This item can be best understood by reading the title, taking the time to look at each of the photographs (taken under 370 watts) plus reading the condition description, assessing each of the item's specifics and considering whether it maybe appropriate.  You must know your chest measurements and body length, if you are to get a match between what is for sale and what you buy. We advise that you carefully consider the implications of buying "used" in clothing; for unlike a second hand book or DVD, this is a more personal item. We want customers to be satisfied but also to be crystal clear that clothing has signs of previous wear; if your true expectation will only be met by an item which for all intents and purposes is new then it would be better to set the filters to new only. We are very grateful for your business and we offer 30 day returns to do our best for you. However, please note, using the example of a £20 sale, by offering this even for 'change of mind' or 'the item doesn't fit' we lose close to £7.00 - as a small private seller - to the Post Office, eBay and PayPal as all three of these third parties retain some or all of their fees. That is we are very keen for you to please be considerate and take care in buying. Thank you, Mark, Proprietor, Seigneur-Terraces.

Understanding the title (using the example: "XYZ men's pink cotton blend hoodie ***22w 29l large***")

You will notice that our description is long in words but short in terms of describing just the single item for sale.

However, if you look carefully you will see that we provide as standard nearly all you need to know about clothing.

(1) The Brand Name e.g. XYZ - This can also be found in the item specifics and on the item's label

(2) Gender e.g. men's - The item will also be placed in the relevant gender category e.g. men's clothing

(3) Colour e.g. pink - Please view the photographs; on borderline colours like a reddish pink, your opinion may differ from ours.

(4) Material e.g. cotton blend- we will normally also photograph the washing label which specifies the exact materials used

(5) Type of item e.g. hoodie  - Please note that for items such as hooded tracksuit jacket; your opinion may differ from ours.

You will also find that we tend to fill in the majority of the item specifics and that we photograph the size label and photograph the washing label and that we will also fill in information regarding the condition description.

Please note that at the bottom of our listing is a button called "Ask a Question". Please do ask, rather than make assumptions.

Our aim on eBay is to provide you with enough size information so that the item fits you

We measure in UK size (inches)

For example, if the listing states ***22w 29l large*** this means:

(1) PIT-TO-PIT MEASUREMENT e.g. 22w - this is the armpit to armpit measurement (across the chest) when laid on the floor 

(2) LENGTH MEASUREMENT - e.g. 29l - this is length of the item from the shoulder to the end of garment, when laid on the floor

(3) ITEM SIZE - e,g, large - normally taken from the manufacturer's label, unless the item appears incompatibe with UK size

(4) SIZE LABEL - if one is present, we will photograph it

(5) CHEST SIZE - This is often a required item specific but we only estimate this as we measure clothing on a flat surface which is one dimensional, whilst a person is three dimensional. Normally we will reduce e.g. a 22w by 2-4 inches to e.g a 40 inch chest.

Although a private seller with no eBay, EU or UK obligation to accept returns on wrong sizing, we do make available 30 day returns because we are kind hearted people and risk losing our outward postage rather than leave you stranded with the wrong sized item.

Our aim on eBay is to provide you with enough condition information so that you know what is on its way, within reason.

Our model is to source high quality, vintage and branded clothing. We do not seek to buy items with permanent/structural issues that inevitably lead to returns. Obviously vintage clothing and clothing worn for activities such as skiing need allowances made.

If we do buy higher value items with permanent/structural issues then we will clearly photograph them and describe them.

If we miss them and neither photograph them nor forget to describe them, the return is on us.

eBay,co.uk has only four classifications, of which only one is "used" which lumps together almost everything from that worn once through to that which is probably suitable only for rags. We understand that Buyers obviously want the item to look as "new" as possible. As re-sellers who have access to thousands of items from London and Kent we do try and cherry pick the highest grade.

Our policy is to try to identify "imperfections" and not buy them in the first place. If we do, we will zoom in with 370 watts of lighting to show you what we see. By "imperfections" we are talking about permanent defects such as broken zips, missing buttons, holes and tears. If we believe a stain is permanent we will reference it. If we do not we will at minimum photograph it

We run as a business and our aim on eBay is to export high quality, vintage and branded goods to appreciative buyers around the world. 

Our process works as follows:

All clothing items when sourced are checked for obvious problems and damage, relaundered if necessary then stored in heavy duty bags until photographed. The photography process under 370 watts of lighting tends to flush out any other issues, after which we add a wire hanger and they are then hung on a heavy duty rail in a ventilated room and the item is never used until sale.

