Advice needed

[oddsandendsoz]

Hi community,

I recently bought a bunch of items from a seller who was having a stock take sale. The order arrived yesterday by Fastway Couriers in two packages. They attempted delivery on Saturday but I wasn't home and so the Courier guy rang me to ask if I would be home on Monday. I have dealth with this guy a few times, and always found him to be good to deal with.

When the parcels arrived yesterday they were signed for by my wife. When I came home later I checked the parcels as straight away as I was excited by some of the items. I discovered that one item valued at nearly $500 was not there, and potentially another item that was a freebie as part of the deal also not there. I immediately contacted the seller to ask if they had made a mistake and not sent the item. I am still awaiting a reply.

I am asking on the selling board as I trust this board having never really spent much time on the buying board. I am wondering what is the best way and correct way of dealing with this? As a seller myself I want to work with them for a resolution that does not put there account at risk, but also with this being an expensive item, I also need to protect myself. Obviously the best scenario is that they somehow forgot to pack the item, but what if they did pack it? This can only mean that it has been stolen in transit, and I wonder at that point what do I need to do?

Really stressful so close to Christmas to lose an item so expensive. I would love suggestions on the best way of dealing with this?

Thanks and hope you are all well and looking forward to Christmas!!!

[joethenuts]

first check the weigh on the packages if there is one and see if its correct .  if its for instance 2 kg lighter than it should be then there is a good chance its come out in transit  maybe to a driver it its correct weight then the seller has not put it in , now thats if the article missing has some decent weight .

[lyndal1838]

The most important thing is to wait till you hear from the seller to see if he missed packing the items or if there is a third parcel.  If it is missing that does not mean it has been stolen.

It is very easy for parcels to get separated in transit.   Does the Con Note say there are only two parcels or should there be three?

[saarzi]

Id check the weight, and photograph the label, because the seller can go straight back to the courier company and check weight to show whether or not you are telling the truth about there being an item missing.  If its "fallen out" in transit, there would be damage to the packaging, which would be recorded by courier company and be on their security footage, and/or there will be courier tape on the package (the seller might ask for photos).

Then wait a few days to see if they turn up in seperate packages, and/or contact the courier company and ask if there was another package that hasnt turned up - they will be able to look it up on their system.

If not, email the seller and ask where the items are - they can open an investigation with the courier company etc etc or whatever. Since its xmas, you might want to wait a few days. If they dont reply, email them again and say if they dont respond you will be forced to open a case.

Wait a few more days. If they still dont respond, open a case.

Keep in mind the public holidays - if your seller was a physical store, they may not see their emails until after the Xmas period.

[phorum_junkie*]

Keep in mind the public holidays - if your seller was a physical store, they may not see their emails until after the Xmas period.

For an item of that value at this time of year I would be pulling their contact details and getting on the phone straight away. If it is coming in another parcel then you can wait but if they claim they should all have been in one of the two delivered parcels you need to open a dispute asap.

[black*poppy]

If you open a case, make sure you use Not as Described (missing parts) not Item not received as you risk losing a not received case as the seller has tracking.

[oddsandendsoz]

Thanks for all the advice! It turned out that the seller had emailed me on an email account I rarely use to say they had no stock of the expensive item!!! Really annoyed because of all the 7 items I wanted, that was the one I really wanted. They have also been very slack on refunding the payment, stating they have had issues with refunding in PayPal (possibly to avoid a defect?), am now still waiting for the refund!!!!

[digital*ghost]

---

@oddsandendsoz wrote:

They have also been very slack on refunding the payment, stating they have had issues with refunding in PayPal (possibly to avoid a defect?), am now still waiting for the refund!!!!

---

I wouldn't be prepared to wait too much longer before opening a dispute, to be honest. 

[oddsandendsoz]

---

@digital*ghost wrote:

---

@oddsandendsoz wrote:

They have also been very slack on refunding the payment, stating they have had issues with refunding in PayPal (possibly to avoid a defect?), am now still waiting for the refund!!!!

---

I wouldn't be prepared to wait too much longer before opening a dispute, to be honest. 

---

Yes, I have been way too lenient, possibly taking into account the holiday period way too much!! If it is not paid tomorrow I will be opening a dispute and they will then cop a defect for no stock, something that although I was very annoyed with, I have tried to be accomodating about!! Thanks for your suggestion though Digi, and for the great advice you always give to the community!!!

[cathyjoyjoy]

" ......... the seller had emailed me on an email account I rarely use ......."

____________________________________________________________

The first thing you must do as a result of this is check your communication contact details, specifically your email, and make sure you change it to an email you actually access.

However, all communication should always go through eBay messages, that way if there are any problems the evidence is there if you need to involve eBay.  You should then easily see all messages sent and received within your eBay account.  It sounds like you've tried to contact the seller via eBay, but the seller has not responded through eBay messages. ??