Need Advice NP purchase on ebay Harvey Storm related Update last pg Resolved

[tulagirl]

A Day Before Harvey Hit

Okay so I saw this one of a kind lot of something on ebay that I really wanted.  I contacted the seller before purchasing it because, I knew we were going to have bad weather here in Houston from Harvey.  I wanted to ask them if I could purchase it and they hold it until our mail was up and running again.  I was expecting that to only be like a week.  I also assured her that unless I lost my wifi I would contact her periodically to let her know when to ship them.  The seller agreed she would be glad to hold my items until I could receive mail.  So I purchased and paid for the lot.

Well, even though we knew it was going to be bad, none of us knew it would be this bad.  Postal services have been suspended in our city for most zip codes until further notice.    Yesterday I contacted her as I promised to do.  I told her that the storm was really bad and, we still have no postal service in the city.  I explained I needed her to hold them until next week and maybe it would be running then.  The whole city is under water.  So, then she suggests maybe she should refund me and relist. 

This kind of upset me because I contacted her ahead of time and asked if it would be too much trouble to hold things and she said it was fine.  She does not operate an ebay store.  So, I told the seller not to refund me.  I explained that I really want the lot very much and was looking so forward to getting it.  If she has to mail it, I might not get it, but I released her from holding them any longer if it was becoming too much trouble for her.  At this point seller says "no problem, I will just hold them."

I guess I am really stressed out right now.  We have gone through a lot over here.  I am worried she won't give me the time I need when she agreed to in the beginning.  I will be very disappointed if she cancels the sale and I guess there is nothing I can do. I had no idea things in my city would be this bad. I think the magnitude of it is hard to imagine. I don't want to be a problem for this seller.  I would have no problem holding something a couple of weeks for a buyer especially if I found out they were in this kind of situation.

What are your thoughts?  I need advice on what to tell her.  Do I just tell her to ship them when I know I won't get them?  These items can't be bought again ever.  They are one of a kind and antique.  They will not probably arrive for a long time if ever with things like they are?  Is it wrong for me to be slightly upset that I took the time to ask if this would be a problem and they assured me it would not and now I feel like it might be?  Or am I just getting emotional and misunderstanding this seller's intentions?  Maybe they were trying to be accommodating of me in a bad situation and I am taking it the wrong way?  Now I just feel all nervy about the fact they are having to hold my items a bit longer when I thought things were fine.  Maybe they still are.  I don't know.  Was it just plain stupid of me to purchase something before a storm? 

Talk to me...

[shelvesofwhimsy]

The only thing I can think of is (correct me if I'm wrong), but I think that ebay sellers get dinged if an item takes longer to be marked "shipped" than the standard handling time. I think it may contribute to their rating and if they're store is performing above average or not.

That being said, I am very very surprised that someone would be unsympathetic to the fact that parts of Texas are going through h*** right now! It's all over the news, so I would be just as frustrated and upset as you are. Especially because you communicated to them up front about the weather conditions. You have also paid, so it is not like they're holding unclaimed items

I would wait to contact them again until you think you can have the items shipped- unless they contact you first. She has said she will hold them at least.

[tulagirl]

Yea but she doesn't have a store and she could mark it as shipped and just wait to mail it right?  I don't want to mess up  her rating but wouldn't ebay understand if they had a copy of our communications?  Should I call ebay and let them know what is going on?  I don't mind doing that. I have been on the phone all day just trying to figure out how I am going to pay the bills I have that are due with  no post office. blaaaaaaa

[Duenia]

I'd probably at this point let her refund you and relist so that you can have a friend in a non-impacted area get the items and hold onto it for you until the storm clears. That way you have a level of certainty in the whole hey at least someone I trust has it until I can receive it.

That said I really am surprised as well at the lack of sympathy considering the situation.

[jrr74]

I'd probably at this point let her refund you and relist so that you can have a friend in a non-impacted area get the items and hold onto it for you until the storm clears. That way you have a level of certainty in the whole hey at least someone I trust has it until I can receive it.

That said I really am surprised as well at the lack of sympathy considering the situation.

This is what I was going to suggest.  I am sure the seller may be a bit nervous not getting the item shipped in a reasonable amount of time.  I don't know why they would get dinged by eBay, but then again, I don't sell on eBay, just buy

[NightGliderSA]

I am so sorry you are going through a (really) rough time! It doesn't help to have this stress on top of everything else  . Could you not perhaps arrange with the seller to have the package shipped to a friend / relative who lives out of the area?

I live in SA, so have an SA shipping address. But I have family and friends overseas and so have from time to time arranged to have my purchases delivered to them rather than here if someone is coming out for a visit. Therefore it is possible, and might be a solution to your problem?

I hope it gets resolved quickly: please let us know!

[Lollipop]

Not what you need with everything that is going on in Texas. 

I would not tell her to refund & re-list because you risk loosing them completely by being outbid by another seller who is not your friend (or someone else might buy it before your friend if it is a buy it now). I am sure you do not want this to happen especially as you said it is OOAK & Antique.

