Ebay problems

[skeith]

I ordered some baseball cards on Ebay and the offer said if the cards do not ship in 30 days you can get a full refund.

I waited 45 days and the cards were not shipped so then asked for my refund. The seller said it would arrive in " a few days". After about a week when I did not get the refund, I emailed the seller again who said he was waiting for my address. I found this strange since I supplied all of that when I made the order. So I gave it again and two weeks later he says will send it soon. I still did not get it. Now he says it was mailed last week (more than 7 days ago) and perhaps it is lost in the mail. It has been 1 month since I first requested the refund.

I have now told the seller I plan to basically give him the most negative feedback and his response was don't threaten him or else he will do the same to me and that I will not be happy with the consequences.

MY question is: should I go ahead and give the negative feedback or if I do that will it lessen or increase my chances of getting my refund?

Any advice is much appreciated.

[Chalupa]

Hold off on the feedback for now. Tell the seller that if he doesn't send the cards post haste you will report him to Ebay's fraud department.

Did you have the package insured??? Insurance costs just a few pennies more but it's usually the only way you can get your money back if your item is damaged/lost. Insurance also provides a tracking# at no extra cost.

[Dan Gould]

Feedback should be the last thing that you do with this liar/cheat/fraud.

Your first order of business is to determine your options regarding securing a refund of the money paid. Did you use a credit card? Paypal? Exhaust all means of recovering your money first, through Ebay and/or Paypal or your credit card company.

Then give him most the vicious feedback you can, and be prepared for whatever he dishes back. You can use the "response" feature to make it clear to anyone who looks at your feedback that this is lame, tit-for-tat bogus garbage that does not reflect upon you in the least.

Good luck.

[kh1958]

The one time I had a similar issue I filed a fraud complaint with ebay, and the item miraculously arrived quite promptly.

[Van Basten II]

If my memory serves me well Ebay has a problem resolution center, if you want to make a complaint about this seller.

[T.D.]

If you paid via credit card (I always choose this option from PayPal), and the item doesn't arrive within 30 days, you can do a "chargeback" (contest the charges). My credit card company is very good about this. You may have to mail in some documentation (e-mail printouts and the like).

[connoisseur series500]

Hold off on the feedback for now. Tell the seller that if he doesn't send the cards post haste you will report him to Ebay's fraud department.

Did you have the package insured??? Insurance costs just a few pennies more but it's usually the only way you can get your money back if your item is damaged/lost. Insurance also provides a tracking# at no extra cost.

Insurance does not provide a full refund. You get a partial refund after filing an intimidating claim form. You also have to provide evidence of the loss. Bottom line is that insurance is a pain in the rear and I feel it is only worthwhile for big purchases.

[MoGrubb]

If you do file a negative feedback, be sure and give as many reasons as you can that he may file/say against you; e.g. Seller states: I didn't provide shipping address, didn't pay promptly, etc., all untrue, beat him to the punch.

Edited July 28, 2007 by MoGrubb

[Jazzmoose]

In the future, remember that negative feedback is like pulling a gun. Don't threaten with it. Do it. Besides, as others have mentioned, that's the last step, not an intermediate step. When you leave a neg, you're basically saying "this is over; here's the result". I'd work on getting the money back right now, and feedback isn't going to work.

By the way, don't let a seller's threat to retaliate stop you from leaving a neg; it hurts a seller a lot more than it hurts a buyer. And while I think Dan's advice here sums up the right approach, I disagree with the "vicious" approach. Much better is factual, to the point bald truth. If you make it too nasty, anyone reading it will just assume you're a loon.

By the way, what was this seller's feedback like before you ordered?

[Chalupa]

Hold off on the feedback for now. Tell the seller that if he doesn't send the cards post haste you will report him to Ebay's fraud department.

Did you have the package insured??? Insurance costs just a few pennies more but it's usually the only way you can get your money back if your item is damaged/lost. Insurance also provides a tracking# at no extra cost.

Insurance does not provide a full refund. You get a partial refund after filing an intimidating claim form. You also have to provide evidence of the loss. Bottom line is that insurance is a pain in the rear and I feel it is only worthwhile for big purchases.

Goods points.

T.D. also makes a good point about the importance of paying via credit card. PayPal does not always pay fraud claims. I've never had a problem with MC/Visa.

[catesta]

I know some sellers actually have "brick and mortar" stores. If he does, you could file a complaint with the local BBB.

That's one way to get in his shit, the other is to pay him a visit with baseball bat in hand.

[PHILLYQ]

If you paid by Paypal you also have recourse through them, but I would first go to Ebay's resolution center. Watch you dates on the feedback- you may be getting close to the end of the feedback period.

[ASNL77]

Does the buyer still have three months to leave feedback? In which case and if you have to leave negative feedback, is it not better to post your feedback right at the end of the three month period so that he hasn't got the time to retaliate and to give some shitty feedback.

