A dilemma

[TommySalieri]

About two months ago, I won a hat from EBay. I informed the seller that I was going on vacation and that I would be unable to pay her promptly. I sent her several e-mails asking her if it would be OK to pay her upon my return.

She never responded. "Whatever", I thought to myself. "I'm going on vacation. I'll speak to her when I get back.".

Three weeks later, I return and find no e-mails from her. I send her a few more e-mails stating that I would be returning in a couple of days. Suddenly, I receive e-mails from her, hounding me to send her the cash. Then she opens up a Dispute. I shrug off the dispute and send her the cash.


66 dollars and nearly a month later, I still have no hat. I've sent out two e-mails a week since I paid her and she hasn't responded at all.

Is this revenge or have I been duped? :eusa_doh:

 

[Pilgrim]

I'm not sure that it's either one. If you didn't pay within the terms of the auction or Ebay, you're not in compliance with the rules. IMO the seller was not obligated to extend the payment period for you.

IMO the appropriate thing would have been to get Internet access long enough to pay via Paypal, or to request that the seller remove your bid from the auction. You should definitely NOT have failed to pay and gone on vacation. Surely it wouldn't have been that hard to mail a check or send a Paypal payment. A debt is a debt, and integrity requires that it be paid promptly. Hopefully this is an experience you can learn from. (BTW, I've had a couple of "learning experiences" on Ebay as well.)

Granted, the seller seems to have been asleep at the switch - and is now over-reacting. However, some sellers put quite a bit of merchandise on Ebay and probably don't keep up well with individual auctions.

At this point, I think the best thing to do is communicate with the disupte folks on Ebay, and send her courtesy emails reminding her that you've paid and should receive the hat - and that you're communicating with the dispute fols at Ebay. I would also save a copy of every email to her and from her so that you can prove to the dispute folks that you are doing your part to resolve this. I agree with you about one thing: since you have paid, you SHOULD receive the hat promptly.

Also - expect negative feedback. You've earned it, if only because of making her wait and forcing her to go to extra work to complete this auction. I do not think she has earned negative feedback unless she fails to deliver the hat.

 

[Matthew Dalton]

Quite a bit of money to be lost, in any case... I hope it all works out for you.

 

[Andykev]

Work it out

You should work it out with Ebay Dispute. Did you get negative feedback?

If they don't want to send the hat, they should refund your money. Was the item relisted, and you labeled a "non paying bidder"?

If you bid on an item on ebay and win, you should immediately comply with the terms of sale. That is the "honor system" which has made, in my experieces, ebay a great forum.

If you went on vacation, or knew you weren't able to pay (no cash as you spent it on vacation, or wern't in an area to conduct business) makes no difference. When you bid, you are in the game, and if you win, it is only fair for the seller to receive prompt payment. IMHO.

A nice apologetic email to the seller asking to make it right may fly.

 

[gekisai29]

i think TS's mistake was in assuming it would all work out even afyer he didn't get a response to the e-maols askinf for an extension. Frankly i see nothing wrong in asking in the first instance under the circumstances, Also withh full recognition of the volume involved i do think this seller should have responded if this took place over the course of a few days. Buyers rely on such responses.

 

[scotrace]

Initiate action to get your money back or that hat right away. Ebay has a rather short window for such dispute resolution and once you fall outside the window, you're out of luck.

You sent the money. You are owed a hat or a refund. The seller, regardless of business volume, has an obligation to answer your correspondence and send the merchandise - or your money back. Even if you were late with payment - they have your money, and you don't have the goods.

 

[TommySalieri]

It is true that I should have not assumed that it would be OK for me to leave without having any problems.

I never received any communication from her AFTER I sent the cash. No negative feedback or anything. She did open up a dispute, but she never followed up on it.

I will try sending her another e-mail tonight. If I get no response, then I'll talk to the folks at EBay.

I should also mention that I do not use PayPal. I've heard horror stories about them.
As for obtaining Internet access while on vacation - I don't trust public computers. Also, we stayed at a relative's house for most of the time. They're rather stuck in the stone age, if you know what I mean.

 

[Tomasso]

I should also mention that I do not use PayPal. I've heard horror stories about them.

Would you care to elaborate?

 

[TommySalieri]

Absolutely.


http://www.paypalsucks.com/

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Do you mean you actually sent cash, and not a money order or check? Did you send it certified with return receipt? If not, how are you going to prove the seller received it? Without that, they can say they never received it. And even with that, it only proves they received a piece of mail - it doesn't prove there was money nor how much in the envelope.

So if you sent cash via regular mail (just put postage on the envelope and dropped it in the mail box), you're probably toast. The seller may deny receipt and there's no way to prove otherwise. Someone with sticky fingers in the postal service may be to blame.

And if you sent a check or money order a month ago, you're just starting to get to the outside limit of reasonable delivery time. Figure a week for the payment to get there after you mailed it (just to be safe) and most Ebayers want 10-14 days after depositing a check to make sure it's going to clear, and then another week from shipping date for it to get to you.

Paypal horror stories? For every one or two horror stories you hear about, there are tens of thousands of success stories you'll not hear about. So now you're probably out $66. At least with PayPal and/or using a credit card, you'd get it back.

 

[TommySalieri]

No, Mike. I didn't send it in cash. Never have, never will
As for PayPal, I would rather lose 66 dollars, than my entire savings. I am not one to take unnecessary risks.

In other news, I took Scot's advice and sent her another e-mail:

Hello Karyl,

I am contacting you again in reference to this auction. Please be advised that I have opened up a dispute; simply because there hasn't been any communication between you and I since I sent the MO. PayPal was not an option because I do not trust them. It is nothing personal, as I am only trying to find answers for the two of us. Clearly, the biggest problem was the lack of communication between us. I sincerely hope that we'll be able to resolve this within the next few days.

Thank you for your patience.

Ricardo


She responded within hours. It has all been resolved and hopefully I'll have it within the next few days.

 

[scotrace]

Well done, Tommy. I'm out some money because I trusted a seller's horse pucky story about "moving." I let it go too long and now can't open a dispute.

Glad that ended well!

 

[Pilgrim]

I respect, but do not share, your opinion about Paypal. I have used them for hundreds of transactions without problems, and I have recovered monies from them after a seller failed to send merchandise.

In fact, I am nearly ready to avoid bidding in any auction which does NOT permit payment via Paypal. When I send a personal or cashier's check, I have no recourse and no potential for recovering money in case the seller doesn't send merchandise or the merchandise is faulty. Paypal - or payment via a credit card when the seller is an actual or virtual merchant - is the best way to pay that I know of.

Does Paypal have problems, or potential problems? Probably. But I submit that the options (cash, personal check, cashier's check, money order) have equivalent or greater problems in terms of security, recourse, or process.

 

[epic610]

i happily endorse PayPal

have never had a problem. think it is the height of paranoia to think signing up for paypal is going to lead to some horrendous stealing of one's wealth.
i have found the internet in general and paypal in particular a safe, convenient and fun way to transact business.