I have had a few sales go like this and each one turned out ok. Many people do not share my feelings of fast payment, fast shipping, lots of communication, keep the person informed and happy because that is what I would like. One seller would take a week and a half for an e-mail response so if I asked something it delayed action by at least 3 weeks. The fact of the matter is that lots of people are not punctual or thoughtful. Send an e-mail stating that you will be forced to leave negative feedback if no contact is made in…lets say…3 days. That should be plenty of time considering the week already passed. Each time I have done this I miraculously received a response within 24 hours. They were grumpy but too bad. All I want is to be informed.
I used to like ebay alot, but it hasn’t been the same ever since many of the vendors have become fly-by-night operators with high feedback ratings that aren’t backed up by performance. And ebay really doesn’t seem to be concerned with anything other than getting money out of all concerned with absolutly no consideration for operating an honest business these days.
That said, you need to do exactly what you outlined but do steps 1 and 2 athe same time. Don’t go the negative feedback route right away since the vendor will not be given any incentive to be honest here. However, if after two weeks nothing gets done by anyone, negative feedback is the only thing you can do since the amount of money involved doesn’t make taking any legal action cost effective (i.e. it will probably cost you more then the amount involved.)
If you’ve had zero communication back from the seller and no item has arrived 2-3 weeks after the auction ended, fill a non-receipt of goods complaint with paypal. They’ll get the ball rolling to get the seller in the butt to get you your item or your money back.
There is also no reason to leave feedback until the transaction is resolved (either with you getting the itemor your money back.) and you know the full story. Then you can leave comments accordingly.
I just recently had a similar problem. Won an auction and paid within 10 minutes of winning the auction. The seller had a better than 99% rating. Waited 2 weeks still no package. I received several other auctions that I had won before the 2 weeks were over. Started sending emails. Just asking if the package had been sent. Still nothing. Finally I contacted ebay and got the sellers information. Wouldn’t you know it, he lives less than 15 minutes away from me. Called his home phone and left him a message. He finally returned my call. Told me his sister had passed away and that things had been crazy. I can understand this because I lost my brother last November. He said he would send it out in a day or two. Another week passed. Sent another email. Another week, another email. Another week, another phone call. Still no package and no responses. Started a dispute with paypal hoping to get a response, still nothing. Finally after about 4 weeks I received an email, he told me that he had a heart attack and was bed ridden, but that he would get someone to send out my package. Another couple of weeks, still no package. Finally almost 2 months after I paid for the item I received it in the mail. The item, a DVD, also included a second DVD since I had been waiting so long. After all this I left him a neutral feedback, and stated the day I had won the auction and the day I received the item. And guess what, he won’t leave me a feedback LOL. But I did finally receive the item.
John
I feel your pain, I have only left one negative feedback (so far) on Evilbay.
This was back before Paypal got to be big, bought something, got the invoice from the seller, sent payment, then waited, and waited and waited, waited 2 weeks, sent e-mail, no reply, waited another week, sent email, no reply, waited a couple more days, sent email, anothing, checked with Ebay and found seller had been removed from sellers list, sent more emails to seller each getting a little more vocal, finally one day they reappeared on ebay, sent more emails, nothing, then they got bounced from ebay altogether, and Ebay wouldnt tell me why, so no options left I left the negative feedback, being very specific as to why I did so, the actions I had taken to communicate with seller and that this was my last option, even then Ebay contacted me and asked for specifics about my transaction, which I explained but never heard back from them, so Yep! Ebay is a big game of dice, and like dice or cr^ps, best bet is NEVER bet anything you cant afford to lose. Sad but true, also make sure to read the feedbacks before you bid, luckily my item was less than $20 so the burn was only a mild sunburn compared to some of the cookings I’ve read about here.
I maintained a perfect score on ebay with about 180 transactions.
I give the Seller about 14 days to get the item delivered.
On the 16th day I write seller email informing of Item Dispute Console opened with Ebay directly. Usually that pries the problem loose and gets it resolved same day or fast.
I had one item a camera lens from Singapore that took 65 days to arrive. On a slowest mail boat possible from that area of the world. The seller was extremely attentive and good with my constant emails. (I was like child “Daddy are we there yet?”)
72 hours after non response from seller once Console dispute is opened. I leave neg feedback and intent to see problems with the seller. Out of the 180 or so dealings two were bad and I got both of them (Same blood family in two states playing the system) naru’ed.
I am no longer with Ebay or Paypal. I closed it all down based on changes they made this year.
I urge you to give the seller the benefit of the doubt, as much as you can. Try to remain congenial.
One of my recent eBay purchases spent a month in the mail. The seller was great - he refunded my money on the understanding that I’d pay him when/if the item showed up. When it did arrive I checked the postmark and it really was in the mail for a month and I paid.
For those who have had bad deals on Ebay, it is terrible, but but if you can get a home phone number, go from there if you want to get a direct way to the seller. You can get that info off Ebay as you are the buyer. Be firm but not confrontational to let the seller know that you will not take excuses and if they don’t do what they say, then you quickly move to dispute. I always try and ask when will the item be shipped before I pay. If I don’t receive it within 10 days, I give one more email notifying that I am about to start the Ebay/Paypal dispute and go from there.
A seller knows that they have your money so there is no reason to remind them of that. At a certain point, it is time to cut your losses and try to get your money back. The key is to get the wheels turning and Ebay/Paypal involved. In some other cases, I have heard of the Internet Fraud Division and some giving local law enforcement a call, but in those cases, it was for much higher priced items.
