posted on December 10, 2002 03:02:07 PM new
This is a new one for me, and I don't know how to handle it.
With my buying id I won an auction of multiple heavy glass items. The auction ended December 2.
I gave my name and address to the seller. She responded, said she had to package the items, and go to the post office to weigh the box and determine shipping costs. She said she would do this on December 3.
I did not realize in this day of cheap digital postal scales that sellers would add to the cost of their auction by taking a package into a post office to be weighed.
Anyway, December 3 came and went. On December 4 I emailed the seller, said I wanted to pay for the auction and I needed the shipping costs.
The seller replied, said she never got to the post office, and that she wasn't going to go until Friday, December 6 because snow was forecast for her area. (Huh?) She said she would email me the costs then.
December 6 came and went. On Monday, December 9 I email again, asking for the costs. No response.
When is the auction no longer valid because the seller did not provide costs? This is now 8 days plus some hours.
Oh, her TOS states: "Payment is due in 3 days after auction's end...no exceptions." Now isn't that a hoot?
posted on December 10, 2002 03:14:45 PM new
Bidding on an auction with no stated s/h terms is really a gamble. You've got to figure the lowest common denominator of a newbie or any seller's mentality. Seller X may charge you $5 but Seller Y may charge you $25. I won't gamble with them.
posted on December 10, 2002 03:35:42 PM new
tooltimes, I agree with what you said. However with regards to this auction the seller had feedback over 150, had not identified the items correctly, and I calculated that even with excessive shipping charges I could still consign the set to the antique auction house in town and make a nice profit.
So, back to my question? Should I just email her and void the transaction, given that I could not pay within three days because she did not give me the costs? Then leave her a big fat neg?
This is why I agree with you. Normally, when I bid to buy something for myself, I only bid on auctions that state the shipping costs and accept Paypal. Anything else, I click out of and go find the item with a seller who is more professional. In the rare instances when I don't follow my own rules, this is the kind of thing that happens.
posted on December 10, 2002 03:52:17 PM new
Your seller sounds like a flake, not at all "professional".
I seldom have shipping cost in my auctions as my items are varied, heavy and dependent on zone for cost - but I ALWAYS list weight and my zip and invite emails for specific costs.
You bid without asking, you get to eat it when she sends costs.
posted on December 10, 2002 04:00:21 PM new
Bob, I think you are missing the point. She hasn't sent me any costs. If she sent costs I would not complain. I understand that; I saw the auction in the last minute and did not communicate with the seller. But she has not provided me with shipping costs and it has been more than 8 days. Can't anyone answer the question? Is the transaction now void or not?
I don't understand why posters are answering questions I did not ask!
posted on December 10, 2002 04:00:26 PM newSo, back to my question? Should I just email her and void the transaction, given that I could not pay within three days because she did not give me the costs? Then leave her a big fat neg?
I would email her back and just state that I need those shipping costs by whatever date or you will have to cancel because you have your own deadline for xmas.
I won an auction of multiple heavy glass items.
She may not even have this packed up as yet, who knows. But you are right, she should get her butt in gear.
posted on December 10, 2002 04:09:37 PM new
Just as a clarification...technically the sale is not "null and void" by ebay terms, but I agree with trai - tell her you have a deadline and you need a cost.
posted on December 10, 2002 04:10:52 PM new
I swear that I have won auctions from sellers that must live deep in the backwoods and fire up the computer only once or twice a week. It's rotten luck to encounter these types of unprofessional sellers but they are part of the ebay community and must be factored in with the super fast professional sellers on ebay. If they are living deep in the backwoods somewhere then a trip to the post office is probably a major undertaking. I cut these sellers lots of slack and try to understand their stituation in terms of worse case senario.
The payment must be received within 3 days clause is a tremendous irony. To me phrases like that are huge red flags stating that the seller is a possible flake. Only if I really wanted the auction item would I bid on the item from a seller with a unreasonable term or condition like that.
posted on December 10, 2002 04:14:44 PM new
trai, thank you. I did just that, followed your advice and sent one more email saying I need the costs by the end of today, and stated firmly that if I don't receive the information the transaction is voided.
