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Poor Ebay Transaction


betweenthelens

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Re: http://www.ebay.com/itm/181268489305?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

I wanted to post this here just because I feel something is amiss. My gut feeling (right or wrong) is that the seller didn't realize a decent price for these pens and decided not to send them to me, the winning bidder. I've never had an issue receiving anything from overseas and I've ordered from Europe and Asia.

 

I have a strong proclivity for French pens, especially Bayards, and when I saw this auction for the Waterman and Bayard, I bid. I was really surprised that there was only one other bidder on this 10 day auction and I was further surprised that the final cost was 23 and change with cheap postage costs, too.

 

The auction ended on 12/4 and I paid immediately. On 12/12, having not received any notification that the pens shipped, I sent the seller a message asking when the pens shipped and if there was a tracking number. The seller responded and said he sent the pens two days after my payment on 12/6. He added that he sent a watch to Canada "last month" and it took two weeks. He surmised that my pens would arrive by 12/20 and asked me to let him know when they arrived.

 

On 12/24, I wrote the seller and informed him that the pens still hadn't arrived. I again asked for tracking information as he hadn't addressed my initial request for tracking, and I let that go as I'd expected the pens to arrive around the time he indicated they should.

 

I hadn't received an answer from him by 12/28 so I re-sent my query and he answered me that same day. This is his message, verbatim.

 

i pay you back now

the post office told me the USA customs are the worst and the longer
so they think it will arrive but the worst custom and the big shipment of chrismath are probably responsible of this late arrival
excuse me for my bad english
so i pay you back now
i ask you to be serious and to pay me again when you will receive it
usa are not china and i still believe it will arrive
there is no number of shipment because it is without insurance
insurance shipment would have cost more than the pen

tell me

 

I wrote him and told him I wished he hadn't refunded my money just yet and that I would, of course, pay him if the pens did arrive. I thought he was quite quick to refund my money as I'd given no inclination that I wanted a refund just yet. I believe I'm not going to receive these pens but will definitely post here if they do make it to me!

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That is a shame, you would have been (hopefully are!) a sumgai (sumgal?). Maybe try messaging eBay buyer protection, or support since he did make a deal and is going back on it. I remember when making a account it calls each bid a "legally binding agreement", so maybe you could get the pens outta him with the help of eBay or Paypal.

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The are a number of things that could be at work here.

 

The first might be as you suspect, the seller did not get enough for them and just went trough the motions of letting you pay and then refunding, I have had this a few times, although normally they make up some excuse about it breaking when they where parcelling it up.

 

Another option might be that it is stuck in customs awaiting to be cleared or for them to contact you for a duty payment.

 

This time of year there are millions more parcels shipping around the world so a delay is quite possible as is a lost parcel.

 

The seller should have used a tracked postal service to comply with eBay & PayPal's rules, but they don't always.

 

You did get your money back though, without the hassle of starting a claim.

 

Paul

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My experience is that sometimes things coming from the EU take up to 6 weeks to arrive, even when it is shipped in a timely manner. On the other hand, I have had things shipped from Japan arrive in 2 or 3 days.

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I'm so sorry to hear it!

I really hate when people ship me something without a tracking number. And here around Christmas I even make sure to get tracking numbers for my letters. Recently I recieved a pen from the US (I live in Europe) and it first went to Southern Vietnam (no kidding) where it got stuck in the customs office for a long time before they noticed the error and finally put it on a plane for Denmark. Your seller has got rather good feedback so I suppose that you've still got a chance. If you never get it, remember at least to give him some bad feedback on ebay; - even if it's the mail man's error, he should not ship things without tracking number - especially in December.

Good luck!

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Look at your ebay and see how long you have to start a claim and get any help from them.

 

I recently went through something where it took over a month - before the Christmas rush - for an overseas parcel to reach me, which it eventually did, after creating a royal pain for all involved. So it could indeed just be stuck. Ebay refunded my money. (Which was not what I had asked for as a remedy) When my item eventually arrived I just sent them the payment by paypal - as far as ebay was concerned I did not owe them anything, but morally and in fairness I did. In the end everyone got what they needed and we were all probably equally inconvenienced. Had that item never arrived I would have been quite glad to have filed the claim on time.

