posted on November 17, 2000 08:16:46 AM
We recently purchased an item for a large sum of money and were assured that this item would be sent Priority Insured. It has been 11 days since this item was to have been shipped and we have not received it yet. We have tried calling the seller, emailing the seller and have received no response. This transaction was paid using paypal so they have received their money. Because of the problems with everyone receiving their items and the length of time it has been taking, are we being paranoid to be concerned? Should we wait a little longer? Or should we start taking steps to recoup or "losses"? Does anyone have any suggestions?
posted on November 17, 2000 08:19:48 AM
Is this person verified with paypal? You can get your money back if they are. I would go into paypal and see what actions you can take to get your money back. If things work out, you can always resend it.
posted on November 17, 2000 08:25:49 AM
They are verified now, but they were not verified when our transaction was done. There is one other person who has contacted us about not receiving the mercandise. I just really hesitate to do anything real serious because I don't know if the time element is sufficient! What do you think? Normally, we do not take any action if it has been a couple of weeks, we just wait and usually we get the item eventually. The problem here is that it is so much money. We don't usually purchase anything for over $200.00 and so can afford to wait.
posted on November 17, 2000 08:26:45 AM
Eleven days is quite long for a Priority package, and I think you are justified in being concerned!
Just in case the seller has not received your email, send one from the listing page (where it says Send This auction to a Friend, or something like that), because sometimes those will go through when your own personal email does not. There is an area where you can delete eBay's standard message and insert one of your own. I'd say something like, "before we contact eBay and PayPal, we would like to hear from you on this . . ."
Did you not get an answer when you phoned? Is the address in their contact info the same one they gave you, or did they give you one at all?
posted on November 17, 2000 08:35:15 AM
They did not give us an address or a phone number. We found it by requesting it on Ebay. They have an answering machine and we left a message. However, I can understand not wanting to call back (spending the money on a long distance call). I will try the send a message to a friend and see what happens. Thank you all so much!! I'll be back and let you know what happens.
posted on November 17, 2000 08:53:35 AM
Well I just sent an email using the Send a Friend off of the auction site. Hope we will hear something. The email they use is for a website so I think that there should be not trouble getting it. Wish us luck!! And thank you again. What amount of time should we allow for a response? Maybe a couple of days? Or is that too long/short?
You know the computer is a wonderful thing, you can make long distance phone calls using your computer to any phone in the US. Go to www.dialpad.com. All you need is a mic, and speakers. Make the call and it is free, it is free to sign up too. Just thought I would help, cause calling long distance can be expensive especially when you have invested so much money in this transaction anyways. I hope this helps some. Good luck!
posted on November 17, 2000 09:04:29 AM
Kelly,
Thank you for the info. We did call the seller, it is them who have not returned our calls. But it is nice to have the link you suggested for future use!! Thank you again.
posted on November 17, 2000 09:15:48 AM
How much and what kind of feedback does the seller have? This should give you a clue as to whether you are being scammed, or this is someone who has had some kind of sudden emergency/gone out of town, etc.
posted on November 17, 2000 01:28:17 PM
kudzurose:
The really sad thing about this whole transaction is that I should have known better. This seller has only one feedback and that was for something that they purchased. The reason that we went ahead with the purchase is because this seller also has a website that has been up for a while and also the address seemed to be legitamit. We have still not had a response to the 2 emails of this morning, but they could be gone, etc. As for them being out of town or something like that, they have placed more items up for sale and have closed several. We were contacted by one buyer whose auction closed on the same day and he has not received his merchandise either. Prior to those two auctions, there was one other which closed, but again, I would rather not contact that buyer because I feel that it would place too much doubt or suspicion on someone who could possibly be having troubles, be ill, etc. I am just hoping that we are not waiting too long. What do you think?
posted on November 17, 2000 02:20:16 PM
I would go ahead and contact the other buyer, and see what the situation is with them. However, I would be very tactful in what I said, making it clear that at this point you are not accusing the seller of anything, just concerned because your package is so late.
Checking the seller's feedback and only bidding on those with a solid reputation is your best insurance against this happening. I have certainly bid on items from new sellers before, but only for amounts I'm willing to "gamble".
posted on November 17, 2000 02:30:15 PM
Haste makes waste-did you read their auction terms?
On this id, I have less than 50 feedback, other one I sell from (this one I buy with mostly or sell at no reserve), people do not take me seriously, ASSUMING since I am new, i am gonna immediately rip them off-usually, these are the ones who never bothered reading my terms of sale. I state, very clearly that I go to the post office once per week. Perhaps, you won their item right after they had a day off from work as I have another job and can get to post office once per week.