When the item sells, it is again reviewed, although please note no one ever smokes in our home, we have no pets and no children so there should never be any issues regarding items having a different condition than photographed

We have found with used clothing that sometimes there are issues, but that they are normally down to an expectation of used clothing which may at times be unrealistic in that signs of wear anywhere on the item are perceived as a fault or defect.

A second issue is that used fabrics are sent in a 'non-breathable' polybag and the picky buyer may then consider them not to be immediately ready to wear so we recommend that clothing items are relaundered/freshened up upon receipt if you are sensitive.

We send all items in brand new packaging with a security hologram, our address on the outside and folded/ironed. Thank you.

The key principle of insurance is that you insure yourself, yet on eBay it is generally left to the seller to insure the buyer. We are already covered for £20 plus postage through proof of posting. However you as the buyer can choose whether you want cheap, slower postage or signed for, tracked postage and we are trying to offer this as standard on all new listings.

We as the seller will also selectively also choose whether to insure the package to minimize our shared risk, this is more likely for higher value items and where there is a mismatch of names and addresses, business addresses and accounts with low feedback.

Our aim on eBay is to balance cost-effectiveness with financial risk when it comes to sending out items safely and to deter theft. Your item will include a security hologram, so you can see if the item has been tampered with on route, which means the bag cannot be opened by a thief without detection. You will most likely be sent a bright coloured parcel, which looks nicer and which will not be forgotten if it is delivered. 

Bonjour! Seigneur-terraces is not just random words but is a French phrase which means "Lord of the Terraces" and loosely translates into "Coffee shop dwellers who sit at tables a long time but spend little money". 

Monsieur Terraces - Mark - does all the computer work, including the templates and listings and normally also answers questions from the customers. He also takes photographs and does listings and buys in supplies for the business.

Madame Terraces - Kate, who has worked in one of London's most upmarket department stores  - and understands clothing - earlier in her life does all the packaging and most of the better photographs, though her listings are prone to being thin in size information.

Our aim is genuinely to provide old fashioned service, quality and value.

Prior to eBay Mark's background is in digital marketing and he worked with e-Commerce leaders and clients including one of the world's most famous sporting clubs in the days before a life-changing car crash.

Kate works full time for a hospital association in learning and development.

We are both professional people and we take great pride in the work we do on seigneur-terraces for all our customers.

If there is anything you are particularly looking for, we may be able to list the item or source the item. We routinely have:

Ball Jackets (also known as baseball jackets or football jackets), Blazers, Bomber Jackets (also known as Flight Jackets), Down Jackets, Field Jackets, Fleece Jackets, Gilets (also known as Bodywarmers), Harrington Jackets, Denim Jackets (also known as Jeans Jackets), Motorcycle Jackets, Puffa Jackets, Rain Jackets, Suit Jackets, Varsity Jackets, Windbreakers, Windcheaters and Tracksuit Jackets.

Please note that our other clothing and sportswear lines include Football Shirts (mainly the English League but we have over a hundred German shirts we are yet to list); Rugby League Shirts; England and British shirts in Cricket, Rugby Union, Football and Rugby League.

We have hundreds of items of clothing, predominantly hoodies and Sweatshirts mainly from sought after brands. We have hundreds of items we are yet to list, because we are hoarders of c'est magnifique!

We also sell construction bricks (mainly plates and baseboards although have over 50KG we are yet to list) and have tons of games, particularly vintage games. 

Please click our user ID  (seigneur-terraces) and the "Add to favourite sellers" link to find us again. Merci!

Our aim on eBay is to offer genuine customer service.

Our aim is to know everything about our product and to be genuinely able to help assist in any way. We are a one-man band in the daytime but we will still do our very best for you and both us will help in the evening.

When you buy from us, you buy the exact item you see on the screen. We do not use stock images for clothing (in fact we only ever use them for media like books, CDs and DVDs). We do not use photograph manipulation software. Since November 2016, new photos have been taken from all exterior angles under 370 watts of lighting. What you see is what you get. If you see adornments like hoods, belts, decorative drawstrings in the pictures then they are yours; if you do not see them, then they are not!  

Needless to say, you can assume the structural integrity of the item and if we have neither photographed, nor described in the condition permanent defects such as broken zips, missing buttons, holes and tears then we will look after you with a return on us. In terms of the description, we provide a title showing brand and size measurements, complete the majority of the item specifics and generally photograph both the size label and washing label. 

We recognise that there can be issues with a transaction, so we have put together a helpful guide for you.

