Seller has stopped responding after request for tracking information

[cardscardscards1990]

I won an auction for an item in June and paid for the item straight away as I always do. I then waited patiently for the notification of it being sent, which I got roughly a week after the auction. The item would be coming to me internationally so I knew to be patient for it. As I have had previous purchases sent to me from the same country as this purchase I knew it takes roughly a month for them to arrive from the date sent.

Five weeks later and the item has not arrived so I message the seller asking if they knew where the package was at this point in time and was told quite bluntly that they had bought tracking themselves for the item and that it said it was in transit. I’ve only ever had one bad experience with a seller before but it was fixes before anything was posted, so I felt confident that they had indeed done what they said and that my item was in transit currently.

Three weeks later again (8 weeks since it was “sent”) I again ask for an update on the item as it still has not arrived and was told they would look into it for me and they never got back to me.

Two weeks later again (10 weeks since “sent”) and I ask about the item to which I am again told it is in transit. I accept this as the truth as I have no reason not to believe anything that I’m told at this point.

One week later (11 weeks) I ask for the shipping information, which I know they do not have to disclose but I honestly thought they would be open to the idea as I have been waiting so long now and have to message them whenever I want an update. To which I get no reply, I have messaged multiple times since asking for tracking information and receive silence in return.

Now today the sale on the eBay app has gone grey and I am no longer able to see any of the information for the sale except it’s title and the sellers name.

I have looked up the seller to see if they are active at the moment or they might be away and that would explain the breakdown on communication. But their page is still up but they now have nothing for sale at all. From the dozens I remember browsing through on the day I made my purchase as I had limited funds at the time but was hoping to buy more items as they had a vast supply of out of production items.

So my question is, has enough time elapsed that I should be concerned? The whole sale all up was only $60 aud but I am on a very fixed income and a purchase like this is something I do as an extravagance every few months.

[maranock]

You made the mistake of letting the seller convince you to wait until the time you can open a dispute with Ebay has passed, it is a common way for overseas sellers to scam inexperienced buyers. If an item is more then a week or so passed the delivery date then after contacting the seller for information and not getting a satisfactory answer you should open a dispute for item not received. Most overseas items are delivered within 4 weeks.

Your option now is to open a dispute with Paypal. 

Never let a seller put you off with excuses.

[*tippy*toes*]

Go into PayPal and open a dispute for item not received. Escalate to a claim as soon as it allows. Don't let the Chinese string you along like that again. They are notorious for it.

[countessalmirena]

@cardscardscards1990,

maranock and tippy*toes have given you the best possible advice.

If you were never given a tracking number by a seller, enabling you to track the item, then in this day and age, in this current eBay buying and selling environment, you will need to assume that the item either has not been sent at all or was not sent via a tracked method.

eBay works well for buyers at present, if they follow the right procedure. There are very powerful tools and policies at your disposal as a buyer. I understand that $60 can be a significant chunk out of a fixed income, and if you've spent it, you're entitled to receive what you've bought.

For now, do exactly as maranock and tippy*toes have said. Open up a dispute in PayPal, on the basis of the item not having arrived. Make sure that you respond within the dispute if anything is required of you, or if the seller replies, etc. In fact, once you've started the dispute, you can call PayPal Customer Service

1800 073 263 (toll free)
+61 2 8223 9500

Go to this page (https://www.paypal.com/au/smarthelp/contact-us) for your one-off passcode.
[You'll be asked to enter this unique code on the phone.)

Customer Service hours

6am to 10pm AEST Monday to Friday
8am to 7pm AEST Saturday and Sunday

Explain that you realise now that the seller was trying to hold you off and string you along until the eBay MBG (Money Back Guarantee) timeframe had passed, and that you've just now opened a dispute and are hoping that PayPal will expedite the refund as the $60 is a sufficiently significant amount for you, the seller declined to give you a tracking number, and it's already been so long.

What you should do in future, and all about timeframes for eBay MBG reports

Spoiler

... always look at the latest estimated delivery date, and use that as your guide as to when you would open a claim under eBay's MBG. You can open a report for an item not received for up to 30 days past the latest estimated delivery date. Give yourself some leeway just in case there's an error or glitch to prevent you opening a case - I really recommend making sure that you don't wait any later than, say 1 week before the deadline, at the absolute latest. See your item's estimated delivery date (which you can see in your Purchase History - make sure you select the range next to "See orders from" ... so that you can see all your purchases from the last 60 days, 2018, 2017, 2016, as needed. (In this case, it's 2018 you should select.)

Next to the item would be shown somethjing like Estimated delivery [earliest date] - [latest date]. The latest date is your guide. Let's say that you bought on 20 June, just as a rough example. Then Estimated delivery would have been something like this:

           Wed 20 Jul - Tue 07 Aug

7th August would be your latest estimated delivery date. From that exact moment, the clock starts ticking. You have exactly 30 days from that second - no more - to open a report under eBay's MBG. (4th September.) To be absolutely sure you don't miss the deadline, you'd make a note to yourself that you will wait until, say, 28th August AT THE VERY LATEST.

If you have reason to be concerned - for example, your seller told you that the item was tracked, but they didn't give you the tracking number - then you'd be best off opening the eBay report much sooner than that. In your place, I would probably have said to the seller,  "Dear [seller], could you please send me the tracking number for my purchase? I'm a little concerned about how long this delivery is taking. I will take until [date] before opening a claim with eBay, but would really appreciate your giving me the tracking number so that I can check the parcel's progress. Kind regards, [name]"

The [date] would be, for instance, 14th August.

Here's the Money Back Guarantee policy.

Good luck!

[lyndal1838]

Open a dispute in paypal as soon as you can, as the others have said.

It is now too late for you to leave feedback for the seller too.   That is a shame.....this sort of seller deserves every negative that comes his way.