I seem to be only one who says 11 days is not a long time, but our post office s not open on Saturday, which is odd, as my mailman will NOT pick up any item that is insured, so am stuck with when I can get to the post office. Again, you have emailed them and asked nicely or have you said arrogantly, as I have found niceness works much better.
PS By the way, PAYPAL is not so great way of paying as a personal or bank check or money order, as I just had local seller get someone dispute their payment while they are clear across the country, they have both a refund AND the item, as ebay sides their insurance ONLY FOR THE BIDDER, which is NOT fair.
posted on November 17, 2000 02:36:51 PM
I have the impression that classic knew when the item was to have been shipped; assuming it was sent when they thought, eleven days is a long time for a Priority package. I have never had one take more than about 4 days, I don't believe.
posted on November 17, 2000 02:39:01 PM
I also thought that I might have mis-read the auction terms, so I have read and re-read them several times. There is no mention of a time element needed for shipping. In fact, we were emailed that the item would ship 11-6-00 in the AM USPS Priority Insured. That is why I have requested and insurance number, date of shipment (just in case something could have come up), etc. 3 times now and still have not received an answer (of course please keep in mind that 2 of those emails were both sent today).
I stopped by the PO this afternoon and received some very disturbing information. I was told that there is no assurance that a priority package would get to its destination at all much less in 2-3 days as is advertised. Don't know if this particular person was just having a bad day, or if I should take that comment seriously!!
posted on November 17, 2000 02:56:33 PM
It has only been 11 days. The item was shipped within the continental United States and was supposed to have shipped 11-6-00 USPS Priority and Insured. The seller however, has not responded to any of my requests for verification of shipment. (just asked when did the item ship and to let them know that we had not received it). Of course as I stated previously, 2 of the 3 emails sent were sent this morning. The first was sent Monday. My original dilema, besides the obvious, was to find out what the usual protocol is before getting Ebay, PayPal and any other entities involved. Do we wait another week, a month (like the PO person said) or have we waited too long?
posted on November 17, 2000 07:26:19 PM
The last two weeks I have had more trouble with slow mail than ever. I have had priority packages that usually make it in 3-4 days take around 10 days. I am encouraging insurance or delivery confirmation. I have added it myself to some of my pricier auctions just for my piece of mind.
Bon
posted on November 17, 2000 08:06:49 PM
My initial concern was the time element, if we should be concerned or not. Our concern lies with the lack of response on the seller's part. I guess the concensus is that we will wait until Monday's mail and then file with Ebay and PayPal and whatever other entities are out there for fraud. Sure hate to do that, but it is alot of money and we are holding on to doing some of our selling so that we could utilize this item. We sure do want to thank all of you for the feedback. It helps to discuss these type of situations with others who have a non biased insight. Thank you.
posted on November 18, 2000 05:25:08 PM new
If you are concerned about a seller that is non-responsive I suggest that you do something now!
On October 23 I was the high-bidder on an item that went for $550. The seller wanted me to pay by PayPal, which I did, but the transaction could not be completed unless the seller upgraded their account. I cancelled the payment and sent him a check which was posted to my account on November 3. Today I decided to check on the status of this order and I noticed that he is NARU'd. I sent him an e-mail, but so far no response. I went to safeharbor and I find that whatever protections they offer are only good as long as the seller is in good standing. That means I am not eligible for ebay's insurance protection.
I e-mailed the sellers other winning bidders to find out if he has completed their transactions. His last auction ended on November 12. The last auction he was high bidder on ended on November 16.
I'm glad that I used a personal check because I think it will be easier to hunt him down.
Maybe I am overreacting and he will ultimately follow through. I'm trying to think positively -- meanwhile I'm still planning on tracking him down and filing whatever complaints and claims necessary.
posted on November 18, 2000 07:02:47 PM new
DWEST--can you use ebay's insurance to recover your funds? You lose the deductible, but can you at least get something?
If the seller is NARU'd I don't see you getting anything.
Paying by credit card is the safest way to go, most cards have a guarantee. Furniture.com kept charging me over and over again for the same item, but everytime I just had Discover challenge them. I hear they have declared bankrupcy.
posted on November 18, 2000 07:26:45 PM new
Cassiecloset,
I agree with you about credit cards. I would have used one if he took them, but no such luck. The thing that is most puzzling to me is that he had been a seller since 1998 with relatively good feedback - 307 unique positives with only 2 neutrals and 1 negative. I thought he would be safe to bid with.
posted on November 18, 2000 07:40:38 PM new
My suggestion for transactions involving large amounts of money is i-escrow. The seller may not be anxious to take it, but if it was an amount that I didn't want to gamble, I would insist. I would definitely insist with a newbie seller.
posted on November 19, 2000 05:13:42 AM new
I've received responses from 2 of the seller's 3 other customers and so far they have not sent him their money yet. One did say, however, that the seller said he was suspended for 30 days for being a NPB on 2 auctions to the same seller for about $20. I checked the seller's bids and I didn't find anything that fits his description of events.
