Problem seller

[hey-rober]

Ordered one beard comb  and waited for the delivery.

Given the delays in shipping due to COVID I gave REMOVED the benefit of doubt. 60 days latter  when I asked, the reply was it was defiantly shipped and asked me to be patient.

Next message, the reply seemed closer to the truth.

Dear Sir/Madam,
Your order was destroyed in sorting center, so we will refund your total amount, before that please send us a positive feedback.

Seems very rude to ask for a good review for bad service.
Guess they would rather get a bad reputation for being dishonest than refunding money.
Beware the 90 days window for a refund as their are dodgy companies on Ebay.

[sugar249]

Ah,  but if it was the courier / postal service sorting centre its not really their fault.

[jellybirddesigns]

Never let a seller string you along for any reason, especially Chinese sellers who are notorious for this.

This seller has a terrible rating - far below what it should be.

You have a limited time in which to open a case.

Very cheeky of them to ask for positive feedback when they most likely didn't send the item in the first place and are trying to keep your money.

All you can do now is to open a case in Paypal as you have 180 days.

Stop negotiating with the seller, get your money back and leave appropriate feedback.

[papermoon.lady]

They ask for positive feedback for what? They want positive feedback or you will get no refund, is that what they are saying? Feedback extortion is against eBay rules by the way. It would not have been quite appropriate to first give a refund and then ask for positive feedback either because obviously it was not a great experience, but feedback extortion is unacceptable.

Just open a case in PayPal to get your money back, and let other potential buyers know about your experience.

[springyzone]

Do exactly what the other 2 people have told you.

Lot of things wrong with this whole deal but it is feedback extortion to be asking for good feedback before giving you a refund.

Never, ever let covid be used as an excuse for an item not arriving.  Sure, shipping has been delayed at times but covid has been with us 18 months now so sellers should be making some allowance for it in their ETA.

And even if the delay in delivery is not the fault of the seller (mind you, I don't think this particular seller even got it into the mail in the first place), you have to look after your own interests.

You don't have 90 days window for a refund.

With ebay it is 30 days after the ETA.

With paypal you get 180 days.

You have missed the boat for an ebay claim. Open a Paypal claim now.

[papermoon.lady]

I agree, springy. There is a difference between being patient / understanding current delays, and letting sellers take advantage of the situation.

Quite a few buyers have posted here recently mentioning the sellers kept saying there are delays due to COVID, then they waited too long and were unable to open a case. Sometimes they were not even able to open a case in PP because they waited longer than 6 months.

It is good to be patient, but buyers should not wait so long that they miss all deadlines, even PayPal (which has a very generous deadline).

[sporthoflo]

I think this is an intentional attempt of some (or many) sellers to make a quick buck by gaming the system. Australia Post has indicated that they are seeing more fraudulent transactions from ebay where tracking numbers are provided where items were never sent.

[sporthoflo]

I never leave a positive feedback for a seller when I get grief getting a refund for an item that never arrived or arrived damaged. Other buyers need to know the experience before buying. If ebay does not take measures to bar the dodgy sellers on the platform then buyers must help each other out.

[sugar249]

Thats a bit rough,  I have purchased a couple of items which failed to arrive,  then when I contacted the seller they quickly had a replacement out to me, and another gave me an immediate refund.

I gave them glowing positive feedback, as they looked after the customer.   why wouldnt you in that case.  Although checking out the feedback you leave,  I can understand.

[sporthoflo]

sugar249, yes when the seller makes the dispute process pleasant when a non-delivery occurs, through no fault of them, they do get a positive feedback. But they must have actually done sometime (ie a positive act rather than a mechanical action). Otherwise I abstain from a feedback (when it is neither positive nor negative). I should perhaps clarify that it is those sellers that question the non-delivery and put me through the grill, delay or deny the issue, that get the negative feedback.

And yes, ebay's feedback is not sufficiently nuanced. Sometimes when it is due to a poor quality/not fit-for-purpose product and not a reflection of the seller per se, I indicate as such.