It is possible for buyer and seller to have a misunderstanding which, given the eBay process, can see disappointment escalate into a formal grievance. Given that returns are available from responsible sellers, and the postage is normally only a few pounds, it is astonishing how much time can be wasted in what is a petty squabble, which if unchecked leave both parties worse off with defects on their eBay account, negative feedback, reports to eBay, strikes against their account, financial loss, loss of item etc.

It is better to build a shared understanding and try and understand each others view and move forwards than be bitter about an inanimate used object. We believe from many years of trading that conflict comes from six fundamental issues.

(1) Condition, (2) Description, (3) Return Requests, (4) Claims the item is not received, (5) non-payment and (6) Bad manners

We will share our opinion on difficult and problematic scenarios and our views based upon expert knowledge of the eBay platform.

What does "Used" means and what can you expect?

As both buyer and seller are on the eBay platform, their rules and policies and definition applies, differentiating between "allowable" and "not allowable" - basically a breach. eBay's definition of "used" can be found at www.pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/item-condition.html - and states to expect "signs of cosmetic wear".

eBay does expects that the seller will provide "full details and description of any imperfections". Our process for "imperfections" is to do our very best to document permanent defects such as broken zips, missing buttons, holes and tears or permanent stains and also to photograph them, if the defect can be detected by photography. The issues we have is that sometimes what is photographed simply doesn't seem "show up" in photographs such as a slight darkening on white, or a zip will fasten but after being worn the fasteners separate again, or there is for instance a tiny tear in an unexpected place, so we know that items can have hidden issues.

The final eBay expectation is that items must be "clean", not professionally drycleaned so clothing without visible external substances kept away from smoke, children, pets etc is fundamentally clean.

Of course you may prefer to read that "we rate this as 10/10" or "this is in stunning condition" and "this is worth five stars out of five" but we are not prepared to give our biased opinion as someone seeking to profit and then later on caveat it with "No returns!".

The item description guideline seems to have been written back in the day when photographs were optional on eBay and yet given a full suite of photographs it astonishes me that a claim that an item is "materially not as described" are at: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/ebay-money-back-guarantee/faqs.html can be raised when the buyer has seen upto 12 photos.The majority of these claims should be standard returns unless the seller is deceptive or overlooks real faults. Deceptive practices are photographing a different item or different version to what is shown or showing a stock image; a seller stating that used is new or claiming that the item is in e.g. "nearly new condition" when it isn't, although condition is subjective. Real faults in clothing are the seller providing inaccurate measurements; describing clothing for the wrong gender; describing children's clothing as adults and for missing genuinely permanent issues which cannot be resolved by simply washing them. From a seller's perspective complaints which are just a button press with no specifics, are opinion-based along the lines of "I am disappointed" or with issues which conveniently cannot be photographed are often seen as attempts to secure a part-discount and/or to return the item at the seller's expense. This is likely when an immediate case is opened over, ironically a complaint which is significantly not actually described.

We have made available 30 days returns, out of respect for our many international buyers to give them time to assess the item they receive with confidence. There are two types of returns.  

The first is Goodwill whereby the buyer selects "Doesn't fit", "Changed my mind","Found a better price", "Just didn't like it" or "Ordered by mistake".  Whilst I state goodwill the facts are that the seller is compelled to pick up the outward postage costs even when they are not a business and if they do not eBay keeps the commission, so the seller is always out of pocket. This sly practice is unwelcome. However, if you insist upon a return you can either follow the standard eBay returns process or post back to us to our address label directly. You will note that there is no comment from buyers that they have not had a refund from us!

The second is Badwill whereby the buyer selects any of these as a reason for return: "Doesn't work or is defective", "doesn't match description of photos", "wrong item sent", "Missing parts of pieces", "arrived damaged" or "doesn't seem authentic". Each of these derogatory descriptions becomes an "item is not as described" case, potentially damaging the seller's standing.

These accusational and unverified assertions are the equivalent of declaring to eBay that the seller has cheated them. Sellers will not take kindly to this and although retaliatory feedback may now be blocked there is a good chance of the seller filing on "abusing the eBay Money Back Guarantee Programme", "Making unreasonable demands", "Leaving inappropriate feedback" or" misusing returns". In our view it is rarely worth escalating to eBay or PayPal against sellers. Prove your point and most sellers will offer a return or a cancellation. But a no prior contact poorly explained case will probably be problematic for all parties.

Less than 1 in 13,000 items are reported to Royal Mail as "missing".

However in eBay there appears to be a far higher incidence of items being claimed to be missing than the statistical average.

These are the steps we recommend to the buyer. The first thing is to make sure that your address is exactly the same as that on record with the Post Office. If you type your postcode into Google maps, it will show you the address. Then make sure that this address is in both PayPal and eBay, rather than for example your University address. We would recommend not to use business addresses whilst sending to the third parties who eBay offer for click and collect mean you need to be there within the week.

