Fellow Canadians: when do you worry about non-shipping sellers?

[c0ldb33r]

Fellow Canadians - when do you start to worry that you've been ripped off? I'm starting to get a little concerned about an auction.

I bought this lot (http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230276309992), which consisted of a Sega CDX and some games. The total was $91.00 USD. I won the auction on August 5th and paid by paypal that same day. Shipping was $30.00 through USPS.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s182/c0ldb33r/a9b1_1.jpg

Right after the auction, I emailed the seller through eBay's "ask seller a question" link to see if it included controllers, AC adapter, etc... He responded the same day or the day after saying that it did. Great.

It's now been 1 month and 7 days. I haven't received the package. I've emailed the seller a few times asking him to confirm when he shipped it and he hasn't responded to any communication. Should I be worried? Sometimes shipping from USA is sloooowwwwww. I understand the delay and I'm fine with it. My concern is the lack of communication - it makes me think the guy's just taken the money.

On the other hand, it's only been about a month, maybe he didn't get it out for a few days, and given the size of that lot, I could imagine that it would be a big box and possibly stuck up in customs as a result. This doesn't explain the lack of communication, but does explain the delay.

I don't want this thread to dissuade any American sellers from selling to Canadians. I've purchased a lot of stuff from Americans and never had a problem until possibly now.

I'd really appreciate some input - Thanks :)

[JohnnyA]

I would file a complaint with paypal and ebay. At least he should provide you with proof of shipment.

[ryborg]

I'm not Canadian, but I ship ~5-6 items a week there, sometimes more. I've noticed that, for basically all of 2008, shipping times have been ridiculously slow. I don't know what they're doing differently now, but it sucks. Some items arrive really fast, like within one week, some have taken up to FOUR MONTHS.

I live in Buffalo, NY, and it's taken a full month for something to arrive right across the border in Ontario. It's a 20 minute car drive and it's pretty pathetic that I could walk the package over to the buyer faster than the post.

That said, it couldn't hurt to ask for a scan of the postal receipt or something. The seller likely doesn't have a tracking number, but any proof of delivery should ease your mind.

[eskobar]

I am not Canadian, but the same happens in Mexico ... this country is getting a better postal service everyday but it is very easy to lost a package ... or it is just that sellers take advantage of the transit time for a Mexican shipping.

Usually a claim directly from paypal solves any doubt about the shipping.

[ryborg]

I am not Canadian, but the same happens in Mexico ... this country is getting a better postal service everyday but it is very easy to lost a package ...

I no longer ship to Mexico. I don't know if I was scammed or if the Mexican postal service is truly that bad, but from 1998-2005, about HALF of the packages I mailed there didn't arrive. I finally got sick of dealing with endless Paypal disputes I couldn't win, so I just banned the entire country. I feel bad for the legit buyers, but I also don't like throwing money away.

[darkhades]

I have ordered a few packages like that from the USA, it usually takes 3-5 weeks but not much longer then that. Seeing how you have tried to communicate with the seller and he has not responded I think it's time to worry. File a complaint with Paypal and Ebay.

[eskobar]

I no longer ship to Mexico. I don't know if I was scammed or if the Mexican postal service is truly that bad, but from 1998-2005, about HALF of the packages I mailed there didn't arrive. I finally got sick of dealing with endless Paypal disputes I couldn't win, so I just banned the entire country. I feel bad for the legit buyers, but I also don't like throwing money away.

The postal service was full of thieves ... the employees stole almost any package that was no trackable or required a signature. I think Canda does not suffer from this phenomenon, only the long transit time.

The mexican postal service is changing but if you ship to mexico use certificate of delivery or registration to avoid problems, many sellers now use paypal shipping that has online tracking :D

[ryborg]

The mexican postal service is changing but if you ship to mexico use certificate of delivery or registration to avoid problems, many sellers now use paypal shipping that has online tracking :D

Yes, but the tracking must show proof of DELIVERY, not just that it was shipped. If it's stolen in transit or not scanned properly, I still lose. I'd also be out the $10.80 fee for sending it registered.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I NEVER SHIP TO MEXICO.

EVER.

I don't give a fuck if they're paying for EMS, it'll NEVER arrive. This country's postal system makes Nigeria's look almost godly.

[megasdkirby]

c0ldb33r,

If the seller does not contact you, pull up his telephone number on Ebay. Call him. If nothing, he scammed you. File a dispute and elevate it immediately to a claim.

The seller is a noob as well, which makes me think this is a scam...

