eBay help - item never arrived, seller wants to resend?

[Snapdragon]

Hi guys! I'm having a bit of a problem. I ordered an item from eBay, one of those fakie lots from China, with free shipping - I've bought several of them before, no problem, but this time I ordered from a seller without hundreds of feedback who I've never dealt with before, because they were the only one offering this specific fakie.

The item never came, and the "shipping arrival" quote they gave was about a month after I purchased the item. Covering their butt, I'm sure, but all the same, the item never came, so I filed a "this item never arrived" dispute with eBay. I said it plain and simple - the item never arrived, sorry but I want a refund.

The seller responded and said, "Do you want the item still? I can send another one," and then a couple of days later, they added, "please let me make this right."

I can't help but feel a little uncertain... if I accept something that's not what I asked for (as in, I asked for a refund but they're offering to resend it), will I no longer be protected by eBay if it doesn't arrive again? I can't help but think that it simply won't show up a second time, but I admire the seller trying to make it right, and I hate to be a jerk to someone who may be innocent.

Help??? 

[ponylady]

I know it's easy to think the worst first but hopefully your seller is genuinely trying to make things right.  If you accept for them to resend the item you will still be protected, so no worries. Just do not close out the case. If you do not receive your replacement before the case expires(30 days), you need to escalate it to eBay for resolution. Don't let the 30 days pass you by, and don't let the case close automatically.  Escalate to ebay before that happens.

I hope all will go well for you. Please keep us posted. 

[Snapdragon]

I know it's easy to think the worst first but hopefully your seller is genuinely trying to make things right.  If you accept for them to resend the item you will still be protected, so no worries. Just do not close out the case. If you do not receive your replacement before the case expires(30 days), you need to escalate it to eBay for resolution. Don't let the 30 days pass you by, and don't let the case close automatically.  Escalate to ebay before that happens.

I hope all will go well for you. Please keep us posted. 

Ahh, okay! I was afraid if I said 'yes' eBay would automatically close my case, and I'd be up the river if the seller decided not to send a replacement! I will put it on my calendar to remember! Does the 30 days start from the day I opened the case? I'm gonna have to figure out when that was! EDIT: It looks like I have until November 20th for the ponies to arrive, so we'll cross our fingers and hope the seller comes through!

PS thanks so much for your advice Ponylady!!

[ponylady]

Oh good I am glad you found when they were supposed to arrive. 

eBay likes to make things complicated when it comes to trying to find out important information. It's kinda like trying to call their customer support. I have done it a 100 times and it still takes me 20 minutes to find their number. 

[Snapdragon]

Oh good I am glad you found when they were supposed to arrive. 

eBay likes to make things complicated when it comes to trying to find out important information. It's kinda like trying to call their customer support. I have done it a 100 times and it still takes me 20 minutes to find their number. 

Ugh! I did notice that! After I posted this thread, I thought, "Wait, I bet there is a simple answer to this in the eBay support!" ... if there was, I never found it. -.- Nor a way to contact them! Bleh!!

I did send a message back to the seller tonight (so they will probably see it tomorrow!) telling them that I would escalate at the end of the 30 days, so that if they thought it would arrive in time, they could send a replacement item. We'll see what they say! I would worry about mail from China arriving in time, but I did mention that if the item arrived AFTER the window, I would repay them.

[Ringlets]

*hugs*    ebay is a real pain to try and find their number now. It used to be sooo much easier in the past..but you can still find it ..eventually.
PL is right though , you should be fine and hopefully your seller is genuine   

[Snapdragon]

Well, I had HOPED this would be a happy update... Today I received a package from China, and I thought, "woo hoo, just in time, it's fixed!"

Here's what I bought:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


And here is what I received:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
 

Not ... quite.

I sent a picture with the ponies and the packaging to the seller through the messaging system, stating that these wouldn't be a good replacement for me, since I really wanted the original ponies in the listing. :/ At this point, I'm not sure what to do; I have 8 days left on my "countdown timer", and I strongly doubt the seller will be able to send a replacement by then. I'll wait to hear back from them, but ... I have a feeling I may need to file with eBay after all.

