Has anyone else been ripped off?

spazey
Community Member

Ordered a plant from seller.  Took a month to get here.  Didn't look good upon arrival.  Emailed him regarding this and he said "give it time to get new leaves".  Trusted him so I gave it a month.  Emailed him back and he said that the plant was doing worse and no new leaves.  He said send pictures.  So I did.  No response.  At this point the transaction was more than 90 days old and couldn't email him through the listing anymore.  Contacted him through his store on Ebay.  Sent pictures of dying plant.  No response.  Sent another message.  Still no response.  I guess I'm out $50.00!  Won't buy from this guy again!  Anyone else had this problem with this seller?

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Re: Has anyone else been ripped off?

The moderator will edit your Question because we're not allowed to name other members on the boards but, if you are dissatisfied with the transaction, go to Paypal within 180 days of purchase and open a case in the Resolution Centre. You may be required to return the plant with tracking in order to receive a refund from the seller.

 

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Re: Has anyone else been ripped off?

marnotom!
Community Member

I'm surprised you were able to import a plant from the seller's location as customs doesn't generally take too kindly to the personal importation of plants.  Did you have a special permit?

Anyway, the seller's overall feedback rating is really shaky, so I'd say that you're not the only person who's had problems with that seller.

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Re: Has anyone else been ripped off?

 

Hello 'spazey',

I'm sorry your plant died, - I know how discouraging that is.  As it came from Thailand, however, I am not

surprised it took a month to arrive.  If this is the user ID you ordered from, it may be that you are new and

not entirely sure what to do if an item arrives which is "not as described".  A half-dead plant is definitely not

one that was featured in the listing.

 

For future reference so that this does not happen to you again, have a read through the following:

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

 

Regarding this transaction, -- try opening a case in paypal, and if that is no help and you used a credit card,

you could try to call the 1-800 number on the back of the card and ask to do a chargeback.  If this is an option,

be sure to have all details in front of you when you call, ie, receipts, card statement, copies of emails, the works.

 

As for importing plants, you might want to have a look at the following link about that:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/plant-protection/imports/primer/eng/1324568450671/1324569734910

 

There are all sorts of related links to click on over on the left.  If you order any sort of vegetation or seed in

future, be sure it is acceptable to bring it in.  Canada is very concerned about foreign pests hiding in the soil,

things for which there are no natural predators here.  Same for seed importation, -- what looks stunning in

your garden may not be allowed, so have a look at what is and is not okay to bring in.

 

But for today, see if you can't do something about getting compensation.  And in future, if something arrives

'not as described', - don't wait.  Experienced sellers are masters at delaying you until it is too late for you to

get a refund or leave feedback.

 

Best of luck Smiley Happy

 

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Re: Has anyone else been ripped off?

Experienced sellers are masters at delaying you

 

Could we make that 'experienced scammers'?

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Re: Has anyone else been ripped off?

 

<<Could we make that 'experienced scammers'?>>

 

Oh, goodness, yes!  Please forgive me, -- I did not mean that the way it sounds.  But you know the kind,

I didn't mean the good sellers, which are by far and away the vast majority, - I meant those ones that

take advantage of new users as a personal business policy.  Makes the hair on the back of my neck

stand up.

 

Sorry, -- I didn't mean to be disparaging to all the professional and conscientious sellers.  Smiley Happy

 

 

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Re: Has anyone else been ripped off?

I wished eBay made it more aware that after 90 days, you're basically "out of luck".

 

I was not aware of this and got duped once trusting the seller.

 

I learnt my lesson and any transaction I deal with from here on out, I give the seller (reasonably) specific dates and time frame for him to get things done. Any suspicion of delay tactic and I will not hesitate to immediately make a claim. I make this clear that I'm not fooling around, and neither should the seller.

 

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

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Re: Has anyone else been ripped off?

I wished eBay made it more aware that after 90 days, you're basically "out of luck".

 

The rules have been changed in the past few months. You can file a claim on ebay for up to 30 days after the estimated delivery date.

You can file a claim on Paypal for up to 180 days after payment.

 

 

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Re: Has anyone else been ripped off?

Something that doesn't get mentioned enough on this board is that if a buyer does receive their item in good order after successfully having their payment returned, that buyer can always pay the seller again.

I think we get stuck in the mindset that a refund somehow means "game over".  Not necessarily.

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