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So here's the deal.

about a month and a half ago (I think more) I bought a SM assault squad from a guy in england. He assures me he;s shipped it, but i havn't got it yet. I'm going to ask him for proof of shipment, but I'm not sure what to do next. Does paypal/ebay have something in place to deal with unfulfilled sales, or am I SOL?

and in the event he did in fact send it, what are my options then? It wasn't insured or tracked or anything. Is it likely to just show up someday or is it safe to assume it's been eaten by the Hive Fleet?

Ebay protects the buyer no matter what i think.
You are safe . Just let ebay handle it.

Link us the item maybe?

If you have already contacted the seller and confirmed that it was sent, your next step is to lodge an item not received claim through eBay and Paypal (I don't know how integrated those two are these days, it may do both at the same time.)

Unless the buyer has proof of shipping (which he won't, if it wasn't sent by a trackable method) Paypal will refund your money.

My concern is that he did send it and it got eaten by Canadian Customs (They're a hungry bunch of lictors). especially if it just got massively delayed. I don't want to end up cheating him out of his marines. In that case can I just repay him or what?

spartanghost wrote:My concern is that he did send it and it got eaten by Canadian Customs (They're a hungry bunch of lictors). especially if it just got massively delayed. I don't want to end up cheating him out of his marines. In that case can I just repay him or what?

How much was the shipping? If its anything less then $40 , chances are its sent via ground / ship mail , which would explain the long delay.

LunaHound wrote:

spartanghost wrote:My concern is that he did send it and it got eaten by Canadian Customs (They're a hungry bunch of lictors). especially if it just got massively delayed. I don't want to end up cheating him out of his marines. In that case can I just repay him or what?

How much was the shipping? If its anything less then $40 , chances are its sent via ground / ship mail , which would explain the long delay.

It was definitely sent via ground/ship mail. Even so it's been nearly 2 months.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270417213697&ru=http://shop.ebay.com:80/%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp4031.m38.l1313%26_nkw%3D270417213697%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1#ht_800wt_958

Thats the item

In that case just contact / report ebay for it.

Chances are the shipping price was unexpectedly shocking and the seller didnt send it.

Did you pay via a credit card, or using your bank account?

If you paid via your credit card, DO NOT file a PayPal dispute. Call your provider and file a claim through them. PayPal takes a percentage of what they get you back (in my case, it was 15%). If you can at all avoid going through the PayPal dispute process, I'd suggest doing so.

eBay will also provide you with the user's information (address, phone number, etc.) I find that a phone call to the user who is trying to shaft you is generally a very good way to get them motivated to send you what they owe you.

spartanghost wrote:It was definitely sent via ground/ship mail. Even so it's been nearly 2 months.

In that case it's probably still on its way.

You're looking at anywhere up to 4 months as fairly normal shipping time for seamail. Can actually be longer.



Unfortunately, waiting that long to see if it arrives also puts it well outside the claim period for Paypal. Just one of the reasons it's generally worth paying the extra for Airmail.

Bunker wrote:PayPal takes a percentage of what they get you back (in my case, it was 15%).

I've never heard of anyone else ever getting hit by that. Was it definitely a Paypal cut (as in, they specifically told you they were taking 15%) or did they simply not recover the full amount from the seller? (Can happen if there is not enough in the seller's account to cover it)

File the Ebay/Paypal claim while you can. If you wait too long then you will be SOL and at the mercy of Fate.

If you file and he provides proof of shipment, no harm done. If you don't file and the seller just didn't ship...

GENERAL ADVICE FOR HANDLING EBAY COMPLAINTS

You have to be forceful with eBay.

Their first reaction is:

'not our problem'

if it looks to be their problem the second reaction is:

'save the listing fees'

if that proves a problem the third reaction is:

'minimise effort, minimise cost'

These are the priorities, Buyer protectionand seller protection are below those on the list. make no mistake about this, eBay doesnt woant tgo get involved. However sometimes they have to.

first expect eBay to tell you to take it to the Seller/Buyer and offer to exchange addresses.
What this means is

'Sort it out yourselves, the less we do the less cost in time and money to us.'

assuming you dont want to do this, and you have a good case that fraud occured you may need to contact them a few times because their attitude will be.

'We are leaving you time to sort it out.'

This time can last forever unless you spur on further action.