 

In my case it was not a case of my bidding low, or them possibly wanting to relist the item at a higher price, I think it was a buy it now, and I am not sure how one goes about dealing with finding an item that has gone through this sort of transaction, relisted, were that to happen...

 

T

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Sorry about this. I suppose the good news is that you did get a refund. Being totally stiffed by an ebay seller is just the worst. Hope the best Bayard yet is in your future!

"Ravens play with lost time."

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My experience with PRC sellers is two to three weeks arrival in the USA. That's with commercial shippers.

Individual shippers can take longer. In a recent transaction, the seller refunded my money, after non-

delivery, after six weeks. After three months, the pen arrived. I sent the payment.

 

Volume from overseas will always be unpredictable. Sometimes, US Customs can be overwhelmed. Still, they have to be thorough. "September 11, 2011" changed a lot of things in our country.

 

It's too early to assume deceat. You did exactly right.

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

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Cerbervs, thank you for your advice. I consider myself a sumgal as I've had some lucky finds, some in unexpected places. With respect to getting the pens out of the seller, I don't think that will happen unless the pens show up in my mailbox. I'm still holding out hope, though! I'm also not certain what kind of recourse I may have since the seller refunded my payment.

 

Hi, Paul. Thank you for your response. I've heard of such matters occurring to which you referred- sellers claiming broken pens or other items when packaging them thereby creating a situation in which the sale can be cancelled or the payment refunded. Who knows what's actually happened in each individual case. Although I'd like to think that most eBay sellers are morally upright when it comes to sales, I am not certain about this seller, as my suspicions attest to. I will be happy to pay duty fees or anything else when/if my pens arrive. The package could very well be stuck somewhere.

 

ehemem, you are right. I've actually received letters from the UK quicker than I've received a letter from someone who lives a few states away here! No rhyme or reason.

 

Ursus, I'm incredulous regarding your pen that wound up in Asia before making its way to you. Makes one wonder if there are creative shipping options that one can choose instead of the shortest, most direct route. Do you really think I should leave negative feedback if the pens don't arrive? I don't have proof there was seller deceit and he did refund my money so... Also, next time I purchase anything from overseas, if the item doesn't come with tracking, I'll ask the seller to include it and, of course, I'll pay extra for this. It's almost a necessity.

 

scrivelry, I don't think I can start a claim since my money was refunded. Again, I am holding out hope that the pens will arrive. I even trudged down our drive to the mailbox in this little blizzard we're having to see if they were there. No such luck!

 

Thank you so much Aquinata. Your kind words are much appreciated.

 

Sasha Royale, I'm amazed that orders from China, Japan and India are shipped and arrive with incredible celerity versus a couple of pens from France! You give me hope, though, and I thank you. It's not yet been a month so who knows. They may still arrive and, of course, I will pay the seller immediately. I was willing to wait and even though we'd not discussed a refund, as I'd mentioned above, he was quick to refund my money. This is really what gave me pause regarding the whole situation. You are right, too, that 9/11 has irrevocably changed the way in which many things are done.

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Well, just follow your conscience; after all it's better to be treated wrong than treating others wrong.

Paul80 writes that ebay and PayPal demand that the package is trackable - and if so, I personally find that it would be appropriate to give him some bad feedback as he has not followed the rules. After all, those rules must have been invented in order to prevent fraud.

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I agree, Ursus, and if I feel the seller is at fault and something is amiss that I can prove, I won't hesitate to leave negative feedback. I agree, too, that if Paypal and eBay say that all packages must be traceable, the seller didn't follow rules and the feedback I leave will reflect this. Thanks again!

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Does the seller have proof of postage? You still get a receipt for sending non-tracked postage here in the UK, it's probably the same en France? Can't hurt to ask before leaving feedback.

Latest pen related post @ flounders-mindthots.blogspot.com : vintage Pilot Elite Pocket Pen review

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I've had a few bad ebay experiences but nothing to rival what happened to you.

