[Exhibitman]

Wow, Trent, I guess someone has a case of The Mondays?

A customer walking into a store or restaurant would never engage in the shenanigans that we get with e-commerce. Would you pepper the clerks in a store with demands to reduce the price? Would you ever expect a store's management to accept your word that something was damaged and to give you a partial refund instead of insisting on bringing in the item for a full refund or replacement? Demand that the store not collect the sales tax? Bitch out a store manager because the store collected sales tax? Demand that the store fake customs paperwork? Buy an item with a stated shipping price, then insist that the seller reduce or waive it? Buy something at a place with an "all sales are final" stated policy, then demand that the seller accept a return NOT because there is something wrong with the item but because you just changed your mind a few days later? Insist that a seller honor a return after expiration of the return window? Nope. But these are the sorts of things that are typical behavior in e-commerce, especially eBay. The internet emboldens bad behavior, whether it is cards or politics.

What I want from an e-commerce seller is simple: good images and accurate identification of the item, prompt shipping in a secure package, stepping up and making good when something is wrong. We aren't dating, we aren't making friends, we aren't saving the manatees; we are engaging in a business deal, which I want executed in a businesslike manner on both sides. Period.

Buying and selling is a mutual exchange, not a one-way dictatorship. I publish my terms and conditions so that everyone has a clear understanding of the manner in which I conduct myself. If someone takes offense, they can buy somewhere else. If I offend enough people, my business will fail and the market will teach me a lesson. Guess what? It isn't. I've got lots of happy buyers because I use good images, accurately identify the item, promptly shipping in a secure package, and step up and make good when something is wrong.