Should I contact the seller to check on item status?

[4bytes]

Around 12 days ago I purchased an Item from a private ebay seller whose located in Victoria while I'm in NSW. The listing the seller had up was a buy it now listing and after confirming the purchase I instantly paid for the item via PayPal, it's now almost two weeks since I've made the purchase and the item still hasn't been marked as shipped nor have I had any form of communication with the seller.  While it's still within Ebays estimated delivery time frame (it has until the 2nd of December to get here) I have the feeling that the item has not indeed been shipped and is still sitting with the seller for whatever reason. 

I believe that I understand that the seller doesn't have to show the Item has been posted (going by older threads so please excuse me if this is no longer the case) However I think this is a little wrong as how am I suppose to know if It's coming or not and when to expect it by? 

Should I be contacting the seller to see what the go is? I've never had any trouble with other sellers espically with untracked items where they've sent it and marked it as shipped. 

[daydreams_12]

The seller is always the first place to start if you have a query.

As you say you understand that many sellers do not always mark as posted.  That in itself is not a ptoblem.  Quite honestly there is no reason for the seller to communicate with you.  You make purchase then pay.  It is the sellers responsibility to then send off the item.  You can not do anything ofically until after the eta has expired and as you say that is next week.  The eta is purely a guesstimate made by ebay.  Has the seller given you a tracking number? 

Please dont forget that mails havae been delayed horrendously for the last few months due to covid.  I have been waiting for several parcels for a few weeks now.

If it does not turn up you can alway open a claim to get your money back

[4bytes]

I think it was being sent by standard Australia post so no tracking which is fair enough i'ts not that expensive of an item but still something I want to make sure I obtain since I've already paid for it. 

I understand the issue with postal delays as well espically with Melbourne parcels taking a little extra to get across the border and head further up north. I had previously ordered ethernet cables from a different seller and that took about 2 weeks to get here, untracked but I wasn't fussed as the item was marked as shipped in my Ebay purchase list and I at least knew when to expect it. 

I have been holding off on contacting this seller so far as things happen but sometimes my nerves get the better side of me and tell me I should really be chasing up things when it gets to a certain point so I can put myself at ease.  

[jellybirddesigns]

I don't see an issue in dropping the seller a quick note just to say you had noticed that it wasn't marked as shipped yet and if they could please just confirm it had been mailed as it has been 2 weeks since purchase.

Hopefully it was just an oversight on their part, but depending on how (and if) they respond, that will give you an indication whether or not this transaction may require escalation. 

[paper-jack]

I'd be inclined to send an email asking if the seller would be so kind as to let you know the tracking number so you can make sure to be around the day Australia Post are due to deliver. I have done this - in one case the first tracking number was wrong so warning bells started, then the seller provided correct number with an apology and explanation that he has too many sales to upload tracking unless asked.

[shoppingbag*]

I've had this happen, and I don't wait as long as you to ask. It is just plain sloppy to not mark an item as posted, if indeed it has been. If I notice the item is not marked as posted after a few days, I check the listing to see their postage time frame, and once that has passed, I send a note like this.  " I have noticed that the item is not yet posted, could you please let me know when you will be posting it. many thanks."  Sometimes, it has been overlooked and you get an apology and assurance it will be sent ASAP, other times, they say, it is on the way, just forgot to mark it  as posted. I find it is always better to ask, as some sellers sell heaps of stuff and it could have been mislaid or lost under the current pile of stuff ready to be posted, so asking has always got me an answer one way or the other.

[springyzone]

The seller has brought this on himself by not marking it as posted. This leaves a buyer up in the air.

As you know, not all sellers do mark it. Even some big sellers don't. Recently I bought off Big W online and they didn't.

It is always annoying when nothing is marked, to me it comes under the umbrella of seller communication.

Since your seller hasn't marked it and may not even know the option is there, it is perfectly reasonable after 2 weeks to politely ask if it has been posted yet.

You'll get some indication from the response on how to proceed. It doesn't sound as if this is a big volume shop seller so they should not have overlooked the package but in my experience, the private sellers can sometimes be slower to post off than the more regular sellers.

So ask, it might be the spur the seller needs. If you get no item, you'll know to open an ebay claim very shortly after the arrival date has passed.

If it arrives late and it turns out the seller took over 2 weeks to post, you'll know exactly how to rate the stars for postage time and communication.

Good luck.

[4bytes]

Thank you people, I've contacted the seller as it's quickly approaching the estimated delivery date timetime and it still hasn't been marked as shipped. Basically I've just kindly asked them that If they've sent the item since it's still showing in my purchase history as "not yet sent" and whether they can let me know what's going on.

So all I can do now is wait for a response and hopefully given their 100% feedback the problem doesn't stretch out further.

Edit: I should probably add that again it's being sent by standard post via Australia post so no tracking. All I want to know is if the Seller has already sent the item and has perhaps forgotten to mark it off sent (even through their not required but it's a good part of communication none the less) 

[springyzone]

It always surprises me that sellers who are sending untracked items don't rush to respond to queries like this or at least mark an item as sent. Without a tracking number, buyers are in the dark otherwise. A quick, simple message that yes, they sent it on such and such a date might be all the reassurance they need, stops needless confusion or anxiety.

[4bytes]

It's only been a day so far and I know it's probably too soon for an update but I've not heard back at all from the seller, this upcoming weekend (28th, 29th) should be all that is needed realistically for a simple response of "yes I sent your item, sorry but I forgot to mark it as sent" etc. It's not an expensive item (well technically with the recent price gouging it is) but if their not going to deliver it and fulfill their duties then I'll be taking my money back rightfully.

I'm keeping sane but If I don't hear back by the end of Sunday I'll simply be opening an INR case at the end of the estimated delivery date which is this Tuesday coming since all this time within the past two weeks they've chosen to still sell the item, not send it even after it's been paid for and messages to (highly possibly) fall on death ears and then run with my money.

I'm not getting "worked up" but getting frustrated. I just wanted to pay, get the item I wanted, move on. Instead I'm dealing with more trouble.