any one have problems contacting sellers

[niccijo75greece]

Hello,

I would like to know if anyone has had no response from the above sellers after buying custom made bridal gowns.

I noticed they both  changed their user  ID on the same day and changed the feed back to private.

Meaning you can't read the feedback information.

I had initial contact with them for dress measurements now there is no response and they no longer have items for sale.

original user names -

[dmil8030]

Hello 'niccijo...',

<<... no response from ... sellers after buying custom made bridal gowns.

... they both  changed their user  ID on the same day and changed the feed back to private.>>

Let me guess, the sellers are in China.  I know you tried to tell us who, but we are not allowed to

post other peoples' user IDs here on the boards.  It's a mistake everyone makes when they're new.

What is not new, however, is sellers from that country taking peoples' money with no intention of

ever sending the item.  In fact, if memory serves me, I recall just some months back a post about

this exact same situation, --  someone ordered and paid for a wedding dress from China and after

sufficient delay (collecting more orders?) the seller closed up shop as you describe.

How long ago did you buy yours?  I suspect it was more than 45 days ago, - crooks usually delay

their victims until that time.  You see, you have 45 days in which to file a claim for Item not Received:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/buy/item-not-received.html

If this is an option for you, do it now.

Even if it is too late, read through the link (especially the bit about deadlines) so that this never happens

to you again.

Otherwise, if you paid with a credit card there is a chance you could call the 1-800 number on the back

of the card and ask to do a chargeback.  If this is a possibility, have all the transaction details in front

of you when you place the call (receipts, card statement, etc) and again, - do it now.

In the future, -- never spend more money in that country than you are willing to throw away.  You have

a low feedback score and it is common practice for sellers from that one country to not send the item

to new users because the sellers know you are unfamiliar with how to get your money back.

You have my condolences.

[reallynicestamps]

The Chinese wedding dress racket is disgustingly widespread.

Although I do wonder how anyone can imagine that sending off measurements for a cheap dress from halfway around the world will work out well.

Your best bet at this point is to buy locally.

Ask at the local dry cleaner* and fabric stores for the names of seamstresses.

My late mother was a seamstress and could turn out a custom made dress within a week. Detail like lace appliques and self covered buttons took longer. Of course, she also would be doing all six bridesmaids including hats and veils. On average, a month for the bridal party.

I don't understand these bridal shops that basically remake mass manufactured dresses and take months and months to do it.

Try working the whole mess into a hilarious misadventure for your speech at the wedding. And best wishes to you and your fiance for your future together.

* Dry Cleaners and Shopping Malls often have on staff seamstresses who do repairs and alternations. Some of these may also be dressmakers.

[niccijo75greece]

Hello,

To be honest I didn't wait 45 days. Once I noticed they were not getting back to me I contacted EBay. Next I spoke to PayPal Canada.

Guess what? Ebay sent me message saying the seller was no longer registered with EBay.

From there I called PayPal told them the latest news and got my money refunded.

The other seller's rating is quickly dropping and I suspect more or less the same thing. Anyway, PayPal said if the seller doesn't respond to them by August 4, They will return my money.

However, now I have wedding accessories and no dress!

Thank you for your interest.

[dmil8030]

<<I didn't wait 45 days. ... got my money refunded>>

Excellent!  Golly I love a happy ending.

You'll not likely have any better luck with the second seller so mind the calendar and get your

money back out of that one too.

Then, as 'stamps' says, - buy locally.  It may be short notice but a bridal shop will not be unfamiliar

with late arrivals.  They'll have had last minute orders before. 

All best wishes!

[2011limey1]

I too am pleased that you got your money back - lesson learned. You might now want to go this way, some don't, but as you probably know there are some stores that rent out not only bridal dresses, but other high-end evening apparel too. Don't live in T.O. any more but I remember shopping for one with a friend and she got a gorgeous designer one for a song - they have them thoroughly cleaned, altered to fit you, etc.

[montbray]

It's most likely from a seller in China.

I have had the same problem with buying a knife sharpener which is this case is a valid item that does exist.

What i have noticed with the recent troubles i have had with ebay sellers is that the items they are selling are mismatched and often the prices vs shipping rates are way off.

Here is the pattern i have come across.

Seller has for sale of ex. bed linens, leather shoes, and the knife sharpener.

                                             biking accessories, 1 kitchen tool, and the knife sharpener

                                            shoes, 1 type of women's dresses, and the knife sharpener.

The sales numbers don't seem to be possible such as selling 150 of the knife sharpeners and having only 91 sales and only one feedback on that particular item simply isn't possible even with bulk sales which also don't have any tracking info either.

The lack of or unwilling to provide a tracking number on insured (clearly marked)  sale items is a dead give away that the seller is a fraud. Look for any excuses such as delays in giving the package tracking number.

Keep an eye on the sellers ratings. If you see a sudden jump in negative over positive feedback that usually means that the seller is trouble.

Lastly if you used paypal you will have the email ID of the person you sent the money to and if they don't respond via that email it has nothing to do with ebay.   I noticed that a-lot of the fraudulent sellers have email accounts with 163.com and hotmail.com

The problem is that ebay is taking it's sweet time to notice these rather obvious pyramid scheme sellers.

Another tell tale sigh is the claim/excuse of not speaking the English or any other non native language where there are translators on-line every where is also  a warning sign.  Even i went out of my way to translate my msgs to the seller. 

[montbray]

Same here on other items. However ebay Canada didn't warn me that the user had been banned. I had noticed that the item in question was returning an error so i called ebay and they took their sweet time in telling me that the user had been banned.  Luckily i had already started the process with paypal.