Has anyone ever called an eBay seller on the phone?

[emery]

I was just wondering if anyone had ever called an eBay seller on the phone and what your experience had been?

I bought a lot of ponies BIN a couple weeks ago and the postage listed was only like $4 which I knew was definitely not enough to cover the weight but they had free shipping on some other auctions and things so I bought it and paid. A few days later I get an e-mail message (not through the eBay message system) from the seller that they can't send me the package unless I send them another $15 or they would have to refund my money.

Now what I probably should have done was just send the money and then filed a claim on the $15 after I received the box but I instead I wrote to them through eBay telling them what they were asking was illegal and asking them to please let me know when they would ship out the items I had paid for. Then I sent them an e-mail telling them to check their eBay messages and respond to me that way. I have not heard anything from them since and I have sent them 2 other messages, asked a question through one of their other auctions and then I have also requested their contact information. I have the date to file the claim on my original payment on a Post It on my computer so I won't forget but I was really hoping for those ponies....

I am thinking that calling would not go well but I am not sure what else to try to actually get what I paid for besides just filing the claim and getting my money back. I guess in 14 years of eBaying it's still not a bad percentage if this is the only weirdo seller that refuses to ship.

[Icecrystalline]

Personally, I wouldn't call them, it sounds like they're ignoring you. I really think you should claim and get your money back. They could have made an accident in the listing, but that is unlikely, however it is odd.

I wouldn't try to ask them to ship again, you told them it's illegal (which it is) which is threatening, and a kick up the butt, and yet they still have chosen not to respond. Best bet is to get out of there with your money, I tried ringing a seller who ignored me once after dropping a large sum of money on a mobile, and they were really rough when I called, and told me they no longer had it (despite me paying!!) and tough luck. Well, I get paypal on them and got my money back. I'd advise doing the same.

[Gloomygirl777]

Yes I agree with Ice. These people just sound no good. You are just going to get yourself more worked up and stressed out over trying to contact them over the phone. I would report them asap...and try to forget about the ponies

Maybe by you reporting them it will keep this from happening to someone else. Good luck!

[NovelNerd]

I would also agree to just filing a claim and getting your money back if the ponies don't turn up.

This has nothing to do with you, but personally the giving buyers phone numbers kind of weirds me out. Granted these people would have my address after buying from me, but I know in general I hope no one from Ebay calls me.

[RaveKitten]

I would just file a claim with eBay. Calling a seller on eBay doesn't really sound like a good idea to me.....

[Whoa1234]

I've been on both ends.
Literally, both are the freaking worst.
Nothing is more terrifying, and there's no record of what is being said.
When I first started on ebay, I had a woman call me constantly and tell me that i had "Satan in my heart" and all kinds of other horrible things.
Do you think ebay did anything when I reported it to them? :/

[apanda0622]

File a claim & leave negative feedback is I think all you can do!

[ponylady]

Honestly Em I would file a claim, so it is recorded through eBay. It will hopefully get her butt in gear to send your ponies. I am sure she knows she is not allowed to ask for extra funds, especially through eBay's messaging system, thus hitting up your personal account. Big NO-NO!

Just a reminder though, there is no reason to threaten negative/neutral at this point, as that is pretty premature. Plus as you know can land you in hot water on eBay doing so through messages.

[StarGleamer]

Im sure they made a mistake, a friend of mine was selling on ebay and miscalculated shipping and asked the buyer to pay, that got her a neg and a nasty lesson. I explained to her that you can't ask that as per ebay rules.. and if you were a buyer would you wanna pay for a sellers mistake? PROBABLY NOT. they are hoping youll just pay it

[Ringlets]

I have to agree with the others - this person does not want to cover their mistake and post your ponies - they are pushing to get you to accept a refund or open a case (by not responding to your messages) so that they can refund you and they dont lose out on the shipping money from the mistake they made...so calling them wouldnt get you anywhere IMO . 
I think at this point just open a case and explain in the case details exactly what happened (without mentioning feedback of course) . It will give your seller a chance to rethink what they are doing. If they refund you right away (which they may since they dont want ebay to be looking at what they did and they dont want to lose money on shipping) unfortunately the case will automatically close and you'll have no other option but to accept the refund and leave bad feedback (plus I would recommed letting us know the ID of this person too incase they try it again). If they dont respond to the case then ebay will look into the situation. they cant make the seller send your items but they will take some action against the seller and you can still leave approprite feedback.
I just hope that the seller has another think about what they are doing before going down that path and they just send your ponies instead
side point:
I've once exchanged phone numbers for someone on ebay (through ebay and after talking to an ebay rep) who was (it turned out) actually trying to scam me and TBH it did no good anyways. They did not want to talk on the phone and it wouldnt have done any good even if they did since we both had different ideas on how the situation should have been resolved Plus you have no record of what was said, so they can say all kinds of awful things to you and have your number and hastle you -and ebay will have no record of it. Its really not worth the risk

[emery]

Thanks guys. While I really wanted that lot I don't want some crazy having my phone number or to open myself up to harassment of any type. I have sent a handful of messages over the last 4 weeks, enough to know that she's not going to respond. All of my messages have been polite and of the "hey, can you please let me know when you'll be shipping out the items I've paid for" type of messages with no mention of feedback or reporting/claims, etc. I've opened a claim as of this afternoon but have little faith that I will get anything but my money back from it. She has other active (non-pony) items but it looks like I am the only active buyer she actually has at this point as all other items have gone unsold or are still in active listing.

[Tap Dancer]

I'm glad you didn't call. I think calling a seller is a bad idea because there's no record of it. A person can tell eBay "So-and-so said this," but you can't prove what someone else said. At least eBay can check your messages and see you're being ignored. It stinks when you don't get what you bought, but at least you'll get your money back. I just don't understand why people bother listing things they don't intend to sell.

[tikibirds]

No but I had a seller call me one time - like 12 years ago. They were in Canada and wanted to now where the International MO was. They called like 2 days after i won the damn auction. I was NOT amused.