Christian Ethics & eBay Sale

And not to totally go off-thread with this, but this is one of my pet peeves. I'm a bit disappointed that, in all the time we've had and all the smart folks there are out there thinking about stuff, we have not been able to establish moral and ethical rules that are independent from religion.

There are certain rules of fairness and justice that allow societies to work well. But, when it comes time to explain why we should behave in the manner that is most ethical, we invariably fall back to some religious philosophy.

I don't care if a society is Christian, Jew, atheist, or whatever. Certain things are ethical and moral and others are not.

And it is moral to hold up your end of a contract, whether that contract is written, spoken or made over the Internet. If you didn't provide exactly what was promised, you reneged on your part of the contract. The buyer is not obligated to pay. Period.

If you can work something out with the buyer, fine. Everyone will be happy. But the very least you can do, from an ethical standpoint, is to not force the other party in the contract you violated to fulfill his end of the deal.

yup..my thoughts are the same..

She didn't have to, she chose to. She is a Christian, and wants advice on how to proceed in a Christian manner. There is nothing wrong with that. What I have a problem with is people who object to those who dare to mention Christianity in everyday conversation.

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I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy.

Dispatches From The Conservative Underground

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And therein lies your problem when posting on this forum.
When I first started reading this thread, I knew immediately,
that there would be some who would spout off without any
regard for what you were trying to do and also some that would
give advice without taking into consideration the caveats that you
have now mentioned.
As has already been seen, some have tried to put you in their
'what a Christian should be box' by "explaining" other scripture
taken out of context to you. It might have been better to have
presented this on the Christian Forum.
That being now said, I admire your determination to do the right thing
and was initially thinking along the same path that deaconjim already mentioned.
However, that still puts the thing together AFTER the fact; you had promised
in your ad on eBay, that the seeds would be packaged in *(2) two separate small baggies.
And even though the ad stated, that you don't make refunds, you also clarified that you actually
do if the error is on your side.

I believe you know what you need to do.

Oh snap! You guys are Christian?

Now it makes sense.

If you had followed through on the posting you made as you made it you wouldn't have this problem. You made the error in judgement and you should issue the refund.

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I ask for so little. Just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want. Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave. Jareth, Labyrinth

I don't know the dollar amount involved, (and that wouldn't sway me NOT to send the refund) but for the amount of time invested in it already and the headache, I'd issue the refund and place them up for sale again. If they are that desirable of seeds someone else will buy them.

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Did you indicate the number of seeds per bag or just say it was two bags of seeds? If you just said two bags of seeds and they only got one, I can see why they are upset. If you said two bags of 25 seeds each and they got a single bag with over 50 seeds, I dont see why its a problem.

When I buy something on Ebay, I expect and want exactly what is discribed or in the photo, not something else. He won a auction for two items, not one. If I had received the one bag, I would be mad as heck. It does not matter what the buyer is going to do with the item, reseller ect. They did not get what they thought they paid for, it does'nt matter that you gave extra seeds, how do they know that. Give them thier money back, let them keep the seeds and take this as a learning lesson. There is no Christian way, just the right way. Just my humble opinion.

Daniel

Wouldn't it have been easier just to buy more baggies?

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My Dad always told me, "Honey, you can do anything you put your mind to." He was right.

The Christian Thing To Do?

I tried to find eBay rules in The Holy Bible, but I found none. I reread The Ten Commandments and found no reference to eBay. To get a ruling from the highest court, you need to pray and wait for a sign

RF

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It's not good enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required. - Winston Churchill

This was my thought too. I've never bought from ebay but where ever I buy I expect to get what I pay for.

I know usually a store. If they advertise something they have to stand by what the add says.

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A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.

Phew!

I think I fanally found the answer:

Not many seeds, but one.

So, he should be happy with one package.

Or, is that one seed?

I think I'm confused, again.

Let me join in with the "you didn't deliver the item as described" crowd. It doesn't matter if the buyer changed their mind because of the seed type. You still sent a different product than the one advertised. If I was the buyer I would be upset.

Buy more baggies. Communicate with the buyer before mailing their item and ask if it is alright with them if you package both contents in a single baggie. Either of those solutions would have prevented this.

Kayleigh

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http://kayleighjeanne.blogspot.com

I'm sure we can all say what SHOULD have been done.

Can't go back in time, so "shoulda, woulda, coulda."

For now, if the buyer doesn't understand that you actually gave MORE because you used a bigger bag AND tossed in extra, well, just refund the money. Some people really hold to the "letter of the law" and there's no pleasing them.

No matter what the buyer's intentions (whether he wanted Northern or Southern seeds), he's got you on a technicality.

Tell him to send you back the seeds, refund him, leave him neutral feedback, and chalk it up to experience.

IMO, of course.

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Thank you for reminding me to take it to a higher court.


I did offer a refund provided the item was returned at the same weight, and stated no money would be refunded until the item was returned and received by me. At this point the buyer got testy and declared they will file complaints with both paypal and eBay. No word from him since then, and I have been checking but as of yet no reports have been filed.

If they file a negative, you are able to post a response in your defense. It's the New Year...try to put the unpleasant experience behind you. Life is too short to sweat the small change...

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It's not good enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required. - Winston Churchill

I did a little research on ebay. I think I found the auction ad that we are discussing here. The ad states and I quote: "A snack sized baggie full of Otter Tail Tobacco seeds". If I won the bid on this auction, I would expect TWO snack sized baggies Full of Otter Tail Tobacco seeds, no ifs, and or buts. I think the term "Full" describes a filled bag. If you had the bags packed for shipping and someone else wanted a third bag, why in the world would you then repackage the snack size bags. Just fill a third bag with additional seeds. Opening, repackaging and moving seeds around in a order to create a third bag just doesn't sound right. The first post in this thread stated
"It was a multiple auction for Tobacco seeds and the guy bought 2. At the last minute I also got contacted from an ht-er for seeds. The auction stated they would be packed in snack sized baggies, but I only had two snack baggies left. So I took them and dumped them in a larger baggy and tossed in a bunch of loose seeds as a bonus. This way I was able to fill both orders."

What gets me is the phrase "This way I was able to fill both orders." In my opinon this emplys that the contents of two snack size baggies were required to fullfill the third order. This would make sense because why would it be needed to even open the first two baggies?

Please, I'm not trying to start a fight with anyone, just the way that it appears. If anyone ever watches the JUDGE JUDY show, she has a great saying. "If it doesn't make sense, then something is wrong"

I have info for the ad, PM me if needed.

Daniel

As a business the onus is on you to return the money and to await the return of the goods, (IMO) as he did when he ordered from you.

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From an ethical business standpoint; IMO, the shipping fees both to him and his return fees to send the seeds back should also be refunded since he didn't get the advertised product which he purchased in good faith.