[c0ldb33r]

If the seller does not contact you, pull up his telephone number on Ebay. Call him. If nothing, he scammed you. File a dispute and elevate it immediately to a claim.
How do you get someone's phone number from ebay?

This is an email I just sent him:

Hello,

I have emailed you a number of times asking whether and when this item has shipped. I have not received any response to my emails.

I won this item on August 5, 2008 and paid via paypal that same day.

Please let me know when this item was shipped, the shipping method used and tracking number, if applicable.

If I do not get a response by Monday, September 15, 2008 at 6:30 P.M. EST, I will have to lodge a complaint through both ebay and paypal.

I look forward to hearing from you.

- coldb33r

[megasdkirby]

Noo! You just advised him of a complaint/claim! He can now simply transfer everything to his bank account, leaving NOTHING in his Paypal account! What does this imply? If you win the case (you will), you still won't get back your money because he has nothing in his account! And Ebay/Paypal will no longer take out the amount from his credit card or bank account, as they did before!

If you would have filed a dispute and then a claim immediately, it would have frozen his money so he would have been unable to do anything about it.

:(

Anyway, here i sthe link to get the sellers info....

http://tinyurl.com/48b9kd

[c0ldb33r]

Noo! You just advised him of a complaint/claim! ...
Good point, but I've sent him a few threats already before this, so he would have taken anything out awhile ago :(

edit: so I've google searched the guy's ebay id. phillyz32. He's posted on a few car forums. He seems to be from Philadelphia. I've attached a picture of his car - could that be his civic address behind the car?

http://img26.picoodle.com/data/img26/3/9/12/t_24q5xu0m_b5c6ac6.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/9/12/f_24q5xu0m_b5c6ac6.jpg&srv=img26) http://img28.picoodle.com/data/img28/3/9/12/t_119z51fm_2658bc8.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/9/12/f_119z51fm_2658bc8.jpg&srv=img28)

His paypal account is verified and his name is Phillip Husbands. I assumed everything was fine because the guy left me positive feedback shortly after payment.

[megasdkirby]

Good point, but I've sent him a few threats already before this, so he would have taken anything out awhile ago :(

True, but who knows. A friend of mine had a seller who never sent the item and it was close to a month since it ended. He filed the claim and ironically got his money back...the same amount the seller had in his account!

So you never know. I would suggest to simply do the claim immediately.

[c0ldb33r]

I've entered a dispute with paypal and bumped it up to a claim. I hope everything works out.

This is my first bad experience buying stuff over the internet. I really find it quite upsetting.

[c0ldb33r]

UPDATE:

Good news everyone! I got an email from paypal. They found in my favour and have returned the $121.00 to my account. They actually haven't put it in yet, that'll take like 5 days, but they have recovered it from his account :)

[ryborg]

Good to know the system still works occasionally. Did he ever respond in the dispute or
to any of your emails?

[c0ldb33r]

He never responded to any communications that I sent him. After lodging a dispute with paypal, I immediately bumped it to a claim as I had made numerous attempts to resolve the issue before dealing with paypal.

I assume he never responded to paypal either, because they were pretty quick about resolving the whole thing. :)

Sooooo.... if anyone is looking to sell a Sega CDX, I'm now a willing buyer again :D

[c0ldb33r]

Sorry to double post, but I wanted to bump the thread.

GOOD NEWS! I bought another Sega CDX from someone else - with 69 feedback (100% positive). It arrived 6 days after I bought it. I plugged it in and it works perfectly!!!! I AM SO EXCITED! I have wanted one of these for years! So, thanks to everyone in this thread - it was a happy ending after all :)

This is a link to the second CDX that I bought. I paid $70 - I may have overpaid a little, but it arrived so I don't care.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250299738261

[megasdkirby]

Awesome man!

Did you ever neg the seller? I would...

[zektor]

I think you got a pretty good deal man. I was very actively collecting Genesis not very long ago and kept trying to get one of these under $100....auctions were always exceding that around that time. I would have thrown $70 in for a fully functional unit back then! Enjoy it!

[c0ldb33r]

I didn't neg the seller.

Why? The situation just seems too weird.

He responded to my questions before the auction. He responded to a question I had after the auction. He left me positive feedback, and then nothing.

He didn't take the money out of his paypal account. I assume the money that was sitting in the paypal account was mine because he's not a regular ebay seller.

It makes me think that something must have happened to the guy (illness, family death, who knows).

If he took the money out of his paypal, I'd feel he was a scammer, but for now I'm not sure, so I'm not gonna neg him.

[MASTERWEEDO]

maybe he got arrested?