Should I have worded my request better??

[bsshog40]

I had made a request to a seller that had some sacagaweas for sale on ebay. Most his auctions were buy it now or make offer. I had requested some dates and prices for them. I had requested, besides a couple other uncirculateds, 2002s-2006s. Now I have always used the "-" as a representation of "thru". 1-5 would be 1 thru 5. We agreed on a price and I paid. The seller sent me the coins of the other dates I requested but then only sent the 2002s & 2006s. The 03, 04, & 05, was not sent. Should I have made myself clear by indicating each year? or should he have known that the "dashmark" meant 2002 thru 2006?

[pendragon1998]

If it was me, I would have interpreted it as 'through', but I've found that when making a deal it's best to be absolutely clear, so it might have been better to say '$X for 2002-S, 2003-S, 2004-S, 2005-S, and 2006-S Sacagawea dollars in X condition, including shipping and insurance' or something to that effect.

[Revenant]

I would have checked to make sure if I was the seller, but as a buyer, I agree with Michael that clarity is absolutely essential.

[Coin]

In my opinion , without pulling any punches...the seller is a donk . He knows what he is doing and that is downright dishonest to agree to an obvious and well accepted use of a dash which indicates to anyone with an IQ over their shoe size what you meant , and then just send the outer two years and not the inclusive years in between . You might want to see if you can exact a refund and return the items if the seller does not agree to send the 'missing' coins that were supposed to be in your delivery.

There are mistakes and then there is blatant bull-headedness.

[bsshog40]

Well I sent a short meassage saying

" I think there was a mis-understanding here. The 2002-2006 meant 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, & 2006."

 

I'm awaiting his response.

[Coin]

I wonder if the seller denies it , and then you offer to get the 2003-2005 if he will send the 2004 with the order....probably not , but oh well , good luck with it Bobby.

[MarkFeld]

In my opinion , without pulling any punches...the seller is a donk . He knows what he is doing and that is downright dishonest to agree to an obvious and well accepted use of a dash which indicates to anyone with an IQ over their shoe size what you meant , and then just send the outer two years and not the inclusive years in between . You might want to see if you can exact a refund and return the items if the seller does not agree to send the 'missing' coins that were supposed to be in your delivery.

There are mistakes and then there is blatant bull-headedness.

I don't know if the seller knew what he was doing (wrong) or not. I think one could reasonably interpret "2002-2006" as meaning that any dates from among those years would be acceptable.

[pendragon1998]

I don't know, Mark. I think that's stretching it.

[EZ_E]

I don't know, Mark. I think that's stretching it.

 

I've know Mark to play the Devil's Advocate but have never know him to be as dense as his last statement.

 

I see no other way to interpret a dash "-" in the given context. It is not a substitute for a comma or a period.

 

Return the coins, Bobby, even if you have a loss with S&H if the seller does not make things right.

[okbustchaser]

I don't know, Mark. I think that's stretching it.

 

I've know Mark to play the Devil's Advocate but have never know him to be as dense as his last statement.

 

I see no other way to interpret a dash "-" in the given context. It is not a substitute for a comma or a period.

 

Return the coins, Bobby, even if you have a loss with S&H if the seller does not make things right.

 

Maybe I'm being dense too, then, because that is exactly how I would interpet such a request...ie, that you want 5 coins from that year range. I don't see it as either a request that only those two years be included or that all years be included.

[jesbroken]

Sometimes people are temporarily stupid for their own benefit. I think this is the case here, Bobby. The guy saw a potential for additional profit and took it. I would request a complete refund and if I do not get it then go through the motions with ebay/paypal. Anyone out of the second grade would have recognized your request, so not debatable in my opinion. Good luck.

Jim

[MarkFeld]

I don't know, Mark. I think that's stretching it.

 

I've know Mark to play the Devil's Advocate but have never know him to be as dense as his last statement.

 

I see no other way to interpret a dash "-" in the given context. It is not a substitute for a comma or a period.

 

Return the coins, Bobby, even if you have a loss with S&H if the seller does not make things right.

I wasn't playing devil's advocate in this case, so must be guilty of being particularly dense.

 

If I say "I'm paying $13 for Morgan dollars 1878-1921", for example, it means I'm

willing pay to $13 for any of those dates, not that I will only buy them if each and every date is included. How different is that from the original situation? And is it different enough to brand the seller as (unquestionably) dishonest. I think not.

[EZ_E]

I wasn't playing devil's advocate in this case, so must be guilty of being particularly dense.

 

You know I love ya, Mark.

[Conder101]

I think you needed to be clearer because from your original post I can't tell what you wanted. Apparently you wanted some Unc Sac dollars, and you wanted them to be in the date range of 2002 through 2006, but how many of each,r whether you wanted all of the dates listed or just that they be in that range is not clear from your posting. It might have been clear it what you posted to the seller but we haven't seen that. In short you are asking us if you should have been clearer in what you said to the seller without telling us what you said.

[pendragon1998]

If I say "I'm paying $13 for Morgan dollars 1878-1921", for example, it means I'm

willing pay to $13 for any of those dates, not that I will only buy them if each and every date is included. How different is that from the original situation? And is it different enough to brand the seller as (unquestionably) dishonest. I think not.

 

It's different because you're saying, "I'm paying $13 for Morgans of (these dates) 1878-1921"

 

If you were saying "I want a 2001-P, 2002-D, 2003S-2006S, and 2007-D," it sounds much different. If you'd said "...2002-D, a 2003S-2006S, and a 2007-D", it would make more sense, but it'd still be an awkward way to put it.

