I am having a problem with one of my sellers, and I know you guys have come across them before, so I was hoping you may be able to advise the best course of action. I ordered an old SCSI CD writer off eBay sometime way back in November. I put in an offer and it was accepted. I then spoke to the seller, who was located in Texas. They were happy to ship to me in the UK, but this was expensive. I chose to have the item shipped to a friend in the US, as they were sending me stuff anyway and this should reduce costs. I received an e-mail from the seller in December explaining that they tested the item before shipping, and it was faulty. They had a LaCie which would be a suitable replacement that they were offering. However, I wanted the Yamaha, as it was the correct model for the Saturn dev kit. I explained this to them, and they were very apologetic and offered a full refund. This was on 15 December. After Christmas, I realised I hadn't heard any more from them. I checked my PayPal account, and no refund had been made. I contacted the seller through My eBay. They replied, again apologising and explaining that he thought his boss had handled the refund already. He has given him my details again, and asked him to sort it out. This was on the 5 January. I waited. Another week came and went. I was getting a bit impatient. So I again checked my PayPal account, and found the e-mail address that appeared to be for the boss (the boss being Jim and the eBay guy being Kevin). I e-mailed Jim, and asked why I hadn't received my payment. I was perfectly polite, and requested he sort out my refund immediately, as it had been a month since I was promised this would happen. I also e-mailed Kevin, to tell him I had e-mailed Jim, and ask if he could give him a somewhat harder elbow! Several days passed. I heard no word from Jim, however I got an e-mail from Kevin that was most bizarre: Why is this guy incapable of talking to his boss? Why is noone in the company capable of issuing a PayPal refund? I find the whole situation most weird! So, what do I do? Do I make the phone call to America from the UK, meaning I have to shell out more money on this? Do I report it to eBay, who generally just tell you to call the seller? Or do I make a claim through PayPal, a process about which I all too often hear nightmare stories! In the case of the latter, how much do I stand to reclaim? The item was $40, and $15 shipping. Anyway, if you're thinking of buying old SCSI gear and such like, I would strongly recommend avoiding the eBay seller excessent!
go for voip. www.voipbuster.com , you can call landlines in the US for free. sort out your business on the phone first.
I'd try to contact them a last time as it seems you have the eBay guy on your side. I had a problem once with a pack of g.i.joe figures. Waited a month and asked the seller several times with no answer from him. In the end I made a claim though Paypal and received a full refund in a week.
Well, I called the number and asked for Jim, the boss. They asked who was calling. I gave my name and said it was regarding an eBay transaction. They asked which item. I told them a Yamaha CD writer. They said please hold. Ten seconds later, either someone else picked up or the same person talked to me again, I'm not sure. He knew who I was, and introduced himself as Kevin. He told me he's just persuaded the boss to catch up with the eBay stuff they've been neglecting, and he'll be dealing with it in 10-15 minutes. That was 24 hours ago. I went to file a dispute through PayPal. I went through the process, typed out the message to the seller, and sent it. PayPal said the transaction is ineligible for the dispute process. Why is this? Is it because I am in the UK? This is absolute crap - PayPal trying to shaft their customers once again. So, where do I go from here? In the UK, I would contact my local Trading Standards office. Is there such an organisation in the US? It is basically an organisation that ensures businesses are complying to laws etc and trading fairly, and they'll assist with disputes.
A CDE100, yeah. Annoying thing is, that was the first one I saw in AGES! And then, a coupla days after I won, one turned up on eBay UK! D'oh! Of course, I didn't go for that one, then it went and they told me the one I'd bought was faulty! As for the situation, I talked to the boss today. He apologised, blamed himself, said he should've sorted it yesterday but got tied up with customers in the shop, and would make SURE he did it today. That was 7 hours ago, and I see no payment in my account. Anyone live near Dallas Fort Worth airport and fancy a trip to have a word with someone? ;-) hehe
Well the one I have is a Yamaha CRW4260 SCSI. It can burn up to 4x on CDR and 2x on CDRWs. I use it for legacy purposes. Will this model do the job you need to get done?
I don't think that's the reason. The dispute I made was with a US seller (and I'm in Spain) so I don't think there's any problem with you being in UK and the seller in the US. Perhaps the problem is time-related . I'd email them to ask why it's ineligible.
Yeah, I think I'll ask, thanks. Guess what - the boss hasn't refunded the money. Again. Madhatter, I'm not sure. I know the CDE100 was the only recommended model, in 1996. I'll have to check again, but I was under the impression that the 4000 range wouldn't work.
Did you file the dispute within 45 days of payment? If not, you might have a few more days to request a charge back from your creditcard issuer.... Good luck. I have only been successfully scammed once. Had very good communications with the seller. He tricked me. I waited too long before I took action. Won't make that mistake again... CF
So, ConsoleFun, in the interest of general knowledge, how is it possible to notify the service in time AND keep virtually good relations with a suspected scammer?
It's not because you are in the UK. It's because you waited too long. After 45 days you can't file any sort of "chargeback" or dispute. Frankly I would've put the dispute in the first time the guy said "My boss will take care of it" and let PayPal do all the leg work for you. When it comes to stuff like this, I have a 1 strike policy. I sold a record a long time ago on eBay (soundtrack to the James Bond film "Live and Let Die") saying that I only accept Postal Money orders or Personal Checks. Buyer said "I'll get the money to you in a week or two" and this turned into a cat and mouse game. After the 4th or 5th "I'll get it to you soon" I left negative feedback. 3 weeks later I get a letter in the mail. a $5 is enclosed as well as an address. Not only did this guy try to tag me along for over a month, but he didn't even bother to read my auction description and abide by the rules I set forth. I did end up sending him the record though.
Ever venture over to www.paypalsucks.com There's alot of info over there.I hope everything turns in your favor.
I don't think I have a good answer to your question Barc0de.... I have to admit: I would think twice before risking a good relationship with someone. If someone has helped me a lot in the past, or usually delivers good products on time, or for whatever other reason is important to me - then I would probably not risk it. Good relations are important, and there will be feelings involved. I appreciate my friends and good contacts a lot. Here is my general strategy with PayPal payments: ...I try to have good communciation with the seller. ...If I think it is taking too long (for a packet to arrive) I contact the seller. ...If I havn't received a package after about 30 days: I inform the seller about PayPals rules, my previous experience, and ask for advice in a polite way. I make it clear that after 44 days I must file a dispute. ...When I file a dispute, I just try to be honest. I acknowledge that fact that we have had good communcitions. I inform PayPal about the sellers point of view. But I also make it clear that I will not risk it and have to follow their rules. I hate these situations. CF
Thanks for the advice, guys. Yeah, I counted and it was like 49 days - damn! Strange thing is, though, when you go through the dispute filing process, PayPal inform you that it is an international transaction and you may wish to wait a bit longer in case it is caught up in customs or whatever!!
OK, so thanks once again for the advice guys I just thought I'd let you know that I got a very apologetic message through eBay from the boss. He'd had to go away for a few days, everything was his fault, and he would refund me immediately. Well, this time..... he did!
