Never Ever Again

[og_retro_king]

I purchased an item way back last year. The sellor took my money then sent me a variety of excuses why my order got lost. She/he kept on offering me a refund and refused because I just wanted my product. After months back and forth she/he eventually agreed to send the item express at their own cose ... more e-mail excuses and no pruduct !!! By the time they had finished with yet another stupid list of reason why my order didn't arrive ... too much time had lapsed and I could not make an official complaint. I did contact eBay and they did contact the sellor, but to no avail..

Now I am really **bleep**. Once a significant time has lapsed there is no way to leave feedback to warn other people. It takes about half an hour just to get to the sellor or an old e-mail, but then communications are blocked. I can read other people's feedback (which are not good) but when I try to quote the transaction number, it no longer exists.

I am now tempted to make a little order with these idiots so that e-mail access is opened again. Why does eBay make it so hard to access e-mails and sellors after a period of time? I can go back to my original order but it will not allow me to contact the sellor.

I am not sure if I am allowed to post the name of the sellor here, so I won't. But I sure want to have my say and expose them to the public.  

[kopenhagen5]

No naming and shaming allowed.

The seller has probably blocked you so you can't buy again.

Always use PayPal and always open the case in PayPal to get a refund.

Should the item arrive after you have a refund, you simply repay.

[tstore]

It is your responsibility to ensure you do not go past 45 days to open a PayPal claim. There is nothing you can do now. Probably the reason you cannot contact the seller is because the seller has blocked you.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

that is why eBay say you need to be an adult to have an account . . . . . so that members are not taken advantage of.

Unfortunately, this premise relies on adult buyers not letting sellers string them along past clearly identified timelines for dispute lodgement and resolution.

eBay clearly advertise that you should pay by a method that affords you buyer protection.  It's on every lsiting!  They even mandate that sellers MUST offer at least one safe payment method for buyers on every listing.  The most widely used payment method, PayPal, clearly put on every payment advice that a buyer receives that they have 45 days to raise a dispute.  eBay also remind buyers about the timeline for leaving feedback in a couple of ways (reminder on purchase list on 'My eBay' page, email reminder).

The one thing eBay cannot do is protect buyers against themselves.  eBay cannot make you pay by a safe method, or make you raise a dispute with PayPal within the 45 days, they cannot even make you leave feedback as feedback is voluntary and if you miss the cutoff date then too bad.

If this sounds harsh to anyone, then it shouldn't, as only adults should be reading this as minors should not be accessing the accounts of adults. Additionally, adults should accept responsibility for their actions and behaviours, especially when they choose ignore warnings from eBay and PayPal.

[zanadoo_56]

I can understand your discontent (I got strung along by two overseas sellers - I'm wise to the trick now).

Unfortunately, rightly or wrongly we're not allowed to name sellers who are incompetent, grossly inefficient or just plain crooked.  It's not fair but it's the rules.  If you buy something else from the seller just to continue discussions about the initial purchase chances are you won't be able to because you've been blocked.

Chalk it up to experience and move on to the next purchase.  I have a list of dodgy sellers I've had the misfortune to deal with and there's around 12 names which isn't too bad when you look at the number of purchases I've made over the years.

Just so you don't lose track of time to make a claim, add a note to the purchase indicating the last date (or a few days before) that you can lodge the claim.  Add the closing date for feedback as well if you like.  Leave the item under 'Purchases' until after the closing date then archive it.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

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@zanadoo_56 wrote:

Just so you don't lose track of time to make a claim, add a note to the purchase indicating the last date (or a few days before) that you can lodge the claim.  Add the closing date for feedback as well if you like.  Leave the item under 'Purchases' until after the closing date then archive it.

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good suggestion.  Another is to customise your Purchase List settings to display the number of days since the sale.  This way, every time you look at your purchases you will know how many days have passed since you bought so that you can open a case on day 42 if needed.  NEVER wait til day 45 to open a dispute, always do it at least on day 42 or 43.

As for leaving feedback, leave feedback by day 58 or 59 using the same day counter used for raising a dispute.  Purchase drop off your purchase list after 60 days.

[lyndal1838]

If the seller did not send the item but kept offering a refund then surely you must take some responsibility for continually refusing the refund.

Had you accepted the refund then you would not have missed the time for opening a dispute.

[og_retro_king]

Oh yes, I do take responsibility. 1: I didn't review feedback comments before I purchased. This individual has aprox 60% positive and 40% negative. That says a lot in eBay world. 2:  The reason why I refused a refund is solely due to my stubbornness in not allowing someone to screw me over with stupid excuses. Well they did, and I have learnt my lesson.

I have been an eBay member for a long time and if I think of all the purchases I have made without problems, one screw up is pretty good odds.

I want to thank everyone for their comments. I knew about the time limit but didn't pay attention as they offered to resend the item willingly. My bad. One thing you all clarified for me was that a seller can block me. I was under the impression that it was eBay's common practice to disable communication after a period of time. Good to know.

For the person who insisted that eBay is for adults, well hell yea and I can assure you that I am one! 

[digital*ghost]

eBay actually make a note on purchases of the last date you have to do anything if there's a problem. It pops up after 4 weeks and says something along the lines of:  "Don't forget to leave feedback. If there's a problem with this transaction, please go to the resolution centre by [last date]".

I keep an eye on that and usually contact the seller with enough time left to allow for some communication delays, tracking enquiries etc.