However they will repeatedly ignore requests for action and spam out macro responces always inviting you to talk to the other party.

'If we keep giving you the same message you might just go away'.

I had to ask five times before eBay tried a different track.

'This person wont go away, lets look at what he has to say.'

Then you can get things done.

@Orlanth: or, you can cut throught all of the BS by doing a credit card chargeback...

Bunker wrote:Did you pay via a credit card, or using your bank account?

If you paid via your credit card, DO NOT file a PayPal dispute. Call your provider and file a claim through them. PayPal takes a percentage of what they get you back (in my case, it was 15%). If you can at all avoid going through the PayPal dispute process, I'd suggest doing so.

eBay will also provide you with the user's information (address, phone number, etc.) I find that a phone call to the user who is trying to shaft you is generally a very good way to get them motivated to send you what they owe you.

This is horrible advice. If you reverse charges through your credit card paypal will automatically pull that amount from your bank account and close your paypal account.

Customs can take up to 3 weeks to release a package, longer if it's questionable.

I doubt little model men are questionable.

What ebay/paypal (same corp) will do is have him prove he shipped it, if he has proof to the address attached to your paypal/ebay account, you are screwed, if he doesn't, he is screwed.

It is a common scam to have the seller send to a different address and then claim that he didnt send it to get your money back.

Here's the thing....I think you only have 45 days after the auction ends in which to file an item not recieved dispute, so you may be screwed.

However he may be a decent person who is willing to offer you a refund if you email him to ask him nicely etc.

Remember next time that you have to cover yourself or you will lose out. This means filing for a dispute regardless of if the seller is saying "I sent it" or "it's on the way" etc.

Linkdead wrote:If you reverse charges through your credit card paypal will automatically pull that amount from your bank account and close your paypal account.

It's really a catch-22, damned if you do, damned if you don't.

If you have an old account and were smart enough not to link a bank account, then you can:
- clear your balance with a check
- pull the CC number
- clear your contact info
- *then* reverse the charges

That is, you get ready to burn your bridges with PP *before* you go to the CC company.

That way, if PP tries to do an unauthorized debit, they don't have anything to pull, and if they close your account, it's no sweat off your nose.

I sent something to the USA by sea mail and it took over three months to arrive. The guy was going frantic long before that but I had used "Signed For Delivery" which pretty much guarantees things arrive.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
BTW in the UK when you send something from a Post Office they give you a printed receipt which gives the time and date of posting and the cost.

This can be used by the sender to claim a refund if the item "gets lost in the post". The amount of refund is limited -- about £30 I think.

JohnHwangDD wrote:@Orlanth: or, you can cut throught all of the BS by doing a credit card chargeback...

True, but my advice is general not specific.

If we look at my case:
When I dealt with eBay as a Buyer I had no credit card protection because I had not paid for the item, I found out it was a fraudulent lot after I won the lot but before paying. I saw something fishy and held back, then an hour later got a timely email from another ebayer who directed me to Warseer, where the fraudulent lot had been tracked. In my case I wanted the fraudulent seller dealt with for justice sake and so that I keep my 100% feedback. All eBay wanted was for the listing fees to be paid and for everything to go away. I fought this with the help of Warseer and the evidence I gathered with their help, and in the end the fraudulent seller was banned and the auctions cancelled so he couldn't claim me to be a non paying bidder. I have my 100% feedback to this day, and the conman never got his money. Yes he also was trying to make claim me a non paying bidder.

Different cases need different help, but the above thread remains true throughout. Knowing what eBay want to do is half the battle, and its not a lot.

good news! I sent him a message and he said 'it definitely should have been there by now. here's a refund!" so it's all good now. I'll feel rreally bad if it shows up in a month or two, but i'm sure that'll be easily fixed. thanks for all the information by the way. I suspect it'll come in handy sometime down the road.

spartanghost wrote:good news! I sent him a message and he said 'it definitely should have been there by now. here's a refund!" so it's all good now. I'll feel rreally bad if it shows up in a month or two, but i'm sure that'll be easily fixed. thanks for all the information by the way. I suspect it'll come in handy sometime down the road.

If it did arrive eventually ( and he already refund the money ) , do the right thing and pay him again.
I think this happend because no one expected ground method to be this long.

( i recently traded with dakka member in England as well ) and it certainly scared me.

