One of whom messaged me literally within 5 mins of parcel arriving back to tell me to do a "prompt refund" BBL!!!!!