Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Advice needed for dealing with an eBay issue

I don't shop much on eBay - in fact, it's pretty much my last resort. I only go there if I can't find what I want somewhere else. I don't know why, I just don't really like it much. In the dozen or so times I've bought things I've never had a problem until now, and I'm not quite sure what to do about it, so I'm hoping some of you eBay old hands can give me some advice.

On Feb 5, I ordered and paid for (by Paypal) 6 Wet'n'Wild eyeshadow palettes. I received them on Feb 18, and one of them was smashed - annoyingly the only one I was really, really wanting.


Had it been any of the others, I probably would have just let it go, but since this was the one I was hanging out for, I emailed the seller immediately and told her what had happened, and asked if she would replace it. She responded the following day and said she was away for the weekend (this would have been Friday in the US, where she is), and she would post another one out the following Monday. I was pretty happy with that. (By the way, I should point out that although the other 5 palettes were fine, this was just blind luck - the whole lot was packaged in tissue paper and then a thin, worn piece of bubble wrap.)

Two weeks later on March 4 I hadn't received the replacement, and I hadn't heard anything further from the seller. I contacted her again, asking if she had sent it and when. I had no response, so last night I contacted again, pointing out that this was my third contact, and could she please advise whether she had sent the replacement palette

At this point, I have still had no response, and I'm not sure what to do next. Do I complain to eBay? Do I put in a Paypal dispute? I have no idea, and any input would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE 11/03 - still haven't heard anything. I opened a dispute with Paypal and asked for the cost of the palette plus 1/6 of the shipping cost (which was way overpriced anyway, another thing I was annoyed about). As it turns out Jacquie found the palette I wanted at Nonpareil and since she was doing an order anyway, she grabbed one for me. Although annoyingly, she did that yesterday and then today they have 20% off everything. Grr. 

14 comments:

  1. Definitely put in a paypal dispute - that sucks!!!!!!!!!!
    Otherwise go to ebay as well, I find they're helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That sucks! I think you should write a strongly worded message to her that you will be leaving a negative feedback. Sellers are afraid of that. See if she sends out a new one. If not, open a paypal dispute and complain to ebay.
    I hope it gets resolved soon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would say go ahead and open the dispute. The dispute has to be opened within 45 days of the transaction, so you don't have a huge amount of time to play around with. There are more details here http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/buy/item-not-received.html to help you through the process.

    What a shame you had such a negative experience!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeh open the dispute just in case, what a bummer though!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm going to give it til the end of the day and if she hasn't responded I'll open a dispute. I hate having to do this because drama just annoys me. Grrr!

    Thanks for your help, guys! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh no. Im sorry to hear that was your favourite palette :( I'm not very familiar with ebay rules and dispute but i guess u can contact both ebay and paypal?

    I recently had an annoying issue with ebay too. They charged me a commission fee based on an item that wasnt actually paid for by the buyer. Hmm so i was pretty annoyed but I just paid the fee :(

    Good luck with your issue and I hope you get your replacement!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Don't have any good advice as I don't know what to do, but if you can't get another one, the CVS here has them all in stock (at least, last time I checked) and I wouldn't mind grabbing one for you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. After 45 days you can file a paypal dispute. You should get your money back, with no problem. Im sorry this happened. :(

    ReplyDelete
  9. Definitely raise a dispute with paypal asking for replacement or partial refund of the amount you paid since you have an unusable palette.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Definitely file a Paypal dispute & leave negative feedback. eBay has Paypal so you are protected against dishonest/bad/irresponsible sellers so go ahead & use it. They don't take copies of any correspondence you have sent but include the dates you've attempted contact in your complaint.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Heather, that's so sweet of you! If I can't find it anywhere else, I may take you up on that. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. PayPal dispute or eBay case. Especially when she promised to send a replacement and it probably never happened. Plus I hate when people just ignore you like this.

    ReplyDelete
  13. She should at least respond to you! That's just rude to not respond after 3 emails. Even if her intention is not to replace it, at least let you know. You can always give her a negative feedback for that fact.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I haven't left any feedback - I know I should leave negative feedback but I don't want to get into any draaaaama. Ugh, it's all so hard. :-/

    ReplyDelete