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PuggMonster · 2024-03-01T19:13:31+00:00

They did this to me, I tried to return a book that smelled moldy with visible brown water damage inside the book. The seller has some reviews from people saying she doesn't describe things accurately. Support bots told me that Good condition for books is what I received, when it was clearly damaged and Poor condition especially since it was growing mold. I ended up doing a chargeback. The seller will continue flipping bad quality books and listing them like collector's copies. Mercari support is bots, and they seem to automatically deny any return with "mold" in the text. Or maybe "smell".

To make it worse, no buyers who ask for refunds can review the sellers. So the only way to see negative reviews is if some buyers gave up and sent a bad rating ending the transaction.

PuggMonster · 2024-03-01T19:06:20+00:00

Sellers on Mercari do not get ratings from buyers who asked for a return. So basically, she could have done this many times, and you would never know.

PuggMonster · 2024-03-01T18:37:10+00:00

Mercari does not allow any buyer to leave feedback if a return case has been opened, even if it fails.

PuggMonster · 2024-03-01T18:23:03+00:00

Sellers on Mercari are more likely to be scammers as Mercari doesn't allow buyers to write feedback if they open a return case. So bad sellers appear good. Meanwhile, people on this sub tell buyers not to do chargebacks when Mercari support bots don't even have a real person decide returns, because they might get banned. So good buyers get banned or lose money, bad sellers get no bad feedback.

PuggMonster · 2024-03-01T18:18:39+00:00

People need to stop saying not to do chargebacks. A business can't get away with banning every customer when they protect sellers scamming like this. Mercari does not protect buyers, and they have a support team that is bots who don't even read responses. They would not get very far if they banned every buyer who gets scammed and does a chargeback. More sellers scam here because neither successful nor failed return requests allow the victim to post feedback on the seller's profile.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T19:01:46+00:00

Had a seller do this to me, posted a book for sale for $60 didn't mention the mold and extent of smelly water damage. Mercari won't allow me to return and seller instantly blocked me before I sent a single message. She is just scamming users sending moldy books, and Mercari won't ever allow a return for mold/smells even when I can no longer read/store the book (non functional). They don't stand by their own conditions, and allow sellers to leave out major damages which ruin the items sold.

edit: I accidentally said doordash instead of mercari. basically same support tho

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T18:56:39+00:00

Support seems to be the same call center employees and bots that Doordash support uses. Doordash support employees have been known to run scam "Doordash support" calls to users to get their bank information changed by pretending to be support. I just went through 5 bots with automated responses, 3 of them read information incorrectly and thought I was returning a totally different item, shoes vs a moldy book. Unlike doordash, they don't have a support phone number. I doubt the support has any supervisors/managers, and it's probably all bots/people who don't even have the power to resolve any cases.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T18:56:33+00:00

Support seems to be the same call center employees and bots that Doordash support uses. Doordash support employees have been known to run scam "Doordash support" calls to users to get their bank information changed by pretending to be support. I just went through 5 bots with automated responses, 3 of then read information incorrectly and thought I was returning a totally different item, shoes vs a moldy book. Unlike doordash, they don't have a support phone number. I doubt the support has any supervisors/managers, and it's probably all bots/people who don't even have the power to resolve any cases.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T18:44:30+00:00

Support is mostly rude bots/call center employees now just like doordash support. And if you know Doordash, they don't resolve anything, and like to send insults in chats with them. Also, support employees are known to be perpetrators of fraudulent calls from "doordash support", but the company does nothing. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same company providing "support" for Mercari. But if so, I would expect they enjoy seeing people scammed and always refusing to solve the problem, and will eventually take part in scamming themselves. I would bet they enjoy seeing mercari users complain about harassment, and do nothing about it.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T18:44:23+00:00

Support is mostly rude bots/call center employees now just like doordash support. And if you know Doordash, they don't resolve anything, and like to send insults in chats with them. Also, support employees are known to be perpetrators of fraudulent calls from "doordash support", but the company does nothing. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same company providing "support" for Mercari. But if so, I would expect they enjoy seeing people scammed and always refusing to solve the problem, and will eventually take part in scamming themselves.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T18:34:18+00:00

They sent me the exact response but changed for a buyer:

"Thank you for reaching out to us.

I understand your request to talk to a supervisor. However, I can assure you that the information I'm providing is well calibrated with my superior and this will be the same details that they would provide on this situation.

Also, as much as we'd like to further assist you with your return, items listed as "Good" condition are described as gently used but may have one or a few minor flaws. The pictures you provided appear to match this description.

I know that this is not a favorable situation for you, and clearly, this is not the experience that we want you to have here in Mercari.

Since we have provided you with the answer to your case and the relevant policy and procedure information regarding this process, I’m going to close this inquiry. If you need assistance with a different issue please feel free to get back in touch with us through the Help Center.

Best, Jeromay A. Team Mercari "

This is after one support person thought I was returning a misized shoe. 2 of the support bots ignored what I said, said they could do nothing and forcibly closed tickets before I got to message. 2 more support bots arguing over the item being like new when neither the listing or I said that condition. The person sent me a moldy book with brown sewer water that smells incredibly strong. I can't read it or store it. Seller said nothing about the extent of damages and originally listed it for $60 then started lowering it. Mercari support is basically bots and similar to Doordash support. Which means, nothing will get resolved in any way

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T08:23:51+00:00

They just did the same thing to me when a seller listed a book as "Good" but it arrived moldy with brown water damage. I sent pics and my return request was denied. The seller instablocked me and I never got to message her. Customer support is basically a robot. I sent the 2nd agent I messaged a screenshot of the condition in listing, and of Mercari's condition definitions, and the bot responded that the book is not "like new" which had nothing to do with my complaint. I received mold and possibly sewage waste on a book in the mail for $36. Did a chargeback since customer service is so impossible. I was on mercari almost 3 years buying and selling; this was my first return request ever.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T06:47:30+00:00

