A Picture on eBay Isn't Worth 1000 Words after All

by: etectra

More complicated than that...

Each camera has its own color profile for the images it creates. Software used to edit the images can change the color profile. When the images are uploaded to eBay they will be compressed to save storage, which can alter the image. Every person viewing the image will have a different color profile on their monitor as well as different settings. Viewing the images in a darkened room verses the same room in daylight can make colors appear different.

My NEC high end monitors intended for design work have front hoods designed to block out excess light coming into the front of the monitors as this will affect how you see the images. They also have a electronic "puck" shaped like a mouse that you place on the screen to calibrate them using software. Even though they are higher end they can't produce as pure true blacks as a new CRT monitor from years past, which unfortunately will fade over time due to aging of the tube.

My TOS includes a disclaimer regarding differences in color due to monitor settings.

If you are actually talking about rust - i.e., oxidation - on the item then you then to say there is rust and not use a color. Other metals such as aluminum can get white oxidation. Brass and copper can get greenish oxidation. However, some people want the aged oxidation appearance of the item.

by: etectra

Don't waste your time calling eBay.

They are compulsive liars.

The supposed supervisors is another person in the same call center in India. They tell you that in an effort to somehow think you've actually done something for you.

To get rid of you they will tell you they will contact you by email or call in 24, 48, or 72 hours but do not. They will disconnect you. Play phone tag with you. Disable your ability to use their message system or receive calls for a day or two.

by: Rexford

""does eBay have a policy to allow a SNAD when the buyer doesn't agree with the name of the color"

Anytime I have a buyer overly focused on the specificity of a color I know that I may have a problem on my hands.  Sometimes they are looking for a "gotcha" if they don't like what they receive and sometimes they are just incredibly nitpicky.

I always tell them that what I see on my screen may not be what they see on theirs, as various computer screens may show colors differently.  If they ask me if it is a teal blue or a tiffany blue I just say that it is in the range between the two.  As much as I don't like running business off I like receiving SNADs even less.  I prefer not to have these folks as customers.

And unfortunately I don't see eBay siding with you on this one.  Let us know how it turns out.  You did nothing wrong.

by: pace306

As long as a buyers lies are more important (valued) then a sellers truth, eBay will be a POS company to work with as “your trading partner “

1) eBay ALWAYS believes the buyer, ALWAYS

2) what they say doesn’t have to make sense, be true, or be real - a buyers opinion is all that counts

3) eBay is afraid of chargebacks and therefore dumps “it all” on the seller. Chargebacks cost money, eBay needs that money to buy back stock and prop up the company - therefore like they say in the “Mortal Kombat” game.. YOU LOOSE.

4) eBay has ABYSMAL customer service. Nice overseas people, just there to placate you. They have no power  to make changes, no interest to do so, and if they do step out of the lines to actually help - they get in trouble

5) making (forcing) the seller to pay for returns and refunds makes THEM look good, at YOUR expense

6) this is how the San Jose Mafia operates

by: Snapped

OP has received some good advice here already, regarding need for caution among nit picking, attempting to reduce ambiguity, preparation for preemptive resolution, all the way to how bad a business decision it can be to rely on eBay support.  I even have my own - try to use the manufacturers identifier unless it’s copywrited. What color do THEY call it.

Also, no doubt OPs eBay tenure in what is a very challenging category for ‘nitpickiness’ should provide some lessons learned too - especially regarding the return scenarios, or rather, battles endemic to clothes and accessories.  Surprising this one stood out.

Anyway, there’s one fact at the root of this particular drama that needs some attention.  Because killing it before it grows will end the story before it can be written. And that’s the goal, right?

“ My shirt color was somewhere between 2 of those choices: Red and Orange. I chose Orange”.  “ (because I was trying to sell the shirt) “

Right.  But reddish-orange, or orangish-red, is not orange.  Which is why, ultimately, and no doubt with able assistance (or lack of same) from the platform, OP seems to have been hoisted by his own petard.  Sorry.

by: Rexford

Snapped says "Anyway, there’s one fact at the root of this particular drama that needs some attention.  Because killing it before it grows will end the story before it can be written. And that’s the goal, right?"

"Killing it before it grows."   <<<<<  (This)     No seller has an arcane color wheel.  Don't let them pin you down with a drake neck's green or drunk tank pink.

by: Shanna

OP,

Ebay once took down a listing of mine and gave me a 7 day penalty of not being able to list new items for the offense of listing a restricted item made of internationally protected animals. The item? A set of hand towels. What did eBay think they were made of? Ivory. Because the color choice was Ivory. Where was that color choice? In the eBay provided drop down box. It took over a dozen phone calls and 6 hours on the phone until I got an American who could speak English and understood towels are not made out of elephant tusks. So good luck to you!

by: AddyUp

This reminded me of an ad on the telly last year.

A customer goes into a shop and asks for a tin of white paint. The shop assistant looks at them like they are an idiot then precedes to reel off dozens of "different" whites. It ends with the exasperated customer saying I just want a tin of white paint.

by: ZZ

Snapped: Thy wit doth fail thee, for thou dost not grasp the truth of it.
If you pick any other color but one of the 10 that eBay displays on the search screen, then a buyer who chooses any of those 10 colors will not see your ad.

by: my2cents

ZZ
Keep in mind that color can be in the eye of the beholder.  There is a lot that goes into that, but most importantly is going to be the quality of your picture and the quality of the Device the buyer views it on.  You can't control on what device the buyer reviews something on, only the quality of the picture.  And this is often the reason for a color disagreement.  

by: NYSteve

Shanna LOL good story

by: Snapped

“… then a buyer who chooses any of those 10 colors will not see your ad.”

Yeah verily, they will definitely not see the cloth that is a hue not of the buyers choice made only from the wheel of the King’s offerings.  

Because the seller’s item is not one of those.  ‘Tis the pretense that fails in this kingdom, despite the King’s pretense themselves declaring knowledge beyond that of any subject to the Royal will, and thus imposing a limit of ignorance upon the unwashed masses.

Forsooth.