Ebay venting

[faithfulbutler]

I want to vent about an Ebay seller and if i can't do it here amongst my friends where can i do it?

A little background to illustrate my frustration and anger first.As many of you know i am an absolute Alex ross Nut and i've deperately wanted a copy of the one-shot"Liberty and Justice"for ages.Trying to get it here is next to impossible,i'd have more luck getting Blood from a Stone than finding it in this Country. >:(And believe me i tried to get it here.
Anyways,i've been considerably short of Cash due to paying for the Course[plus i'm on a disabled pension which isn't much] i've just completed so if i want something i have to sell something first.So i did and had the spending Money.I found an Ebay dealer,with fantastic feedback[over 2000]that had the Book for a what i consider a reasonable price and reasonable shipping.So i bought it.
I waited a more than acceptable time for it to arrive and then emailed,the reply was"it should be there any day soon."I accepted this as it was post-XMAS and shipping can always be erratic around the silly season.
I gave it another 2 weeks and emailed again,the Seller could then not tell me whether they had shipped it by Air or Surface Mail which i found odd considering they had fixed shipping costs so they should know what methods they used.So anyway from that point on there was a lot of writing to them trying to get an answer and i kept getting put off by the Seller.
Until the dreaded 45 day deadline to get a refund from Paypal,once that had passed they would not and still won't communicate with me at all.And of course then my money is lost!
It's not the amount that annoys me,although it doesn't help,it's the fact they lied and stalled until i had no chance of getting my Money back.So,no Book and no cash to try again.
Quite frankly it sucks and is extremely disappointing,chalk it up to experience but i need to vent.Plus i'm still gonna have to try and track this book down again someday.Hope i haven't bored you all.

[aburabusimbutu]

Andy-
I had excatly the same experience with an ass on eBay over an Aquaman Mego figure I bought- $45 (much more than I would usually spend on an action figure). Lots of excuses and lies until 45 days passed and then no answers. No figure, out $45 and no course of action to follow.
Here's a tip though- try getting a PayPal refund- unless they can PROVE through tracking records that you didn't receive the item you should still be able to get your money back I believe. I just found about this very recently. They will debit his account. Let me know how it goes...

[casimir]

Vent away, my friend.

My point of view: I've been burned enough times now, I no longer play the part of patient nice guy. If something doesn't arrive in what I consider to be a reasonable amount of time, or if the behavior I get back (if at all) from a seller or buyer is somewhat shady, I get aggressive. Chances are if it's late at all, it was never sent. True, I've had some genuinely nice and honest people who just fell behind, but they COMMUNICATE with me, even if I have to poke them with a stick. But those are the exceptions.

God, if I had a nickel for ever eBay who tells me "Oh, I was sick in the hospital," "I broke my arm," or " My [insert favorite relative here] passed on." I know these things happen, and I'm certainly sympathetic, but I've gotten excuses like these far too often to be legit everytime.

C.

[radioscooter]

Agreed. That being said, I had two times last year where I legitimately could not get my sale stuff out on time for just those reasons Cas. Sometimes you just don't know.

Coming from a seller's point of view - there are big differences between buying on ebay and buying from "Best Buy" or wherever. That's part of what people need to know when they enter the ebay fray. You accept that risk for whatever savings or unique opportunity you are getting by buying through ebay. If you don't and if you want it to be like a store with a functioning arbitration or service center - SIMPLY DON'T PLAY!

For every "bad seller" story you can come up with I can match them with a "bad buyer" one. And, since I buy on ebay a lot I've also got my share of bad seller ones as well. The best thing you can do is just vent here or to a friend and get it out and over with.

PayPal still will attempt to get SOME of your money back even after 45 days sometimes. Give it a shot like Kevin said.

Andy - I'll be happy to send you my copy of liberty and justice - I can always get another. send me your address.
-S

-S

[casimir]

But Scooter, I suspect that you let your buyers know you were delayed, yes? At least within a reasonable amount of time. When weeks or months pass with no communication, something funny's going on.

Communication is key!

C.

[faithfulbutler]

I agree that communication is the key,and Scot you raise very valid points for both sides.I am far from an Ebay newbie myself both selling and buying and when i do sell i go out of my way to make sure my Buyers know what's going on always!
I've been burnt before by Sellers and Buyers this isn't my first time unfortunately.Firstly i just wanted to share my frustration especially since this Seller was a highly-established so called Ebay Store and secondly he knew how to play the game to stall an international Customer.Shipping to OZ if by Surface Mail can take up to 90days[or sometimes even more,Ships are not fast]and i'm pretty sure he was aware of that.So the 45 day cut-off date is a real curse when you live so far from everywhere else.Oh well,live and learn.
Thanks for your generous offer too Scot,you've made me a very happy man!PM on the way.

[faithfulbutler]

UPDATE
Well,looks like this time my complaining at Paypal has gotten some action.I just received an email from the Seller stating they will"re-send"the book.They also said they will send a scan of the Registered Mail slip to me.
Looks like a win this time,makes a nice change.

[Figuremaster Les]

That's what it takes my friend.
Persistance!

Paid off for me once.

[Wild Willy]

Glad to here things are working out Fb. yer too nice-A guy to have crap like that.

Will