Argh!! 'cannot reply to expired message'...

[upincanada]

I purchased an item which was offered with the possibility of some further customization ("3-5 days").

I negotiated with the seller to do my desired customization, which was fairly elaborate, and could reasonably be expected to take 3-5 WEEKS.

However, they ran into some snags (and some holidays) and now the project has stretched to THREE MONTHS. I am still confident they will be able to complete it, and ship my item fairly soon. I now have US$450 invested in the original ebay purchase, plus I sent them a further US$150 for my desired customization.

However, it is difficult enough to communicate with the seller  they are in China, so English is  their second or third language) - without the EXTREME IRRITATION of having our communication thread "expire" after three months (just when it's getting CRITICAL). Please accept that some transactions may take longer than three months, and leave our messaging threads open please! Its especially troubling, since you BLOCK all alternative modes of communication (posting of links and email addresses in Messages).

Now, I have been forced to resort to opening a "Did not receive item" request, just to follow up on the regular communications. This inconveniences me AND the seller, and frankly it somewhat POISONS the relationship (seller immediately replied with offer of refund!!) - NOT the sort of thing you want to happen with people who are doing elaborate artistic customizations on your long awaited eBay purchase...

[femmefan1946]

Look at your Paypal payment.

The seller's actual email address (which is also his PP indentity) should be there.

Is this a wedding dress? I hope not. If it is take the refund and buy locally.

[pjcdn2005]

Did you open the claim through Paypal?

If the seller has not yet shipped the item it could take another month to receive it in which case the item not received claim would be closed. Since the seller immediately offered a refund, I suspect that the customization has not yet been done and perhaps they have no intention of actually doing it. If I were you,  I would take the refund or you may end up without the item and the money.  Do NOT close the case until you have the refund or the item. If the seller tells you that you have to close the case first, that is wrong.

For the future, you can contact a seller by going to their feedback page and clicking  on contact seller.