GRrrrr....hops UNUSABLE upon delivery...

[sleepystevenson]

Guess this is just a rant....but I am hoping it will make me feel a little better. Feel free to move this if it belongs in a different location...

So, I won two pounds of hops off of e-bay. #1 whole leaf Centennial @ 10.5%AA and #1 of pellet Galena @ 13.4%AA. Came from Hopsdirect, last year, guy never used or opened them, supposedly stored correctly. So, I am thinking, hey $20 a pound, sounds good (IPA time!!).

Yeah...well, it would be....if the hops were f'n usable!!!

The shipper/seller just slapped a priority mail label on the 1 lb. mylar bag of whole (leaf) hops and let 'her go...yep...no other bag or box around it to protect it at all on its journey from TX to PA. This thing is the size and shape of a bed pillow, for crying out loud....

So the the mail lady just walked into my office with it and says, "this smells funny...."

Ah...no wonder....there is a two inch rip in the bag with hops tumbling out...

Then my secretary says...."Wow...that smells like CHEESE!"

GRRRRRRRR.

So I thought I better check out the other pound.. (which actually did come in an envelope, albeit one of those really thin std. priority mail envelopes..) Anyway, that pound has a few small holes in it....with the wonderful scent of Parmesan wafting out....

Obviously not stored right or shipped right.

What a PITA. I guess the best route is to get a hold of the seller and try to settle it outside of e-bay. I will gladly ship the hops back to him...if he gives me my money back. They are DEFINITELY NOT usable and RANCID. It is such a pain to file a claim with Paypal. The only good thing about that route is I KNOW I would get my money back - Paypal always sides with the buyer. (But....that's another rant for another time....)

Also frustrating because
I had the hoppy pale ale and IPA recipes all ready to go with these high AA hops..


Live and learn....Never again on ebay...It's only gonna be Nikobrew, freshops, or hopsdirect for me.

 

[Chello]

Make sure you leave them the appropriate feedback on ebay!

I'm always worried about buying perishable things on ebay.

 

[The Pol]

Yeah, I would never buy perishables on Ebay... for a few bucks more you can go to HopsDirect and get new, properly handled hops.

Sorry to hear about your experience, want to post the seller so others can beware?

 

[PT934]

Im sure someone doing lambics would love to take those off your hands.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I've never done a lambic, but I think you want low AA, stale hops, not rancid hops that smell like cheese.

Wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong though.

 

[ChickenSoop]

It's either incompetance or fraud. He did not delivery you what he promised with the Ebay contract.

Don't feel bad about pursuing 100% refund on a bad seller with Ebay/PayPal.

Ask him for 100% return based on his incompetance/fraud, otherwise complain to Ebay/PayPal.

I never expect anything less than 100% return from a bad seller on Ebay. It's your money.

 

[mkling]

You absolutely should pursue this immediately through eBay/PayPal. Last Fall, like a number of people on here, I bought some hops from an ebay seller. He sent 2 of my 3 1/2 lb packages, took a long time to get & he told me he'd ship the extra, so I waited & waited. When I finally complained & sought to get PayPal involved, it was too late according to their policy & they wouldn't do anything. (Many others didn't get any of their hops from this guy.)

The woman I talked to at PayPal said that next time if it's not right, let PayPal know right away to get your money back. They'll try to get the seller to rectify the situation, but if the seller won't they can reverse the charges . . . and they won't do this if you file too late.

 

[Homercidal]

I agree. This buy needs to know that we brewers will NOT stand for shoddy selling, and he cannot sell this kind of product without proper packaging.

Also, I had no idea that buying hops from Hops Direct was that much of a savings! Sorry LHBS store, I think I'm going to place an order for some Centennial or Cascade very soon! This has dropped my cost per batch by quite a bit for an IPA!

 

[The Pol]

Yah, Hops Direct is less than $2 an ounce... generally. Plus, they are FRESH.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Ebay no longer allows negative feedback against sellers.

Ebay is the debil.

 

[yeasty]

my brewers best irish stout kit had two bags of hops. they were sealed tight in the mylar bags but did not smell like hops i have used in the past. they seemed dryer and did not have a clean fresh smell. can they go bad even if they are sealed ? there was not date code on the packaging how can i know if they are old ?? i was hoping that they smelled a little different because of the style of beer.

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

Ebay no longer allows negative feedback against sellers.

Ebay is the debil.

Well that freakin' ridiculous, how do they expect the sellers to get rated? I haven't used ebay in a while, and don't think i will be anytime soon.

 

[sleepystevenson]

E-bay DOES allow the buyer to leave feedback for the seller, just not the other way. E-bay is the debil....fo shizzy... Never again will I buy hops through e-bay.

