eauctionmgnt
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posted on February 4, 2002 07:07:29 AM
I bought an item on auction that ended on January 12th. I paid for the item via Paypal on January 13th. The terms of the auction stated that the item would take "1-4 weeks to arrive". A week after my payment had been sent, I e-mailed the seller asking on the status of the transaction. I received the following e-mail (copy & pasted):
AS STATED IN THE DESCRIPTION ONCE IT IS IN MY ACCOUNT WHICH IT PROBABLY IS THEN 1-4 WEEKS AFTER THAT WE SHOULD HAVE YOURS OUT THIS WEEK WE HAVE OVER 300 ORDERS A WEEK AND THE DISTRIBUTORS CANNOT KEEP UP..AND WE ARE DOING ARE BEST THAT IS WHY WE PLACED A 1-4 WEEK TIME FRAME
I waited a little more than a week, and then sent out another e-mail asking him to confirm that the item had indeed been shipped out as he said it would. I received the following message from him:
the auction stated 2-5 weeks
I was contacted by the company that there are no more "WIDGETS" do you want a refund or can i send you "A SUBSTITUTE".
Now... at this point I'm pretty mad about the whole situation.... First, he's lying about his auction stating 2-5 weeks. I pulled up the auction and it clearly states 1-4 weeks. Secondly, no where in the auction did he state that he did not have this item in his possession. It is against eBay rules to list merchandise in this manner. To top it off... this item is supposed to be a valentines day present for my significant other, and time is critical. To stress my points, I sent him the following e-mail (granted... it is a little harsh, but I think justifily so!):
The auction did NOT state 2-5 weeks. It clearly stated that the product
would take "1-4 weeks to arrive." You have placed me in a very difficult
position. I MUST have this item before February 14th. My payment was made in
plenty of time to have the product delivered before that time. Your auction
never stated in the description that you did not have these items in your
possession. This is a blatent violation of eBays Pre-sale rules. See the
following link for more details:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/png-presale.html
I would strongly encourage you to abide by your own auction terms and have the
merchandise I bid on delivered before 4 weeks from my payment has expired. If
it is absolutely impossible to have the "WIDGETS" delivered by
that time, I have no choice except to accept the "SUBSTITUTE" . I need WIDGETS in one form or the other before February 14th. However, I do believe that some amount of refund would also be in order. I would not have paid that much for regular WIDGETS. Please review this
situation and take care of it as soon as possible.
*******
Now, I have not yet heard back from him, and I am wondering what my possible actions are... and what time period I have to enact them in. I'd like to give him at least 24 hours to respond. After that... what actions should be taken? Paypal chargeback? Contact Safeharbor? Leave negative feedback? Anything I'm overlooking? I really feel like I am the victim of the old "Bait & Switch" routine. I do not want this seller to get away with it. What suggestions do you have?
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stopwhining
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posted on February 4, 2002 07:17:12 AM
from your posting he appears to be a drop shipper and he said his distributor is getting 300 orders and bla bla bla.
so i would interpret he may not have the goods on hands and his distributor is busy filling orders.
he is honest to offer you either a substitute or money refund,there is still time to shop for valentine gift.
i dont believe ebay has rules which said seller must have the items on hand,on amzn it expects the seller to have the item on hand and ship within 2 days.
move on and buy something else from someone else.
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springmoon
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posted on February 4, 2002 07:21:40 AM
The seller's listing indicated that item will ship in 1-4 weeks (after end of auction). That's what is on record, so he/she is not breaking the rules.
I do understand your frustration, but you were aware of it. You can report to eBay after the 4 weeks had passed.
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on February 4, 2002 07:51:14 AM
Stopwhining:
eBay DOES have rules about sellers not having items on hand. Visit this link for details:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/png-presale.html
If he had been upfront and stated this information in his auction (as he was supposed to) then I wouldn't have bid on the auction and wouldn't be in this situation.
Unfortunately, this particular item can only be obtained in Germany.... and I highly doubt that I can order it from another seller and get it delivered in 10 days.
