Argument with a buyer

[ozstockman]

I have a buyer who bought a wooden sign from me and then she went into an argument with me that my sign is "wood like laminate" and my item description is misleading because it is not a wooden sign,

I had explained her the whole process how  it was made from MDF with nothing laminated in it.  I provided her proof that MDF is a wooden material  and thus I can call a sign made from MDF a wooden sign. She wasted a lot of my time and was absolutely unreasonable. I offered her a refund from the beginning but reminded her terms and conditions and she would need to post the sign back to me at her own expense($1.20 for postage cost). I even pointed out that I do not do refunds according to my terms and conditions and only provide a store credit but I would make an exemption in her case and I would refund the item cost to her.

She refused to return the item and mentioned many times that she would leave either neutral or negative feedback during her argument about how I must describe my items.  I told her politely that she can leave any feedback she wants So she finally has left a negative one.

I have sold 100s of these signs in 3 years and everybody but her has been very happy with them. I even have some buyers coming back and buying more. 

I have blocked her from buying anything else from my store. I would recommend others to be very careful with  this person. I won't mention her id here but you can see who I am talking about in my feedback.

[janeababe]

Well, looks like I am going to be the odd one out again, which is usual around here.. LOL

MDF is a craft wood. You really cant describe it as being a wooden sign though! Technically, it is pulped up pine wood that is mixed with waxes and resins (or something like that) to make a medium density fibreboard  aka MDF 🙂

Lets face it, even cardboard was wood once, but you wouldnt go to the lengths of an arguement about that would you?
I feel that you *misled* your buyer with the description, and she has every right to be peeved about it.

And I dont think a *store credit* for a buyer who has already been stung by a misled description of an item purchase is going to smooth things over, even though you offered her refund and not the store credit.
For sake of face, I would have said keep the sign and here is a full refund too, so sorry you were'nt happy.

I also think you should make every effort to correct your items descriptions. despite a few people on these boards, a lot of people have heard of craft wood, which is MDF, so you can just say they are made from  6mm Craft wood (or what ever mill size you use) 🙂

cheers... 🙂

[ozstockman]

It looks  like it is the same argument starting again. 

I do not say it is a timber sign and I do not say it is made from  oak, pine etc. I say it is wooden because it is made of a wooden material. If MDF is a craft wood everything that is made of it is wooden.

There are  billions of products made of MDF(signs, toys, furniture, picture frames, doors, mouldings and much much more) they are all called wooden(wooden signs, wooden doors, wooden toys, wooden picture frames, wooden furniture etc). MDF is not only a craft wood, it is a common wooden material used everywhere for indoor application. Why on earth  one person out of sudden has got  a right to decide that it is not a wooden material anymore and now nobody(starting with me) is allowed to call products made from MDF  wooden products?

Re your comment about "keep the sign and give a full refund". If you want to support your advise financially I will from now give a refund to every unhappy customer no matter why they are unhappy and let them keep their items. Then I will contact you and you will come with food for my two kids to feed them. How does it sound in regards for your proposal for me to work for free and even to loose money on postage to every unhappy customer? 

Isn't that bad enough that paypal does not care that Australia Post looses packages and sellers are the ones who pay for it in full? Let's add more to it to keep all customers happy. 

P.S. If you had read what I said earlier you should have noticed that I offered her a refund instead of a store credit. She refused to take it and told me that she wants to keep it.

[thecatspjs]

You can argue about how individuals should interpret wood, but that doesn't change that there would be more than one person who thinks like I do, to me, wood = natural wood or timber, wooden = natural wood or timber and MDF = MDF - a man-made product with some wood particles in it, along with other stuff to hold it together  

If there is any doubt about a product - I just reckon bite the bullet and add to descriptions as additional clarifying details can save for disappointment on both sides of any transaction. Might only cater for a few buyers, but better safe than red dots I reckon.

[fourandsixpants]

You did the right thing giving your unhappy seller a full refund.

Your description is 'iffy' and not a complete description.

MDF is a man-made 'particle board' product-made from small leftover wooden particles/sawdust and has glues,resins etc added then subjected to much pressure.....it is a processed/manufactured product and I would not call MDF timber or 'wood' per se.

I have worked with both natural timber/wood and MDF. MDF does not have a 'grain' in it like wood/timber does.

Being an avid buyer of fabric I get cheesed when a fabric that is obviously a blend of natural and synthetic is described as 'cotton' which is not totally untrue if it is polyester/cotton blended and not untrue as the seller may not have described as 100% cotton-but item description is not clear in this case. Most fabric sellers, if they don't know the exact content of a fabric usually put in the item description 'not sure of exact content'.

The clearer and more precise you make your descriptions is the way to go, leaving little room for argument, happier buyers and pathway forward to a great transaction.