Problems with seller.

[Guest]

[rns91294]

Okay.  Here is an auction I won not too long ago.  Take note to her description, where she thinks everything is there.  Also, take note to her descriotion about the game and its questions.  Then, read her disclaimer at the bottom about not giving refunds just because you don't like the item.  Here it is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6189798852&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

Now, I expected from what she said that maybe a few cards would be missing, as she probably did not count every single one of them, right?  Well, I receive this, and the instructions are not there, which is no big deal, but every single 168 trivia question cards are not in there.  The 50 spell, curse and charm cards are, but the box with the trivia questions is not.  There is a nice empty space where they belong, and it is not hard to read what is included with the game right there on the box, so to say it looks new is an understatement.

I emailed her 5 times now, since Tuesday last week when I received this item.  Twice from my yahoo account and 3 times through eBay.  I think I might try to call her tonight.  What do you think?

Also, if this does not work, should I go to PayPal to try and get a refund?

I also checked her feedback, and those that left her a negative or neutral, she would leave the same for.  I hate that, as I would like to give her a negative if this is not resolved, but I do not think it fair that she will leave me one, when I went through everything possible to try and work something out with her. So that really sucks.  One person, she left a negative for saying something like "rushed to contact PayPal without notifying me first" or something like that.  The person responded back that they sent her emails and she never responded.  I now know what they mean. 

And now, I just want a refund.  I don't want to have to pay for return shipping to her, and I do not want a partial refund, which I may have been willing to take had she got back to me right away.  So when i call her, I need to choose my words wisely to get what I want.  Any suggestions?  Like, what do I tell her if she says to send it back, at my cost?

Do you think I could win this one with PayPal?  Basically, this is just really frustrating.  I didn't want to post the story until I gave her time to get back to me, but it has been a week now.

Thanks!

[Nienna]

hmmmm not good I have to say.
I bought one of these trivia games from a car boot sale a couple of months ago and found the instructions were missing  ... fortunately I managed to contact the makers and they very kindly posted out a photocopy of them so if you want the instructions, let me know and I can copy mine and send them out to you!
She's been very canny in how she's worded this auction and if you were to leave her a neg then I'd leave it till the very last possible moment to do it ... like 89 days 23 hours and a few minutes left to go! Seriously!!
By all means give her a ring and tell her that it's imcomplete and totally useless without the trivia questions and that you'd like a total refund plus the shipping costs to return it to her.
She won't like it I'm sure so unless she's prepared to hunt down the cards and send them to you then a refund should be given.
See how she is and what her attitude is like ( I know ... I like to give ppl the benefit of the doubt too!) but if it looks like she's not going to be helpful then I would email her through eBay once again telling her that you're pursuing a refund though Paypal. If you do it like this, there will be a record on ebay that you've tried and failed to either contact her or to come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion and that you're gving her notice of intent to get your money back through Paypal ... she can't say she's not been told can she!?
I wish you luck with it as she sounds a right PIA to deal with and remember ... if you need the instructions (assuming she's still got the trivia questions of course!) then let me know and I'll send a copy of mine to you!

[rns91294]

Thanks.  In my second email to her, I asked if she had the questions, and to let me know if she could just send them.  She is not getting back to me at all. She did word this carefully, but how can you sell a trivia game without any questions?  What really makes me angry is that I am now currently the one out the money, and I STILL do not have this game to play!!!!

I think if I go throguh PayPal for a refund, she will just leave me a negative anyway, even though I paid right away and did everything possible to try and work something out with her,

But you definitely think I should warn her when i file my complaint with PayPal?  I bet anything I will not get in touch with her tonight.  I think she is completely avoiding me.

Thanks for an offer on the instructions.  I found them at Mattel's website to where you can download them, but they don't help if you don't have questions.  The game is not a game, it is useless at the moment, and I want my money back so I can buy one with all the parts.

what do I do, if I actually get in touch with her, if she tells me to send them back, will not pay for return shpping, and will not refund me until she gets it back.  I am afraid she will get it (as I would get delivery confirmation),but still would not refund me, and again, ignore my emails.

I mean, how can you say it looks new, when it is missing the main component?