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springmoon
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posted on February 4, 2002 08:40:49 AM
"I highly doubt that I can order it from another seller and get it delivered in 10 days",
That should explain how difficult it is to get that widget really fast, regardless of who you bought it from. Give the seller a break. He/she offered to refund your money or get a different item.
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stopwhining
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posted on February 4, 2002 09:00:51 AM
the item may be made in germany but the seller is going thru a distributor.
i assume this distributor is in usa.
i doubt if he would import on his own from germany to fill your order,so both you and the seller are at the mercy of the german maker and the distributor.
german maker may have a backlog or the distributor has its own schedule of when to bring merchandise in .
to save on shipping,distributor/importer prefers to group as many products together from one maker.
i hope this is not a meissen figurine,the lead time is 18 months!!!
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on February 4, 2002 09:17:19 AM
Springmoon,
To clarify the situation a little more (without giving away the specifics of the auction)... this seller had an auction for a set of limited-edition WIDGETS. I bid an amount appropriate for the limited-edition WIDGETS, won the auction, and paid for the auction. Now the seller is saying that they do not have the limited-edition WIDGETS.... but they do have the regular WIDGETS and will ship those instead (or refund my money). This is considered in the business world to be "Bait & Switch". If he didn't have the items... he shouldn't have listed them... plain and simple!
I just checked eBay, and there are NO current listings for this limited-edition WIDGET. There are only 10 current auctions for the regular WIDGETS. The majority of those 10 auctions are by one seller. None of them look like they could possibly arrive before the 14th.
Bottom line... is that this is very frustrating to me. I planned this purchase for over a month in advance of the delivery-date. If I really want an item, I am perfectly willing to abide by whatever terms a seller may choose to dictate. However, they should do me the common courtesy of sticking by their terms as well! I do not think that I am asking too much. It appears as if the only thing I will be able to get are the regular widgets.... but... I shouldn't have to pay limited-edition widget price for them! Not to mention all the lies & hassle I've been put through!
Stopwhining,
The seller is from Germany and the product is German as well.... so I assume his distrubuter is German too.
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mballai
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posted on February 4, 2002 09:29:30 AM
I recently dealt with a German seller who has a good rep. Everything took longer because the product on hand turned out to be defective and had to reordered.
It sounds to me as if the seller is at the mercy of his suppliers (not a good thing). Yes I would be disapointed. And the seller should refund your money if he can't deliver within 4 weeks or get the product from another source. I would not even offer a substitute.
I probably wouldn't order from this guy again.
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stopwhining
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posted on February 4, 2002 09:42:35 AM
i do business with german companies,the german are very meticulous and quality conscious of what they make.
the products i deal with are all handpainted,handcrafted and the lead time can be 8 weeks(6 weeks to make them and 2 weeks to arrive,providing there is no shipping snafu)/
i would never dare to list an item on ebay unless i have it with me/
even if i know they are in transit,say 5 weeks,one never know what will happen,take for example 911 !!
i know there are some german sellers selling on ebay from germany,they have the advantage of being close to the source and they could think it is easier for them to obtain the product than moi/
sorry it does not work out for you,it sounds like he is at least honest and would refund your money.
it sounds like this is out of his control.
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mrfoxy76
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posted on February 4, 2002 10:11:44 AM
I wouldn't say this was out of control....would you be happy if you ordered an item from Amazon.com and they sold under the pretense they had the item on hand when in fact they do not and are at the mercy of a 3rd party. I would be more than pissed off. Just get a refund and move on. I try to steer away from these types of sellers on ebay at some point you will run into this kind of garbage.
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on February 4, 2002 10:39:34 AM
mrfoxy76,
Thank you for your understanding. I really do wish it was just a simple case of getting a refund. A refund just simply doesn't work well for me in this situation. I guess I'll have to share more details to explain why.
The item in question that I purhcased was a set of Two-dozen "Lord of the Rings" German Kinder eggs. For those of you not familiar with Kinder eggs... they are German hollow chocolate eggs with a plastic case & toy inside. The "Lord of the Rings" eggs had randomly inserted Lord of the Rings miniature figurines in it (hence the higher price than normal Kinder eggs).
