Ebay item has never arrived...

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ulrich.von.lich · #1 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:29 am

I bought a CPU on eBay about 3 weeks ago but it has never arrived. I wonder if anyone here has had similar experience. What should I do? What will happen to the seller if I report my case to eBay?

The seller seemed to be a nice guy from the conversation we had before the deal. But he doesn't respond to my emails now..

Any suggestions?

pianowizard · #2 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:15 pm

Give the seller another week. Perhaps he's on vacation. If he still doesn't respond, report to eBay. It won't hurt you.

ulrich.von.lich · #3 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:27 pm

Thanks for the fast reply! I wonder what would happen if I report to eBay

Will I be able to get my money (or part of it) back?

I've purchased many things on eBay, and there was only one time the item didn't arrive at all. I didn't bother reporting to eBay for only 10 bucks, but this time I paid $237 for the CPU and I'm really scared

#4 Post by **carbon_unit** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:06 pm

3 weeks is too long and he should not have "Gone on vacation" without shipping the item first. I've never had much luck with ebay getting me any money, but Paypal got me a partial refund once. How did you pay? I always use a credit card for anything over $100.00 so I can charge back if they don't ship.
I would report him to ebay and maybe then he will respond.

pianowizard · #5 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:16 pm

I could be mistaken but I think eBay's policy is you need to wait for a month before initiating a dispute.

#6 Post by **rkawakami** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:32 pm

Don't wait too long. PayPal/eBay I believe has a 60-day window in which to file a dispute. Be prepared to back everything up with documentation (emails, eBay messages, etc.). I'm in the middle of a dispute which goes back three months. The seller has already been kicked off eBay and my bank lost the first FAX I sent in with my documentation

.

If yours was an international shipment, then there could be a hang up at customs. Try contacting the seller using both eBay's message system and the PayPal email address he/she uses. When you start out with the dispute process you will be told that you need to contact your trading partner. If you already have not tried getting the seller's contact information, do that. Go to this link:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQtZvbQQsofindtypeZ9

and fill in the seller's ID and item number. You will then receive an email with their contact information, at the same time, they will get yours. Try that route. Sometimes when a seller sees a contact info request in their mailbox, it gets their attention.

edit: Online documentation from eBay appears to say you have 60 days from purchase date to open a dispute.

ulrich.von.lich · #7 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:03 pm

Thank you all for the tips!

The seller did inform me after the shipment. I'm trying to contact him since it's been already 3 weeks and I still haven't received it. He stated he shipped it via USPS Global Priority which would take much less time. And I bought another CPU 10 days later and it arrived already from the US.

I think I'll first try to write him at his Paypal address then wait for another week. I don't even know if I'm eligible to file a dispute. I'm afraid I deleted all our conversation emails as well as eBay messages

(I have a bad habit keeping my email box clean..) All I have now is the receipt from paypal which indicates I paid him $237 on Oct 10.

My paypal account is associated with my credit card. But I don't think my bank can do anything for me... maybe I'll have to start working at mcdonalds

#8 Post by **rkawakami** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:21 pm

If the seller used USPS Priority Mail International you may be able to track the package:

http://www.usps.com/shipping/trackandconfirm.htm

Don't see "Global Priority" as a service any more. There's Global Express but that costs $$$$. Even so, that service has package tracking as well.

Your bank/credit card company probably has rules about how long after a transaction occurs before you cannot file a claim. I'd contact them and find out what their process is. At the minimum, let them know you are having a problem with this particular charge and to put a note about it in your file.

ulrich.von.lich · #9 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:35 pm

It might be something else but I don't have the email he sent me anymore... however I'm sure he didn't give me a tracking number.

After the auction ended, I paid him the postage for the service which takes 6 - 10 days, and he said he shipped it via another service which takes only 4 - 6 days or something. He really seemed to be a nice seller so I never thought anything would happen.

Tomorrow I'll contact my bank to see if there's anything they can do. And in my case (no conversation emails), will I still be able to file a dispute?

#10 Post by **rkawakami** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:05 pm

What basically happens when you open a dispute is that eBay acts as a moderator between you and the seller. A message is sent to the seller asking for information about the transaction. If they do not respond I believe a strike goes on their record. My understanding is that you will also be refunded by PayPal. If they do respond to the message, communication continues between you and the seller until a resolution is reached. Don't let it drag on for too long, otherwise you may go past the 60 day limit.

Review these links: (might be different for France; search http://www.ebay.fr/ for the equivalent topics)

Dispute Console
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d ... RK:ME:LNLK

Item Not Received or Significantly Not as Described Process
http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/inr-snad-process.html

al7kz · #11 Post by **al7kz** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:13 am

delete

ulrich.von.lich · #12 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:54 pm

I've decided to wait for another 6 days (which would be 1 month after paiement) then file a dispute. It'd be my first time to reclaim on eBay. I've had good luck for a long time.

Thanks again for all your help. Those tips has been very useful!

pianowizard · #13 Post by **pianowizard** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:17 pm

Good luck. I went through this process twice. The first time, the seller shipped the item immediately. The second time, the seller had allegedly passed away suddenly. PayPal recovered part of the money and my credit card company got the rest.