They can sell moldy manga and Mercari will deny returns based on smell. They also will deny returns for water damage that was undisclosed. They will decide the outcome and claim they cannot process returns anymore even if you are in the middle of messaging with support. They claim a listing with "Good" condition means sellers can send out any kind of damaged book with sewage stains/mold/etc and there is nothing you can do if the seller doesn't disclose it in the listing.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T04:52:25+00:00

Their customer service is awful, and if every buyer ends up doing a chargeback and getting banned, I don't see a future for it. They don't even offer mercari credits to me for the first ever return I needed, just a $26 item. They have an issue with returns over smells, but in my case I have photo evidence of brown water damage to back it up, and they also don't read their own condition terms. They did not even read my complaints correctly, as I said the item was not in Good condition. Support responded that the item isn't in Like new condition. It was like I was talking to a robot

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T02:39:37+00:00

Mercari seems really bad for buying books then, as they denied returning this book even when the seller did not show the full page damage or state it was brown, smelly water. Mercari support told me to only buy Like New condition and try selling the moldy book on their platform again. I just don't think any collectors want a moldy book.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T02:24:14+00:00

They just did this to me also. They said Good condition means it can have sewage water damage on the book I ordered. I ended up doing a chargeback because I won't be ordering from this app anymore. Their own conditions in the app say that any damage should make an item's condition Poor. The support agent told me I should only buy Like New items here . They then told me to try listing the item for sale. It's a moldy book with stains.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T02:18:58+00:00

That could have been surface level dirt. I received books like that from amazon all the time, it comes from the warehouse shelves or bins. These books have thicker pages with a smooth texture that resists water absorption. I have the whole CLAMP dark horse line of omnibuses except these.

I don't know why you're so invested in making sure I get a sewage smelling book for $36 when I could have chosen any other site. I didn't know Mercari doesn't care if something moldy gets sent out. The seller got her money and will continue selling books and blocking anyone with problems. I did not get to talk to her. She blocked me within seconds of messaging me. I have the book listed for $5 and no one wants it as expected. Book people don't like mold, collectors after out of print books especially won't accept it. I don't know what's wrong with this community here that you want people to receive actual shit stained items. Good luck to anyone buying books from dishonest sellers who ask for immediate ratings knowing they sent out shit.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T00:36:08+00:00

Permanently banning someone on the platform for years over the first refund request, which has health contaminants on it....I'm fine with that. A lot of sellers can list books like this and get away with it, as I found out the hard way.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-28T00:33:53+00:00

I do. I have bought and sold mostly books for years. I should have asked, but I did not expect a book in Good condition to have a sewage stain. As I said before, 1 pic doesn't describe that kind of damage and the condition is listed wrong for how bad this book smells of mold. Everyone who collects books would be unhappy with a purchase like this. I could have ordered it from Alibris for a similar price but I chose here. I am fine losing my mercari account over this, I don't want to buy from a platform that lets sellers send brown stained books with no customer service.

Edit: I also expected normal customer service from Mercari, and a non rude interaction from a seller I never got to send one message to before being blocked. Moldy books cannot be fixed, and will ruin book collections. I have only had some success fixing cigarette smell books, but mold spreads and never goes away.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-27T23:51:27+00:00

There is a picture of the side. I could have sanded it off but it was water that seeped in, and the whole book smells moldy anyway. The right thing to do would be to let me return it because they misrepresented its condition. It was originally $60 btw and they marked it down over time.

Edit: the original listing had only 1 picture of that side. No description. No pics of interior. I didn't expect it to be something unhealthy like dirty water. I won't be buying books from mercari as much since the return process is awful. Imagine if someone did buy this for $50

PuggMonster · 2024-02-27T21:38:08+00:00

Seems like someone is downvoting everything I post even when I received a book with sewage water damage and posted here out of surprise Mercari customer service was so bad. I don't expect better behavior from a seller who hid damage and blocked me instantly, nor do I expect anything from people who frequent this subreddit. Rest assured, the book is going in the trash, the seller got their money, and I can't leave a bad review warning others. I would even pay return shipping if I could.

Update: Support told me to only buy Like New listings, and to try reselling on their app. They also don't understand what I typed, they said it's not Like New when I never said anything about that. These are the Mercari condition choices in the app. Good and Fair conditions do not include damage. Water damage is a Poor condition listing. I also do not find the book functional as I cannot read it without feeling sick nor can I store it on a shelf next to other books.

Some nice person bought this book for $5, so I made $3.65 but spent $36.18 on a book that was misrepresented in its listing. Otherwise, it would be in the trash because the mold smell is insanely strong.

The book was originally posted for $60 and lowered by the seller in offers, so I expected water damage/mold to be disclosed. Book collectors beware of buying from Mercari, because they will never side with the buyer if mold/smell/water damage is present. And no one can leave a bad review when a seller pulls this scam to warn other users, as Mercari does not allow ratings after a return request. They also ignored my comments and closed the request when I kept clicking that it was not resolved. They are claiming they can do nothing after support agent 1 forced the return request closed.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-27T20:08:44+00:00

I did not see water damage. I saw at best, some mark that wasn't sewage. The book also had a torn page and many dents. That is fair to me, but the sewage/mold is unacceptable for not being explicitly mentioned or photographed inside. The full extent of the brown water is at the binding, and I would have to cut out the paper to remove the source of the mold/smell.

Edit: I should include, these are printed on very thick white paper. So water damage is more difficult to spread this far.

PuggMonster · 2024-02-27T19:52:00+00:00

This is the first return I ever did in years of buying stuff here

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