My girlfriend of over 4 years grew up in Germany and has very fond memories of these Kinder eggs. I am planning on proposing to her on Valentines day. My plan was to crack one of the eggs, slip the ring inside the egg with a note asking "will you marry me," and then reseal the egg. I would then give her the eggs for Valentines day and choose the appropiate egg for her to open. Obviously, you can see that these eggs are VERY crucial to my proposal plans, and a refund just does NOT cut-it.
While I will accept his offer of the regular Kinder eggs, if necessary, I do not think it is fair for me to pay the premium price I paid for the "Lord of the Rings" eggs. My biggest problem right now is one of time. If he had followed his terms, I would have had enough time to receive them. As it is... I don't know if anyone can guarantee a shipment to arrive from Germany before the 14th. I have contacted one of the other vendors on eBay to see if they can meet my time requirements. But I am sure it is doubtful.
Anyhow... that probably gives you all a better idea of why I am making such a big deal about this. This seller has lied to me.... and he has broken eBay rules in the listing of his auction. I just don't feel that I should have to put up with it. I want to make sure this seller doesn't do this to another bidder. Any suggestions? Right now, I am truly at his mercy as to whether or not my proposal will go as planned.
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sun818
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posted on February 4, 2002 10:50:15 AM
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=lord+of+the+rings+kinder+eggs ???
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tomwiii
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posted on February 4, 2002 10:57:20 AM
Well! I should certainly hope she's over four years!
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stopwhining
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posted on February 4, 2002 11:16:03 AM
when i said it is out of seller's control,i mean in this case,there is not really much he can do,he is not a maker of these eggs,he cant seem to be able to get it from his distributor and obviously this is not the kind of egg he can make it himself,even if he can,he will in violation of german licensing rights /whatever they call it.
if i were the bidder and i must have it by a certain date,the wording of 1-4 weeks is enough for me to ask him for more info and may be shy away from it.
this is terrible,does it mean you are doomed to be bachelor forever?
how about marrying the seller instead?
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slabholder
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posted on February 4, 2002 11:50:00 AM
Eauctionmgnt
The Lord of The Rings, chocolate egg thingy. pretty crafty idea. Hope it works out for you.
This is the proposal I made to my wife, actual quote : WANT TO GET MARRIED OR WHAT?
Slabholder
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ashlandtrader
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posted on February 4, 2002 11:51:15 AM
eauction,
<br />
I just had to pop in to say that your idea is wonderful and I hope you can find a seller who can get this to you in time. I feel bad that the first seller did this to you and can see why it is so important.
<br />
<br />
Good luck! Please let us know what happens!
Edited to add that slabholder sounds SO much like my husband! But 10 years and still strong so I guess how your propose doesn't make or break a marriage.
:0)
[ edited by ashlandtrader on Feb 4, 2002 11:52 AM ]
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springmoon
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posted on February 4, 2002 02:02:46 PM
There seem to be a gazillion search results on google for what you're looking for -- right here in good olde USA. I am sure you can get an over-night shipment faster than you can say "will you.."
stopwhining, you truely have a sense of humor.
[ edited by springmoon on Feb 4, 2002 02:03 PM ]
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on February 4, 2002 02:32:58 PM
Springmoon,
While I thank Sun818 for posting the search results from Google... they are unfortunately not much help. If you look through them... you will notice that most of them are selling the kinder egg toys only (which are highly collectible). Others are for people selling Italian eggs (the chocholate is not as good). I couldn't find a single one that sold German Chocholate eggs from the US. If you can post me to a direct link to a US seller with German Kinder eggs I'd certainly appreciate it.
Thank you slabholder and ashlandtrader for your words of support!
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professorhiggins
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posted on February 4, 2002 02:57:15 PM
Maybe this will help you:
http://members.shaw.ca/kindereggs/kindereggs.htm
They are based in Canada and have them in stock
(I spoke with them personally).
They will be shipping items tomorrow so
if you place an order tonight they should get to you in time. They were even willing to express ship them (at additional expense).
