has this happened to you?

I have been trying to buy up small pieces of tapa on ebay. I found a nice framed tappa and won it on Jan. 17.(item # 3952030819.) I paid through paypal on Jan 19. After a couple of weeks went by and no word from the seller, I emailed him and asked if my item was to be shipped out soon. He responded back that his father had died and he was caught up dealing with the tragic affair. I wrote back that I was sorry for his loss and when he was able, to please email me and let me know the tracking info. He wrote right back thanking me for my understanding and said that the tapa would be shiped the next morning and he'd email me the tracking #.
Well, over a month later no tapa and no emails from this person. He has still been listing items for sale, and is even getting good feedback from people who won auctions after I did. This leads me to beleive that there must be more to the story here than his fathers passing. I'm so mad I could scream. I just wrote one last email giving him till Friday morning before I report him, and start procedures with paypal to at least get my money back. I still would rather have my damn tapa. I have sent an email a week since he said he would send next day, but no response.
Any other stories out there. Misery loves company...

check your deadlines. I believe ebay only gives you so much time to request for them to help you out - like 30 days from date of sale or something.
here is a good link on ebay for their "dispute resolution" and whatnot:
http://pages.ebay.com/services/index.html?ssPageName=h:h:serv:US
I think they also have a frequently asked questions page.

also check paypal policies for such doings; I believe that paypal claims if you pay through your checking account it gives you greater protection/insurance than if you pay by credit card through paypal.

hope this helps!

I had a similar problem years ago with a tiki plant pot or something I paid $14 for; the seller died or otherwise checked out of life and a lot of buyers got screwed but the amount was too small to be worth the effort in fighting it.

last, there's always small claims court but you would need to file it in the state and county where the seller lives/where the goods are located - I looked into this issue for a friend of mine in Oregon who purchased a car from a seller on ebay in another state and the seller was not on good terms with the local sheriff (who is key to retrieving the purchased goods after you win the court proceeding) and there was little I could do for my friend, legally - the cost of the court proceeding and the sherriff claiming the goods is not worth anything under $20K, essentially. I don't know how that case worked out.

Hey thanks Dangergirl! Good info.
I do use a special checking account that I set up just for paypal purchases.Good thing, huh?
My last email today to the guy stated that Friday morning if I don't hear anything, I'll contact ebay and paypal. What a bummer, I've never had anything like this happen before. I wish the person would just be up front about what ever is going on. I wouldn't even care if the frame is broken, I just wanted the tapa. GRRRRRRR!

[ Edited by: tikichic 2005-10-06 07:01 ]

Has happened to me 2 times out of 50 or so auctions.

and pisses me off to no end. Someone's loss is not their buyer's issue. There's often such a sob story. Things happen, understood, but other people's money... oy!

The first time it happened I got my money back after paypal arbitration. This last time, I got the item after a month, and I had started paypal arbitration. I called it off after receiving a call from the seller... this was after e-mailing her 5 times and calling her twice.

I noticed that this guy is a "Square Trade" dealer. This is some kind of service that the seller actually pays for through ebay, which guarantees that you the buyer can get your money back if something goes wrong with the transaction.

Go to the auction page for that item, and at the very top of the Description section, you will see the Square Trade logo. Click on that to find out more about filing a claim.

Some info on filing your claim through square trade can be found here:
http://www.squaretrade.com/cnt/jsp/sap/fpg.jsp?vhostid=chipotle&stmp=ebay&disid=6jfp7udqr1

Here are some cliff notes from that link:
*"You must file a case AND a claim for each transaction. It is a 2 stage process. Please do not assume that filing a case automatically means that you have filed a claim - you have to file BOTH a case and a claim independently as per the Guidelines below."

"Make sure you file a case within 30 days"

"File a case with the SquareTrade Online Dispute Resolution Service and make a good faith attempt to resolve the issue through direct negotiation and mediation. You must file your case within 30 days from the close of the auction to be eligible to file a buyer protection claim. The close date of the transaction is defined as the date the auction closed on eBay."

"Make sure you file a claim within 60 days and provide all required documentation within 120 days."

