AWOL Seller not sending me invoice

[benit149]

So I've bought three games off of a seller, and I was told ahead of time that the combined shipping would be $6. Now I've purchased the items and requested an invoice from them last Wednesday (Nov. 12), but they have not provided one for me this whole time. I've contacted the seller several times asking for the invoice so I can pay for everything, but there has been no response. The listed shipping costs are way too high when I know the combined shipping will be much less, which makes me wonder if the seller was actually lying to me.

What am I supposed to do here? I know that eBay encourages buyers to contact sellers for such issues, but the point is moot if the seller is AWOL. There aren't any notices that the seller will be gone for an extended period of time either. I don't know how long I should wait for the seller to pop back up and send me the invoice - is there a length of time I should wait before I can report a communication breakdown to eBay?

I don't want to be slapped with an unpaid items penalty and I really do want to buy the games, but I don't want to pay the ludicrous shipping fees without being provided an invoice first. Help!

[concerned4kitty]

I totally understand the frustration and I myself am in a similar situation. I wish I knew what to tell you but hopefully someone on this board can advise us on what to do.

I too do not want to have an unpaid case filed against me as I have excellent feedback and always pay immediately upon winning/buying.  I bid on 3 items from the same seller and won.  When it came time to pay, I did a request for total to reflect combined shipping as the seller said they would combine shipping when contacted a few weeks ago. This was on Saturday morning as the bidding ended late Friday night.  I have sent 3 emails so far and have not yet received an invoice or response from the seller.  

What does one do in a situation like this.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[pierrelebel]

Why don't you call the seller and ask?  There may be many valid reasons why emails are not answered.

Use this link to get your seller's telephone number:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/ebayadvsearch?_sofindtype=9

[concerned4kitty]

Thank you!  Got it.

[reid4311]

Hi There!

I had a somewhat similar situation. I won 5 CDs and when I asked for an invoice I never got one. I contacted the seller politely and never got a response. About 3 weeks later he'd closed up shop so I feel fortunate that I never paid. I never got the discs nor did I receive a claim against me. 

You should feel the same way! Whatever the reason he never sent that invoice you should feel fortunate that you never got one. You might have paid and then didn't recieve your games which opens another unpleasant kettle of fish.

As for the unpaid item thing he'd have to be a bit of a **bleep**er to do so. If he did once you made clear that you had asked for an invoice which went undelivered and that he had refused contact it would be game over for him.

If you really wanted those particular games then just keep looking and I'm sure they will turn up eventually with a price attached that you find acceptable. A little patience may be required. You might also consider checking out Amazon.ca

Hope this helps a wee bit!

[benit149]

If that's what your experience was, maybe an unpaid items claim may not be so punishing as long as the seller closes up shop or doesn't send an invoice for an extended period of time after repeated requests from the buyer.

I've found an alternate shop that sells the same games, so if nothing happens with this store, I'll buy from the backup seller. I just wish there was a way for a buyer to at least notify eBay of a delayed invoice so the admins know it was the seller's fault for being AWOL rather than the buyer not paying for their items. Even if I can't cancel the purchase, at least letting eBay know of this situation would be helpful.

[pierrelebel]

If you do not want to contact the seller and try to solve the problem that way, here is what eBay suggests:

"If you've opened a request and don't hear from the seller or  reach a resolution with them within 3 business days, you can ask eBay to step in and help.

Here's how:

1. Go to your Purchase history under My eBay. 
2. Click on the item you has an issue with.
3. From the Take action drop-down menu, select Ask eBay to step in and help.

We'll respond with our decision within 48 hours, and may issue you a refund for the item."

It may not fit exactly your situation but will get eBay's attention.

[benit149]

"From the Take action drop-down menu, select Ask eBay to step in and help."

I can't find this drop-down menu whatsoever.

[reid4311]

That was just my experience but if as you say you sent for an invoice and have attempted to communicate and failed on both fronts even if he files a claim it wouldn't go against you. You followed the procedure to the letter and got no invoice or response. What else could you do? I suppose you could report the seller.

Either way you're on record as having made every attempt to fulfill your obligation. 

[reid4311]

By the way, you can indeed request an order be cancelled. You just send him a note stating as much and he'll send you a cancellation request which you just agree to but if he won't answer your contacts it's a bit of a moot point.

[femmefan1946]

http://resolutioncenter.ebay.ca/

[pjcdn2005]

Buyers can't open a claim or ask ebay to 'step in' unless they have paid so that route is out. I'm not sure if there is an easy way to report the seller although you can phone ebay and complain.

At this point I would probably try to find the items somewhere else. If the seller does happen to file an unpaid item claim you can phone ebay, explain what happened and have it taken off.  If the seller happens to send you a cancellation request, you have the option of accepting it or refusing it. If you do the latter, it is unlikely that you will get an invoice but the seller will not get back their final value fees from ebay.

I really don't understand why sellers do this although it does seem to happen fairly often. I wonder if in this case was the seller in the U.S. and the items were listed under the global shipping program? If it was, you will see the following on the listing just above the shipping cost....

No additional import charges at delivery!

This item will be shipped through the Global Shipping Program and includes international tracking. Learn more

If the items were being sold within that program the seller can't change the shipping price unless they send you an invoice through paypal and send the items to you directly rather than through the gsp. Many sellers don't realize that or know what to do in that situation although that isn't an excuse for ignoring you.

[benit149]

No, it was a Japanese seller, so the GSP wasn't involved here. Besides, I've paid special attention to US listings and boycott the ones that use GSP since I'm a Canadian buyer.

The seller has contacted me and sent me an invoice, so I'm in the clear now. Still, this may be an issue for many others. A more concrete method of contacting eBay about unsent invoices would be beneficial for future cases.

[pjcdn2005]

I agree that it would be a good idea to be able to  let ebay know when a seller is not doing something that they agreed to do as this is very frustrating for the buyer. However, there is no way for ebay to 'force' a seller to send an invoice if the seller has decided they don't want to do so although they would know about the problem, there would be no way for them to solve it.

[benit149]

I'm not saying that eBay has to act all Big Brother-like and force the seller to send an invoice. But if there was something implemented where eBay recognizes that an invoice hasn't been sent in a certain period of times (let's say 7 days from the request), then if the seller tried to file an unpaid items claim against the buyer, it would be proven to be the seller's fault since the buyer proved that they did everything they could to ask for the invoice.