Looking for some feedback from someone who may have had this same issue.

I got a great deal (or so I thought) on eBay for some ignition components for the Fiero. They're something readily available in stores or online for around $70 and I ended up paying $15 (plus $5 shipping). They're brand new in the box, unused.

The next day I get an email from the vendor saying...

“I have been cleaning out my shop and have a guy helping me so I don’t know if he threw them out or out them someplace and I cannot find them.”

I should mention that his eBay feedback is 100%, but I’m suspicious that he simply didn’t like the amount he got for his item and now doesn’t want to sell it.

He's offered to refund my money (whoop-de-doo), but I don’t know if that’s good enough.

Should I insist he send me what I paid for? Even if it means he might have to go to the store and buy me these components IF indeed he actually DID lose them?

If we (as buyers) don't make a stand in situations like this, what stops vendors from pulling this kind of stunt anytime they don't feel like they got enough for their eBay item?

you really don't have grounds to do anything.

ebay policy says that an auction can be invalidated if items become missing damaged or otherwise unavailable for sale in their fine print somewhere....at least it used to way back when I first opened an account. Take you're refund, and that's the end of it. Maybe its the truth, maybe its a lie, but you really haven't "lost" anything... just pretend you didn't win the auction and move on

I would at least leave neutral feedback, if not neg, sure sounds rather convienant. Saying that, check his feedback, even positive, see if he "lost" anyone else's goods. If so, def neg him

Put his name on the bad seller's list in the mall section here at PFF. It will help to keep anyone else from bidding on his stuff.

quote Originally posted by ckfiero: Maybe its the truth, maybe its a lie, but you really haven't "lost" anything... just pretend you didn't win the auction and move on

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Put his name on the bad seller's list in the mall section here at PFF. It will help to keep anyone else from bidding on his stuff.

Both offer good advice.

My guess would be he'll list the same item up for sale again within the week. Question him on it, though, and he'll probably just say "Oh, I found it about an hour after I gave you your refund...".

Take your refund and chalk it up as another jerk eBayer...

[This message has been edited by OKflyboy (edited 11-06-2008).]

How many ratings does he have? If only a few then maybe a neutral. If alot I would think before I rated him. He really may have lost it or misplaced it. Not everyone is bad just because something falls through.

Vinny

Was it Ms Lori Castro?

If he returns your money, I dont see any problem myself. Just a little inconvenience. I went to buy a car that had set at a dealer lot for a while. When I got there (40 miles away) a guy was test drivng it. I hung around about an hour but he bought it....oh well.

This happened to my brother and the guy supposedly went to the junkyard and got the part and made it look as good as the one he had pictured after he lost the original. For what it matters it was a ford exhaust manifold

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If he refunds your money, I'd walk away and call it good. Stuff happens. If the seller has 100%, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. It shouldn't happen, but lots of stuff happens in life that shouldn't.

Pretty much what's been said. Be happy he'll refund your money.

Personally, I'd tell him "If you find it, let me know as I'll take it for the price in the auction still." They I'd tag him as a favorite seller and see if he lists it again, then report him to ebay if he does. Won't accomplish much, but you never know.

have had had that happen to me once.
but i was the SELLER.

it does happen.

Bad memories brought back I won an eBay auction for a beautiful 2000 Firebird Formula convertible in an Auction from Switzerland. I bid at the last moment, and won it for a very good price: About 3,300 Euros. He refused to contact me, and after 3 days I rang him. His wife answered, and said they didn't want to sell it for that price. I told them it was a legal binding agreement, and that I had already booked my flight there to pick the car up. She hung up on me. I rang back, and eventually got her husband this time. He denied that I had spoken to his wife, and told me that the car had been stolen, and the brand new wheels, steering wheel, convertible top etc etc, had been stolen when the Police found the car. I would have to accept the car as it was, at the sale price. I couldn't do anything!! eBay sent me a letter after I had opened a dispute, and said that we had agreed to cancel the sale, and that was that!! I was out money for my flight, and was really mad because the car was my dream.
No. Don't think you can do a thing Patrick. Sorry
Nick

So, whatever happened?

