Oh, I agree completely. I only wish to share that in the past, it was easier to tool up and compete.

Competing today in a world where much of the day to day goods is monopolized, along with
back end infrastructure makes the difference a mountain.
I could share the year long battle I had as an Amazon Vendor, in spite my family sitting with Bezos
at his dinner table.
We reveled in the past as a Stereo went from $1000 to $100, when we shifted to Chinese production,
only to now feel that this was not a "good" move. Or a Hammer taking 3 months in the mail to arrive
from Sears.

To the Op, yes, I too find the reply on the emotional, over the top side, but I can empathize with the way some of the posts were made that the seller would take offense.

To close, This hobby, this place Pinside, to me, is more about the Good People, than it is about the Money.
I realize this is just my Opinion, and hope both parties can find their way back to this.

IB4TL

I actually think people misunderstand a big component of the environment Amazon has set up.

Yes, we are spoiled that they can get things to us fast, but I actually believe the core change they made is in setting expectations. They tell you when an item will be delivered and are more often right than wrong. They also give you a free prime month if they got the delivery date wrong.

If the seller referenced in this post had set the expectation that it would take 2-3 weeks to ship it out, do you think we would still have this thread, or do you think the situation would have never happened if proper expectations were set?

Even if expectations change, like a life emergency happens, communication and resetting expectations could have prevented any negative issues. Making excuses with little white lies doesn't help the situation. There isn't a person here that believes the seller spent every waking hour of his day for 2 weeks dealing with the gas issue.

tl;dr - Set proper expectations and keep communicating, people don't get mad as long as they know what is going on. Oh, and don't lie.

Your cognitive bias is showing. It was 53 posts in before anyone said anything even remotely non-supportive. Most of us up to that point were generally supportive.

I have no horse in this race, but common sense says it's all about communication. If a buyer pays a seller money, a reasonable expectation in my opinion (unless noted) is that the seller has the product on hand and can ship the product out within 24-72 hours.

If that is an issue, the seller should have the common courtesy to email or call the buyer about the delay. God forbid, the seller is really in an unfortunate situation, i.e. sickness, family matters, etc., and TRULY can't communicate to the buyer, ultimately their track record with customers will speak for itself.

Once others pile into a thread in any direction, an emotional situation gets charged and elevated.
Both you and the seller, will feel "right" and justified in their position. Both feeling they have done the right thing. A few choice words today polarizes everything.

My point is more than this issue.

My point is the more I chat with my generation in this Hobby as a "business", the more I hear
about those wanting to leave.
Sure, others may take their place, buy their business, but some are not replaceable.

I fear a shrinkage of all things Pinball, if we lose too much of that.

After all, most of the business in this hobby, started with owners as a "Hobby", and dont want
to scale up after getting their feet wet.

Look at all the great Mods that have come and gone, because of the difficulty to be all things
"Amazon" to customers needs.

Under those circumstances, do we blame the seller for NOT wanting the work or Money?
Do we Blame us, the consumers, for wanting it faster, better, and to our needs?

Its a relationship, a "dance" if you will, between the two, which takes us to the thread of customer
service.

This gets sacrificed for Profit, as Human Time costs the most.

We get pissed if our simple customer service connects to someone that barely speaks English, but the company cant charge enough to house a US Call center with Trained people.

Or emails as to why the Postal service hasnt updated a scan, or the paint on a MOD doesnt match
an Owners unique game.

We have to do this Together as a Hobby....A microcosm of what we hope for everyday outside of Pinball.

One negative headache is equal to a hundred praises, and people "deal with it" for the Money, but hate
it, because its a Hobby they love too.

Ill go away now.....Peace!

Ibtl

Top Dog (just don’t put ketchup on it).

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Wow, all this over a 30 dollar transaction? Pinside sure can be funny sometimes...

I don't think the dollar amount matters... whether it's $10 or $100 the same principles apply to both buyer and seller.

Why though?

I am curious about that myself. Only time will tell...

If all sellers conducted themselves like you, Art, we would never have threads like this. You are a man of integrity that prides himself on customer service. Unfortunately, not all sellers have this same attitude towards their customers.

Thank you for the kind words....I tried.

My point I guess is that there are bad sellers, and bad customers.
But harder to share that.....

I must know - is paintpins the pinsider formerly known as pinchroma?

No.

Really...... it has no bearing on who the pinsider was or how the OP brought this to a head.

Bottom line is the seller did not respond and when he did it was with a big FKU.

3 or 300, in my mind its all about trust and communication and for this specific matter the seller did NOT do the minimum needed.

Just communicate to avoid situations like this, especially when so much of this $$$$ hobby is based on trust.

To the seller... if you are claiming to be a business, get thicker skin. Your response is uncalled for. I understand you feel like your integrity was being challenged, but to respond the way you did, very defensively, and rude doesn't speak well for your business. Maybe his voicemail or emails were rude, haven't heard or seen them, but his questions here about checking you out as a seller are NOT out of line. Your response was.

If you are running a business, as a professional, you should have taken two minutes and sent the customer a note saying the shipment would be delayed and apologized for the delay.

Wow, a lot sure happened here while I was taking back my empty bottles and cans.

I haven’t figured out why, but us pinheads, a passionate bunch to understate the obvious, can generate drama at the drop of a hat... Sometimes it’s fun to be in the room when it happens, sometimes you look for a hole to crawl into. I happened to be in the room buying Family Guy from MP when the MP/Pinbrawl feud exploded at the 2008 Expo 10 years ago. Words were flying, tools were flying, spit was flying, arms were being flung up and down... Sometimes it’s like a soap opera in this hobby. It happens at all levels... from $30 dollar transactions all the way up to big shows. Sometimes you just have sit on the sideline and shake your head...

Things gotten that bad huh?

Publish personal information: While you’re free to post your own personal contact info (and general contact information for a company or business), you may not (under any circumstance) publish anyone else’s personal information. That includes telephone numbers, postal addresses, and email addresses, along with any material exchanged privately in PinsideMail.

Oof, lots going on here. IB4TL
-Mike

Unless thou proceedest to three. Right.

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Dispute has been resolved so closing the thread.