Having a small ebay problem - need advice

[xkappax]

Hi,
I was wondering if you arena members could help me. I'm relatively new to the whole pony buying thing, that is, I don't do it a whole lot... and I am going through a situation on ebay that is similar to the " Pony incident" that I faced a little while ago.

I am dealing with a seller that has 100 percent positive feedback and they have tons of sales, but I still have a potential problem happening.

I won a pony from them for WAY less than it is worth. WAY LESS. I guess no one saw the auction and I got a great deal. So... they marked the item shipped on the 17th of may, and it is not at my house.

Given the history of what happened with Pony, I honestly do not think this item is even shipped, and I believe that the seller may be giving me a few lines and that she is ultimately just going to refund my money and relist the pony to get what she wants for it. I am hoping this is not the case, but I am wondering what steps can be taken by me to make sure that this item has actually been shipped.

If this ends up being true, is there a way I can contact Ebay and let them know about this? That the seller is relisting an item that should have been sold to me?

And is there a way that she can go to the post office and get me proof that she did, in fact, send this thing? I know that was what ponyadore was asked to do during the Pony hooves incident, and she failed to comply.

Again, as usual, this is something I really wanted. It's not something that a refund would fix.

So, I ask you guys as a community, what can I do or say to help get this item to come to me instead of just getting a refund?

I seriously found 4 four leaf clovers this week whilst gardening. This is not the sort of luck I am supposed to be having. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ponylady]

I am taking it that you have contacted the seller to see where your item maybe?  If so may I ask what kinda lines she is giving you?
 
If she has it marked shipped then she should have a postal receipt.  And on that postal receipt whether it be first class, Priority, etc. there should be a number you can plug into USPS to see when the package was accepted at the PO.  I would tell her you would like the number.
 
In terms of ebay, you will have to open a case and if she does not provide the information that I stated above the case will close in your favor and your money returned.  Just make sure you handle this within a 45 day time range or you will not be able to.  Also at the bottom of this link you can report her for non-performance:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-practices.html
 
Unfortunately, though they can not force her to send the item.  The only recourse would be to leave negative and a low detailed star rating.  If she cares anything about her feedback or reputation she will do what's right and ship the item.

[xkappax]

This is EXTREMELY useful information, ponylady. My paranoia might be just that at this point, but with the Pony incident... well... you know, I'm a little wary of people.

I'll request this info when she emails me back.
She's probably an honest person... and this has probably gotten legitimately lost ... because that is the sort of luck I have, LOL!

[Breyer600]

If she has it marked shipped then she should have a postal receipt.  And on that postal receipt whether it be first class, Priority, etc. there should be a number you can plug into USPS to see when the package was accepted at the PO.  I would tell her you would like the number.
 
 

Is this only for postage printed online?  Because I've looked at my own receipts (paid at the counter) and don't see any such number on them.  Of course, my receipts do show the date, time, and zip codes for everything I sent; so if that's the way her receipts are, a scan/picture should prove she shipped.  However, I once shipped a package at a very tiny post office and the receipt only showed the total and not what it was for (I'm not sure it even listed a date and time) - hopefully, she uses a larger post office than that one!
 
I hope she comes through for you!

[ponylady]

I have always had some sort of number on my receipts for domestic and International.  I could be wrong about the first class but for Priority most definitely and same for International postage.
 
Actually I am not sure why she did not just print her label from ebay because there is a number that automatically shows up not matter how you ship.  Plus it's cheaper.
 
 
 

[xkappax]

I'm still, as of now, awaiting a reply from her. The thing that is really tripping me up is that this is a reputable seller. I really REALLY want to give them the benefit of the doubt. But right now, it's just seeming a little weird. The Pony situation may have made me paranoid, but this is the way I see it.