The second step is, if the parcel doesn't seem to have turned up, you should ask other people at the same address if they have seen the parcel or a "not in" card. If they haven't, check the postcode on your eBay and PayPal accounts and then look up where the sorting office is on the Royal Mail website and head over there.

We get at absolute minimum proof of posting and your item will always include a security hologram, so you can see if the item has been tampered with on route. It will also include a scanned on delivery tag. It is likely to be sent in a bright coloured parcel which looks nicer and which will not be forgotten if it is delivered. It may also be signed for or tracked, we can provide details on request.

All items claimed to not be received will require a joint legal declaration form signed by seller and buyer to the authorities. This will allow a full investigation to take place, hopefully identifying the fraudulent person or persons involved to face criminal procedings. 

We will of course follow eBay's policies around reimbursement in a timely manner as we are honest and fair to buyers.

If you are a buyer who pays, thank you. We can sort out a multi-item deal, invoice or anything other than a VAT receipt.

But If the 'buy it now' button is pressed on an account and no payment is received then this, ultimately is a buyer problem.

From our perspective, we lose the listing fee, the potential buyers and watchers go elsewhere, we cannot re-list the item in case payment is eventually received and the process dictates that we have to notify eBay to get our commission back. We know this won't please the button presser of the "Buy Now" button and it is hard to figure out why eBay doesn't automate a chase process.

Chasing after payment, sending messages or reminders, or debating how the transaction mysteriously appeared just evaporates our time and we are not salarymen getting paid regardless of productivity. So we open a case after 5 days or so and that is about it.

Our view is this. The buyer has a user agreement with eBay. This specifies that they look after their account, don't let others log-in, don't buy when they can't pay etc. If the buy button is pressed we believe it is down to the buyer to cancel the transaction.

If we get a cancellation request within four days, then we we will accept it. If no cancellation request appears until we have opened the case to recover the commission fee from eBay, then we will wait a further four days and get the money back and eventually get round to listing the item. We almost certainly won't do anything else e.g. offer to cancel unless you are extraordinarily charming.

Bizarrely some buyers get angry with the seller as it the seller is responsible for the buy button on their account being pressed; perhaps they think the seller can do Jedi mindtricks or remote computer hacking to force a purchase during slow periods.

As of the 13th February 2017 we have been trading on eBay for 12 years, 8 months and 18 days - 663 weeks - with 99.8% positive feedback - from thousands of transactions. We have had one neutral feedback, after a piece of plastic was broken in the post, plus one negative feedback; we were counting on eBay to disregard a claim made without any evidence but got a Bot! We were also on the site when sellers were not forced to leave positive feedback else breach eBay policy. Our view is that buying used items is fun but now and then things can go slightly wrong but we are not snowflakes but men and can put things right. With buyers we are honourable people and offer 'no quibbles' 30 day returns when there is no mandatory requirement to do so; this is more than twice as long as the likes of the top luxury brands in the world. Sending something that is unwanted and unappreciated is never our aim. We lose about £4.00 on a change of mind return which doubles up on a forced return. And we lose a further double digit % if the buyer goes straight to PayPal as we can't even get back the commission, which bizarrely also happens if the customer doesn't accept the cancellation request they have asked for! We try to treat people individually and respectfully and have only set our filters to screen out those with a track-record of bidding and not completing the transaction versus people who have upset eBay or based on geography. If you are a genuine buyer who has somehow fallen into issues with eBay, which can happen, then drop us a note if there is a block and we will see if we can over-ride it. Whilst we must deal on eBay's platform to their rules, we do not have to provide repeat service to the problematic and difficult. And to be honest with you, we do not provide repeat service to them. It is the one consolation you have a seller when tiny issues are magnified in the hope of a partial discount!

Hello and thank you for looking at our listing. We do need your business so really hope you will pick us!

We post out to this schedule.

Monday - all items paid for up until 7am that morning (and over the weekend) will be with Royal Mail in time for the 11:15am pickup

Tuesday - all items paid for up to 7am that morning will be collected by Royal Mail at 11:15am

Wednesday - as per Tuesday

Thursday - as per Tuesday

Friday - as per Tueday

Saturday - we try to do a posting by 12 noon and probably do this about 2 or 3 weekends in 4

Sunday - we do some drop-offs on Sunday when sales are really very good, though they won't move till Monday at 11:15am.

At a push we can do expedited /emergency delivery as we really do appreciate your business. Thank you. Mark & Kate.