What feedback would you leave after this communication?

[Helgand]

I just don't know what to do! I'm not a confrontational person and have never left neutral or negative feedback, opting in the past just to leave no feedback when I've felt disappointed with the goods. This time I took the bull by the horns and thought I would email the following message:
I've received the Muzzy videos, BUT ... due to the poor packaging the case was badly smashed and literally fell apart all over the floor when I opened it. I have had to throw away the whole case as it was so damaged. I appreciate the postage cost more that you charged for p&p but feel a bit let down. Also, I don't think 'very good' condition was entirely a fair description when you failed to put that into the context of it being quite old and therefore having (understandably) a very aged appearance. So far we have watched one programme on one German video which has already shown up two places where the picture goes (sound remains) - again, not what I would describe as 'very good' condition. We are yet to watch & listen to the rest of the series. I want to give honest feedback, but don't want to ruin your track record of 100% +ve feedback. Please would you email me with your thoughts/comments before I leave feedback.

and got this back the next day:
I'm sorry to hear that the goods delivered were not to your expectations. Please allow me to answer your complaints.
The packing of the parcel was, as far as I am concerned, perfectly adequate for the goods supplied. The box itself was in no way damaged before posting. Therefore, I can only assume that the awful condition it arrived in is the fault of the Post Office. Compensation for this can be claimed through them; if you need me to provide a statement of its condition for this purpose, I would be happy to do so. As you rightly point out, I did lose money on the P&P for this item; this was my mistake, but should highlight the fact that I am in no way attempting to profit from faulty goods.
The description I feel was satisfactory to the goods; If the item is in perfect condition, I will say so, if it is not, I will moderate the language of the descriptions. There were, in addition, several photos on this particular listing, including close ups. I did at no time state that this item was new; the price of the item reflected this accurately in my opinion. As for the videos playing correctly, I can only assure you that the videos were watched prior to dispatch and were playing perfectly. May I suggest that this may be due to the Post Office yet again? Sometimes, video tapes can loosen in the posting process, as I'm sure you are aware. Forwarding the entire video then rewinding back to the beginning may help in this.
Once again, I would like to apologise wholeheartedly for your experience, and hope that this message clarifies matters for you.

Just to make things clear, the goods (videos, tapes & booklets which came in a very old plastic case) were wrapped in one layer of brown paper.

difficult to comment as i don't know what you bought or how much you paid, but i wouldn't have thought one layer of brown paper would be enough for videos. I would leave negative feedback if you feel it is justified.

Could you do a link & we could see if description & photos matched your expectations or their reply? It is a pretty formal response but they have offered to assist you in claiming compensation from Royal Mail. Otoh I would expect videos & dvds to be in jiffy bags myself or something as sturdy.

tbh I would pursue a compensation claim thru royal mail for the damage. In fairness some videos will work fine on one machine and then not a different one.

Wouldn't leave any feedback yet....you could ask to return them for a refund but that will cost you money.

I agree tho that paper is not adequate wrapping for videos as they are too brittle.

packaging sounds totally inadequate, should have been a jiffy bag at the least
she might have scrimped on postage if she realised she was going to lose out, especially if she packaged it , which would have cost more

and for the pic to go , sounds very worn out, not 'very good' condition.

she should have packaged the goods adequately, can;t blame royal mail entirely for the damage, as proper packaging would have prevented that.

could you not leave neutral feedback, or ask for refund of postage or something?

We bought Muzzy new from Muzzy themselves on DVD. Video quality is pretty terrible imo, so that may not be her fault entirely. The soundtrack sounds old, and the cartoons look old (personally can't understand a word he is saying).

TBH with that reply I would leave positive feedback.

I suggest leaving negative feedback if you feel the goods weren't as stated. You could qualify this by adding that due to poor packaging the goods arrived damaged.

OTOH you could claim £28 back from the post office ?

I woudn't worry about her ruining her 100% feedback.

It says 'in very good condition' which wasn't true. And packing was clearly inadequate. Tbh I think you'd have a legal claim for a full refund on the grounds of misrepresentation - the goods were not as described.

I'd leave honest feedback, saying the item was not 'in very good condition' as described, that it was packed in one sheet of brown paper and the case fell apart when you opened it. Can't believe the cheek of her, trying to blame the post office!

You could click on the 'positive' feedback option but word your feedback to say, for instance, 'good comms but item damaged in post and condition was not as described' I have seem this done before.

This enables you to putting your point across in a non emotive way as you do not leave negative feedback.

To stop the seller giving you negative feedback in retaliation, don't post your feedback until just before the feedback deadline (think it's 60 days after auction ends).

Neutral feedback? That way you get your point across but it's not negative.

I think from what you describe the packaging was not adequate.

What do you want, ideally? A refund? If so, I'd email back asking for this explicitly and see what the response is.

It's too big for a jiffy bag and the box -large plastic protecive case - should have been Ok for posting, though I would probably expect a layer of bubble wrap knowing how brutal the post system can be. I also have a second hand Muzzy which improved hugely after we used a cleaner on the video. And yes, it does look old and faded!

Muzzy can go for a lot, lot more on Ebay. And it does all look good condition to me. Sorry, but I've give positive, and maybe put a caveat about needing more protective postage. The case isn't important anyway - it just blooming gets in the way!

Thanks for all your (quite varied!) comments.

£35??? that's a very good price- even for ebay. TBH I'd leave positive- agree with Aloha- the case is a PITA, and I'm not sure you can blame the poor video quality on your seller, the original is very poor quality anyway. I have videos here that work in one machine and not another.