Item Not Received, Seller Stalling Near Feedback Deadline

[robbwell]

A common problem that might help buyers.

Bought a $20 item from Seller in China (190,000 positives 98.7% or so).

At 44 days, item has not arrived so I open a PP dispute.

Seller says he will resend but at 56 days, and three requests, refuses to confirm he re-sent it.  ... just replies with "dear Friend, don't worry ..."

I'm trying to avoid leaving my first negative rating and have an idea how to do so but can't put it to him until I know where he stands.

With just 4 days left to leave feedback I think he is stalling to avoid my feedback .... but I will leave feedback and escalate to a claim unless there is a development.

[mater721]

"Seller of a ham radio linear amp location was claimed as The Phillipines. My item did not arrive. The seller was in Minsk, Russia, not The Phillipines."

Why is it Ebay's fault?

You clearly state the seller misrepresented the location.

"I feel sorry for the seller as he did everything right..."

Are you kidding?

Or is there a translation issue here? Is English your primary language?

[pjcdn2005]

I just got my refund, and I will NEVER use Ebay again. I feel sorry for the seller as he did everything right, but ebay insists that the item being lost/stolen in transit was HIS fault! Shame on Ebay. Thanks for the refund, but I am now closing my account.

If the ebay hadn't made the seller accountable than you would not have received a refund. I'm not sure what you expected ebay to do? They don't own any merchandise, do not send it out and do not refund buyers...sellers do.

[ldylck1]

I have just had a very negative experience as a buyer on e-Bay.

Although e-Bay shows that account as 5 star, beware of them. They sold me a dining table for $850 which I still have not received after nearly a year. Seller promised to obtain shipping quotes for me. He never did. Each time I asked, he insisted he would be right on it, but he never was. Once he said he was on disability and had mobility issues so he needed more time. I fell for it and gave him more time. Eventually 6 months had passed and I suggested a refund. Again, he said he'd get right on it but he did not. In July 2015, 10 months had elapsed and I demanded a refund. At this point, this man refused to refund. Said he would charge $80/month for storage of the table and owed me just  $80. As a lawyer, he knows the law and how to use it to swindle others. Beware!

Now that I realize I've been had, it's too late to review the transaction on e-Bay so this guy keeps his five star rating fraudulently. E-Bay clearly doesn't care that he has both my $850 and the table and still protects the seller's five star rating by blocking me from reporting him! There is no recourse for the buyer if the seller manages to stall past the timeline for a claim. Reporting here and wherever I can on the Internet is the only option I have to warn others of this scam.

SHAME ON E-BAY!

[reallynicestamps]

Well, you really were a sucker weren't you?

Seller promised to obtain shipping quotes for me.

Was the shipping method and cost not included in the original listing?

Was the seller willing to ship to Canada?

It is imperative to have firm shipping costs quoted before bidding. If you don't the seller can charge you whatever seems fair to him and eBay will stand behind him.

Eventually 6 months had passed

You had (at that time) 45 days to start an Item Not Received dispute with eBay/Paypal.

(These deadlines have been lengthened in the long period in which you were willing to listen to the scammer's lies. )

As a lawyer, he knows the law and how to use it to swindle others. Beware!

And I am a six foot blond of Chinese origin whose first language is Swahili.

You allowed yourself to be schmoozed well past the month and a half eBay and PP allowed for claims.

This is your responsibility, not that of eBay nor of PP neither of which knew anything about the scam.

Your best bet at this time to get your money back would be to call the 1-800 number on the back of the credit card you really paid with (PP is just a useful mediator) and ask the customer service clerk about a chargeback.

Do this Wednesday morning. Cards have deadlines too, and you may have allowed that deadline to pass too.

Interestingly, I purchased a custom made DR table and six matching chairs recently. The cost for the set was $850 too, with a four week wait while the set was built and stained. Delivery was included in the $850 but not sales tax.

[ldylck1]

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate that you took the time.
Of course you are right on all counts- I sure know that now.
I should have been aware of claims dealines. I'm not that active on ebay.
No shipping costs were not included. The item was listed mistakenly as a local pickup but when i called te seller, he was willing to ship at my cost. (Therefore the shipping quote he was getting so I could pay for shipping.) I provided both my canadian and a US address to get quotes for both.
I only found out he was a lawyer through my own research: I found his address in the Mission District, San Francisco, his job, his partner... But even with all this knowledge, i feel quite resourceless in getting this table or my money back.
I called the police in the precinct where he lives. The next step is to start a fraud investigation. I wish this person had the heart to realize that he is really hurting me. $850 US is not a small amount for me and I treated him fairly from the beginning.
I also wish there was a way to warn other ebayers about him but even in a forum, there is no wayto name him.
Thanks for your concern.

[femmefan1946]

Leave feedback.

The most effective feedback is calm and factual.

Leave Detailed Seller Ratings, which are much more important than feedback. The lowest Rating is ONE STAR.

Since he really is a lawyer, he belongs to some sort of Law Society. It would seem worthwhile to phone them and report his behaviour. Be ready to forward all his emails and eBay messages with headers.

[femmefan1946]

Your best bet at this time to get your money back would be to call the 1-800 number on the back of the credit card you really paid with (PP is just a useful mediator) and ask the customer service clerk about a chargeback.

Do this Wednesday morning. Cards have deadlines too, and you may have allowed that deadline to pass too.

[pierrelebel]

You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink.

[blazec604]

I've just been in a similar scam, and I'm currently in dispute.

My issue has not been resolved yet, but from what I'm aware of, if you buy something "big" over-seas (like in China),

it's really buyer beware. Any resolution will most likely tell you to return the shipping at your own cost (which will probably cost more than the item), meaning you will end up losing money, making the refund redundant.

I think a method to help is if eBay made it more aware that eBay has 45 days to make a claim, and PayPal has 180 days to make a claim. And there's also 60 days to leave feedback.  It's not a good sign when the only reason I know this is because I used GOOGLE to find this info. I get spammed by eBay with a ton of emails after I make a purchase, yet none of them contain the info I just provided (maybe that ought to be a good idea?).

Many inexperienced sellers don't know this, especially ones who haven't had to deal with bullcrap sellers before. I've been using eBay for almost 6 years now, but I guess I am still a noobie because this is the first time I've had issues with a seller on a product that cost $100+ and I've got duped.

Now regarding the length of time, it's really not too short. In most cases, 60 days is more than enough to leave a feedback.

It's only when something goes wrong, such as defective items or items not received, then the whole scam of the seller trying to delay time to protect their feedback is when things get shady.

But lesson learnt. If something goes wrong, immediately contact the seller, and give affirmative dates to resolve issues. Don't leave open ended times to accomplish things. Say, I need THIS and THIS done by THIS DATE or else we're moving to a claim.

If you the seller wants to send me a new one, fine. Do a full refund, I'll give him a good feedback, and we close the transaction. And I'll buy the product again and we can do another deal. I don't see the point of leaving the initial transaction hanging if the seller is going to send me a replacement. We might as well treat it as a brand new purchase so I get my full 45/60/180 days again. I'm not going to get duped again.