Bad day today. My Westie came inside covered with ticks. Totally disgusting. I've lived on this property for 25 years and have never seen a tick. I've had cats and dogs over the years, never a tick. I plunked my Westie into the bath, and took out the minimum of 30 ticks. Oh yuck. Then I called the vet and was told there is some weird outbreak of ticks on my area of the mountain and nobody knows where they came from. I only say this because when you have to deal with a disagreeable seller, it is so tempting to put the emotions of the day into the email, and I was trying hard not to think of this seller on the same level as the fat spider creatures crawling through my beloved doggie's fur. So I posted to this board, hoping to get good solid advice.
posted on December 10, 2002 04:32:22 PM new
It is also possible that the seller realizes that she could have got more money and now she is hoping if she doesn't give you the shipping costs you will just go away.
Good luck with your Westie, I hope you found all the ticks. Make sure to check where she sleeps also.
posted on December 10, 2002 05:19:10 PM new
Hi kiara,
I threw my dog's bed away, yet another thing to put me in a foul mood today. Those cute little round doggie beds are not cheap. These ticks were so tenacious I thought I had better not take any chances, and so bundled the bed into a plastic garbage sack and discarded to the outside bin. I don't know anything about ticks, just heard over the decades that ticks are difficult to kill. I had soaped up my Westie with Dial Anti-Bacterial soap, had her sit in the suds for a good ten minutes, yet when I put her back in the bath water to rinse, the ticks were not dead, merely stunned. I combed them all out in the bath water and flushed them down the sink, thought about pouring a bottle of Clorox after them, but I have a septic tank and I don't want to kill the important bacteria in there. I bet the ticks are still alive in the septic tank, probably going to mutate into nasty creatures. I have no idea how she got her fur covered with these nasty things. She didn't have them when I went to bed last night. She got them this morning, but it has been raining hard all day so she didn't go roaming.
Everybody, thanks for the advice. I think I sent the seller one last email that did not show my lousy mood, just my discontent with the progress of the transaction from her end.
posted on December 10, 2002 08:50:35 PM new
My old dog, a golden retriever, used to get ticks. I always felt so bad when i saw her ears covered with ticks; but she was such a good dog, she would just patiently wait as we plucked them out one by one.
The thing is with ticks, at first they are small, and you can't see them; often, they cling to the underbelly and you don't notice. But a while later, they will crawl (usually towards the head), and start to engorge themselves, when they get very large after 1-2 days. I'm sure you're vet told you the right ways to get rid of them. But the key is to search your dog right when she comes in, especially looking (and combing) underneath.
As for the shipping cost, if you want to cancel the deal go ahead, but you might as well wait 'til she tells you the cost. You deserve some more information before you make a decision.
posted on December 10, 2002 11:59:13 PM new
I heard from the seller late this evening. She claims she was packaging the item (reading between the lines she didn't even bother trying to do it until this evening) and a main component broke, so she is not selling it to me. She said for me to go ahead and leave her a negative because she is leaving eBay.
I looked, and she doesn't have any auctions listed.
Well good, we got rid of one more incompetent seller.
posted on December 11, 2002 07:27:56 AM new
Odds are that she realised that she mislabled the items and won't sell to you because she knows she will get more somewhere else.
posted on December 11, 2002 08:00:54 AM new
Sounds like seller remorse to me. I'd keep an eye out for a relisting and if that occurs I would call her(get contact info) and ream out this "incompetent"seller.
posted on December 11, 2002 08:42:16 AM new
The odds are good that someone told her this stuff was worth more and now she is going hang on to it till later.
This would not be the first seller to do this. There is not much one can do about it. All ebay will tell you is "sorry, we can not force the seller to sell to you."
But do file a complaint, at least there will be a record on file for this seller with ebay.
posted on December 11, 2002 09:47:57 AM new
That's true. The seller can play games and the buyer can play games on ebay. If a seller sold an item and then found out it was worth much more the seller could say it was sent and after it never showed up send a full refund and still have the item.
That's just one way to muddle the transaction and keep the item. The seller could say it was stolen, broken, burned in a fire, etc.
Buyers can always say the money was mailed and got lost in the mail and do this over and over until the 90 days expires or the seller gives up. In many ways ebay is like a flea market and not a real business.
posted on December 11, 2002 11:42:56 AM new
...Look at it this way, it could have been worse...You could have sent this numbskull the payment, then waited around for her to give you excuses why she hasn't shipped it to you, then weeks later still working on trying to get a refund of your payment...
To me phrases like that are huge red flags stating that the seller is a possible flake. Only if I really wanted the auction item would I bid on the item from a seller with a unreasonable term or condition like that.