[Ringlets]

really frustrating! I think you are right and you might have to open a case. Even if the seller did try again they wouldn't arrive in time. If you aren't happy with those (they are cute IMO but they sure aren't what you ordered) then you have to do an item not as described case and explain what happened.
The seller did try and work with you but those are clearly not what you ordered. You can add pictures during the case as evidence

[Snapdragon]

really frustrating! I think you are right and you might have to open a case. Even if the seller did try again they wouldn't arrive in time. If you aren't happy with those (they are cute IMO but they sure aren't what you ordered) then you have to do an item not as described case and explain what happened.
The seller did try and work with you but those are clearly not what you ordered. You can add pictures during the case as evidence

Well, I did already open a case, stating that the item never arrived; I had 30 days either to cancel or escalate it, and now we are about a week away from the deadline for me to decide. It already took almost a month for the auction to arrive in the first place, so I was afraid if I didn't open a case ASAP, I'd time out!

I think the ponies are quite cute; that's why I already ordered this exact set for myself a month ago! I wouldn't throw these ones away or anything, but paid extra and avoided any risks with AliExpress because I really wanted Concerned Pony in her dress! I am sort of hoping I won't have to send these ones back for my refund, but we'll see, because I'm sure that will be another headache!

I'm also wondering if the reason the first package didn't arrive is because the seller put my state on the package three times. Apparently I live in "California California CA"! It's like California cubed!

[banditpony]

I'm also wondering if the reason the first package didn't arrive is because the seller put my state on the package three times. Apparently I live in "California California CA"! It's like California cubed!

This makes me chuckle.

I think that you'll probably be able to keep the ponies. Every time I have a item not as described from China, it always results in a full refund with being able to keep the item... I assume return shipping is more of a loss then a full refund?

Actually that just happened to me. I tried to go through the return process, and wound up keeping the item with a full refund. oook. *shrug*

[Snapdragon]

Still no response from the seller. Their last message was a form letter, "if you are happy with your package, please let us know by leaving feedback!" So I informed them that I received the wrong item, included a picture... no response. :/ I'm not sure if I should even bother sending another message or just escalate my claim. We're down to 3 days now.

[Ringlets]

  I think with such a short time left and no further response you should just escalate your claim.

[Snapdragon]

  I think with such a short time left and no further response you should just escalate your claim.

Sigh... I think you're right! I just hate to do it. I've never had a problem with a seller like this before, and I guess I feel kind of guilty escalating a claim. But I guess it's pretty textbook here. They didn't send the item, they sent a replacement but it was the wrong item, and now they're not answering. What a shame!

Thanks so much for the help, Ringlets and ponylady!! I appreciate it a lot!!

EDIT: Well, I went to escalate the claim ...  and it looks like they did respond (today). My last message to them was Nov. 12th, so 5 days ago. Here's what they said:

"You get a piece, I give you for free. I will send you a new piece. Okay? Best regards"

Um ... what? I think they're saying that I can keep the one they sent, and that they'll resend another item? But obviously it's not going to arrive in two days, so ... I have to file anyway. :/

EDIT 2: Well, that was fast! I filed with eBay, and emphasized that the seller had done his best to fix the situation, but that it hadn't worked out, and they sided with me about 5 hours later! I got a full refund, which is awesome! But ... will the seller be punished for this? Or is it like a "if they get 2 more strikes they'll be in trouble"? And what should I do with the incorrect ponies they sent me?!

[Ringlets]

Firstly I'm glad ebay sorted it fast
It is a bit of a shame for the seller because they did try and work with you..they just kept getting it wrong . You had no choice in the end though because there wasn't enough time left to give them a third chance to sort it.
I don't think ebay will kick them off and they can see that they did try and work with you.  Ebay has not instructed you to return the items to the seller and the seller themselves have not asked for them back so I don't think you need to do anything else even though it seems a bit unfair to the seller. If you want to double check with ebay about whether you need to return the items , you can, but I think they would have told you to return the items first before giving you a refund if that was the case.

[Snapdragon]

That's a very good point Ringlets! I didn't even think about whether eBay would have instructed me to return them! (Although they might just think "it's cheap pony toys, who cares"! )

I felt kinda guilty about getting something for free, so I sent a message to the seller asking if he wants them back. Maybe I should have messaged eBay instead (not that their contact information is anywhere easily available!! ), but we'll see if the seller even responds. I think this seller does a lot of mass-shipping, so they might not even see my message among all the others they receive! But who knows!