Ebay does have real people as sellers still, and not just businesses, and people DO lose things from time to time. He's offered to refund you, has apologized and explained the situation... yeah, it's a bummer, but he's being very decent about it.

Buyers on ebay have really changed over the last couple years. Now, instead of working out situations like civilized human beings, they demand free stuff, discounts, and MUST get their way no matter what the cost to the seller, otherwise they leave negative feedback. They want the highest quality for walmart prices, they want it shipped for free and they want it yesterday. Then they'll Bi7ch when they get what they paid for, for the cost of shipping, at the speed of shipping they paid for. And no matter what, it's ALWAYS the sellers Fault. The buyer can damage the item themselves, then blame the seller and demand free replacements. I won't even go into how a large portion of ebay buyers can barely understand the english language.

Anyway, the guy said he's sorry, offered your money back, and has tried to work out an unfortunate situation. Give him a break and be understanding. He's not ripping you off, and chances are he's not even going to try to recover his final value fee's... so in the long run, he's losing money in the deal between the outragous fees he's had to pay.

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[This message has been edited by FieroFanaticus2 (edited 11-15-2008).]

quote Originally posted by FieroFanaticus2: Ebay does have real people as sellers still, and not just businesses, and people DO lose things from time to time. He's offered to refund you, has apologized and explained the situation... yeah, it's a bummer, but he's being very decent about it. Anyway, the guy said he's sorry, offered your money back, and has tried to work out an unfortunate situation. Give him a break and be understanding. He's not ripping you off, and chances are he's not even going to try to recover his final value fee's... so in the long run, he's losing money in the deal between the outragous fees he's had to pay.

FieroFanaticus2, your post is VERY interesting. How is it you have so much to say in defence of this vendor and his actions? And where did I say anywhere in this thread that the vendor apologized?

The vendor did apologize, but how would you know? Is your name Skip W****** by any chance?

I didn’t appreciate it when you Skip said to me “Happy complaining!” when I mentioned that perhaps I needed to bring this up with eBay if you he couldn’t “find” the item when given a few extra days to search for it.

quote Originally posted by OKflyboy: So, whatever happened?

FieroFanaticus2 Skip wants to cancel the transaction. I was hoping if I waited a few days before responding, the item would magically turn up. So far, no luck. I'm still weighing my options.

I was involved in something similar, except I was the seller. I had sold a cash register from a deli that a friend closed down. It worked perfectly, but JUST before I went to ship it, I plugged it in to test it again and the A/C adaptor blew. It REALLY did work a week before, and then of course, while at the Deli. Since I clearly couldn't ship it to the guy like that, I e-mailed him and told him that I would have to refund his money because it fried when I went to test it.

He didn't believe me, and gave me a negative feedback. Kind of uncool, but there wasn't much I could do about it?!

If the guy genuinely says he lost it, and he has 100% feedback for everything else... I would say he's probably telling the truth.

There ARE people who would make up a story so that they could sell it for more, but it's usually unlikely.

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Todd,
2006 Pontiac Solstice
2004 Volkswagen Beetle Convt. (Wife's)
2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6
1981 EZ-GO Xi875-A "Miami Dolphins" Medical Cart
1973 Volkswagen Type-2 Transporter
1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 350

quote Originally posted by FieroFanaticus2: Ebay does have real people as sellers still, and not just businesses, and people DO lose things from time to time. He's offered to refund you, has apologized and explained the situation... yeah, it's a bummer, but he's being very decent about it. Buyers on ebay have really changed over the last couple years. Now, instead of working out situations like civilized human beings, they demand free stuff, discounts, and MUST get their way no matter what the cost to the seller, otherwise they leave negative feedback. They want the highest quality for walmart prices, they want it shipped for free and they want it yesterday. Then they'll Bi7ch when they get what they paid for, for the cost of shipping, at the speed of shipping they paid for. And no matter what, it's ALWAYS the sellers Fault. The buyer can damage the item themselves, then blame the seller and demand free replacements. I won't even go into how a large portion of ebay buyers can barely understand the english language. Anyway, the guy said he's sorry, offered your money back, and has tried to work out an unfortunate situation. Give him a break and be understanding. He's not ripping you off, and chances are he's not even going to try to recover his final value fee's... so in the long run, he's losing money in the deal between the outragous fees he's had to pay.

