Please help and Ebay novice with first problem transaction UPDATE!!!!

[Doctor P]

I have been buying pins on Ebay the last month and have dealt with about 10 sellers now and bought about 20 pins. All was fine until my very last transaction, which was with a seller I had bought from before (and have had good luck with the other three transactions) and from whom I had won three more pins over a two day period. I paid for the first pin I won and paid full shipping on the pin. On the second day, I paid for the two pins I won that day in a single PayPal transaction (after emailing the seller and asking if I should or could pay for both pins in a single transaction). A few days later, I got two envelopes in the mail. I opened the first envelope and it was the first pin that I had won (and BTW, the one for which I paid the highest price). Upon opening the second envelope, there was only one pin in the envelope and after carefully dissecting the flap I found that the names and numbers of both pins were written by the seller on the flap of the envelope but only one pin had been enclosed (BTW, it was the pin for which I paid the least amount of money--a trivial amount actually, but a pin I did not have and would certainly like for the amount of money I had to pay for it). I immediately emailed the seller to note that I had not received the pin (a very polite email--no accusations, just facts). I did not hear from the seller for two days, so I resent the email with a note indicating that perhaps he had not received the first email and that I would appreciate some response. The seller has put additional items up on Ebay in new auctions tonight, so I suspect that he is active and has seen the email. Am I proceeding correctly with what I am doing? Really, I would just like some pin (doesn't have to be the pin I bid on, just something that is decent and of comparable vintage/desirability). I don't really feel like a refund makes me whole, because the whole point was getting a decent pin for a decent price with no additional shipping charge. Am I being unreasonable? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks. By the way, I have not asked for anything or suggested any resolution in my emails. Just notified the seller that the pin was not enclosed in the package.

The seller contacted me late last night and was very pleasant and will be resolving the situation very amicably. Indeed, he was having trouble with his internet connection and could not get to his email. Thanks for all your suggestions and help!

 

[Luv2Roam]

Just my 2 cents, which would not even be valued at that on Ebay, seems like the seller should have responded. Could be, Maybe if I don't respond they will go away, attitiude.
But I would write the seller just what you wrote here. Meaning, what resolution you want.
Just IMHO, a good seller would have responded. But since they have not, I would write again and ask for a resolution.
Luckily, it isn't much money. But I know what you mean. Any money would be money thrown away. And often it's the disappointment and follow up trouble that's worse than the small $ lost.
But on the other hand, if no resolution is given, at least you know not to buy from them again.
I'm sure it's just an oversight on their part. But a response is called for.
BTW -- Have you also tried browsing cheappins.com?

 

[atlnewf]

check your email program and see if you have a setting for outgoing mail that lets you know if the receiver has read the mail. In Mac Eudora you can click the "RR" button for read receipt. That will let you know that they have received your message. If in this event they do, and they still do not respond, you do have some recourse through ebay, check out: http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/index.html. Though if it's really a small amount, you might just prefer to leave negative feedback.

Ashley

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

I am not in any way taking the seller's side, just suggesting another technical possibility.

The seller is adding new auctions, but not responding to your emails.

It is possible that his connectivity is up and active, but his email program is on the fritz. He may not be able to read/send email at all. One would think this would stop him from adding new auctions....but perhaps not.

Again, this is a long-shot....but you never know.

And two days isn't that long a time. He may be searching his inventory, trying to figure out if he mailed the pin, does he have a duplicate, can he obtain a duplicate for you...etc.

 

[Doctor P]

I'm trying to sit tight and be patient. I appreciate the advice given, as well as any other insightst that people have.

 

[epcotfan]

Is there any chance that the package was tampered with? I sold something to someone a short while ago and their pin was stolen (package had been opened). The PO had marked the package "delivered without contents" or something to that effect. If you had the item insured then you should have some recourse. Check the seller's feedback. Most sellers are happy to resolve such problems-however give the person a couple of days to look into it.

 

[Doctor P]

Bump--update at end of original post

 

[atlnewf]

glad to hear it.

Ashley