Linkdead wrote:

Bunker wrote:Did you pay via a credit card, or using your bank account?

If you paid via your credit card, DO NOT file a PayPal dispute. Call your provider and file a claim through them. PayPal takes a percentage of what they get you back (in my case, it was 15%). If you can at all avoid going through the PayPal dispute process, I'd suggest doing so.

eBay will also provide you with the user's information (address, phone number, etc.) I find that a phone call to the user who is trying to shaft you is generally a very good way to get them motivated to send you what they owe you.

This is horrible advice. If you reverse charges through your credit card paypal will automatically pull that amount from your bank account and close your paypal account.

Completely incorrect. I just finished disputing a claim through my credit card about a week ago and PayPal has done nothing.

LunaHound wrote:

spartanghost wrote:good news! I sent him a message and he said 'it definitely should have been there by now. here's a refund!" so it's all good now. I'll feel rreally bad if it shows up in a month or two, but i'm sure that'll be easily fixed. thanks for all the information by the way. I suspect it'll come in handy sometime down the road.

If it did arrive eventually ( and he already refund the money ) , do the right thing and pay him again.
I think this happend because no one expected ground method to be this long.

( i recently traded with dakka member in England as well ) and it certainly scared me.

I most certainly plan to. Also in that case i'll probably suggest he use air mail in the future to avoid ridiculous delays.

spartanghost wrote:
I most certainly plan to. Also in that case i'll probably suggest he use air mail in the future to avoid ridiculous delays.

Though you might have to be prepared to pay 4x the amount ...
Normally when i trade with USA dakka members it costs $17-$22 for airmail , to england costs $81

I have purchased thing from people in england and it only took a week and ahalf to ship on ground. you should not have waited that long. fill a complaint with ebay

Ugh. if it costs that much maybe i'll just avoid buying from UK. Also i got all my money back so i have no complaint to file. In hindsight i kinda regretted buying what i did in the first place. they were ultramarines painted assault squad without any extra bitz. i could probably get a NIB or NOS set for a comparable price from the US. (i'm loving the exchange rate right now)

LunaHound wrote:

spartanghost wrote:
I most certainly plan to. Also in that case i'll probably suggest he use air mail in the future to avoid ridiculous delays.

Though you might have to be prepared to pay 4x the amount ...
Normally when i trade with USA dakka members it costs $17-$22 for airmail , to england costs $81

Wow, what are you trading? Bricks? I trade overseas a lot and shipping has never been more than $10 in either direction. EDIT: Airmail.

LunaHound wrote:

spartanghost wrote:good news! I sent him a message and he said 'it definitely should have been there by now. here's a refund!" so it's all good now. I'll feel rreally bad if it shows up in a month or two, but i'm sure that'll be easily fixed. thanks for all the information by the way. I suspect it'll come in handy sometime down the road.

If it did arrive eventually ( and he already refund the money ) , do the right thing and pay him again.
I think this happend because no one expected ground method to be this long.

( i recently traded with dakka member in England as well ) and it certainly scared me.

I completely agree!

I imported some anime DVDs from Indonesia on eBay. They took over 3 months to reach me, I thought it was fraud at 30 days, I got a paypal refund. they showed up in the mail in the strangest package I have ever seen, at about 100 days later.

I contacted the seller and resent the money.

That said, sellers should have some idea of shipping times and advise that.

Also:

I have had Canadian customs detentions before, in ONE example, I shipped an airbrush hobby compressor to a hobbyist who was convinced it was never sent, and I was frauding him. I sent him pictures of the box, product, and shipping receipt I had for registered airmail. What happened?

Canadian customs detained it as "Industrial Equipment' subject to Tarrif, for 30 days and indeifintely untilt the tarrifs were paid, even though it was clearly marked gift and charged the guy another $50 to get it into the country as a fee and a tarrif for an improperly marked parcel. I have sold 8 airbrush compressors round the world and never had an issue like that. He requested I send it the way I did in the first place.

(Canada Post sucks)

acreedon wrote:I have purchased thing from people in england and it only took a week and ahalf to ship on ground. you should not have waited that long. fill a complaint with ebay

You were purely lucky. It typically takes weeks for surface mail to arrive. The rough timings are shown on the Royal Mail website.

http://www.paypalsucks.com/