So far I have not heard from him, but it hasn't been 24 hours since I e-mailed him last. I think the others will hold off with their payments until my situation is resolved. The seller's other incompleted auctions total about $1,000.
posted on November 19, 2000 05:31:22 AM new
classic,
what you were told at the PO is absolutely true. There are no guarantees on Priority Mail at all !!! It is a shame how USPS does such heavy advertising in their 2-3 day Priority Mail service when they do not guarantee any time frame on Priority Mail. The only guarantee of delivery that USPS makes is on their Express Next Day service. Express mail is guaranteed, but it is also very expensive.
One more tip I can give you is , even if you do pay for items via Paypal, do not jump the gun and pay for an item before being contacted by the seller. I know alot of people pay via Paypal for items right when the auction ends, but if you stop to think about it, are you sure you want to pay for a high dollar item instantly before you even know who you are dealing with ???
posted on November 19, 2000 11:05:52 AM newclassic, there is no excuse for the seller's unresponsiveness to your attempts to communicate. Even if the first email didn't arrive, he should have responded by now to your phone message.
If you haven't heard anything by this morning, I would switch gears and assume he is either dishonest or irresponsible.
Initiate a chargeback posthaste. If he's merely irresponsible, that will get him up off his keester.
Take comfort in knowing that he'll be working diligently the next several weeks --- trying to get Paypal to UNfreeze his account.
posted on November 19, 2000 03:52:07 PM new
DWEST~ file a fraud claim with ebay's Lloyd's carrier THIS instant. The seller was a seller in good standing when you made your bid and payment. I had this happen also & had customer service tell me to file the hard copies of the claim immediately. The sooner you get it done the sooner you get your money.
classic 87021~ You should do the same, file a fraud complaint with ebay. If this is an honest seller, it will provoke him into some kind of action, good bad or indifferent you will have an idea of what the heck is going on. Also file an internet fraud claim with the fbi. If the item was insired for that amount you should have had it by now.
Someone please post the fbi fraud url?
posted on November 19, 2000 06:20:26 PM new
Well we are back and with very disturbing news. First the payment we made with PayPal was a bank transfer meaning that we did not pay by our credit card so we cannot receive help there. We contacted PayPal and they were absolutely no help. Next, we did call the seller's number 3 times only to finally receive a return call by a person claiming to not be the seller stating that she doesn't even get on Ebay. We advised her to contact Ebay with her information. So far we have had 3 other buyers or potential buyers contact us to see if we have received our item. None of the three honored their respective auctions. Not necessarily because of us, but because they were having trouble getting the seller to respond or send them acceptable information. Two of the latest auctions of this seller lists 2 locations. One lists St. Louis (which all of the sellers auctions list St. Louis) and Redwood City, CA. The other lists St. Louis as the location and requests that Washington residents pay Washington state tax. We have emailed Ebay to both [email protected] and [email protected] and have received no response. We got on the community boards and specifically requested Ebay to respond and we have not received a response. Besides one person who has given us support via email and this board, it is really disheartening to feel like the biggest auction site in the world cannot take a small amount of time to help. Oh yes, one more thing. This seller uses three different emails. The one used for their contact on Ebay is UK based. Although they advertise as being located in St. Louis. Figure this one out!!??
posted on November 19, 2000 06:23:15 PM new
Just the lack of response alone would get me to start a chargeback or some kind of action to get my money back. If you left a message on this person's phone machine, even if they don't want to spend money to call you back long distance, they could certainly email a reply to you! There is absolutely no excuse for this lack of communication, and if I were in your position I too would be worried! I wouldn't wait another day to begin the process of recouping my money.
edited to add:
Classic--oops my post was made before I read your lastest post above, so obviously of no help. That is a very confusing mess indeed. Hopefully ebay will respond soon with a suggestion for you. Good luck!
posted on November 19, 2000 06:29:03 PM new
You have just arrived in downtown Fraud City. Since you paid with your bank account PayPal will be NO help whatsoever. And again since you paid with PayPal mail fraud charges won't apply. I hate to say it but you are probably out your money. But I would still file fraud charges everywhere that you can. And you can contact your police department and ask then to contact the police department where the seller lives (if you can figure out where that is). I'm really sorry that you're in this mess. Good luck...
