Contact Amazon seller before leaving less than glowing feedback? *Resolved*

[rii]

I bought a used book from Amazon's marketplace. The condition was listed as 'Used- Very Good' and the seller's note simply said 'Standard used condition'.

Well, I received the book today and it was a well worn ex-library copy complete with library catalog stickers on the outside and inside cover and the library name stamped on it. That does not fit my definition of either very good or standard used condition. I would not have purchased it had I known it was a library copy.

It's really not worth returning- I don't imagine they'd be willing to refund my original shipping charges and it would cost me more to ship it back than the purchase price.

I want to leave a feedback rating of Fair (on a scale of Excellent to Awful) since I did get the book I wanted, but I feel the seller misrepresented the condition. Amazon does ask that you contact the seller to resolve any problems before leaving feedback, but since I don't want to return the book I'm not really sure what there is to resolve.

Should I still contact the seller before I leave feedback?

[Wavicle]

I haven't purchased through Amazon and I don't know much about feedback, but my instinct would be to contact them saying you are not pleased with the condition and see what they say. If they say they won't pay the shipping, then tell them you will keep it and post the feedback including what they offered to do. I would give them a chance to fix it though, since they may offer to refund part of your money or cover the shipping to avoid the bad feedback.

[TootsNYC]

I think it's always required to take your complaint to the merchant before spreading it around to other people.

maybe they'll say, "holy toledo--didn't we change that listing? We're so sorry, what can we do to make it right?"

I think they deserve the chance to fix their error.

[Bob Ducca]

I have purchased from Amazon Marketplace before, and they didn't list the book as they should have.  I think you should contact them and let them know you plan to leave them neutral (fair, 3/5) feedback because you feel that, while you got the correct title, the condition of the book was misrepresented.  Spell out why: tell them you expected a very good copy and it is not in that condition, that you were not told it was a library copy, etc.

If they apologize and ask you what they can do to make it up and follow through, I would give them the benefit of the doubt that it was a genuine mistake and leave good feedback.

If they brush you off or ignore you, I would go ahead and leave the neutral.

For what it's worth, one time I ordered a book called "A Mustard Seed of Magic" from an Amazon Marketplace vendor.  It was a young adult novel I greatly enjoyed as a teen, but that author's work is almost completely out of print now.  Anyway, the vendor listed the book title with the correct author, but sent me a grade 1 reading textbook called "Mustard Seed Magic."  I think it was from the 1950's.  Anyway, I sent them an e-mail letting them know about the mistake and heard nothing.  I sent them another e-mail and I heard nothing.  Finally, I filed a grievance with Amazon and immediately received a very wounded e-mail demanding to know why I filed a grievance without giving them a chance to fix it.

The moral: save all of your e-mails to and from, just in case.

[auntmeegs]

I definitely think you should contact the seller and give them the oportunity to fix the problem.  It could have been an honest mistake, like maybe they accidentally shipped you the wrong copy. 

[DavidH]

I think step one is to decide what they could do to make you happy that is reasonable.  The next step is to contact them explaining why you are unhappy and see what they say.  If it's less than you feel is right, suggest what you think is reasonable. If you can't agree on something, then I think a low rating is appropriate. 

For example, if they said keep the book and they would refund the price, then I would say that positive feed back was appropriate.  On the other hand if they say it's your problem, then a negative rating is appropriate.

[rii]

I took everyone's advice and contacted the seller, letting them know what feedback I wanted to leave and why. Yesterday they responded saying they would give me a refund and to keep or donate the book as I wish. 

Today I got my refund- they refunded the purchase price & the shipping charges, which was more than I expected. I ended up leaving excellent feedback (5/5) with a comment saying "Condition not as described, but seller responded to communication promptly and resolved the problem to my satisfaction."

[magician5]

Regardless of your (successful) resolution, in my mind the general principle would be to decide whether it's worth my trouble to contact the seller (my purchases tend to be only a buck or two plus shipping) and, if it's not, leave a fair and well-explained feedback. They will survive, even if I give a very low number.

I don't know what other customers do, but when making a buying decision I do check feedback, and so very few sellers are at "100% positive" - but one of my key evaluation factors is "Are all the negative comments just reflective of minor glitches and unavoidable delays, or do they indicate that this seller doesn't do business well?"  I don't think an honest comment is an offense in the context of 'the big picture' about any seller.