quote Originally posted by Patrick: FieroFanaticus2, your post is VERY interesting. How is it you have so much to say in defence of this vendor and his actions? And where did I say anywhere in this thread that the vendor apologized? The vendor did apologize, but how would you know? Is your name Skip W****** by any chance? I didn’t appreciate it when you Skip said to me “Happy complaining!” when I mentioned that perhaps I needed to bring this up with eBay if you he couldn’t “find” the item when given a few extra days to search for it.

quote Originally posted by OKflyboy:

+1

I would accept his apoligy and ask him to do a vigorous search for the items and if he finds them you will offer him 3 times the auction price. If he takes the "bait", you'll know he's a crook. Tell him to stick them up the "usual place", then leave neg feedback.

Spoon

You guys are bad.

Jane

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Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality

I agree and am here with the


any link to the auction?

quote Originally posted by ckfiero: any link to the auction?

I don't want to make the vendor's eBay name public yet, but you'll find this interesting I'm sure...


I got the following email today from eBay. Keep in mind I paid for this item on November 5th (using PayPal) and I’ve been waiting since then for the item to be “found” and shipped.

quote Email from eBay: On Nov-09-2008, ******** has opened an Unpaid Item case for item # ************. Please click the Take action button to pay for this item, respond to ******** or send payment details. If you do not take any action before Nov-16-2008, the seller can give you an Unpaid Item strike and your account may be suspended as a result.

So an email I get today, Nov 16, warns me I’m supposed to take action before Nov 16 on an item I paid for on Nov 5. How screwed up is this?

I VERY much doubt that that is an authentic email from eBay or Paypal, Patrick.You normally have 30 days to file for an action, but you CANNOT file for an unpaid claim that soon...This sounds more and more like a scam to me. I would change ALL your passwords immediately, and forward the email BACK to eBay, and demand an explanation.Everything goes against the normal procedures I have ever encountered. Take care.
Nick
PS....It is time to put up the link to the Auction, Patrick.

[This message has been edited by fierofetish (edited 11-16-2008).]

Yeah, it's probably a spoof email. If there's a link to eBay customer service in the email, it's probably a fake link going to another website where they harvest personal info, so they can steal your identity. My advice would be to not reply to the email, and don't click on any links contained within it.

Regarding the original problem, you should accept the refund and be done with it. Anything above and beyond that is just vindictive.

It sounds like the seller "declined" your paypal payment. those have to be actively accepted before they are considered official.

It sounds like your stubborness left the seller thinking that since you will not "agree to cancel" the transaction so they can get their listing/final value fees back, they will go after the unpaid item route to get the credits.

Seriously, I don't see why you are drawing it out. So you missed out on a deal, not the end of the world and IMO not a reason to drag everything out and be stubborn. Put the shoe on the other foot if something you were selling got lost or damaged. How would YOU feel in that situation as a seller?

To be completely frank...how the HECK can you list an item, and then lose it????? I just don't accept it. I BET it didn't reach his anticipated price, and he is just saying he lost it. Or he had somebody offer him a better price after the auction, or even during it. No. If a seller 'loses' something after going to all the bother of listing it, I wouldn't want to buy anything from him anyway Not exactly a reliable type, eh what?
Nick

Accidents happen. If its his first bad mark, id just chalk it up as a honest mistake and accept my money back.

Not saying it is legit in this case but i do know it happens. My wife sold a doll once and while it was up for sale it had fallen over and broke its hand ( porcelain ) didn't notice until it was time to pack it up. She decided to trash the entire doll instead of selling it damaged.

[This message has been edited by User00013170 (edited 11-16-2008).]

