Ebay problems.... *HELP!*

[maxlords]

This lady claims STILL to have never gotten my package and it's been almost
3 months! Do I

A. Wait a few more days cause the auction will vanish after 90 days and I
don't have to worry about negs (90 days will be 3 days from now).

B. Refund all her money cause I'm a nice guy even though I'm dirt
broke (which I am...no sprare $ at all!).

C. Refund half her money cause it's all I can afford (see dirt broke).

The item in question...a Game Gear TV Tuner...and she paid me $37.50 for it. This is the first item I've ever had LOST out of HUNDREDS of packages. I
still don't entirely believe she didn't get it, but she sounds like a mom,
not a gamer, and she was "buying it for her son's XMas gift." What do you
think guys? Is she jerking me around...cause I've NEVER had a package get lost before in YEARS of selling.

[Sylentwulf]

If she paid by paypal, you'll probly have to refund her, otherwise she'll complain to paypal and be FORCED to refund her or lose your paypal account.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS Put delivery confirmation on everything over $25.00. It only costs $.45-$.55.

If she didn't pay by paypal and you DID send it out, then it's not your problem. I mean, you didn't gain or lose anything, you lost an item (Sold it, sent it out), and gained money (payment). if you pay her back, then you're out the money and the item, through absolutely no fault of your own.

[dsullo]

maxlords

I use delivery confirmation on ALL PACKAGES that I send out. Regardless of the price. It is worth the piece of mind. In the past year, I have had at least 5 people claim to "NOT" receive packages and when I email them back the delivery confirmation # along with the status from the USPS website showing the date it was delivered, they all of a sudden realize they DID get the package and mistakenly sent an email to me that was suppose to go to someone else.

So could she be scamming you, YES. But you have no proof with confirmation.


I believe that with paypal there is a window of time that they can file a complaint. You may want to check.

Personally, I would refund the money. And use confirmation on ALL packages moving forward

Dustin

[Bratwurst]

Just a word of warning to Maxlords- just because 90 days have passed doesn't mean the auction is no longer valid to leave feedback on. In the ebay discussion forums there have been talk that some listings can linger even longer for a few more days beyond the 90 day grace period.

[maxlords]

Well...thing is..there isn't delivery confirmation in Canada. It's a LOT more expensive to ship a package with tracking from Canada to the US, and I'm not paying double shipping if someone doesn't pay me for it. She didn't ask for tracking, and so she didn't get it. I sent 10 packages that day, and hers is the only one that didn't arrive. It's usually an extra $5 to send with tracking here, more than I'm gonna pay for peace of mind when I'd never had a package lost EVER. Not even to Mexico have I had packages get lost! The auction closed in early December and that's when she paid me (with Paypal). I'm not sure how long that paypal window is, but I also don't even HAVE the money to refund her money now. I'm pretty much completely broke. I couldn't even buy a tank of gas right now.

[Raedon]

then only ship in Canada.. or don't except paypal.

[maxlords]

Actually, I've mostly stopped using eBay entirely...too much headache. I'm gonna have a lot of stipulations if I do ever put up more auctions. No bidders under feedback of 5 wthout asking, no insurance - not responsible, etc etc. I hate having to do it that way, but it seems there's no other way.

[dsullo]

maxlords

I would not give up on ebay , especially if your short on cash. Ebay can be a great way to support your gaming habit. I actually buy games that I know I can make a few bucks on ebay with. Example : My EB had a new Sonic Adventure 2 for the Dreamcast for 7.99. I posted it for 9.99 and it sold for 26.00. Do a few of those a week and you can support your gaming habit.

Some peopel may frown upon these practices , but I see nothing wrong with it. What I won't do is sell something like a homebrew game or Sean Kelly Multi cart, that in my opinion is not ethical.

I DO NOT Ship internationally because of the hassles. You can put in your auction the same stipulation or make the buyer pay extra for confirmation.

Nobody said that you should pay out of pocket for confirmation, get the buyer to pay and both of you will have piece of mind.

[geelw]

MAX-

if you kept the receipt for all 10 packages, and have some of the other folks who bought from you vouch for your services (send her a copy of the receipt showing that those 10 packages left your possession)- she has no issue. it could be mail fraud on her part, or it could be the postal service's fuck up here or up there. either way, don't send her a dime until you can do everything you can to see what's happened to the item. check with your post office to see what the regulations covering reimbursement for non-insured missing items is.

it's also the bidder's responsibility to make sure that they know if a package is coming from another country or over a border that tracked shipping should be a necessity. at worst, offer to pay for HALF the cost, as again, she didn't purchase insurance or any sort of security, which was a mistake on her part (and yours, if you didn't make it clear that the canadian postal service has different restrictions). personally, i think it's either been stolen

__________________________________________________ ___________

actually, some bidders are incredibly, annoyingly cheap when it comes to shipping options. in all my bidville stuff, i say either "shipping based on current priority mail rates" or "shipping cost based on what you win/where you live", and in my reply emails i state that for security purposes, i ONLY ship out priority mail or faster for u.s. and air mail pp or EMS for overseas. and STILL some folks who win my auctions ask for media mail shipping! i offer it now, but i tell whoever's cheap enough to want it that i'm NOT responsible for any damage or loss whatsoever. i pack stuff like it's going to survive a 50-foot fall into a pool of water that freezes over for a week, so anything that happens after it leaves my hands and goes phony express is the buyer's concern. i've shipped stuff all over the world (and will continue to do so), and US bidders are the cheapest bunch of the lot, always asking for discounts and free shipping...

and ebay does have the WORST customer "service", by the way. i've been ripped off 5 times in 2 years, and despite filing with square trade, usps for mail fraud, and tracking down deadbeat sellers through other methods, i've NOT received any sort of satisfaction. all a deadbeat has to do is IGNORE all the e-mails and letters that are being sent for as long as the case is open, then it closes, and you're shit out of luck. meanwhile, i KNOW a few of the folks who screwed me cancelled their ebay accounts (or got booted), only to reappear a bit later under another, sunglassed ID. ebay WON'T help locate or trace them, even if you have proof of their ripping off folks in the past, which REALLY stinks. this whole "more than 90 days" feedback b.s. is LONG overdue, and it probably WON'T happen unless there's some sort of huge purge there...end of rant.. >:(