When is the right time to open a dispute for a seller that is likely not to ship an item?

[kellmike626]

So, I won an auction for a Galaxy Note Smartphone (Item 161464831882) last Tuesday. Stupidly, I didn't look at the girl's feedback before I won the auction, and she has a negative feedback from a guy that never got his smartphone (she re-listed it on eBay).

Anyways, I won the auction for a decent price at $77.00 US, when she had a buy it now price for $200 US. I didn't want a non-paying strike against my account, so I paid for it and started praying that she would ship it. In her auction, it stated she would ship within one business day, so Wednesday. I emailed her to confirm that and she said she would let me know.

Wednesday, I wait for her shipping confirmation, nothing. Thursday morning I email her, and she told me she would mail it out that day and would let me know. Friday morning comes, she sends me an email saying it would for sure go out Friday afternoon. Last night (Friday Night) she messaged me saying she didn't ship it out and that she would ship it for sure Monday.

At this point, I emailed her expressing my concern. I still haven't heard back from her. The fact that she has a negative feedback on her profile for the one guy never getting his item and having to get eBay involved concerns me a lot. Now, I know I should have looked at her feedback, and I'm past that point now, so I'm just looking to see what my options are.

I was thinking of giving her until Thursday November 6th before I open an INR Case against the seller through paypal, and leaving her negative feedback. But is that too soon? The estimated delivery was between October 30th and November 19th. I live in London, ON Canada, and she lives in Brantford, ON, which they're only 1 hour apart, so 3 weeks for shipping is a bit ridiculous I think. I'm just worried PayPal will throw my case out the window if I file it too soon.

I was also thinking of giving her the benefit of the doubt, but I think I'm passed that point honestly, especially after the red flags she put up and reading her feedback.

Any opinions on how I should go about this?

[femmefan1946]

Open the INR but don't leave feedback until the case is resolved.

The best way to make a seller uncooperative is to leave negative feedback.

If she doesn't prove delivery (not shipping , delivery) PP will refund you.

[kellmike626]

Should I open it now, even though I only won and paid for the auction on Tuesday, 5 days ago? I'm just concerned that PayPal would close my case if I file something too early.

[momcqueen]

Open the Item Not Received Case on the day after the final day of your estimated arrival time. (FYI: The fact that the two of you are an hour apart as a direct route across borders is irrelevant in shipping times since international parcels requiring customs clearance go through specific postal sorting centres that may be days away.) Don't leave feedback for your seller until your case is resolved. I agree it seems unlikely she will ship it to you but you never know; there could be a legitimate reason she has not yet done so. Make sure your messages exchanged are taking place through ebay and paypal but, at this point, I would suggest you simply open the case as soon as is prudent to do so and get that ball rolling. I'm sorry that this didn't work out for you the way it should have. Most times, transactions go as they should. 

[momcqueen]

If I were you, I'd wait. See my reply to your original post below.

[kellmike626]

Okay, so an update on the situation.

She finally contacts me and tells me that she is issuing a refund because she "damaged" the phone when she was shipping it. She said she scratched it with her keys. Honestly, I didn't buy the excuse, and considering leaving negative feedback since I needed it by Thursday and she kept giving me excuses. Main thing is though, I got the refund without having to open a case thankfully.