BruisedQuasar · #14 Post by **BruisedQuasar** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:07 pm

I strongly suggest that if you used a credit card
through Paypal, call your credit card company and do a charge back immediately. It may already be too late. Credit Card issuers and the cards have limited time windows, usually 30 to
45 days after purchase date.

Most people who try eBay or Paypal dispute end up being run through a clown show and they
get their goofy adverse ruling too late to get a charge back.

I am an online buying consumer activist. I have
purchased items off ebay for 4 years and I wrote a short manual for safer buying off eBay. DO NOT rely on eBay or eBay Paypal to do anything for you, ESPECIALLY if the seller is a POWER SELLER. eBay sides with its Power Sellers, particularly Platinum & Above.

Again, if you used Paypal with a credit card,
immediately call the credit card and try to
get a charge back. The only time I bought
from a bad seller, I experienced first hand the
dispute clown show. I buy nothing off eBay
unless I buy with my credit card linked
Paypal account. Never use a bank account for Paypal, that gives them power of attorney over your account. Paypal can and does unilaterally withdraw funds from accounts, which is why small sellers should only link a special bank account that contains limited funds to Paypal selling, I strongly advise 2 Paypal & 2 eBay accounts. Many bad sellers have dozens of seller accounts. Sellers should setup one account for selling and one for buying. Never buy using your seller account. There are big power sellers who steal from high Feedback small sellers and thus avoid lowering their feedback below 98.XX or 99.XX %. Look
over cell phone battery sellers using toolhaus.org utility. You will find very high
positive feed back sellers who actually have
hundreds of complaints from small sellers
fearful of getting retaliatory bogus neg
feedback from the bad seller.

Furthermore, eBay has a new policy that allows sellers to get negative feedback completely removed if posted by newbie buyers!

A lot of feedback stuffing and hacking goes on. Do not trust a seller merely because s\he has
a 98.XX - 99.XX% Feedback account!

Always run the neg/pos utility at TOOLHAUS.ORG on a seller before buying.
You will be amazed at how many big sellers with high feedback, actually have many complaints. There is also a link on the toolhaus.org page to a great site GUMSHOO.COM which has free utilities
that analyze sellers and finds you the safest
best deals for the product you enter in the
search box.

By the way, my case was simple. I ordered two
items from IMAGEWAREHOUSE. I paid immediately for both through Paypal. I got one and IMAGE claimed I did not pay for the other.
Using this bogus claim IMAGE threw 2 negatives my way in retaliation for my complaint of item not received!

Despite my clear proof that IMAGE only sent one item, live eBay, eBay dispute, & eBay-Paypal dispute ran a clown show on me.

An activist I know has the fascinating claim that live eBay and both dispute forums are not run by people but by Artificial Intelligence Engines, which does make sense considering the goofy replies you get, especially from eBay Live.

Before my deadline arrived, I had my Discover
Card charge back. Since charges have the total, you get your shipping returned as well. Two
weeks later Imagewarehouse sent me an offer
to withdraw negatives. Bad sellers retaliate
against stiffed buyers by posting bogus negatives. They do so to get their neg removed by offering a mutual neg withdrawal.

toolhaus.org is critical to safer buying since
it collects all neutrals and withdrawn negatives so buyers can find out if a high feedback seller is actually a bad seller.

Visit and join Bad-Ebay-Sellers group at Yahoo Groups for details and help.

NOTE: After eBay bought Paypal, it buried
the toll free Paypal phone number. The staff is powerless customer service staff. They listen to you but do not do anything. I call it the sympathy style of customer service. Call anyway to use up eBay-Paypal resources.

The number is so little known that you get
a person right away. 1-888-221-1161

--Bruised

--Are You Part of the Problem or Victim of the Solution?

ulrich.von.lich · #15 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 6:37 am

I guess I'm really having bad luck these days.

I ordered a 1GB memory module from an Australian seller who has 100% positive feedbacks. I received it this morning, put it into my ThinkPad and then I realized it's a 512MB one. I hadn't even looked at what was written on the box.

What should I do now? Is it also reclaimable?

It's even more unpleasant than doing math homework

ulrich.von.lich · #16 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 6:43 am

Btw, the seller has more than 5000 positive feedbacks but most of them are marked as private. What does that mean?

ajkula66 · #17 Post by **ajkula66** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 6:59 am

It doesn't have to mean anything. I've had some of my worst experiences with sellers who had "great" feedback.

First of all, people are afraid to leave negative feedback because of retalliation. Second, once you have a 4-digit feedback you can slack off, because you really won't be affected that much with negative feedback now and again. It's all a numbers game.

"Private" means that the item sold can't be "pulled" and seen by item number, because the listing was "private", therefore you don't know whether it was a $0.05 item, or $500 item.

Time for you to get into your PayPal account and file an "item not received" dispute. Wait a couple of hours and escalate it into a claim. That's the only way to go.

Hopefully, you've paid by a credit card so if PayPal starts giving you a hard time you can file for a chargeback and get your money back anyway, although I don't predict that will be necessary. I would file for a chargeback a week from now if nothing gets resolved.

Feel free to PM me if you need any guidance through this most unpleasant issue.

Ebay item has never arrived...

Ebay item has never arrived...

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