Just to follow up on this eBay purchase, the vendor never did send me the item. He instead put in a request to eBay to cancel the purchase. So yes, he eventually refunded my money 16 days after I had paid for the item. (Actually it was 21 days as it took another 5 days for the funds to clear his account.)

He had given me positive eBay feedback (which was fully deserved since I had paid for his item just hours after the auction had ended). I suspect he was hoping I would forgive his BS and return the favor so as not to blemish his 100% positive eBay feedback. I sent him the following message...

quote If you hadn't stated "Happy Complaining!" in your email to me, I would've just given you a Neutral rating. That rather stupid comment earned you a well deserved Negative rating. Perhaps you should be a little less insulting to an eBay bidder the next time you "lose" an item that the bidder has already bought and paid for!

And this is the exchange that took place during my rating of him at eBay...



Case closed.

Well, I think that was a little vindictive and uncalled for on your part. Good thing I dont sell to any international buyers or I'd need to be on the lookout and make sure to cancel your bids on any of my future auctions.

Definite thumbs down on that one...

Edit: Used my better judgement not to say what I really wanted to say about this.

But, Patrick, I am not the seller. I do not know the seller. People on here know who I am, and what I sell. I make that obvious. I may be wrong, but I think you even bought from me in the past, years ago maybe.

[This message has been edited by FieroFanaticus2 (edited 12-15-2008).]

quote Originally posted by FieroFanaticus2: Edit: Used my better judgement not to say what I really wanted to say about this.

Oh, you said it alright. You just decided to delete it, but I saw it.

My posts are pretty self-explanatory. If my actions seem too harsh for you, fine. I might add that this is only the second time in eighty eBay purchases that I’ve ever given an eBay vendor a negative rating.

My own eBay rating is 100% perfect, so I haven’t exactly made life miserable for too many eBay vendors.

It’s interesting that you chewed my ass off for not posting my eBay identity, yet you give me no credit for continuing to protect the identity of the vendor who jerked me around.

Seems to me you have an issue with eBay buyers or perhaps people in general, and jumped at the chance to take it out on me. Glad you were able to get it off your chest, as it must've been crushing you.

quote Originally posted by Patrick: My own eBay rating is 100% perfect, so I haven’t exactly made life miserable for too many eBay vendors.

Pretty hard NOT to have 100% when buyers CAN"T recieve negatives, isn't it?

quote Originally posted by FieroFanaticus2: Pretty hard NOT to have 100% when buyers CAN"T recieve negatives, isn't it?

I've been an eBay member since 1998. Up until just the last few months, eBay vendors could hold eBay buyers ransom by threatening them with negative feedback if they didn't get positive feedback from the buyers, no matter how screwed up the items were or how bad the packaging/shipping was. That's why the rating rules were very recently changed, too many eBay vendors were abusing the rating system.

And you knew that, didn't you. You just couldn't resist trying to slip that little white lie in.

And that my friend, has now earned you a PFF negative in return for the one you've given me.

in the end, feedback doesnt much matter anyways,only ratings from the last 90 days count in the percentage rating.....

I don't know everything that Patrick said to the seller, or what the seller said. I can say that given the information from this thread, I too would probably give a negative to the seller

1) the refund came almost 3 weeks later
2) I am a man of my word, so I would have made sure my buyer got the item even if it cost me extra
3) the seller sent an email saying "happy complaining", very unprofessional

That would be good enough for me to give a neg, regardless of their ratings. I too am an ebay member. I have been a member since 2004, have over 130 ratings, only 1 is negative, the rest are positive. I am not a seller, only buy things (actually, I did sell one item). I have never given anyone a negative rating, so I do take that seriously.

[This message has been edited by ditch (edited 12-15-2008).]

quote Originally posted by ditch: I don't know everything that Patrick said to the seller, or what the seller said. I can say that given the information from this thread, I too would probably give a negative to the seller

Thanks for looking at this objectively. I swear that 100% of what I've stated in this thread is the truth. There's no need for me to be making up stories here.

The guy refunded your money, and you're acting like an ass. But that's typical for you anyway.