[Coin]

Well I sent a short meassage saying

" I think there was a mis-understanding here. The 2002-2006 meant 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, & 2006."

 

I'm awaiting his response.

 

It seems an obvious enough offer (to me) that you made Bobby , well , there appears to be a few folks that can be gentle and see it as an awkward different interpretation by the seller .

I dunno ...to play the advocate lets say the seller thought BY the amount offered that you couldn't possibly have meant the whole date range , but what he actually sent as equal to what you offered ....I'm reaching out here (in imagination land to find a happy place) , but think that it is possible (however on a very microscopic scale ) and I still lean heavily that the seller was intentionally stretching the offer in his favor a bit .

If that ends up being the case , well , you could always chalk it up to a 'lesson learned' and go from there .

....but , if your offer was what you consider to be fair for all the coins and you feel unsatisfied with the deal , you might still want to pursue the return and refund route and not deal with this seller again depending on the outcome of your inquiry .

[Keleum]

He paid for 6 coins not 2, and unless there's something about Sacs I dont know, he paid 6X the cost for a single coin. How is that misunderstood?

 

I'm not sure what your expected remedy is, but the extra shipping charges are not trivial. I might expect a partial refund, or split shipping costs.

[okbustchaser]

Maybe I'm wrong, but the way I read the OP he GOT 6 coins--albeit all either 2002 or 2006.

[MarkFeld]

Maybe I'm wrong, but the way I read the OP he GOT 6 coins--albeit all either 2002 or 2006.

That makes two times we have agreed on something in this thread.

[WoodenJefferson]

Quote: I had requested, besides a couple other uncirculateds, 2002s-2006s.

 

This could be interpreted in several ways, so I think the seller should have contacted you before shipping and not assume anything on his part, especially if there is any doubt that will lead to a misunderstanding...also along these lines, the buyer should never assume that the instructions will be interpreted correctly by the seller.

 

There is no definite definition widely accepted for the use of a hyphen, so that means it can be misconstrued to mean different meanings. Sometimes you just need to take the time and spell it out for everyone’s benefit so there is no preconceived notions.

 

btw: by stating 2002s the added "s" can mean more than just one or it can mean related to that year and any notion of what it means is left up the end user.

 

 

 

[okbustchaser]

That makes two times we have agreed on something in this thread.

 

 

See, Mark, I knew you would come to your senses and start agreeing with the facts (better known as opinion if stated by anyone else) eventually.

 

[RGT]

There is no doubt in my mathematical mind that he wanted a -4s Sac. I didn't know they were making Sacs back then.

[coinman1794]

There's no way to tell whether the seller did this on purpose or not, so you just need to let him know what happened. However, all the grammar books will tell you a hyphen is used to indicate a series of consecutive dates and a comma is used for indicating a series of individual dates (2002-2006 vs 2002, 2006).

[bsshog40]

Ok, updated here. First off, I am giving a link to the actual ebay auction that the seller made for me as per the agreement of the coins I requested. link.

Conder, you are correct as to I gave full information to the seller but may have been a little vague here. The only point I was making was the "-" as how others would interpret this. The auction link above shows exactly what we had agreed upon and all Uncirculateds were sent but only the 2002s & 2006s.

 

BTW, The seller actually called me on the phone today and his first words were " I screwed up your order didn't I ?". He had realized that he did not send the 2003, 2004, or 2005. He apologized and said these would be mailed out today and I should get them in a couple days. Thanks for all ya'lls inputs and I have learned a lesson here in when specifically requesting certain coins, to List All Dates. This will work out fine this time, but I will prevent this from being a question in the future.

[Just Bob]

Glad it worked out, Bobby. I wonder if he reads these boards?

 

 

 

[Revenant]

He must have been filling the order and since the rest of them were individual dates when he got to the end he just saw the 2 years/mint marks and didn't think about the dash.

[zrlevin]

He must have been filling the order and since the rest of them were individual dates when he got to the end he just saw the 2 years/mint marks and didn't think about the dash.

 

I think that this is probably the case. It was an honest mistake; I am glad that the seller is an upstanding guy.

[bsshog40]

He must have been filling the order and since the rest of them were individual dates when he got to the end he just saw the 2 years/mint marks and didn't think about the dash.

 

I think that this is probably the case. It was an honest mistake; I am glad that the seller is an upstanding guy.

 

I believe you are both correct. He sounded very sincere on the phone also. I wasn't able to check my email til I got home. He had called me at work today. But he had also sent me an email stating to go to his store and hit the "Buy it now" of the coins I needed and that he would mark paid and mail them off. So I really think that it was a sincere mistake on his part. I will have to save him as a favorite seller just for his honesty and integrity alone.

[Coin]

So I really think that it was a sincere mistake on his part. I will have to save him as a favorite seller just for his honesty and integrity alone.

 

So , this seller is safe to deal with ......okay I've removed the 'Donk' moniker . Sounds like he was more than reasonable and willing to correct the situation ....that tells me he very well understands customer satisfaction=repeat business=more sales and does not mind making it right . Very good to hear that it worked out .

......and you can bet I'll go out of my way to list out coins rather than hyphenate them on short lists , for myself, to reduce this same situation from occurring .

[bsshog40]

Got my 2003, 2004, & 2005 proofs today with a letter of apology. Seller did great. BTW, this completes my Sac Dansco to 2007. Luckily I have the rest coming via US Mint subscriptions to keep it going.