[kbmum]

what do I do, if I actually get in touch with her, if she tells me to send them back, will not pay for return shpping, and will not refund me until she gets it back.  I am afraid she will get it (as I would get delivery confirmation),but still would not refund me, and again, ignore my emails.

Most sellers won't refund the money until they get the item back, so it wouldn't be unusual for her to require receipt of the item before she issues the refund.  I think that if she gives you any trouble at all, you should immediately file a complaint with PayPal.

[rns91294]

Most sellers won't refund the money until they get the item back, so it wouldn't be unusual for her to require receipt of the item before she issues the refund.  I think that if she gives you any trouble at all, you should immediately file a complaint with PayPal.

I guess, if I sent it back, I woud get delivery confirmaiton and allow her a couple days from getting to give the refund before I went to PayPal.  I just don't think she will be happy if I won't pay for return shipping, and she might say that either I pay to ship it back, or I keep it.  What would you say to that?

[kbmum]

I think I might lose my moderator status if I told you exactly what you should say, so I'll send you a PM.

If she won't pay for the return shipping, then just file the claim with PayPal.  They will probably refund the entire amount and not require you to return the item.  But since I've never filed a claim for an eBay item (though I may be doing so later this week), I'm only guessing.

[Nienna]

I've only ever filed with Paypal for a refund when the item hasn't arrived so unfortuantely I can't really help with this one.
Have you looked at the Dispute Console to see what it says under 'Report an Item Not Received or Not as Described'?
The info is this....

It's rare for a transaction to go wrong on eBay, but sometimes problems can occur. If you've got a problem with a transaction the Item Not Received or Significantly Not as Described Process can help you resolve it.   

Use this process when: 

   You paid for an item but didn't receive it, or
   You paid for and received an item, but it was significantly different from the item description.
 
The most effective way to resolve transaction problems is direct and open communication between buyers and sellers. Once you initiate this process you will be able to communicate directly with your seller on the eBay Web site in order to resolve your problem.   

Before you initiate this process, please make sure you have: 

   Reviewed the item listing carefully.
   Emailed and called your seller.
   Ensured eBay has your correct contact information.
   Checked your spam filter for missed emails.
 
Learn more about the steps you should take before initiating this process.   

You can begin this process at any time between 10 days and 60 days after the listing ended. Please enter the item number below and click Continue to get started.   

~*~

I think this transaction would meet everything which is quoted and again if you've got proof that you've been trying to resolve this amicably then it should make things easier with getting a refund through Paypal and if she does leave you a retaliatory neg then hopefuly you can get it removed pronto.

[rns91294]

Thanks!  So you do agree it is significantly not as described?  I mean it is a trivia game, but the description talks about the questions....and there are none.  She even says it looks new, and obviously it is not.

Well, the only thing I have not yet done is call her, but I will tonight.  Although, I have a feeling it will leave me with nothing more than aggravation.  If I get a machine, I will leave a message and give her all day tomorrow to respond.  I will even tell her she can email me back if she prefers.  But then, Wednesday I will be filing my complaint (or tonight depending on how it goes).  I will keep you all informed. 

Thanks for posting eBay's rules.  PayPal's does not mention having to call, but I guess I should at least give her that chance.  I have been in touch with others who bought from her with bad experiences, and this is not looking good.  If only I could take back the fact that I bid on this item............

Thanks!

[rns91294]

Well, I called her and spoke with her, and she did email me before I called, but I didn't check my email.  Her PC has been down all week.  She was very apologetic, and offered to refund me my bid price only, and told me to keep the rest of the game.  The pewter pieces in it is nice, so I guess this is better than nothing.  Thing is, she said she needed to wait until later in the week to refund me.  I wonder if she needs to make some sales to get money in her PayPal account to do this.  I told her I would call again if I did not see anything.  So now, I need to give her another week and see what happens..........

[Morningangel-Iola]

Well that sounds promising lets hope it happens 

[Tea_and_Fruit]

maybe she must sell the"question cards" to get some money for you   

[rns91294]

maybe she must sell the"question cards" to get some money for you   

 

But really, she just wrote me back, since I wrote her again yesterday and said:


Hi Sara,
I am finally back on the internet. With what I spent on this putor I probably could have bought a new one !!!!
I will send the money next week either via Paypal or with a money order.
I DO appreciate your being so nice on the phone the other night.

