Seller from Russia wants me to close an item not received case, claims ebay will still refund later?

[legosheepy]

Hi,

I bought a Sony ICF SW55 from a seller in Russia on the 2nd of August. He posted only 2 days later.

The estimated delivery was from the 19th of Aug to the latest of October the 7th.

The last tracking update was on the 8th of August.

Interestingly on close to the last estimated arrival date, the seller messaged me this:

"hello. I found out that the parcel arrived in Australia, now it's tedious to wait for delivery in the country. parcels go to your country for a very long time, but unfortunately this does not depend on us, this is how postal services work."

When I asked him to provide some details, how did he know that it's arrived?

He responded & claimed that I misunderstood him, that he's using a translator, as he doesn't understand english, which I found abit odd.

At the time, I was about to open an "item not received case" which I did anyway, for protection just incase. After all, that's why it's there. After all, 2 months is a long time.

The seller now claims that it may have been posted via seamail.

Now the seller wants me to close the case, he claims this:

"Could you close your request for now upon not receiving the purchased item? Since the money in my PayPal account is blocked due to your request, I cannot make financial transactions."

He claims that I will still be protected & ebay will refund if it still doen't arrive.

I'm suspicious that he maybe trying to rip one off.

Should I leave it open, till the item arrives?

Feedback is greatly appreciated.

[*tippy*toes*]

As the others have advised, DO NOT close the dispute. Also, don't let it time out either or it will automatically close, and you won't get a refund. I'm not sure what the time frame is for a dispute as I've never had to do one, but I wouldn't let it go more than 2 weeks without escalating it to a claim (asking eBay to step in and help). 

If the seller says they can't refund without you closing it, they are lying. Yes, the funds for that transaction will be frozen because of the dispute, but they can still be refunded to you.

As others have also mentioned, you can always repay the seller if and when the item arrives.

I also have to ask, what do you find odd about someone using a translator because they don't understand English? You do realise that there are millions and millions of people around the world who don't speak English at all? Many times I have had to use a translator to communicate with buyers and sellers who know no English. Nothing odd about it at all.

[legosheepy]

Because on the last day of the ETA when he messaged me this:

"hello. I found out that the parcel arrived in Australia"

It's quite obvious from his 1st sentence that this is not a misunderstanding at all, nor a coincidence.

I think he did that in order to prevent & deter me from opening an INR case.

He's also dishonest, when he claims that ebay will still refund, when closing an INR case.

[*tippy*toes*]

He has probably checked the tracking number, or is stalling you. Hence why you shouldn't let the dispute time out. It still doesn't mean he understands English. Do you speak and understand Russian?

[legosheepy]

No, just English.

Stalling, yes I reasonate that that's excactly what he's trying to do.

How does one prevent, that the dispute doesn't time out?

[padi*0409]

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@legosheepy wrote:

How does one prevent, that the dispute doesn't time out?

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If you go into the dispute, which can be found on your purchase history towards the bottom, it'll tell you when you can ask eBay to step in, once you do that the dispute will be decided by eBay unless the seller refunds you voluntarily before that point.

Edit. What does the tracking show at the moment ?

[lyndal1838]

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@legosheepy wrote:

No, just English.

Stalling, yes I reasonate that that's excactly what he's trying to do.

How does one prevent, that the dispute doesn't time out?

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You may speak English but you do not understand what you are being told here.

To prevent the dispute from timing out make sure you follow the timeframes given to you by ebay and escalate to a claim well before the cut off date.

[*tippy*toes*]

Don't ignore it. Ask eBay to step in and help, which usually sees the dispute closed in your favour. I just checked the help pages and the dispute will time out in 21 days if it's ignored, so ask eBay to step in and help before then.

Another thing, I can't remember if it was mentioned or not, don't accept an offer of the seller sending another item the same. It's another stalling tactic and another item will rarely be sent. Only accept a refund.

[legosheepy]

The latest tracking update was on the 8th of August.

Russian Post

Prepared for shipment from Russia08 August 2020,102972, Sharapovo

[*tippy*toes*]

Have you tried putting the tracking number into Aust Post? I know when I've posted stuff overseas, once it lands in the receiving country, tracking events stop on AP and commence on that country's site. Once it's delivered it shows as delivered on AP, just without the tracking events for the other country.

[padi*0409]

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@*tippy*toes* wrote:

Have you tried putting the tracking number into Aust Post? I know when I've posted stuff overseas, once it lands in the receiving country, tracking events stop on AP and commence on that country's site. Once it's delivered it shows as delivered on AP, just without the tracking events for the other country.

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Tippy, for the last few months tracking for overseas parcels on the AP website has rarely been shown for me until it arrives at my PO box.