And it's disconcerting, because there is no Anglophile more obsequious than myself. I got this ebay message today:

hi just received record.but you did state a slight tear on label,i only buy mint minus records

unfortuley will have to return record for a full refund.hope you understand my fellings on this matter

thanks

I assume he meant that I did "not" state a slight tear on label, but it's all just (as you might say) bollocks. I graded the records as "weak VG+", put up a clip of the entire song, and posted gigantic scans of each label (and, no, I don't believe there was a slight tear there to mention). Here's my auction:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=270358982507

So, he only buys mint minus records, but bid on this VG+ one anyway, and that's my fault, I suppose. In fact, from looking at his prior purchases, he buys plenty of records that are less than mint minus (and gets good feedback, as I gave him - I wonder if other sellers get similar messages from him weeks after leaving feedback). I stated in my reply that if he's found a cheaper one he should just say so, that I'll refund his money when I receive it back in the same condition, and that I hope he hasn't played it out much. Meanwhile, I can see that he's someone who is referred to here as a buyer of some reknown, might even be a DJ, though I'm not sure if he's a member here or not; at any rate, his name inputted into your query box returns more than a few results. In a way, I sort of feel like I'm being taken advantage of because I'm just a dumb American, and that he wouldn't do this to one of his countrymen (that might be my own paranoia, though). As it is, I don't sell records as a lark, but as a way to pay some bills, and it's worse than a mere hassle to deal with any returns, particularly unjustified ones.

I'm trying to think who spells as badly as that on here.....

Nope...can't narrow it down....

Seriously though, I gave up on ebay as I had so many problems similar to that with buyers, not exclusively British though mind...

Seriously though, I gave up on ebay as I had so many problems similar to that with buyers, not exclusively British though mind...

Yeah, and I'm not really tarring the British as a whole, of course - one bad apple and all that. It's more that they've been such unusually good buyers to deal with that gets me. I can't imagine how I could have given more information about the record; this guy must've had to think long and hard to come up with an excuse to justify his buyer's remorse.

I only buy M- 45s too as too much stuff on Ebay graded below that is well below!!

However you advertised it as "weak VG+" so I can't see what the buyer's problem is. As for a tear I can't see one although maybe a very slight "coming away" bit under Shandells on A-side but I wouldn't call it a tear. In fact if 45 was M- it wouldn't bother me.

As someone who sells 45s reasonably regularly I'd say a good dealer always stands behind his product. Who knows why he's wanting to return it and OK a bit of hassle to sort out but you have a second bidder to approach and of course the buyer's version of events will be different to yours and in his retelling to mates your good name gets tarnished so you can do without that.

ROD

cant see what his problem is you could not have described it any better, have it back sell it to the 2nd bidder then tell us who he is ,he obviously cannot read very well ,only buys mint minus my a--se.

kev

...I can only assume that the winning bidder's asterisked name 't***o' must stand for Tonto...

You'd have to be pretty stupid to confuse 'weak VG+' with 'mint minus', wherever you come from.

Presume he wouldn't be interested in a mint copy if anyone was offering one, then!

Stand your ground, mate...