Missing Etsy package (non-pony) - UPDATE

[Tigerlilyx]

In early April my friend wanted to gift a choker necklace (the 90's are calling!) to his sister for her birthday. He knew I was into fashion so he asked me to help seek out the perfect necklace online - I recommended him this Etsy seller who has alot of good rep. My friend agreed to the price and I went ahead to make the purchase on his behalf since he doesn't have an account of his own.

The seller promptly mailed the necklace out afew days later without tracking from the US, which is totally cool as I made plenty of purchases in the past w/o tracking and never had the slightest issue.
A little over a month passed and both of us start to worry.. our overseas packages never took this long, with the exception of surface shipping. Plus it's just one small necklace that is probably fitted in a letter envelope.

I proceeded to message her. Here's our conversation with her name omitted out:

Sarah S. 22 May, 2015
Hi babe thanks for the prompt shipment Unfortunately my friend has yet to receive the choker to his address and it's been a month, so he's getting anxious since our frequent US orders usually only take 10 days to 2 weeks to arrive. Do you have any suggestion to rectify this?

---- 22 May, 2015
Let's confirm your address

(friend's address edited out)


Sarah S. 22 May, 2015
Yup! correct, that's his address


(At this point I was expecting some sort of assurance that the package is delayed in transit or at most a reply telling me to wait it out abit more. But, nada. Zilch. So we decided to give it till early June, to make it a full 2 months from date of purchase. My friend got back to me a few weeks later that his mailbox is still empty and wanted a refund so I shoot her another message.)


Sarah S. 1 day ago
Hi again, my friend still have not received the choker since April. Is the package shipped via first class intl?

---- 1 day ago
Sounds like it got lost and for sure we're not missing anything from the address?

Sarah S. 1 day ago
Yup i've double checked with him and also the original texts he sent me with his address prior purchasing it on his behalf - I could show you the screenshots if you like. My friend asked if a refund is possible? He intended it as a gift for his sister's b'day so he's feeling pretty miffed about it now.

The conversation timestamp is 1 day ago, but she actually had a full 24 hours to reply my last message due to our time difference. I feel terrible because it's my friend's (sort of) first purchase from Etsy and I was the one that recommended the seller to him. Also, maybe it's just me but I feel upset with the way she handled my queries and the air of dismissiveness she has towards the situation. I know the necklace is not worth alot to fuss over about, but my friend still paid for it and the fact that his sister's birthday is already over pisses him off.

With a situation like this, is my friend entitled to a full 100% refund and should accept nothing less than that? What should I do if the seller refuses to offer any sort of refund or compensation?

[Ringlets]

 how frustrating! especially as he needed the necklace as a gift   Sometimes if a seller is really busy it can make a delay in response - also on weekends people aren't always as active on the internet - so I wouldn't worry that it has been a day since she last responded. I do think she should offer your friend a refund though as its been ..5..6 weeks? and he needed it as a gift. It's possible that the necklace will still arrive as international shipping times can vary a lot - sometimes turning up a few months later. You can tell the seller that if the necklace turns up you will either return it to her or re-send the money if she has refunded you but you decide to keep the necklace. 
If your seller doesn't respond or refuses a refund you can always open a case if you paid with Paypal too, but give her a little bit more time to respond first - perhaps until Monday?

[Tigerlilyx]

Thanks for your input, Ringlets!

My friend was very patient for the past month but I guess it has worn out lol. Hope for good news!

 how frustrating! especially as he needed the necklace as a gift   Sometimes if a seller is really busy it can make a delay in response - also on weekends people aren't always as active on the internet - so I wouldn't worry that it has been a day since she last responded. I do think she should offer your friend a refund though as its been ..5..6 weeks? and he needed it as a gift. It's possible that the necklace will still arrive as international shipping times can vary a lot - sometimes turning up a few months later. You can tell the seller that if the necklace turns up you will either return it to her or re-send the money if she has refunded you but you decide to keep the necklace. 
If your seller doesn't respond or refuses a refund you can always open a case if you paid with Paypal too, but give her a little bit more time to respond first - perhaps until Monday?

[Icey]

Even if the Etsy seller says they are not responsible for lost or damaged packages, Etsy will still hold them accountable. They are not allowed to make those claims. Is it too late to file from Paypal? There is an option on Etsy to file as never received I think. It only happened to me once. The person got a fire under their butt when I filed with Paypal.

[Tigerlilyx]

Nope it's not too late thankfully. I never made a case to Etsy before - do they follow the same procedures as paypal or I have to make a separate case for both?

!!! The latest update from the seller is making it hard for us:

After not replying my last message (in the first post), I sent her another message

Sarah S. 3 days ago
If the choker did turn up somehow in the next few weeks or months, I will resend the refunded payment on behalf of my friend - will that work for you?
 
---- 2 days ago
Let me check and see how that would work.

"Let me check and see how that would work"?????? Seriously is this rocket science? Or an attempt at stalling? I sold stuff online before and such a thought never crossed my mind.

[Ringlets]

What a strange reply from your seller If she doesn't get back to you again soon and resolve this then I think opening a case is the best thing to do.
You can open a case on Etsy - I checked - Go to what you bought in the "your account" section click on "purchase and reviews" and you'll see the item. Under the item click "I haven't received this item". I think you can open the case from there. I've never had to open a case on Etsy myself so I cant tell you exactly what happens after that but it should be easy enough I think Other than that you can open a case with Paypal  .

[Icey]

At this point I would just file with Paypal and get the funds back. I honestly cannot remember how to do it through Etsy, I just know you can. If you can file with Paypal it will probably go faster. They do not mess around - LOL! I have had to file twice in the past few months and it broke my heart. Both times were amazing Etsians who I have bought from tons of times before who just decided to start scamming people :/

[Tigerlilyx]

I've opened a case on Paypal. The seller has till 7 July to respond, so far she's unresponsive which is really weird. If there's no news from her till then, i'll escalate it to a dispute claim.

Wow Icey, it's so scary when that happens! I had no issues with any Etsy sellers till this incident; ironically the seller has heaps of positive feedback and her products are featured by numerous blogs and online fashion influencers. She has a really good rep so I don't know what's her deal here to be suddenly shady.

[Icey]

Yeah the one toy shop I have purchased things from since my son was only a few months old. A few months ago I bought something from them and it was not until I filed with Paypal that she finally sent my item. It breaks my heart because she was such a good seller before that :/

Post Merge: June 22, 2015, 10:04:42 AM

Her shop is completely gone now too :/