I am not trying to destroy this guy's e-bay cred. He has a 100% rating. Seems like he's just a "regular guy" type, not a "business ripping off customers" type. I just want my money back.... So please don't bomb him with e-mails or anything. He says in the auction they are "NEW". Also says, "Nitrogen sealed in foil" Here are links to the two auctions I won:

Centennial Leaf Hops (1 lb) - eBay (item 170303377074 end time Feb-19-09 09:43:22 PST)

Galena Pellet Hops (1 lb) - eBay (item 170303378649 end time Feb-19-09 09:49:20 PST)

I was the "seller" in a paypal dispute before. It was ugly. and paypal almost ALWAYS sides with the buyer in a "not as advertised" claim, I found out the hard way.
In my case, the buyer was a complete liar. (I sold a leather jacket, she said it was stained, ripped, etc. I simply believe that it didn't fit her. Paypal sided with her, she sent the jacket back to me - still in PERFECT condition. Paypal automatically sent her the money from my account, tarnished my e-bay cred, etc. Just a PITA.)

 

[sleepystevenson]

Huh, those links didn't work. Well, it's not that important, but if you wanna see the original e-bay auction pages, here's the item numbers:

170303378649

170303377074


Just have to do an advance search using those item numbers, I guess.

Anyway, here's a copy of the e-mail I just sent to him:

Hello Sellers Name Here,

I just received the hops you sent me. While I appreciate the quick shipping (and very fairly priced), the condition they arrived in is unacceptable. The large mylar bag of leaf centennials has a 2" rip in it, as well as numerous other holes throughout the bag. I cannot understand not putting these in some sort of protective bag or box! The mail lady came in with the two packages and said, "These smell funny...." as hops spilled out onto the floor through the large hole. Then, my secretary said, "What smells like cheese???" Every brewer knows that hops that smell like cheese are RANCID. (Naturally, my secretary has NO clue as to what hops should smell like - good or bad - so it is very telling that the first thing she thought of was cheese.)

I thought I better check the other bag (Galena, pellets) which were shipped in a light weight Priority Mail envelope. I found multiple smaller holes in the mylar bag, again with the cheesy smell emanating from the holes. These hops, too, are NO good.

Although the shipping conditions were bad, I believe that the problem here started some time ago. I am not sure all these small holes were formed during shipping or sometime earlier. All it takes is a small amount of air coming into contact with hops to spoil them over time - even if they are stored in the freezer. I believe that was the case with these hops.

I have been a very avid homebrewer for a number of years, with much experience. I compared the smell of these hops I bought from you to hops of the same variety that I have had stored under proper conditions for TWO years. There is NO comparison. My hops smell fresh and "hoppy" like they should not rancid and cheesy like these ones.

I do not want to dwell on this issue, making it worse than what it is. I would like to get a refund on the total price. I will gladly send the hops back to you, via UPS in a protective box, in the EXACT same condition they were sent to me. (at MY expense.) I can try to get some pictures of the damaged mylar bags, however, I believe it will be difficult to get a good close-up shot of the holes, with that shiny mylar bag and all. Naturally, I have not opened or altered the bags in any way since I have received them.

I would prefer NOT to have to file a claim though paypal for this, although I am confident they would support my position. I have been the "seller" on e-bay when someone filed a "not as advertised" claim through paypal before. It was not a fun process...

I do not want to put you though that, as it is damaging to your status as a seller. I am not looking to make this difficult or damaging to you. I just need the problem to be corrected.

If you will refund my money, I will leave you positive feedback on e-bay, and we can both move on.

I am sorry to have to go through this and put you though this, however there is no way I would consider using rotten hops in my beer. I make one barrel at a time (31 gallons) and it just takes too much time, effort, and money to use less than adequate ingredients. Please feel free to contact me to further discuss via e-mail at your earliest convience.

Thank You,
My name here...

 

[Duster72]

she sent the jacket back to me - still in PERFECT condition. Paypal automatically sent her the money from my account, tarnished my e-bay cred, etc. Just a PITA.)

Be glad they sent the jacket back. I once sold an Xbox to someone who decided they didn't want to pay for it. Paypal disregarded my UPS tracking info and decided I had never sent it and I was out $300.

RE: the hops - you might have piled on a bit there. If it's just some dude selling some hops, it was probably an inadvertent mistake.

 

[sleepystevenson]

Well, you may be right about being a little too wordy...

On the bright side....(I guess...) my e-mail to the seller won't go through...

So I am gonna have to contact him through e-bay. Which means I will have to pare it down as you are only allowed 1000 characters...

Overall it's not that big a deal. Just a royal PITA more than anything. It's only $45....

Just the hassle.