My ebay package never arrived! WHAT CAN I DO??!?!?

[Olive]

So after reading Erik Mona's 'favourite old dragon article' thread in the main forum, I wnet out and bought the Dragon CD-ROM on ebay. That was two months ago. The package never arrived, the guy says he sent it air mail (he's got a near perfect reputation), but it never got here.

Is there anything I can do? I don't think he ripped me off (although it's always possible), and I didn't [wince]take insurance[/wince].

Any ideas?

 

[Dimwhit]

So after reading Erik Mona's 'favourite old dragon article' thread in the main forum, I wnet out and bought the Dragon CD-ROM on ebay. That was two months ago. The package never arrived, the guy says he sent it air mail (he's got a near perfect reputation), but it never got here.

Is there anything I can do? I don't think he ripped me off (although it's always possible), and I didn't [wince]take insurance[/wince].

Any ideas?

Did the guy send it so it was trackable? If so, that's your best bet, though I imagine you would have already checked into it.

Other than that, you may be hosed. If he claims to have sent it, you either disbelieve him and give him bad rep (and report him to eBay), or you move one. Those are about your only options, I think.

Bummer...

 

[jdavis]

If you used a credit card report it to them, if you didn't then you just may be hosed.

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

Chances are, if he has good feedback, he really did send it. I used to send stuff out for Ebay sales all the time, and occasionally stuff gets lost (I also work in a claims department of an enourmous company...trust me - lost mail happens).

Things to look into :

Did he send it trackable? Usually airmail is trackable.

Did he send it via the USPS? You can have a tracer put out on it.

Was it insured? If so, you and he will both need to sign a form saying it was not recieved and the PO will just give you your money back (if it was insured). Actually they will give the $$ back to the seller, and he will send it to you. Sounds like he has a good rep. I'm sure he'll comply.

Did you use Paypal? Did you send him an address different from your verified address with either Paypal, Ebay, or whatever other service may have sent him your address. I had a HUGE screw up of a very valuable piece of Disney art last fall because I only send to verified addresses, and I did not notice that this guy had emailed me a different one. Turned out, it took forever to reach him because the PO forwarded it to him. He got it after 2.5 months.

How much did you pay for it? Chances are, if it was not much , the seller will not have a problem looking into it for you.

If all else fails, you can certainly go through PayPal or Ebays customer protection service. Sometimes, there is a minor charge for this but not always. They are a lot more likely to side with the buyer than the seller, esp. if the package was sent by a means that can not be traced online.

You can also call your credit card company and see if they can refund the charge for you.

My best advice for you is to remain calm, and try and deal with the seller directly before doing something like leaving negative feedback. My perfect feedback record was shattered because some moron who never responded to my emails (direct and via Ebay), phone calls etc. after 2 months decided to leave me negative feedback saying I was the one who never responded! She suddenly appeared and did this about an hour after I left her negative feedback for not paying. If you leave him negative FB, he's going to do the same for you. Most people do.

Good luck.

EDIT : I see you didn't take insurance. But if it was going overseas, I think some people opt for insurance themselves, and I think it may actually be included as part of the postage.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

If you paid using PayPal, be VERY careful about reporting things to your credit card company. Chances are, if they try to get the money back from PayPal, you'll be the one who gets screwed. PayPal comes down VERY hard on people who don't use their own worthless "Dispute Resolution" process. They lock accounts, pull money from bank accounts to cover themselves, and kick you to the curb without a second thought. And they aren't a bank, so there is nothing you can do about it. And good luck trying to reach them by phone or fax, because for a company the size they are, they apparently don't have either one. Before you do anything through PayPal to try to resolve a dispute over a trasaction, read through http://paypalsucks.com/ so you don't get burned like so many other people have. Seriously. As they say in their terms of service (if you can find them) your money is 100% at your own risk and you waive all credit card consumer protection laws. Thats not the kind of company I want to be dealing with.

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

If you paid using PayPal, be VERY careful about reporting things to your credit card company. Chances are, if they try to get the money back from PayPal, you'll be the one who gets screwed. PayPal comes down VERY hard on people who don't use their own worthless "Dispute Resolution" process. They lock accounts, pull money from bank accounts to cover themselves, and kick you to the curb without a second thought. And they aren't a bank, so there is nothing you can do about it. And good luck trying to reach them by phone or fax, because for a company the size they are, they apparently don't have either one. Before you do anything through PayPal to try to resolve a dispute over a trasaction, read through http://paypalsucks.com/ so you don't get burned like so many other people have. Seriously. As they say in their terms of service (if you can find them) your money is 100% at your own risk and you waive all credit card consumer protection laws. Thats not the kind of company I want to be dealing with.

I have never had a major problem with Paypal, but they are not my preferred method of accepting cash. They have no customer service and yes, they can and will clear out your bank account. Never leave money in your PayPal account, ever. And if possible, hook your Paypal account up to a non important bank account. (a secondary one used only for Ebay or something)

I usually request money orders. I always have some doofus who sends me a personal check despite the fact that I state in all my auctions all personal checks will be returned and the item relisted.

 

[Olive]

Just as an update, after ditering, and eventually deciding that you win soem and loose some, the package arrived yesterday, although it was only sent on March 1st. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

For those of you who might want the Dragon Magazine Archive, it's available for download (to those who have broadband, mostly) from svgames.com.

I'd hate to think what the size is, though...