Have you got any family or friends who aren't in Texas/affected by the storm that you could have them sent to? Then when the weather clears up they send them onto you?
Maybe some lovely pony here on the area could help you with this if not? 
(I'd offer but I am in the UK so that wouldn't help)

Alternatively if she is worried about 'Ebay' dinging her or whatever (although pretty sure they don't I have loooooaddds of ponies & items I have purchased where the seller never marked them as dispatched (some do have stores)... even though I know they dispatched them because I have the pony or item now )
Then tell her to mark it as dispatched but to please not dispatch it until you contact her again saying the postal services are open again.

or
you just have it sent to you. Make sure it is sent with full tracking & a signature upon delivery, so you can keep an eye on exactly where it is.
When storms (& Holidays) cause delays with USPS, the delays can cause the delivery to take up to 25 working days instead of the usual time frame (we had one order once take 35 working days to arrive, luckily this was a lovely customer who ordered months in advance so they didn't mind, just happy we kept them updated).
What we have found in all our years of selling all over the world, is that very very rarely do things go missing completely, they will turn up eventually. If you do find your parcel is stuck somewhere once Texas post is going again, contact USPS they may be able to help get to get it moving again.
Basically what happens with Storms (& sometimes around the Holidays) is things that were supposed to be moving on these days but weren't able to are put on a shelf & sorted at the end of the month (well this is what USPS & Royal Mail have told us before). So they should get to you eventually just there will more than likely be delays.



I do think the best option would be to have it sent somewhere else to a family or friend who isn't affected by the storm though. As then the seller doesn't have to stress & you don't have to stress either you can know it is there waiting with your friend/family once the storm is over.   



Hopefully the storm clears up for you soon, was looking at some of the flood pictures on FB yesterday can't believe how much water 
We have a regular customer (well friend now we talk to her so much) who is in Texas (Friendswood) have messaged her to see if she & her family are okay, but no reply yet (although not expecting one until the storm clears & things calm down), I know she has a lot of family in Texas (& a ranch with lots of Horse)
Hope you are okay
 

[kitkatvintage]

The only thing I can think of is (correct me if I'm wrong), but I think that ebay sellers get dinged if an item takes longer to be marked "shipped" than the standard handling time. I think it may contribute to their rating and if they're store is performing above average or not.

This is probably the exact problem from the seller's end. Any seller (even without a store) will get dinged if the item is not both marked shipped & scanned in by the post office within the allotted time. Earlier this year I had 12 packages picked up from my house, but they were not scanned in by the PO until 4 days later. I received 12 defects on my account for delayed shipping for each one of those packages due to a postal worker's error. It takes a full 12 month cycle for the defects drop off your account, so if the seller is under a probation or has a Top Rated Seller status (with included fee & shipping discounts) any lengthy shipping delays can have long term effects on their account.

As some have recommended, see if the seller can ship to a friend or relative who can hold the ponies until it's safe to mail them to you.

[tulagirl]

Thank you all. I appreciate your help.  I went to my post office this morning and they are open, they just can't get mail from the central distribution area.  So, they will have to set up another distribution area possibly.  I won't be getting mail, but they are taking shipments and doing business.  I feel they will have something in place after labor day.  I told my seller to just ship the items to me.  They are not willing to send to an address of anyone other than me due to lack of seller protection.  I expected that.  So they will ship my package and I will just have to hope I get it.  All I can do is try and hope.  It is a hard thing to do, but I had no other options than to get a refund and I don't want a refund. I want to take the chance to get my stuff.  That is how much I wanted it.  I did not say anything to them about the mail issue because, the Mayor has clearly said that Houston must get things running like normal no matter what and that our infrastructure must continue to operate in spite of what is going wrong.  They have provisions in place and it is just a matter of them working out how they will get mail to the neighborhoods that are not under water.  It usually takes two weeks.  So, I have faith.


Update: I got mail today and it gave me a chance to talk to the postal carrier that told me they are not getting all the postal packages or mail  right now. They are delivering what they got before the storm I guess.  Perhaps they are getting some of it so, it will depending on where it is coming from.  This made me happy though.  She said it would take a couple of weeks and that is what I figured.

[NightGliderSA]

What a difficult situation to be in, I am sorry! Please let us know when your package arrives.

[tulagirl]

Yea right now the tracking says that it is unable to be processed due to weather delays.  So, basically, it is still in the seller's post office. Booooo Harvey.  What a mess.  This just adds stress to all of us.  We are having to pay local address bills over the phone.  I am not getting my bills in the mail so, I am having to call to get amounts to pay online.  Houston needs a central postal center that is on 12 foot stilts! So, pony friends that shipped to me, don't worry if I didn't get my pony.  It is going to take some time.  I do believe they will do everything they can to protect our parcels, but this is just one huge mess.  I feel so sorry for the people expecting paychecks of any kind or mail order prescriptions.

[LittleKirara]

If you don't mind me asking what pony did you purchase?

[lunar_scythe]

If you don't mind me asking what pony did you purchase?

NP means it was a "non pony" purchase.

[LittleKirara]

Ohh derpppp Never mind

[tulagirl]

I just wanted to let everyone know I got my items just fine.  It took some time but they did arrive and I was quite pleased about that, and that I didn't cancel my purchase.