Ebay advice

[Troppoz]

Last week I bid on and won a cocoa tree and a tropical raspberry from a seller in Victoria.

I sent a message after the auction asking for a combined invoice but no response. Ive sent the seller 3 more messages since then but still dont have a response.

Im worried that by delaying payment I could be letting myself in for negative feedback, but I dotn want to pay for the items without a combined invoice because the postage is more expensive. Also Im a bit concerned that something might have happened to the seller and even if I pay my money I might not get my plants.

Frankly I dont know what to do here, does anyone know if Ebay have protocols when a seller/buyer disappear mid-transaction?

[Arlon Tishmarsh]

I'd wait for a reply to your request for shipping total first ,Sean. Whatever you do, don't pay for the items . If you get no response just ask "advice" from Ebay and let them guide you.

It could be totally innocent tho in that they may be away or working etc etc.

[jezza]

I would hang on until a couple of weeks have past. The seller may be away or be having internet problems. I almost opened a dispute with a seller only to get a message apologising stating they had been away.

[GoggleboxUK]

This situation has occured with me too Sean and, unless the seller offers combined postage in their descriptions, you don't necessarily have the right to request it.

Ebay take the stance that, if a seller purchases specifically sized packaging prior to listing, it is unreasonable to expect them to pay again for a bigger box or whatever they ship in and could also cost the seller more to travel again to the post office for a shipping price.

Un this case I'd imagine there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for the lack of contact but you could try emailing his Paypal address instead.

I certainly wouldn't make a payment unless I got a response telling me one way or the other.

[Kristen]

In the UK seller cannot leave negative feedback anymore. (Their message can be worded negatively though, but that's not in your Stats). Same in Oz maybe?

Keep sending the same message until you get a reply, and send it via eBay messages (rather than via direct email) then if it comes to a p1$$ing match eBay Admin will be able to see that you did your best to communicate.

But ... as others have said ... if the auction did not offer combined postage then it may not be available. Seller should still answer your question though (if that's the case maybe your follow up message could be "Are you able to offer combined postage" in case they are sitting there thinking "I'm going to lose money on this, how do I get this sorted" - do you have people as timid as that in Oz?!!)

Maybe they are away for the weekend, internet / computer bust, naive ... how many feedbacks have they got, and what was there Registration date on eBay? If not many sales / recent registration they may just be naive.

If you have their email try one direct email message "Did you get my message sent via eBay" - their ebay alerts may be going to SPAM folder, and if their mailbox is full YOU will get a "Bounced because ... FULL" reply back - which you won't see via messages sent direct via eBay. Also your email, from personal account, is LESS likely to wind up in their spam folder than one from eBay.

[dave2166]

ok...

as a regular ebay seller............. and buyer.......... even when not specifically offered i always ask for combined shipping........ and as a seller... to keep competitive you should always offer it

nothing annoys me more than sellers who dont communicate,,, and buyers who dont respond either............. its just bad manners and poor ebay activity

i would wait for a few more days, yes they might be away or not be aboe to checck on sales...

when you do eventually get the invoice... i would say you can leave a poor rate for comms and speed of despatch

is there anything to say they are away right now... doe they give an estimated shipping time also

[shanks]

i would send another message asking for combined postage, they may not offer it but should reply to let you know and them wait a few days, dont pay untill they do

[Troppoz]

OK thanks for the response, Ive triple checked the sellers store and they do offer combined postage. The seller has a feedback rating of 99.4% and over 3000 sales, but Ive found a fair bit of negative feedback;


"Not very happy with Chocolate tree purchase had 3 leaves on it and looks dead"

"no product, no reply to communications"

"not happy with communication or postage"

"Did not recive, Did not reply to emails, Poor Commumincation.Thanks for Nothing!"

"both plants sickly, no communications waste of $36"

"not a honest seller, cancel transaction and block buyer for no reason"




Nothing indicates that they are away, they have relisted the items I won and still seem to be an active seller. Ive sent another message to them as well as another request for combined invoice. Interestingly they state that they prefer direct deposit rather than Paypal which makes me wonder if they do that so they dont have the scrutiny on them or be forced to reimburse unhappy customers...

Im wondering (pure speculation) that because I won the items at their starting price (no other bids) if they have decided to re-auction them to get a better price. But they are experienced sellers, surely they wouldnt be doing that?

Anyway they sound like someone to avoid, Ill give it a few more days (it will have been 2 weeks) and if no communication Ill either contact ebay or cancel the items (hoping they respond).

Youve got to wonder why they are on ebay if this is how they do business

[Arlon Tishmarsh]

Im wondering (pure speculation) that because I won the items at their starting price (no other bids) if they have decided to re-auction them to get a better price. But they are experienced sellers, surely they wouldnt be doing that?

Not unknown Sean, i had the same problem with a Spanish seller who wouldn't honour his listing for cycads as i won at the starting bid price for those

good luck anyway

[flounder]

Another scenario would be if it states they offer combined shipping, go through the checkout process, shipping discount could be automatically done. If it is, pay for it. Message the seller through ebay stating what you've done, wait for your plants to turn up and if they don't after a couple of weeks, then open a dispute to get your money back.
It does sounds like they're not the sort of seller that would put themselves out by actually talking to their customers

[Troppoz]

I should have updated this earlier. The seller eventually contacted me advising that they had IT problems and apologised. The items were received today and though a bit on the small side are otherwise healthy.

Ill be leaving positive feedback for this seller, they did have me worried for a while though, especially with the negative feedback from others but in this case they came through with the goods.

Now to plant my cocoa tree and tropical rasperry

[kata]

Lets hope they do ok for you Sean,

[Jo A P]

Glad it went well for you. I buy from Ebay and have sometimes been really stuck when buying things due to my dodgy connection. It is worrying to think you may end up with bad feedback through no real fault of your own.

How about some pics of your purchases though! A tropical raspberry! Just can't imagine it!

[HarryandNess]

That's great Sean and as Jo says, How about some pics?

Ness

[GoggleboxUK]

Glad to hear you've got your good Sean but in my view there's no real excuse for a seller having IT problems.

After a couple of days being offline I'd make it a priority to visit a friend or a library with a healthy connection and just inform the buyers what was happening, apologise and ask for their patience.

I think the lack of communication would have received a neutral from me and I'd have considered a negative if the plants were smaller than advertised.