The buyer offered me a refund if the item doesn't show up by today. ... (my mail doesn't come till 4:30, so it might actually show up, in which case I will feel like an amazingly huge idiot) The buyer was very quick to offer me the refund, instead of offering to check where the item was. This is fishy to me only because if this person offers me a refund, they are now out of an item AND out of the money. If I were the seller, I would check with the post office to make sure that the buyer (me) is not lying. I am not... and I have 100 percent feedback, though, so maybe they're just trusting me.

After what happened to me with Pony, I have to approach everything as if the person is lying to me or scamming me, and I hate it. I want to believe that people are good (which most of them are) ... but that incident changed me and really made me think twice about buying things online.

If this goes down badly, I may give up on the whole online collecting thing. I really hope this package is at my house tonight, because I really don't want to have to file any sort of dispute or anything. The ponyadore/:muffin: Pony incident was upsetting enough to me.

But... I'll speak with the seller and see if we can resolve this somehow. I REALLY want to give this person the benefit of the doubt. I just also wanted to know what to do just in case this does go bad, so thank you.

[teresat]

I am in a similar situation for a pony from ebay. Ebay indicates an estimated delivery date which has past but it also shows 5-11 business days for the shipping method so I am waiting until the 11 business days have past before taking any actions. Most other shipments made at the same time, even international ones, have already arrived. So xkappax you are not being paranoid or anything like that. I would be suspicious too.

OT: Ponylady: Do all USPS international shipments get a tracking number of some sort regardless of shipping method?

Edited from 10-15 days to 5-11 days! I better contact the seller!

[ponylady]

Yes they do.  The only thing is First Class does not track it but it will show proof of acceptance at your PO.
 
 

[teresat]

Good to know. Thanks!

[Ringlets]

I'm so sorry to hear you are having another seller problem xkappax   I understand why you are worried of course, since the item sold for less than its value, and the seller was quick to offer a refund .
 However, if the seller does have lots of good feedback, it might just be that she is worried about getting a neg so thats why she/he is offering to refund so quickly. The best thing they could do though rather than just refund you at this point,  is to show you a copy of the shipping receipt which would prove they sent the item .   Is this an international item BTW? international items do take longer than 2 weeks generally  sometimes they arrive within 5-7 days, but more often its 3-5 weeks). Just keep an eye on your 45 day deadline and you wont be out of monies. If the seller is genuine and they refund you, but they have already sent the pony, then you can send the payment back to them once your pony arrives.
In the meantime keep a watch on this sellers other listings, just incase they do attempt to relist your item (in which case report them)   
Here's hoping that the pony arrives safely and you dont end up having to deal with another bad seller! Please let us know what happens

[xkappax]

It was an item coming from florida, and it should have been here by now. Ugh. The person seems very nice... and she said she'd check with the post office today. I'm going to wait till tonight and hear what she has to say. I'm still giving her the benefit of the doubt, but I will ALWAYS have the ponyadore situation in my mind when buying rare things from now until eternity.

[ponylady]

  Kappa.  If I had to personally go through that whole ponyadore experience, I would feel the same way.  I am still shell-shocked over it and I was on the outside looking in.

[xkappax]

Than you. That was literally one of the worst things I have ever had to deal with... but it did have a relatively good outcome in the end, and while some people got ripped off, I think pretty much everyone who got ripped off got at least some of their stuff back... but... going through that and thinking "I'm going to have to confront this person".... when I'm not a confrontational person... it was the worst feeling in the world. I was sick over it.

I always get wary when someone says "lost in the mail" or whatever.. I always think they're trying to pull a fast one on me now.

[teresat]

My item was also coming from Florida and she also said she is checking with the PO today. Hmmmm...PMing you xkappax.

[xkappax]

Well, it's a few days later, so I thought I'd post an update. No pony in the mail, and contact from the seller has stopped. I'm beginning to think the worst and that my suspicions were right, but I'm going to wait until monday for another contact from the seller. If that doesn't happen, i'm going to have to file a dispute with ebay and I REALLY don't want to do that. I will keep you posted.