Not sure whether to file "Didn't Receive Item" claim

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I ordered an item off eBay on December 28th. The estimated delivery date was between January 13th to January 15th. It hasn't shown up yet, it's not marked as shipped, the seller has not responded to either of my messages yet, and their most recent feedback has multiple negatives talking about ahipping.

But at the same time, I know things are chaotic, the postal service is overloaded and has been subjected to top-down sabotage...

And the item I bought was a rare deal for the item in question.

Idk what to do

[tailrustedtealeaf]

If you don't have a tracking number at all, file the claim.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I don't have a tracking number, no.

I'm just worried that eBay will do a bad job on actually trying to contact and prod the seller, and then just give me a refund instead of making them ship the goods.

And that's assuming the seller isn't having legit difficulties. Or worse.

ETA:It's not out of the question that something may have happened to them... Looking at the feedback profile, there's a lot of good feedback. Lots of praise for fast shipping, item in good condition, stuff like that. It's only the five most recent feedback entries that speak of no communication and no shipping. And meanwhile, the seller's eBay store is completely empty. From what I hear, your typical scammer or inept seller tends to still be doing business in the mean time.
The abrupt shift in feedback, coupled with the complete lack of listings... It does suggest the possibility that the store's open but nobody's been home for a while.

[banditpony]

If you don't have a tracking number at all, file the claim.

Agreed.

I'm just worried that eBay will do a bad job on actually trying to contact and prod the seller, and then just give me a refund instead of making them ship the goods.

It's not ebay's job to force a seller to send out goods.

[PinkieLopBun]

It's not ebay's job to force a seller to send out goods.

Maybe not, but he said it was a rare deal for the item in question, so I imagine he'd still rather get it this way instead of trying to find it somewhere else.

[banditpony]

It's not ebay's job to force a seller to send out goods.

Maybe not, but he said it was a rare deal for the item in question, so I imagine he'd still rather get it this way instead of trying to find it somewhere else.

IMO, it's better to be realistic about expectations of ebay's role in a dispute.. OP just made an assumption that it's ebay's "job" to make the seller send it. That's not true at all when it comes what ebay calls buyer protection.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I understand how frustrating it is to not receive a good deal on a rare item, but these things do have time limits. You're approaching a month and I think that's the length of time you have to file a claim, unless I'm getting Depop and eBay scrambled.

[Ponybookworm]

I had the same issue recently. I messaged the seller first, to ask where the item was. When I heard nothing back from the seller, that was when I brought eBay in.
In my case it was something for my sharky, & there were others available. But do message the seller first.

[banditpony]

I understand how frustrating it is to not receive a good deal on a rare item, but these things do have time limits. You're approaching a month and I think that's the length of time you have to file a claim, unless I'm getting Depop and eBay scrambled.

This is correct. Timeline is 30 days after the estimated delivery time. So it's getting very close to that, depending on what that day was.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210#eBMG%20timelines

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

If it's 30 days from the estimated delivery date, January 13-15, that's 2 weeks off. If it's 30 days from the order date, I'd have to open now.

If eBay makes no effort to prod the seller themsdlves, why do they let you choose between "I want the item" and "I want a refund" when you open a case?

[banditpony]

Fair.

The seller has been missing for 29 days already.. That would make me personally uncomfortable as a buyer. If their window for delivery is two weeks, then quite honestly, you are risking losing your buyer protection.

It doesn't hurt to open a case, and give them an opportunity to respond. You can always ask the buyer later -- if they return -- if you could rebuy the item.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I opened the case. And, well.. someone responded on the seller's behalf at 11PM Pacific time, explaining that the seller is currently medically unable to run the store (as I suspected) and apologizing for the mess.

However, presumably due to being in a justified panic about the situation, they immediately refunded me without any further communication than that explanation message (and eBay naturally closed the case shortly after, despite saying in the alert for the response that I could message back in the resolution center; if users are meant to be allowed to respond in the resolution center then give an actual reasonable timeframe for it, eBay ). I'm actually tempted to appeal the case because of the unreasonably swift closure and because a refund is barely better than losing my money on this one.

I managed to send another message through the order details page, asking the person who responded to instead send the item out on the seller's behalf if at all possible, and that I would reverse the refund if possible or even re-buy the item if necessary.

[banditpony]

There is nothing to appeal. eBay closed the case in your favor. Again, the point of cases is not to "force" ebay or the buyer to send the item.

I'm not trying to be rude, I'm trying to explain to you the rules of it.

As I mentioned before, I think the best solution is to just wait until later to ask to rebuy the item. You know now this person is very sick (to the point they can't even correspond to a message)...

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

It's just... It's frustrating for eBay to say "You can send a message in the resolution center" and then close the case before there's a reasonable chance to do so.

[banditpony]

If eBay makes no effort to prod the seller themsdlves, why do they let you choose between "I want the item" and "I want a refund" when you open a case?

I missed this. This is because it's for communication to the seller of what the buyer wants as a resolution.

This would be for something that got lost in the mail, and a responsive seller could resend another item. If it's something that isn't possible (the seller doesn't have another item, the seller isn't responding, etc), then of course the buyer would receive the full refund.