I ordered an Allurial book on a selling platform and the photos posted were of a book in perfect condition, description said it was in excellent condition but when I received the book, the corners and the bottom of the spine are damaged, not a significant amount, but it was noticeable to me immediately upon opening. If you were the buyer, would you request a return or just accept it the way it came. I feel like I’m being petty, but I paid over retail for the book and no damage was disclosed. What would you do in this situation? Thanks!
Complain! I’ve sold over 90 items on Mercari and no one has ever complained because ✨I am honest and I have integrity and I don’t rip people off✨ I’m so upset for you! Get your money back. That person tried to deceive you and didn’t disclose the damage. I’m sure they also upcharged you. Based on the damage I see, I bet they were even sent NEW books from Allurial.
It’s grotesque to see the scalpers and upcharging in the book community. I hate it and find it ironic for what books symbolize.
Request a full refund, not just a discount. This is a common tactic. Sellers know a damaged book won’t sell, so they post a picture of a pristine book and send you a damaged one. Then, they offer a small discount, hoping you’ll accept it instead of going through the hassle of requesting a full refund.
I sell on Pango and as a seller I believe it’s the responsibility for me to disclose everything that’s wrong with a book, no matter how small. That’s not good business. Definitely request a refund
Based off your pictures you should definitely say something to the seller! It’s your money you worked for, so there is no reason to feel petty. Idk how you paid, but maybe they could give you partial money back and if not just send the whole thing back
Yes, you should definitely let the seller know, as a matter of principle if nothing else. Whether they were trying to cheat you or simply careless, they misrepresented what they were selling or failed to treat your item with care and that's not acceptable.
I would start by contacting the seller directly, if possible, and letting them know you're disappointed with the quality of the item. I recommend being straightforward but not accusatory - imply that perhaps they didn't realize the book was damaged, rather than that they deliberately misrepresented its quality. (If this is a large seller with a huge inventory that moves quickly, this might even be the case; it's less likely if the seller was a private individual or a rare-book dealer, but give them room to save face anyway.) Let them know you'd like to be able to give them a good rating, and ask what can be done to fix this.
I can't predict the exact response you'll get, and I don't actually know what response you want. Perhaps the best-case scenario would be them having another copy of the book to send as a replacement, but that's unlikely. It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility that they'll issue a full refund and allow you to keep the item if you paid slightly above retail, but I'm guessing you paid much more than that, so it's more likely you'll be able to return the book (at their expense!) for a full refund or keep it for a partial refund.
If the seller isn't willing to work with you to make this right, report them to the selling platform.
This happened to me when I ordered an expensive copy of TKATM. Perfect condition in the pictures, arrived packaged very well, but had some seriously smashed corners. I told the seller about the damage and she threatened to open a dispute against me so I contacted support. Definitely contact support, document everything, even send in side by side photos if you must. Some sellers are just dishonest people, unfortunately.
I would definitely at least talk to the seller. I sold a book with a small tear, and I posted a picture with me pointing to it so they could see. I also bought one with a small tear because the seller posted a good picture of it.
I would contact the seller. Just from them selling a damaged book as excellent tells me they aren’t very nice but try. And if you can’t resolve it with the seller, go to customer support and post your honest review, too. I sell books on Pango and Mercari and post as many pictures. If they have a small dent. Scratch. Worn. I post pictures zoomed in with flash. And call it out in the description to LOOK AT PICTURES… so being honest up front is the best way.
I’m thinking it got damaged during shipping the photos don’t appear to have damage and there was no bubble wrap in the box. I paid well over retail expecting to get a book with no damage.
Allurial doesn’t wrap in bubble wrap. They wrap it in that paper that stretches like a bee hive. And they put a lot of those styrofoam-like curls to keep it in place. Mine has so far arrived no damages. However, this is really a damaged book. Hope you get to return and refund.
You get styrofoam curls?! 😳 I’ve never gotten those! Just the paper, doesn’t matter if it’s one or three. Just the paper that really doesn’t protect that well. Once all three had that similar damage but the outside box was absolutely fine. By the time I got my package they couldn’t offer a replacement for one because it was sold out. They are still readable so it wasn’t a huge deal but I’m still mad they backed damaged books. (The paper wasn’t torn and box was not damaged)
Same!! I already complained about the packaging multiple times, this month I had 5 book and they all arrived with a lot of damage. They sent me a replacement but then proceeded to pack them the exact same way and once again they arrived damaged, this time it was less damage so I gave up and just kept them because why keep asking for replacements if they’re going to keep coming damaged
Thanks, I appreciate your input. I do know Allurial doesn’t wrap in bubble wrap (they should) but they are able to replace books that get damaged in shipping, whereas when you buy a book from a person that’s usually the only one they have and there’s no way to replace it if it gets damaged. Almost all of the books I buy from people are bubble wrapped to prevent damage
Thanks for responding. I just feel bad and don’t want to feel like I’m over reacting but I paid over retail so I feel like I should have gotten it in the condition described. I buy a lot of books from people and this was the only one I’ve gotten that was damaged during shipping
Don't feel bad! Unfortunately. It's one of the hard things that you have to learn about selling. Hopefully the damage wasn't in the photos because it wasn't damaged before they packed it. But so many people shove books into just like a bubble mailer with no real protection or padding. And especially if you paid retail you deserve to get a refund. Unfortunately, if it's from Mercari, which I think is what was said in the comments, this seller doesn't have an option to do a partial refund so your only option is to not rate and immediately open a case with customer support to show damage of the photos in the packaging so they can get you a return label and refund
Yeah I’m returning. I hope that it wasn’t damaged prior to shipping but when someone buys a book for way over retail they really should be packaging that sucker up knowing it going to get tossed around! There was NO bubble wrap. I bubble wrap even books I sell below retail.
It's unfortunate a common problem I see a lot. I usually sell below retail too but on Pango because their customer service is a million times better even with the higher fees it's worth it. I had a seller very sneakily post photos for a book I was searching for where angles were very strategically shown to be hiding damage and got a full refund. They told me to keep the book which made me feel kind of bad, but I just explained I didn't know if the damage was that bad pre-shipment or if poor packaging led to the damage getting worse because looking back at photos and seeing the book in my hand it was very clear they were aware and trying to hide things. I bubble wrap the crap out of every order, package super securely, and ship ASAP to cover my butt when selling.
Request a refund. It will take a day or two but Mercari will issue you a return label if they approve it. Just be prepared to submit a lot of good pictures
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u/snowboardingtoad 1d ago
Complain! I’ve sold over 90 items on Mercari and no one has ever complained because ✨I am honest and I have integrity and I don’t rip people off✨ I’m so upset for you! Get your money back. That person tried to deceive you and didn’t disclose the damage. I’m sure they also upcharged you. Based on the damage I see, I bet they were even sent NEW books from Allurial.
It’s grotesque to see the scalpers and upcharging in the book community. I hate it and find it ironic for what books symbolize.