I had one case where the seller did not include the cartridges and refills as advertised and had the seller get a bit snotty about the transaction (with insufficient time for me to make alternate arrangements, since it was a graduation gift. Filed a dispute and got to keep the pens *and* get a refund, but was not (due to the dispute being ruled in my favor) able to do feedback. Which means the seller (montgomerystationery) gets to keep their high ratings. :angry: And no, I don't feel unjustified in blatting their name around the Internet, thank you very much.... Even if they *are* supposedly a supporter of FP Day.... (And oh, BTW -- two pens the same make and color, but with different date codes on them, do *not* a "set" make. Just sayin' (fortunately the recipient would not know about such things... yet.... :rolleyes:)

More recently, I had a pen/pencil combo that was not in anything remotely like working condition; contacted the seller and got a partial refund. Had a 3rd tier pen "re-listed" before it was due to arrive and the seller *claimed* that the new listing was for an "identical pen" (seller too cheap/lazy to do new photos, plus the BiN price is 4-5 times what the pen is worth; IMO, I paid a bit too much for mine even at the "sale" price at $30; still waffling over what to do about feedback there, but the seller has been put into my "be afraid -- be very afraid" list). And just today I *finally* received the Morrison BCHR pen (although it looks and feels a bit more like plastic than rubber) which the seller "forgot" had been automatically re-listed, and didn't get it to the post office until a week after its original ETA date. It does appear to be a fairly nice looking pen, in pretty good shape, and I'm looking forward to inking it up. It's just that I could have *driven* to FL and back in the amount of time it took for the seller to get off his butt and go to the post office -- and this was after I hit the "pay now" button (within seconds of the auction's end).

Response from one friend on FB was to tell me to let the feedback reflect my feelings. Another (who stopped selling items on Ebay a number of years ago due to the high fees) said "Stop buying stuff on Ebay!"

Of course, if I picked up the Bugs Bunny Vector with the Tasmasian Devil design on it -- just for her (on the basis of "You just NEEDED this! :lol:"-- I wonder what she'd say then....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Flounder, that is an excellent suggestion. Thank you. I will certainly ask. Maybe I can preface the question with my intent to file a claim with the post office for a missing item. However, I imagine one needs a tracking number to file a claim.

 

Thank you, Ruth, for your comments and for relating your experiences. I'd say your experiences rival and even surpass mine! I'm sorry you've had trouble, too. I will not be patronizing montgomerystationery; thank you for that tip. There are too many decent businesses out there who need the business and are grateful for their customers. I am a firm believer in giving praise when praise is due and also letting people know about poor customer service. That's the beauty of a competitive market economy, right? I will be looking for the pens on ebay in case he's going to re-list them. Or maybe he's too savvy for that. Of course, I could be eating crow one of these days, if the pens arrive!

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My experience with both receiving and sending pens around the world is that sometimes a package goes astray for no particular reason ... it just happens. Normally, if they have been shipped they will arrive sooner or later ... at least in my experience. Good luck and hope your package arrives :)

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..I believe I'm not going to receive these pens but will definitely post here if they do make it to me!

 

Don't lose heart.. I have a strong belief you will get your pens. I send my sweetheart in the US his Christmas gift on Dec 15.. I paid for regular parcel (3-4 days max).. Because of the holidays, they told me it will be 5 days max. THREE WEEKS later.. it arrived. I get things from Brazil faster than that. :roller1:

 

So, don't lose hope. It might be your 2014 miracle... ;)

 

 

C.

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BTL!

Sorry to learn that order hasn't come in! You'll get it, I have faith. Are you getting enough snow up your way?

Tim

Tim

 timsvintagepens.com and @timsvintagepens

 

 

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Thanks so much, C! I am hoping I'll be able to post some day soon that the pens will have arrived! Glad your sweetheart received his gift. If you'd gone as the gift, you would've gotten there sooner than your package! ;)

 

Tim, thank you! I remember you'd warned me about this when we've discussed French pens and ebay in the past. We're getting a boatload of snow. Actually, we have around six inches now and it's supposed to get heavier during the night. What about by you?

Edited by betweenthelens
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