A Better Solution

Selling used books online, I try very hard to correctly grade and describe the condition of each book I list for sale. The categories we use on Amazon are New, Used – Like New, Very Good, Good, and Acceptable. That is the easy part. The harder part is trying to sell the book and yet truthfully and accurately describe its condition. For example, I will often list a used book that has been read and yet looks as if it just came off the shelf at Barnes & Noble, as follows: Used – Like New. Almost mint! HBwDJ. If ever read, reader was extremely gentle! No writing, marks or tears observed. Packed in bubble mailer and shipped next business day. Money back guarantee.

I recently listed, sold and shipped a book that fit exactly that description (or so I thought). Upon receipt, the female buyer discovered several pages that contained highlighting. (I don’t turn every page, just fan through the pages a couple of times). And she was mad, Mad, MAD! It isn‘t very often that this occurs, but try as I may, it seems that I can’t help but occasionally miss a few flaws. Consequently I tend to include the phrase no writing, marks or tears observed along with Money back guarantee as my safety net.

She promptly sent me an email demanding all of her money back immediately because the book contained highlighting when I advertised it with no writing, marks or tears observed. She accused me of fraudulent advertising and if her money was not refunded immediately she would file a claim with Amazon.

Trust and customer service are extremely important in the conduct of my business. In my profile I state “I always strive to assure that you will experience a level of customer service above and beyond your greatest expectations! At Literary Nuggets your satisfaction is always guaranteed!” Consequently, I was willing to refund her money ($6.45 plus $3.99 postage) on the spot. However, in her anger and with her take no prisoners attitude, she failed to give me her name, address, name of the book or order number. All I had was an email address that did not identify her. So I responded, politely apologized for my oversight, explained that it was certainly not intentional, and that I would refund her money as soon as possible. However, to do so she would need to identify herself and provide me with her Amazon order number. She responded to my email two days later with only her name, address and order number. Nothing else. No comment whatsoever. And certainly no “thank you” for honoring my promise of a money back guarantee. I refunded her money and attached a note once again apologizing for my error. Also, I did not require her to return the book.

As my friend (and someone who knows me well) observed, she would have gotten exactly the same result if she had politely requested, rather demanded, a refund. In addition she unnecessarily allowed anger and negativity to affect her emotional state. I have been thinking about this experience quite a lot and, unfortunately, believe that it is indicative of the way many people approach getting satisfaction when they believe they have been wronged. They over react and consequently fail to get the results they are seeking just because they adopted an “in your face” and threatening attitude (I’m thinking unruly and demanding airline passengers, but that's a story for another day). I believe a better solution to assuring positive results would be to treat others as you would like to be treated. When I was a child my Sunday School teacher called it The Golden Rule.