ridding paper of smoke smell and an eBay question

[Bonanza125 | 55]

On 3/24/2023 at 9:07 AM, darkchylde28 said:

Until eBay makes "Smoke Free Home/Environment" a required checkbox for description, stuff like this will happen unless it's volunteered by the seller or asked about by the buyer.

Ebay really should start making it a requirement and I would also include water damaged items. People do have health issues and can't have smoke smell items in their house. On top of that what if the item not necessarily a video game but any item is for a child and the item smells. That's just not going to work out very well. People need to think before they even list items.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

38 minutes ago, Bonanza125 said:

Ebay really should start making it a requirement and I would also include water damaged items. People do have health issues and can't have smoke smell items in their house. On top of that what if the item not necessarily a video game but any item is for a child and the item smells. That's just not going to work out very well. People need to think before they even list items.

I mean, if it's not a requirement, it's not a requirement, period.  If you feel strongly about this, begin petitioning eBay to make it a requirement.  I would wager that the vast majority of people who send "smelly" items honestly don't realize that they are, and are not terribly argumentative when it comes to buyers who request a return because of such (and which eBay would certainly grant).  Generally speaking, I'm only on eBay to buy stuff if I can't find it anywhere else, so despite the fact that I'm not a fan of the smell of smoke, I won't raise a stink over it due to getting whatever rare part/collectible/etc. at a good price, I'll just clean and deodorize it.  If you're that sensitive to the smell, ask before buying if it's not already volunteered until some sort of requirement is put into place by eBay to make every seller volunteer that information.  As it is, generally only people seeking a premium for their stuff are volunteering that information on every listing, so as to set themselves apart from the rest, even though the vast majority of the rest are also scent-free, from smoke-free homes.

[final fight cd | 187]

On 3/25/2023 at 2:29 PM, Bonanza125 said:

Ebay really should start making it a requirement and I would also include water damaged items. People do have health issues and can't have smoke smell items in their house. On top of that what if the item not necessarily a video game but any item is for a child and the item smells. That's just not going to work out very well. People need to think before they even list items.

Does eBay make anything a requirement, though.  

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

21 minutes ago, final fight cd said:

Does eBay make anything a requirement, though.  

They were pretty lickety split about requiring PayPal once they owned it, so yes, but mostly only when it aligns with their own self interests.

[G-type | 2,554]

Why you want to get rid of the cigarette smell? It adds to the provenance of the item!  that's like peeling off the rental stickers, or scrubbing off some kid's name written in sharpie on the back of the cart.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Was it described as having smoke smell? = not as described. 

[Bonanza125 | 55]

9 hours ago, final fight cd said:

Does eBay make anything a requirement, though.  

Yes multiple item specifics are required to be posted in the ad. One being condition. Condition should include smoke smell and water damage.

[final fight cd | 187]

13 hours ago, Bonanza125 said:

Yes multiple item specifics are required to be posted in the ad. One being condition. Condition should include smoke smell and water damage.

Having a required field that the seller has to select, such as “From smoking environment?” would seem very nice.

 But we know that ain’t gonna happen.  It would steer people away from buying stuff, assuming the seller is being truthful.  eBay can’t make $$ if people aren’t buying stuff.  Who is going to pay money for an item listed as “From smoking environment?”  I’d even bet most smokers wouldn’t buy those items. 
 

just an FYI, I spent an extra ~$40 dollars in my attempts to deodorize this manual - I bought baking soda and activated charcoal.  I realize I am just complaining at this point; I chose to deal with it instead of returning it.

 

[Bonanza125 | 55]

9 hours ago, final fight cd said:

Having a required field that the seller has to select, such as “From smoking environment?” would seem very nice.

 But we know that ain’t gonna happen.  It would steer people away from buying stuff, assuming the seller is being truthful.  eBay can’t make $$ if people aren’t buying stuff.  Who is going to pay money for an item listed as “From smoking environment?”  I’d even bet most smokers wouldn’t buy those items. 
 

just an FYI, I spent an extra ~$40 dollars in my attempts to deodorize this manual - I bought baking soda and activated charcoal.  I realize I am just complaining at this point; I chose to deal with it instead of returning it.

 

Here is the way I look at it. When I am paying a price for an item or a bulk lot I am not purchasing an item/bulk lot that has an odor to it. Yes the main goal is for Ebay to make money however not disclosing this can lead into two things. First a person who purchases a smelly item could just no longer buy on Ebay if sellers are misrepresenting the items. On the other hand if a buyer purchases the item and requests a return the seller can get frustrated to the point to not list items on Ebay. Just imagine a seller being required to issue a full refund on say a $50-$75 shipping cost cause the bulk lot smells. That's a lot of money to be throwing away cause of an issue like this. When you say you had to spend extra to deodorizing a manual. As a buyer you shouldn't have to do that. It's a flaw which should've been disclosed. Now to be fair I have questioned sellers about if the item/bulk lot comes from a smoke free environment. Majority or them either don't answer the question at all or the item/bulk lot sells before the seller can get back. 

[phart010 | 1,709]

I used to operate a rental car. It was a newer car but people would always smoke in it. I always found that wiping surfaces, changing air filters, shampooing carpets and febreze was not enough to remove the odor. The thing that ultimately killed the odor was a little machine called an ozone generator.

I would run the machine in the car and close all the windows except one would be cracked open so the extension cord could run through. I would basically run this machine all day long and periodically recirculate the a/c to get the ozone through the a/c ducts.

The ozone generator kills the smoke odor. Be careful with it indoors though, it can also kill people

[final fight cd | 187]

so i bought 2 items to help fix my problem: baking soda and activated charcoal.  

baking soda might have helped just a little.

but holy shit, activated charcoal is the real deal.  i placed the manual inside of container with the activated charcoal (they did not contact each other.  the charcoal would for sure stain the paper).  i used nail clippers, because of the angle it makes, and placed the clippers between the pages to expose a page at a time to the charcoal's magical powers.  everyday i moved the nail clipper to the next page.  the smell is virtually gone. 

blown away.  absolutely blown away.