Not sure if this is what you want, but wanted
to try to help.
Here is the contact info:
Ph. 1-204-255-3463
Mike's General Store
52 St. Annes Road
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R2M 2Y3 Canada
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professorhiggins
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posted on February 4, 2002 03:00:41 PM
Another web site:
http://www.whifnet.bizland.com/kindernet.htm
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msincognito
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posted on February 4, 2002 03:05:16 PM
I MIGHT be able to do even better than that. Mr. Dunderbaks is a mall delicatessan chain that I know is prevalent at least through the Southeast U.S. They sell Kindereggs in the stores. (Granted, they're hugely expensive, but it's for a special cause.) If you live anywhere near a Mr. Dunderbaks (or try Wunderbar as well, they seem to have much the same sort of merchandise) you should stand at least a chance of finding a source for the LOTR eggs.
As for this transaction, it sounds as if you bid at least four weeks ago? (In time for them to arrive?) If you did place your bid in early January, then I think your seller is definitely in the wrong.
[ edited by msincognito on Feb 4, 2002 03:08 PM ]
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springmoon
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posted on February 4, 2002 03:15:53 PM
professorhiggin, are they German kinders? He will only propose with German kinder eggs.
I am tickled by all this...I've never heard of kinder eggs until today.
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stopwhining
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posted on February 4, 2002 03:59:45 PM
dont forget it has to be german all the way,he does not like italian chocolate,they just dont know how to do it right
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on February 4, 2002 04:33:37 PM
Professorhiggins,
<br />
<br />
Thank you so much for the time and effort you've put in to help me out. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your help and all the others who are trying to be helpful in their posts. Unfortunately, it appears as though the first site you mentioned are not selling the German ones. When ever my girlfriend talked about these eggs she always said that the German ones were the best. Obviously I want to get her the best quality. I guess it would kinda be like buying someone a Hershey bar when they had their heart set on Godiva. The other site you found may be promising, though! I've sent them an e-mail to see if they are German.
<br />
<br />
Msincognito,
<br />
<br />
Does Dunderbanks have a website? I am in the southeast (VA) and would gladly look to see if their is a Dunderbanks in driving distance. Thanks for your help in this!
<br />
<br />
Springmoon & Stopwhining,
<br />
<br />
I can't tell you how glad I am that my miserable situation is providing you with such entertainment. Your compassion is simply overwhelming.<br />
[ edited by eauctionmgnt on Feb 4, 2002 04:34 PM ]
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kiara
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posted on February 4, 2002 04:46:48 PM
http://www.dunderbak.com/
Good luck! 
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Libra63
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posted on February 4, 2002 08:16:06 PM
Hey, I'll take Hershey!!!!!!!!!!
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twinsoft
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posted on February 4, 2002 08:39:07 PM
Ouch! Tough situation, 'hope it all works out. My suggestion: do what we all do. Get her pregnant first. It's cheaper than a box of chocolate.
Just kidding. Good luck.
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mrfoxy76
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posted on February 5, 2002 12:09:23 PM
i know EXACTLY what you mean i am from the UK and we get kinder garden eggs there also they rock the chocolate is awesome and the toy inside is pretty cool!
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sjl1017
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posted on February 5, 2002 01:41:58 PM
eauctionmgnt - email me at [email protected]. I may be able to help you.
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professorhiggins
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posted on February 5, 2002 02:00:49 PM
----URGENT----
eauctionmgnt
There was another site that I forgot to mention:
http://www.surprise-eggs.net/index1.htm
I e-mailed the seller who is IN GERMANY.
His e-mail address:
[email protected]
Here is the e-mail he wrote me (his English is rough, but it sounds like he may have
Kindereggs in stock now and may be able to get the special Lord of the Rings ones.
Hi xxxxxxxx,
i guess it's possible to get for me to get the LORD OF THE RINGS. Not
easy but executably.
If you're order this series I would look for. I will supply the series
to you with.
Greetings from Germany,
Your Mr. Kindereggs
_____________________________
My e-mail address is: [email protected]
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