One of the very (very) worst Ebay Sellers - Shankercat
shankercat belts - so long as you wear protective gloves, are not diabetic, not overweight and enjoy being insulted, she IS the person to do business with.
shankercat belt
I ordered a belt for a fancy dress costume whch looked the part and was studded with Red Black and Silver studs. It arrived and look fine I slid it through the belt loops but then realised I had cut my fingers - as I pulled the belt back from the loops I cut my fingers a second time which didn't go down well, I then yanked the belt by holding the buckle to find out what on earth was going on.
This then ripped at the material on the trousers and the belt actually broke at one of the belt holes when it "dug in".
After extracting the belt and sorting out my hands, I examined the "leather" belt. It seems to be made of carboard with a "leather finish" on the edges, more to the point, the reason my hands were cut and my trousers damaged was that the little studs were held in by simply bending over sharp POINTS of metal - dozens and dozens of them - all happy to double up as little knives.
I am not an unreasonable person but I don't expect clothing accessories to cut me and damage other clothes. In the interest of being very fair, I wrote a message to the Ebay member and the following is the conversation which took place - I have changed NOTHING - inlcuding the odd typo.
Dear shankercat,
Hi.
Judging from your good feedback I am wondering if this belt is a new addition to your range of items. Have you ever tried it - and if so, did it rip your hands apart and then, "pull" DOZENS of threads?
The little red, silver and black facets are attached by *unguarded* SHARP metal clasps with absolutely nothing to stop them turning into little slicing knives.
After cutting my hand again, I yanked at the belt to get the wretched thing from the trousers and it snapped at one of the belt-holes! I am not sure what animal this leather came from, but I think it is an animal made of compressed carboard with a leather lining.
You *Might* want to inspect these belts before sending more out, my partner - legal - wanted to handle this for me but I would prefer this just resolved amicably. You MIGHT however choose not to have too many more folks with ruined clothes and cut hands though - other diabetics especially.
Refund please - if you wish to send me an SAE I will return belt.
- marktibbert
I was expecting the seller to apologise and perhaps have a look at the very poor quality of the belts they are selling - I didn't really expect the following reply. To say I am offended is something of an understatement.
Dear marktibbert,
"other diabetics" are you saying you are a diabetic? If you are so concerned for your health why are you a size XL? Sort your weight out you fat loser.
3000+ people are more than happy, you are just trying to pull a fast one.
By showing that you are a diabetic that is obese shows you don't care about health at all, you are just trying to pull a fast one.
- shankercat
What?? This seller sells XL-sized belts - but thinks anyone needing one is a "fat loser". Yes, I am borderline diabetic, it means I need to be careful about cuts to extremties.
Dear shankercat,
Thank you for putting this in writing.
Ebay and trading standards will be my first port of call.
Disability hate crime is a criminal offence and a report will be submitted to the police on Monday
I will now discuss with my partner the best approach legally.
If you have any more clever remarks we would love to hear them, in the meantime.
GM Tibbert
- marktibbert
This seller is unfit to trade and Ebay needs to know EXACTLY what their opinion to people who are XL. More to the point, the police and criminal system need to explain to this individual that this type of behavious is not acceptable.
Dear marktibbert,
Your life must be very dull,if you return the item to me I will happily refund you with the cost of postage.
However I will not refund you until I receive the item, as there is every chance that I could refund you and you keep the item. As you are the only person to complain out of 3000+ and as I stated if you are a diabetic why aren't you sorting your weight out?
Get whatever leagal advice, I don't care you're clearly a very sad man with a very boring life.
- shankercat
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My life wasn't feeling dull - but it seems if I don't accept shoddy good ripping my hands and clothes than I am a very sad man with a boring life.
And AGAIN with the weight question.
Does the person know my BMI - do they know if I am Type 1 / Type 2, XL due to being well over 6' and the fact that this belt was going to be used over a fancy dress costume on top of regular clothes and with whip holsters hung from it - or XL because I eat pudding all day?
I have since found that the reason this all happened is that USUALLY when a belt like this is made, there is a proptective finish (usually a thin final strip of leather) bonded to the back of the belt which protects both skin and cloethes from being ripped on the metal spikes securing the studs - AND also helps keep th spikes folder flat thus securing the studs in the first place. Being a very inexpensively made belt, this protective backing is not applied - and thus the belt suffers both in terms of safety and durability.
Extremely unpleasant seller - shoddy, dangerous goods and an attitude that stinks even worse than the trash she dumps out through Ebay.
Too little, WAY too late and WAY too offensive. I have cut hands, damaged clothes and a useless belt whch I am utterly certain will fail to comply with the most liberal health and safety regulations. I will return the belt but not until trading standards have had a chance to see it - and as I will be pressing for a hate crime prosecution, the police will need to see it for evidence purposes too.
Don't you just find dysfunctional sellers like this the curse and scum of Ebay?
3 ROW RED,SILVER & BLACK STUDDED LEATHER BELT BNWT
3 ROW RED,SILVER & BLACK STUDDED LEATHER BELT BNWT
Item Id: 230554326979
End time: 20-Oct-11 18:37:41 BST
Seller:
shankercat (3618)
99.8% Positive Feedback
Member since 03-Nov-05 in Guernsey
Location: Channel Islands, Guernsey
Listing Status: This message was sent while the listing was active.
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