[Stereojack]

I agree with others here. Don't bother with the feedback. Ebay has a dispute system in place where they will intervene on your behalf. The seller will be requested to respond to your claims. Filing a grievance with Ebay carries much more weight than negative feedback, a system which is flawed and often abused.

[skeith]

Thanks everyone for your very helpful suggestions!!

I may not be able to use the dispute process because I think it has a 60 day time limit from date of sale, doesn't it.

the problem is that I made this purchase with the understanding that it would ship within 30 days and I waited about 45 days before asking for a refund , and then I was told the check was on the way and before I knew it 60 days were up. Am I out of luck there? Although it has not been 60 days since I requested a refund.

I think I have 90m days to give feedback however.

Now the guy is telling me to call him on the phone.. is that a good idea?

[skeith]

I paid via postal money order - so I get no help from credit card.

[Dan Gould]

Yes, I would speak to him on the phone to see what he says and how he says it. Its theoretically possible that he isn't the lying cheat he seems to be, so it can't hurt to see what he says in person.

The one question I would ask though is why you would accept a promise to ship within 30 days. Was this a buy it now transaction or an auction, and aren't people expected to possess the items in question? Did he give a reason why shipping would take so long? Personally, I would never deal with such a seller. I expect prompt shipment in all cases - in a day or two if I pay via Paypal and on receipt of the money order if that is what he accepts.

[Jim R]

By the way, what was this seller's feedback like before you ordered?

I was hoping you would answer this question. From your description of the guy's messages to you, he sure appears to be a crook, so the first thing that I wondered is what his feedback rating looks like.

[Jazzmoose]

Does the buyer still have three months to leave feedback? In which case and if you have to leave negative feedback, is it not better to post your feedback right at the end of the three month period so that he hasn't got the time to retaliate and to give some shitty feedback.

It doesn't work that way, dude...

[Ken Dryden]

I would be hesitant about doing any business with an ebay seller who didn't accept Paypal or a credit card for a purchase, unless it was a small amount (say under $20). That way you have recourse in case of failure to ship. (or being vague about shipping charges or failing to specify how and when an order will be sent) for expensive purchases, it should be via insured UPS, FedEx or insured USPS. There is no reason for not receiving an order within 10 days of the seller getting payment.

I had one crook who tried to pass off home made DVDRs as a boxed set. I insisted on a full refund (including shipping both ways) and got it, then I trashed him with an appropriate rating.

If you don't get satisfaction, contact ebay's fraud department and contact the US Postal Service's postal inspector (if you sent payment via mail) if it appears that you're dealing with a crook who never had the goods in the first place.

[skeith]

A few weeks ago, I finally got my refund from this jerk.

But I decided to give him negative feedback in which I stated that it took the guy 5 weeks to issue a refund promised in "a few days" and that I lost all trust in this seller.

He in turn gives me negative feedback saying that I am too impatient as a buyer and a "liar" and that the first refund check was "lost in the mail"

Now I get a message from ebay saying the jerk wants to mutually withdraw the feedback. I am not inclined to do so because nothing I said was untrue. Of course his is all lies.

I have only operated as a buyer on ebay and have made few transactions, his negative rating of me dropped me down to 87%.

The seller has thousands of sales.

Again I am not inclined to withdraw because what I said is true, but will this hurt me more than it does him?

Any opinions appreciated.

Edited September 11, 2007 by skeith

[sheldonm]

A few weeks ago, I finally got my refund from this jerk.

But I decided to give him negative feedback in which I stated that it took the guy 5 weeks to issue a refund promised in "a few days" and that I lost all trust in this seller.

He in turn gives me negative feedback saying that I am too impatient as a buyer and a "liar" and that the first refund check was "lost in the mail"

Now I get a message from ebay saying the jerk wants to mutually withdraw the feedback. I am not inclined to do so because nothing I said was untrue. Of course his is all lies.

I have only operated as a buyer on ebay and have made few transactions, his negative rating of me dropped me down to 87%.

The seller has thousands of sales.

Again I am not inclined to withdraw because what I said is true, but will this hurt me more than it does him?

Any opinions appreciated.

I would probably tell the dude to fuck off....but that's just me

[catesta]

I could be wrong but I think the negative feedback hurts sellers more than buyers.

Either way I don't think any of it means all that much.

If it was me, the comments would stay as they are.

[J.A.W.]

Again I am not inclined to withdraw because what I said is true, but will this hurt me more than it does him?

I think it will, if your feedback rating is 87%. I can only speak for myself, but if someone has a low rating like that I'd rather not do business with them - I usually don't have time to investigate the how and the why of someone's negative feedback, I just look at the figure.

[T.D.]

If the 87% feedback rating was one negative item out of 8 transactions, I'd sell to you, figuring it was a fluke. But any larger samples with that percentage: 2 out of 16, 3 out of 24,...,13 out of 100,... and I wouldn't.