So now what?  I do NOt want to wait another week for this, and would prefer the instant refund from PayPal.  Do I write her back and say that?  Maybe tell her that this way we will have a record of it being made?  And do I tell her I would appreciate it as soon as possible?  How do I do all this and sound nice about it, as I do not want to get mean until she does not follow through, you know? If she goes with the money order (or says she sent it) and I never get it and then go to PayPal, she could write to them and tell the she sent me a money order and I cashed it (even if I never got it). I mean, I don't want her to try and pull something with the money order bit.  Maybe I am over reacting, but I am trying to think of all the possibilites on this one.  Help!!!!


 

[Morningangel-Iola]

Well just state that you would prefure it through paypal thank you very much.

[Nienna]

I agree with Dawn on this one ... politely ask for the refund to be made through Paypal as that's how you paid for the item (I believe you said that you had used this payment method?) and be quite upfront about you wanting a record of the money being sent to you - Paypal for all it's faults does offer both buyer and seller some protection and it would be silly not to use it ... you could say that you think it would be safer using Paypal rather than a money order because of the risk of it going astray.
Whilst it's great to be acknowledged as 'being nice on the phone', it doesn't get your refund done and I still think she's stalling for more time for whatever reason.
Be polite - but firm and state exactly what you would like to happen and when.
Oh ... and do this through the 'ask a seller' feature on the auction listing so you have a record of what's going on through ebay too ... check the box to save a copy to your 'Sent Messages' folder too so you can refer back to it later if needs be.
Good luck and let us know how you get on!

[grecopa]

Yes, definately ask for a refund through Paypal.  She could possibly go on with "the check's in the mail" routine for quite a while.

[rns91294]

Thanks!  I wrote her back and told her just that.  I told her I paid through PayPal and would prefer the refund that wasy so that we both have a record of the transaction.  I also said that I have been having some trouble with my mail lately, which is why I insured my item, and I don't want a money order to end up lost.  We shall see how this goes.  I see she posted some auctions on eBay, so maybe she needs some money in her PayPal account before transferring it to me

[rns91294]

She wrote me back and let me know her PayPal account had no money in it, so as soon as she makes some sales she will refund me.  I wrote her back and said that was fine, but if she thinks it will take more than 5 days, to just transfer money to her account for me.

So then she wrote back again last night and told me she is adding more auctions and should be able to refund me next week.  This is now the 3rd time she has told me to wait a week.  Next week will be a month after the close of auction.  August 18, is day 45, I think.  I just can't believe this is taking so long.  I am watching her auctions and ecpect to see something as soon as she sells enough.  Here is her last email to me:

Hi Sara,
I should be able to send you the money next week.  I appreciate your
understanding. I am slowly getting things back on eBay.  I should be
able to
get more on on Monday.

So how do I respond to this.  I do not want to be mean, but If I do not have this by August 10-12, I am definitely filing with PayPal.  I know I can win nw that I have proof she promised me a refund, but never fell through with it.  Just hope she doesn't try tot ell them she sent me a money order or something.  And I don't think I will leave her feedback because she will retaliate with whatever I leave her and she has really got me angry.

[Sharon]

Whatever you decide to do no one could ever accuse you of being mean.  You have been incredibly patient.  I think I would get the bits and bobs together ready to file a claim with Paypal as I don't think she is going to give you a refund.  But then again I am very suspicious by nature and have been proved wrong in the past.  Fingers crossed for you this is one of those occasions 

[rns91294]

I am watching her current auctions, so that I will know when she has the money to refund me.  Then, if I still do not get it, I am definiltey filing my complaint. But I need to give her the benefit of the doubt first.  But the closer it gets to that 45 day point, the more I want to scream!!!

I got lucky and found someone who sold spare game parts, and had the questions for this game. He listed a BIN for me, and I bought them, so I have a full game now, minus the instructions. 

[grecopa]

I think she's giving you a load of bull.  Why can't she just transferr some money from her checking account into her Paypal account?  Looks to me like she's waiting for the time limit on claims to expire.  Once her auctions are over, hit her up quickly!