diaphonealoe on ebay... anyone else had problems?

[Sarah-Bee]

Hi pony peeps
 
I'm going to keep this brief as I just typed it all out and then lost what I'd written!
 
Has anyone else bought from diaphonealoe on ebay and had problems?
 
I bought a Taobao variant who didn't arrive after 30 days so contacted her. She was polite and advised the date sent and then emailed me a few days later to ask if she'd arrived. I advised not and that I was growing concerned. She said she'd send another one and had done this before receiving my request for a refund instead of another pony, as in the meantime she'd received negative feedback for situations similar to mine.
 
Now my PayPal deadline is here so I've filed a dispute to which she replied implying I was lieing. This given the negative feedback lead me to escalate the dispute to a claim.
 
She then sent the following messgae:
 
"URGENT PLEASE READ:
Due to not being able to pay ebay fees because of
the case, I'm requesting that you cancel it. Princess Celestia has been
sent out but I am unable to provide tracking overseas. This brings up
another issue, since this case is being held over international waters,
it's very nervous. If the case is closed and you do not receive your item
in 3 to 4 weeks, you can happily open it up again. However because this
case is open I'm unable to pay fees, bills, and other things as well. I
REALLY would appreciate it if you would wait. I understand because I myself
have ordered things international and they take quite some time. PLEASE
bare with me and be patient."
 
My response to this:
 
"I am sorry for your situation but you also have responsibilities as a seller which need to be met. If I close the case I cannot reopen it in 3 weeks because PayPal has deadlines and that deadline is in the next couple of days so that would leave me without buyer protection.
In the case of items lost in the post then you need to claim the money back from your post office. It is unfair to ask your buyers to do what you are asking. I have already waited more than a reasonable length of time for the ponies to arrive.
While ever I sympathise with your situation I cannot close the case and lose the protection I currently have through PayPal for this large sum if money that currently I have nothing to show for."
 
She now appears to be trying to guilt me into cancelling my claim and I would be left without buyer protection if I did what she said.
 
If the pony arrives and she's refunded me I will repay her, I'm not out to rob her, I just want my money back for goods I haven't received.
 
I just wondered if anyone else had any similar experiences, or indeed any good experiences to ease my mind about the whereabouts of this pony?
 
Thanks!

Love, Sarah x

[cobalte]

If I am right - when you close a claim with PayPal, you can't open it again? So do not close that claim.


EDIT - also this is probably better off in Trader Support, gonna poke a mod to move it

[hikari_amaya]

Do not close it. If she's has situations before that send a million red flags for me.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I hope you get your items.. please update us in the Trader Support forum if you don't, or if she begins to harass you.

It is understandable why she might be upset at the Paypal claim, but as your response read, that isn't your problem as a buyer.  If she can't go without the money for the time it takes the package to reach you, she really has no business selling.    Taking on shipping risks and costs is part of the benefit to selling in an international market.  She should understand that you only have 45 days to open a claim and that the mail could take even longer than that.  That was HER decision to sell internationally!   

[SourdoughStomper]

I will move this over to Trader Support for you.

[Sarah-Bee]

Urg, where did I put it?! I meant to put it in TS! I was having a stressful few minutes though so apologies for that!

Oh don't worry there's no way I'm closing it and I think you're right that you can't re-open it once it's closed. I was just wondering what experiences, if any, anyone else had, and wanted to give people a heads up with the info I have about her

Thanks for reading (and moving my post - sorry about that!) xxx

[ponylady]

Sorry your having to go through this Sarah-Bee.
 
Do not close the case, it is true that once the claim is closed you can not reopen it.  And do not let her guilt you into thinking so by saying she needs to pay her ebay fee's, they are not due until the 15th of each month unless she is behind.     Plus she has 20 days to prove she shipped it or that the item arrives to you and you can close the dispute.   
 
I can say though that International mail is at it's slowest that I have ever seen in all my years on ebay.  I have packages going to the UK, Germany and Australia taking twice as long as before.  And that's at the 45+ mark.  And although this maybe the case you were within your rights to open the claim considering her feedback is reflecting that she is having issues with being out of stock and items not received.
 
I would email her back and explain that as soon as the item arrives the dispute will be closed, otherwise you feel it is in your best interest to keep the case open till the issue is resolved.
 
 

[buddyboymama]

While I didn't have a problem, my transaction with her didn't inspire confidence. I bought an international exclusive, which was one of two available. It was never marked as being shipped, but it arrived fairly quickly. Then I received an email from her apologizing for the delay in shipment; she would send it right away. I told her not to ship to me, as I had already received my item. She had mixed up the orders, so I assume the other buyer waited a while for her package.


Hopefully, your package will show up, but leaving the case open in the meantime sounds like a good idea. It sounds like you have a good reason to be cautious.

[Stormy31685]

I absolutely had a problem with this seller, and I would strongly recommend not buying from her.  Do not close your case.  She did ship my items, but only AFTER I had to open a case on her.

I have been extremely leery of this seller ever since...

HUGE HUGS!  I hope everything works out alright for you!

[Ringlets]

Oh noes what a pain for you! I hate when sellers try the guilt trip thing      TBH if other people are having problems now and there have been issues in the past, I would be very wary of dealing with this seller. Dont let her make you feel bad, and do not close the case whatever she says cos as the others already said, you cant re-open it and you stand a very good chance of losing your monies   International mail is very slow right now so you might still get your pony, but dont take any risks  

I would email her back and explain that as soon as the item arrives the dispute will be closed, otherwise you feel it is in your best interest to keep the case open till the issue is resolved.

This is what I would say too ^^
 

[Sarah-Bee]

Sorry to hear other people have had problems too, I thought it might be the case as she seems to have had quite a few variants and stuff for sale lately which would obviously attract the attention of our comminity.

I've had some information from outside the arena about a problem transaction too :/ So I'm now of the mind that my pony isn't going to arrive I hope she does though.... I'd prefer the pony to a refund! Though at least with a PayPal claim open I will get a refund if she doesn't show up as the seller has already told me she doesn't have a tracking number.

Wish me luck! xx

[ponylady]

Good Luck!
 
But why does she not have a Customs Number for you?  Although it does not track the package it will itleast show that is was accepted at the PO.  It would help her dispute and also give you a piece of mind?

[kCherry]

Good Luck!
 
But why does she not have a Customs Number for you?  Although it does not track the package it will itleast show that is was accepted at the PO.  It would help her dispute and also give you a piece of mind?

  This!! Or scans of the shipping receipt at the very least! If she shipped we all know that she should have a receipt.

  Anyways, I hope that you get your pony soon!! Thanks so much for posting here so we all know what's going on with this seller!

[Sarah-Bee]

Nope, she's not given me anything, I really believe she hasn't shipped to be honest. I'll keep you updated. At the moment she says she'll refund me when she has the money, but PayPal require her response by 8th March and if she hasn't responded then they'll make a decision. Based on past experience they should send me the refund and collect the money back from her if she can't prove she's shipped it.
 
(edit cos I can't spell )

[Sarah-Bee]

Well, no pony but PayPal issued a refund yesterday so at least I got my money back.

What should I do about feedback do you think? Sometimes I feel like just leaving none because it's easier but I don't want other collectors, especially those here, to get ripped off :/

I don't think I could leave negative because she was pleasant the whole way through except that one tiny comment implying I was lieing (she put 'supposedly' in brackets when referring to the fact that I hadn't received the pony) so could leave neutral saying that I had to get a refund because the pony didn't arrive? Or am I being too nice??