Caveat Emptor

I guess everyone who trades on eBay eventually ends up with at least one war story. Here's mine:

For a long time I've lusted after the Riverside Chaucer. Unfortunately this book lists for over $90 on Amazon.com, making it prohibitively expensive for someone on a limited book-buying budget. I've been keeping my eyes open on eBay, and last month I was thrilled to find a Riverside Chaucer, described as "in new condition," with an opening price of $40. I had a Christmas gift of $50 burning a hole in my pocket, and Tab had encouraged me to buy something for myself with the money rather than pay a bill, so I bid on the book. I was the only bidder--gee, what a surprise!--and won it for $40 plus $3.20 for shipping.

This was the most expensive purchase I'd ever made on eBay. In the past year I've bought many old Maine postcards and a few out-of-print but not valuable books, all of which tend to be low-ticket items. I did feel a little uneasy when the Chaucer seller emailed me saying that the book actually belonged to his father. He wrote that I should send the check to his father, who would ship the book to me after he received my payment. I didn't like the prospect of not dealing directly with the seller.

Still, I was pleased by what I thought was a bargain...until the book arrived on Tuesday. Tearing opening the package, I was dismayed to find that the book could in no way be described as new. It was dirty and the inside cover looked as though water had spilled on it at some point. Even more disturbing to me were the small rips in each of the four corners of the spine.

I emailed the son later that day:

Dear [Seller]:

I received today the Riverside Chaucer that I won on your eBay auction. I am disappointed because the book was described as being in "new" condition in your eBay description. Instead of being in new condition, I find that the spine is loose, the outside edges of the pages are dirty, the corners of the cover are worn, and there are water marks on the inside cover.

I feel that the condition of the book was misrepresented, and I would like to return it for a refund. Thank you.

I heard nothing for more than a day and a half, and I began to feel annoyed. Finally, on Thursday morning I received two responses, one from the son and one from the father. The son wrote:

I am sorry that you are disappointed. I had no intention of offering a new book for sale. The price of a new (unread) copy of this volume would have been considerably higher. The book was purchased and read for a college literature course during one semester. There are no markings, missing or torn pages or other flaws that would interfere with one's reading and enjoying the book for many years. I am certain that the vast majority of books offered for sale on eBay have been opened, held and read by their owners, but are still well cared for and can be correctly described as "in new condition" or "like new." You are welcome to buy the same book from Amazon or Barnes and Noble or a similar new-book dealer that will guarantee the condition for you as no private individual can, but you may have to pay them more than $43.20 for it. Nevertheless, I am asking my father to contact you to see how your dissatisfaction can be addressed.

The father wrote:

I will be glad to refund you the amount of $43.20 when I receive the Riverside Chaucer. You are exaggerating the condition of the book but let's conclude the matter this way.

I was quite provoked by these messages. The son is a relative eBay newbie--his feedback rating is only 11--but I'd assumed, wrongly as it turns out, that most people knew that a book exhibiting such signs of wear could in no way be described as "new." And how dare the father claim I was exaggerating! I was scrupulously fair in my description of the book's condition. If anything I was generous, forbearing to point out other flaws I'd noticed.

If I had written back to them immediately after reading their emails, I probably could have kissed my $40 goodbye forever. So I waited a few hours and then composed what I feel was a remarkably restrained answer, considering my vexation:

Thank you both for your responses to my email. I will be shipping the book back to [the father] immediately. You need only send me a check for $40.00; I will assume the $3.20 for your postage to me.

For your future reference I am appending guidelines for describing a book's condition. This is copied from the Barnes & Noble page on rare, secondhand, or out of print books. When you described the book as in "new condition" in the auction, I assumed you were following these or similar guidelines.

In my opinion the book would be more accurately described as "Very Good."

Thank you again for your attention to this matter.

I then included text from B&N's "Information on Book Sizes and Condition," which I cut and pasted into my message. Rather than arguing with them over why the book should not be listed as "new," I wanted to prove that there are certain conventions that should be observed when describing used books for sale.

Maybe my waiving the $3.20 mollified the father. Today he emailed me saying that he would send the check right out to me. So I packaged the book up and dropped it off at UPS.

You know, the funny thing is...if the book had been accurately described up front, I might very well have bought it for $40 anyway. It was still a pretty good deal, even for a copy that was only in good to very good condition as opposed to new.

I just hated feeling that I was defrauded.

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