"Make sure you try other forms of credit - eBay, PayPal, Credit Cards etc. first"*

I suggest that you file your case right away with both Paypal and ebay. You payed through Paypal, right? Did you buy the additional Paypal insurance guarantee? If so, then you should be instantly refunded your money through Paypal. If not, then I think Paypal still will refund your money, but it might take a while longer. I think both ebay and Paypal will pursue the seller, and pressure them, especially Paypal. The seller could be in jeopardy of having their Paypal account suspended if they are in violation of Paypal policy. Contact Paypal and ebay first, and then when you confirm this with them, then contact the seller and inform them of that.

I had an auction that I won that went horribly wrong. I have a policy that I usually only buy items from sellers that accept Paypal, since that gives me a couple of levels of protection in case the seller never ships the item, or if it's damaged or broken when it arrives, or even if it's mis-represented. And with that Paypal buyer insurance guarantee, even if the item arrives, and you decide that you don't like it and don't want it, then Paypal will still give you your money back!

Here's my ebay horror story. I won an auction from someone that stated on the auction that they take Paypal. Well, his Paypal account had been suspended for some time, due to violations of Paypal policy, so he mis-represented his auction. When I tried to Paypal him the funds, they were automatically refused by the Paypal system. He then tried to strong-arm me into paying him a money order or send the money through Western Union only. Well, I was highly suspicious - he was already being dubious, and if I sent funds that way, then I could be left high and dry. When I offered to only pay through Paypal, and no other way, the guy flipped out, started sending me threatening e-mails, threatened me with feedback extortion, and managed somehow to get my ebay account suspended immedietly! I had to go through an appeals process, and talk at length to a supervisor at ebay to get things rectified. It took about two weeks. Once my account was re-activated, I started getting threatening and insulting e-mails from the guy again. I had to forward all of those to ebay's safe harbor department, and they had to crack down on the guy. They told him to forget about the item, that they were declaring the auction null and void since he mis-represented taking Paypal on his auction, and that if he harassed me any further, then they would suspend his ebay account. That finally got him off of my back.

Oh yeah, and that b*tt-munch was a "Square Trade" seller as well, so I don't put much stock into that anymore. I notice that he is still listing on his auctions that he takes Paypal.

[ Edited by: Mai Tai on 2005-02-24 01:47 ]

Had something similar happen in November...
won a bid for "Pearl of Wisdom" from
welovebassets...e-mailed several times
and seller said the print would be shipped
"the next day"...three times...then I
filed a complaint with ebay and they emailed
the sellers phone number...you will get a
little action if you get the number..and
place calls late at night. Finally...
after several contacts...I at least got
my money back...seller said he could not
find any way to package the print and ship
it. Gets the blood boiling doesn't it!

On 2005-02-24 05:01, congatiki wrote:
"Pearl of Wisdom"
seller said he could not find any way to package the print and ship it.

more like he got a better offer and didn't want to tell you.

-Z

I took your advice Tikichic and Mai Tai and filed a claim today. I really don't think giving the guy till Friday was going to get me anywhere since he hasn't done anything for a month.
Just makes me so mad, an email is all I ask to let me know what is going on! I am a pretty understanding person, I know stuff happens. He sure can't say that his computer has been down since he is still posting items, and his fathers passing didn't slow him down with his other customers.
Oh well, hopefully paypal will get my money back and I'll just have to keep looking for tapa peices that I can afford.
GGGGRRRRRRR!!!

I noticed that people are naming names of problem ebay sellers. So here's mine. The name of that b*ttmunch that jerked me around is la-star - he sells lots of authentic voodoo related items that he brings back from Haiti and other places. So there! :P Boy, that felt good.

Is there a thread here on Tiki Central where we can post problem ebay sellers, so that other TC'ers can be forwarned on bidding on their auctions? Maybe it could be called "Caveat Emptor". I'm having trouble with another ebay transaction as well - I bought a Shag Enchanted Tiki Room goblet, and it's cracked. And they guy is jerking me around on a refund or partial refund, and now he's not responding to my e-mails, even though I had the mug insured.

Good luck on your claim, exotica59! Let us know what happened!

[ Edited by: Mai Tai on 2005-02-24 13:37 ]

I started the claim as I mentioned earlier, so far the person hasn't answered paypal either! He's got a total of ten days though, but it's looking real good for me if he never answers them either.
Just hope he still has money left in his paypal account. Wonder what happens if he drops paypal before the ten days are up? hmmmmmmm...