Issues with a private seller... Advice?

[fiwen30]

I'll start by saying that this problem is NOT here on the Arena, but on another forum I frequent.

On the 13th of Feb a member posted up lots of doll clothes for sale which attracted a lot of interest from loads of people, so they got back to me on the 15th confirming my purchase. They asked if I could pay for just the clothes, no shipping cost, so they could be sure what was sold and what wasn't.

2 days later, I asked when I'd be getting a postage price so I could complete my half of the transaction and was told I'd get it on Tues 21st....which came, and then went. Got another message on the 25th apologising and stating costs would go out on the 27th...which came, and then went.

I sent a short message on the 5th of March wondering if I can get my quote, please. This has been sitting, unopened since then, even though the seller has been online everyday since it was sent. The next day, I put a neutral post on the sales thread, asking if anyone had got their shipping costs yet incase it was just me being jerked around - 3 other members posted that they had paid for things a while ago, but with no quotes or contact coming forward they were worried.

It's been over 3 weeks since I, and presumably the others, paid for our things. Admittedly, the seller did have on their sales thread that they were a slow shipper due to work commitments, which is understandable, but 3 weeks? Am I being totally unreasonable/a pest? I just want the things I've paid for...

[Saoirse]

Did you use paypal?

[Maniah]

If you used paypal, you may be able to file with Paypal to get the money back. I don't think you are being unreasonable at all. It sounds like a scam to me.

[fiwen30]

I did use Paypal, and I think the cut-off point for reclaiming money is 45 days, right?

I'd be hesitant to call this a scam just yet as the seller is quite an active member of the community, and has 4 pages of positive feedback...however I'm increasingly annoyed and concerned that they've been holding/spent our money for 3 weeks with no forward communication. I've got around 20 days left before I wont be able to claim, but I don't know how long I should wait before taking it up with the mods on the other forum?

It's sad because I'm in a better financial position now, and would've liked to buy more things from their sales thread, but I honestly don't want to give them anymore of my money...

[Saoirse]

Id send an email, saying you'll give x amount of days and be forced to open a paypal claim...thats just what I'd do though

[littlexflitter]

Even if someone has lots of positive feedback, they can still take a downhill turn. If you have no contact from your seller, please don't wait so long to open a claim with PayPal that you can no longer do so. You should definitely email your seller and tell them that unless they work on your transaction you will be opening a claim on day X. Be careful, though, that some people will try to stall you as long as possible so you can't make a claim--maybe send you a shipping quote...and then simply never actually ship and you can no longer recover the purchase price from the items. It's best to be on the safe side and open a claim before you lose the ability to do so.

[Ringlets]

How stressful!  sorry to hear you and other buyers are having to wait for so long 
 The worrying thing is that the seller is still actively posting , but hasnt sorted this out
 
 

I did use Paypal, and I think the cut-off point for reclaiming money is 45 days, right?

yes you are right ^^ . RL commitments can effect how fast people sort out their transactions etc  but Keep that  deadline in mind and dont let the seller make any excuses to put you off opening a claim if it gets close to that date and you still havent received your items   Just because a seller has a lot of good feedback doesnt mean they cant become a bad seller later.. lets face it - even some scammers have had very good feedback before they started scamming     Hopefully this person will sort things out, but I would send them an "urgent response required" email/PM  when it comes to a week before the paypal deadline, if you havent had your stuff.  I also would not recommend buying any other items from this person

[fiwen30]

Thanks for the input everyone

I'll definitely be aware of my 45 day deadline and will be sure to open a claim before then. I've posted a 'for the attention of' thread in the hope of generating some response, if not then it'll be opening my PP claim and leaving appropriate feedback... *sigh*

[kCherry]

How aggravating. It sounds like you are on the right path, though! Good luck with it; I hope you hear back from her soon instead of having to get serious! Keep us posted!

[tulagirl]

Oh gosh and its happening to everyone. That really is a long time..3 weeks. I had a seller on ebay wait three weeks to send me a pony I needed for a swap and I didn't get to use it.  People can be so slow and they don't seem to realize how it affects others. Thats frustrating.  The lack of communication is even more upsetting..when you are waiting and waiting and nothing. blaaaa