'Yixing' Warning

[edkrueger]

It used to be a buyers nightmare.

[jayinhk]

Back in the late 90s/early-to-mid 2000s eBay was used for all kinds of illegal activity. Up until a few years ago, the feedback system could be used to threaten buyers into keeping items. eBay's come a long way--now you basically have to guarantee customer satisfaction or expect a return. A return that can be confirmed by tracking is required if you want to force a refund through the system.

I did try to contact the seller so we could work something out (I would have let her keep her shipping and just put the pot on the shelf to gather dust with the other junk pots, or like I told Brandon, taken it to the shooting range), but she never responded.

EDIT: I did receive a polite response from the seller. I told her she could keep her shipping and just refund the sale price of the pot, which I'd either put on the shelf or summarily execute, or I could return it and we'd both have to eat the shipping. Waiting to see which option she prefers.

[chrl42]

what is an "Yixing teapot" anyway? is there a real definition? I mean, Champagne must come from Champagne, unless you're in the US, where I've got a feeling it's allowed to come from anywhere. Is an "Yixing teapot" different from an "Yixing clay teapot".

Yixing clay meaning Huanglong mt., the famous mountain for high-quality clay, practice of making pot was always different, 'tapping method' unlike 'wheel-throwing' they applied for the UNESCO, for that special method of making, dunno how the result went.

[jayinhk]

The seller agreed to refund my purchase price and I agreed to let her keep her shipping fee--looks like I have another teapot on the shelf in the living room. At least this one only ended up costing $11.50!

[theredbaron]

The seller agreed to refund my purchase price and I agreed to let her keep her shipping fee--looks like I have another teapot on the shelf in the living room. At least this one only ended up costing $11.50!

Sorry, but i think that is a bit cheap - using ebay rules stacked in this case against the seller. This was quite clearly not a case of fraud by the seller, as it seems to be quite obvious, judging from the other articles she sells, that the seller just has no more idea about yixing pots as you have. You just thought you can make a steal from a seller who doesn't know, but ended up buying crap.
Sorry, but that just isn't right, you keeping the pot, and letting the seller pay the whole tuition fee for what was your mistake in the first place.

[jayinhk]

Thanks for your two cents, but one of the reasons I took a chance on it was because I knew I could return it if need be. It didn't perform as advertised either (no bobbing head and tongue), which I took as a possible indicator of quality. Again, I have to deal with the same thing if a buyer is unhappy with my items: such is the nature of eBay today.

[theredbaron]

Thanks for your two cents, but one of the reasons I took a chance on it was because I knew I could return it if need be. It didn't perform as advertised either (no bobbing head and tongue), which I took as a possible indicator of quality. Again, I have to deal with the same thing if a buyer is unhappy with my items: such is the nature of eBay today.

But you didn't return it - you still have the pot (on your shelf), got it just for the cost of the shipping, and managed to do so because ebay rules are stacked against the seller, in this case, which you knew quite well in advance.
Whatever you may have seen as a sign for quality (which it really isn't) - you took no responsibility at all for your mistake and inexperience.

I don't care much for laws, and especially not for legalistic wrangling. But i care for fairness. This wasn't fair, simple as that. That seems to be the nature of humanity today. But it isn't my nature.

That's all i have to say, and i am out of this particular discussion.

[jayinhk]

Thanks for your two cents, but one of the reasons I took a chance on it was because I knew I could return it if need be. It didn't perform as advertised either (no bobbing head and tongue), which I took as a possible indicator of quality. Again, I have to deal with the same thing if a buyer is unhappy with my items: such is the nature of eBay today.

But you didn't return it - you still have the pot (on your shelf), got it just for the cost of the shipping, and managed to do so because ebay rules are stacked against the seller, in this case, which you knew quite well in advance.
Whatever you may have seen as a sign for quality (which it really isn't) - you took no responsibility at all for your mistake and inexperience.

I don't care much for laws, and especially not for legalistic wrangling. But i care for fairness. This wasn't fair, simple as that. That seems to be the nature of humanity today. But it isn't my nature.

That's all i have to say, and i am out of this particular discussion.

Actually, I'm probably going to destroy it. I outlined the situation to the seller and she said it didn't make much sense to return it, and she would get any other teapots she bought in the future checked out by an expert first.

I still lose my shipping from the US: I could have put the $11.50 toward other stuff, rather than a pot I really don't want. She doesn't want the pot back either.

Again, as an eBay seller, you have to guarantee customer satisfaction no matter what, or you simply don't sell on the 'bay. We all play by the same rules on there. It's still worthwhile to sell on there or we wouldn't. Believe me, I have to deal with inexperienced buyers all the time, but it's the nature of online retail. Good customer service is precisely why I often choose to buy from American retailers over local ones.

[ethan]

I suggest keeping the pot to take w/ you to go shopping for yixing (perhaps in HK or mainland). Use it as example of what you don't want to buy.

[jayinhk]

I suggest keeping the pot to take w/ you to go shopping for yixing (perhaps in HK or mainland). Use it as example of what you don't want to buy.

Ethan, that's an interesting idea, but after the time I spent drinking out of it, I know it pretty intimately. The memory of this teapot isn't going anywhere!

[jayinhk]

The seller refunded my purchase price of $49.99. I sent her $15 back to help with the eBay fees and her time, and the price of the pot.