Is this a reasonable return request?

[ajarnjenny]

I bought a dress (used) in good condition, but, the darts are sewn on the outside of the dress, overlocked with threads hanging off and the back zip is sewn in on the wrong side of the dress. When I first got it, I thought that it was inside out, but the side seams are sewn the correct way. The seller claims that this is a design feature of this 'very expensive' dress, which I bought cheaply.

It may well be a design feature, but was not mentioned in the listing and I think if it is a design feature, it is quite a different feature and should have been mentioned. I have looked at the photos again and now that I know the dress has an inside out look, I can tell, if I zoom on those parts, but I would never have thought to check whether the  darts and zip have been sewn on the right side.

She has refused the return and accused me of buyers remorse and is very insulted that  I didn't like her 'very expensive' dress.

I could never wear it. People would look at me and think 'that poor old lady has her dress on inside out'.

I have never returned anything before.

What to do now?

[cq_tech]

In this particular case I tend to agree with you, although we all know that the average buyer is notorious for not reading the listing properly (or indeed, at all) so in order to help protect myself against unfair SNAD claims, The very first line of all of my listings read (in bold font) "The images provided in this listing are those of the actual item for sale and form a substantial component of the item's description".

I then upload far more photographs than are necessary, all 12 in many cases, plus I keep all of the other photos I took of the item but didn't bother uploading for a full 60 days, even if the buyer has left glowing positive feedback, just in case (looks like I'll have to change that to 180 days now). It's called covering your ar$e.

Thanks to eBay's ridiculous new MBG (not to mention Paypal's 180-day return policy as well), it is now more important than ever that seller's take as many photographs as possible of their items, and post as many as are required to adequately describe the item, and particularly if it's clothing, list all measurements and describe all peculiarities so there can be no argument down the track.

[fixnwear]

black *poppy

Still no one can answer why the seller was SO detailed in her listing about the zip, but FAILED to mention anything about the inside out seams - important missing detail IMO.

Obfuscation, clear and simple.

Not at all. As seller quite rightfully assumed her buyers all live on Earth - and the style has been done to death for 2-3 years now, if not longer - why state the obvious?

Sites where I normally shop (not Ebay) have even less info. Fabric, measurements, designer name - and that's about it. Supported with pics.

Admittedly, they are all well known designs - but still they are rellying on everyone knowing what each garment is like - however, not everyone subscribes to every fashion magazine, goes to fashion shows or has set foot  EVER inside of any of those designers real stores - to know excactly where every seam and zip are. But they manage just fine - better than any seller on Ebay would ever hope to - no matter how detailed their descriprions are. I have an aquaintance working in one of those E stores - she told me listing there is a piece of cake - proffessional team of phograpers do their job and then every item is listed with barest of details, mainly just the statistics - it takes less than a minute, if that - but the end result is near 50 grand +++ in sales daily! From world wide clientelle, of course. They even offer free returns, change of mind, (stuff is brand new so there are never any faults as such), but they don't get any! Not even the wardobers - which is like a bane, nemesis  for any clothing website!

Ridiculous notion - that sellers have to describe every seam, every minute detail when it's quite plainly depicted in the pictures.

You can't seriously think that this seller didn't describe the seams deliberatelly - thinking no one will buy it if she did!

Happy New Year to all - I have just surfaced after an amazing night! 

[thecatspjs]

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@black*poppy wrote:

Still no one can answer why the seller was SO detailed in her listing about the zip, but FAILED to mention anything about the inside out seams - important missing detail IMO.

Obfuscation, clear and simple. 

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No, no, no, no, no ....................................

I often don't describe key features of a garment that are clearly visible in photos.

I may describe however other nuts & bolts things that are not always clearly ascertained from photos such as lining, zips, flaws and even fabric type, look & texture - .and leave out other details clearly visible in photos.

Seller did not fail at all or try to hide anything. FGS photos were provided !!!!!!!!

[springyzone]

This isn't a reply specifically to Cat, just a general comment.

Is there a link anywhere so we could see the original listing? I wouldn't mind seeing how detailed the photos were.

I would never expect a seller to write something like 'inside out seams'. I would expect size, material and colour to be mentioned and for a few detailed photos to be shown and that is about it. A seller who is into detailed descriptions might mention that there were feature seams or seam detail styling but it isn't a given, not if the photos clearly show the frock. I suppose it may be an unwelcome shock to buy something if you were not aware of what it looked like, but I wouldn't call these seams rare. They are not the norm, but they are around.

To me, the key point is that with any garment for sale there should be at least a couple of photos. One showing the item as a whole and at least one showing detail and then people can make up their own minds.

If the buyer did not notice the seams in the original ad, then I am wondering if the photo detail could have been better. Yes, buyers should scrutinise photos carefully but sellers also need to make photos clear.

I once bought a dining table advertised as excellent condition where the photo of the set was rather dark, although the photos of other detail was pretty good. I even asked prior about the condition of the chairs, were they as new, sturdy etc & was told yes  but on delivery found the table top had a few white heat marks on it. Now to me, that should have been mentioned in the ad or else shown clearly in a photo.

I was overall happy with my purchase but I still feel the seller didn't do the right thing. Clear photos on ebay are a must.

[jensmanchester-australia]

springyzone - the item number is 291290873615

[happycamperau]

Sorry to the OP but I think the photos show the style of dress in good detail.  While I'm not familiar with the designer (prefer to make my own clothes) if I was interested in buying that dress I would have googled the designers name and checked out her other garments to determine her styling.

This has been a design feature for some time and while it's not something I would choose to wear, the photos show good detail and clearly mentions the fact that the zipper slide is faulty and has been hand-stitched to stop it sliding down.

Think you'll just have to put this one down to experience and resell the dress, as like a lot of other people, the seller gave a good description along with clear photos.  Sorry, but that's how I see it!