Some people really, really love their bubble wrap.
So much so, that one woman accused a seller of being stingy and threatened to blackmail the latter for failing to bubble wrap red packets that she had bought at S$1.
In two Facebook posts put up, on Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, to the group SG Online Shopping - Singapore's Largest Buy & Sell Network, the seller, Alvina Lee described her exasperating experience in dealing with a customer, Arabelle, who got extremely worked up over the lack of a bubble wrap for her order.
All because Arabelle had feared that her red packets would be "damaged".
Here is Lee's post on Jan. 9:
And here is Lee's post on Jan. 11:
When the "damage" in the product means creases
According to photos uploaded by Lee in her second post on Jan. 11, the trouble began when Arabelle, after having made the payment of S$1, asked if the red packets would be bubble wrapped as she feared "damage" -- that is, the red packets having "creases".
When Lee replied that the red packets would crease within bubble wrap because of the soft quality of paper, Arabelle responded that should "damage" occur, she would ask for a full refund.
A threat of blackmail and repeated accusations of being stingy
Things then escalated quickly when Arabelle decided to threaten Lee with blackmail after Lee added that what happened to the quality of the goods while in delivery was not her responsibility (misspelled as realiable) unless it was by courier.
Arabelle also resorted to pointing out that bubble wrap was cheap.
Which soon led to her accusing Lee of being stingy ("kiam") and subsequently doubling down on her accusation after Lee pointed out that her order had been sent for free in a polymailer.
Lee then rejected Arabelle's request that a full refund be given in the case of a creased damaged red packet, kicking off a new round of "why can't you bubble wrap my order?" with even greater single-minded intensity.
For those of you wondering about the profit of S$0.15, here's how Lee broke down the product's cost of S$1 according to her first post on Jan. 9:
- Stamp: $0.30
- Polymailer: $0.30
- Item itself: $0.25
- My profits: $0.15
A matter of responsibility and intelligence
The conversation then became an issue of responsibility when Arabelle added that she was a seller as well and claimed that she would refund her customer if she sold a glass item that broke during delivery.
Somewhere along the way, it also became an issue of intelligence although we are unsure at this point.
Subsequently, it became a contest of who has sold more items so far.
Feedback and prayers
At this point, the conversation registered a noticeable drop in tension from Arabelle when she concluded that she would "pray" for Lee and added that she was simply giving "plain feedback to improve your service".
Lee added in her second post that Arabelle subsequently made good on asking for a refund after receiving her red packets, along with expecting Lee to pay for the costs of mailing it back to her.
However, it is not clear if Lee rejected Arabelle's demands in the end.
In any case, here is the "damaged" red packet in question:
Top image screenshots from Alvina Lee Facebook post
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