Greetings all,
The story has a happy ending. My wife got two emails Monday promising a refund as the car was sent somewhere else by mistake. My wife told them I still wanted the car if they got it back. Then I arrived home yesterday from work and the car was waiting for me. Mailed Monday arrived Wednesday. Two days priority mail like I expected to start with. Two weeks late but it arrived safely.
Thanks everybody for your input,
Bob
At keast it was a gappy ending. They don’t always turn out that way unfortunately. But live and learn.
Irv
Good to hear you had a happy ending!
Im glad it has a good ending.
If I may take a moment to examine Ebay’s culture from my ant’s eye view.
In the beginning there was light and music with much interaction and friends being made. Sales were smooth and everyone communicative.
At the end there was silence and cold with monies being transferred within minutes of auction end while delivery services are horsewhipped into hurry and rush packages that dont always pack well. I bought a large ceramic griller weighing about 30 pounds and the packing material in that box totaled two newspapers and a handful of foam shipped parcel post in the bottom of the truck. The item did not survive the trip however certain parts (20 year old oop item) did survive and it was enough to get the old griller into service.
That old culture still exists on eBay. We’re the bunch who use it as our instant online “garage sale.” We are honest and really care about our buyers’ satisfaction.
I’m finding that the other culture - in which a seller is selling on eBay as a commercial enterprise - is something to approach with caution. It’s not that there is a lot of risk, but if there is a problem the buyer’s recourse is not very effective - if a seller has 25,000 positive feedbacks, the threat of one buyer making a negative feedback isn’t of much concern.
One last comment, I generally recommend against buying refurbished items - these are often plagued with issues of one type or another.
My dealings with e-bay have been for the most part good transactions.
I agree that if there is a problem E-Bay does little to help unless the item was paid for with PayPal.
I bid on an item and got it cheap. I paid for the item with PayPal, but never received the item. I e-mailed the vendor who said it was on its way. When I finally gave up waiting I filed a claim with PayPal only to find out the time frame had run out. The Vendor even gave me negative feedback. Not long after the Vendor was no longer selling on E-Bay. I e-mailed E-Bay about the negative comment but they did nothing.
That indicent aside I have purchased many items at reasonable cost on E-Bay . Although with the recent large increase in many Vendors S&H charges I no longer buy as often as I did before.
I do buy from online vendors such as M B Klien and others who do not charge the high S&H charges so common with many E-Bay vendors.
I have sold lots of stuff on ebay to many happy customers. My feedback rating happily refelects that trend. Sometimes you get a customer who isn’t happy no matter what you do or how you do it. You can’t please every but you do have to treat each custmer with respect and try to be as accomodating as possible. But lately my ebay sales have tanked and I don’t put much up there. And it isn’t for lack of trying. It’s just that the market for plastic models has kind of dried up.
I still buy stuff on ebay and I do run into problems occassionally. But I have only been burned once at that was when I bought something froma guy in Canada. I paid by postal money order which he claimed he never got but the postal authorities said the MO was cashed by him. It was a long tiime ago but I have avoided buying anything from Canada since.
Recently I had purchased 3 N-Scale school buses for a scene I am planning to put on my new layout dealing with someone passing a school with flashing red lights. Woodland Sce
If the seller has a descent feedback rating and what you have been experiencing as a buyer is out of character with the sellers past deals then there may have been or is some unusual circumstances that have come into being to effect this transaction. If you paid using PayPal then you should perhaps set in motion a complaint on the basis of the non-arrival of your item. This must be done within a set period of time - about a month or six weeks from the date you paid using your paypal account. If you submit your complaint to PayPal outside of this time you may as well go whistle in Dixie for there will be no help for you from PayPal after this time. The ultimate result will hopefully be the charge back of the amount you paid to the seller, so while you may not receive the model you bought on eBay you will not loose your money.
Personally, and after have nothing but good things to say about them my last experience with PayPal has been appalling. Many sellers will no longer take eBay payments using PayPal because of the experiences they have had with PayPal that were like mud wrestling an eel. If you haven’t been stonewalled in a while and you miss the experience then PayPal will be only too happy to reacquaint you.
Pardon my cynicism - I’m sure you will be fine.
Bruce
I work for eBay and you need to file a buyer dispute through PayPal for item was not received. The seller will have to provide valid tracking for the item. File a dispute by going to the resolution center or clicking on the transaction.
Thats is you best bet/
Wow…that’s not good to hear. I have done a zillion transactions via PayPal (buyer and seller) and have never had anything but a perfect experience. I guess it only takes one though to really muck things up. Stinks to hear that happened to you, especially after the good history you had with them. Jamie
Thanks, Jamie.
When I used to read in a listing on eBay that the seller would not take PayPal I used to think - how strange, PayPal have been the best and really the only way that made payments across international borders easy and trouble free. That was before the shark’s started to circle and insanity prevailed. I guess that if they had address my concerns on a one to one basis, the trouble that developed between us may well have been avoided altogether - this regrettably was not the case. This one bad experience will mean that I will probably take a holiday from both eBay and PayPal for a while - self interest often results in a short memoryLOL.
I can understand that they - PayPal, perhaps would rather not get into a protracted game of e-mail tag - that kind of thing can get out of hand also - especially with people like me who sometimes don’t have the good sense to be brief and succinct.
Bruce
Why? It isn’t as if using eBay means you have no recourse if something goes wrong.
I have had a couple of bad deals, and got my money back for both, thanks to Paypal.