Typical story....no contact from the newbie buyer about any dissatisfaction, so the first I heard of a problem was when I logged in and saw my feedback number had gone down from a hard-earned 580 to 579.  Nice way to start a Friday morning, eh?

I sold an infant play mat/gym, in good used working order, without the toys---this was specifically mentioned in the ad, NO TOYS---everything else was there as shown in the picture.  The buyer was antsy from the start, emailing me the standard newbie concerns...WHEN ARE YOU SHIPPING, WHERE IS IT?????!!!!!!!? (extra punctuation hers) despite a delivery confirmation number from PayPal and an email from me showing her how to use it (even if they're not updated, a DC will at least show you the date the label was printed).  She thought I was taking too long to ship, and asked me to include some "free" extras in the package to make up for it.  Okay, I've got some extra baby toys laying around, so I added a couple even though it felt like I was being blackmailed.  I tested the batteries on the mat, played it through all its musical cycles, and it worked fine.  I included a note explaining how one of the "free" toys works and mentioned the batteries on the mat were good, and wished her well.

Buyer gets it, and posts negative feedback saying it doesn't work, isn't complete, and took a month.

Of course it isn't complete, I plainly stated in the listing that I was keeping the toys that came with it because they have sentimental value.  They weren't even shown in the picture, so she had no reason to expect them.  Everything else that came with it was there.

It worked fine when it left my house, I know because I tested it.  I think the woman can't figure out how to work it, to be honest---it has sensor pads, you put it on a particular setting and the baby kicks various places on the mat, activating the music.  If it isn't working, then the postal service broke it, and she declined insurance.

Lastly, I would have given her a full refund, shipping included, if she had bothered to tell me she wasn't satisfied or something was wrong.  AND I'd have let her keep the mat.  Instead, she stormed off and posted negative feedback without contacting me in any way or giving me the opportunity to make it right for her.  Her contact was fine before she got the thing, why did she suddenly forget how to use email after it arrived?

Oh, and one last kick in the pants....I went about $5 in the hole on the shipping....just totally miscalculated it, and had to cover it myself.  Nice cake-topper there.

Anyway, my first negative, so I wanted to vent and feel better.  Like I said, if I had deserved it in any way I'd accept it and not whine, but this wasn't cool.  I know almost everyone's got a similar story...newbie buyer, impatient customer, unrealistic expectations for a .99 item, or just a plain old can't-be-pleased transaction partner.  I know I'm not special.  But I'm still gonna whine.