Condition

[northern_cards]

is a store demo, considered NEW, my thought would be possibly but only if listed as NEW other, and clearly in the item description, Store demo, no tags, no packaging. does anyone know if there is policy on this?

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

'Demo' is short for demonstration.

So the item can be presumed to have been used to show how the purchased item works.

'New' even 'new without tags' are not items that have been used.

When I worked retail, floor models were sold at a discount when the season was over, even the unused BBQs which we had put together, for which we would normally have charge a fee.

It's not just that no one has paid for the item and taken it out of the store.

[momcqueen · Accepted solution]

When a seller goes to list an item using the Long form, it poses this question and provides these parameters. 

Condition

New

A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item (including handmade items). See the seller's listing for full details.

Used

An item that has been used previously. See the seller's listing for full details and description of any imperfections.

[northern_cards]

Yes I agree, I have never made a return of anything, ever Ebay or in life. However I bought 2 drapery panels, stated as "new" other in the item description where the "other would go" seller stated drapes are heavy and she would try and reduce shipping ? --- which is not usually where "other" goes. Anyway thinking I was getting "new" Curtains they arrived and both full sized canvas and lined panels were rolled tightly into the seller size 8 shoe box - when I sliced the tape on the shoebox the lid popped open and drapes puffed up like pillsbury doughboy container. There were no tags, 2 soiled marks not huge, and then when I asked the seller she said they were store demos, and the marks don't look very big and I got an excellent value for my dollar. My point is all that may or may not be true, but the item is not new.

[northern_cards]

Hmmm,,,, where would you think a "store demo" falls on that scale ?

[momcqueen]

I would have to say USED. It's not new, factory-sealed in package or, in other words, 'unused, unopened' as per above. It's been assembled, taken out and handled. Many sellers here seem to believe 'new' means 'as good as new' but that's simply not the case from an ebay Condition standpoint.

[momcqueen]

I like your description of the way the drapes re-inflated when you opened the box.

Error in the listing 'condition' aside, it's always nice to see the way a seller might make effort to reduce shipping cost by smart packing BUT if the item is crammed into its shipping container, the buyer runs a real (unknown) risk when they cut into it of damaging the item inside.

I once sliced open a dress I had just received from a seller on ebay because she shrink-wrapped it into a plastic garbage bag and then coated the whole thing with several layers of packing tape. It was like carving a Christmas turkey to get into the package. I don't know what else I could have done to open it but the dress was kind of wrecked. When I complained to the seller about this, she was suitably apologetic but I was not refunded and ended up keeping a junk dress that I wear on laundry days in the summer. Seeing as how it's extra breezy now.