I used EBay to buy a coin. I have never used it to sell anything, so my knowledge of the system is limited.
I bought a coin from someone with very little feedback history. He has bought a few things but has just started selling. The price was low enough and the coin was not rare nor particularly valuable, so I decided it was safe to take a chance.
The auction ended on April 15th. I sent a PayPal payment via EBay on the 15th. He still has not claimed the money.
On April 22nd, I was notified that he had opened a case against me for non-payment, and that I had to pay by April 26th. I emailed him and he said he had not opened a case but maybe there was an error with his account. He changed the coin status to "shipped". Nothing else changed.
On April 24th I sent him another message asking him to notify EBay that payment had been sent. I asked him if PayPal worked for him, and offered to use an alternative method of payment if he needed me to do so. I did not receive a response.
Today (May 5th) I received the coin via certified mail. He used accurate photographs, packaged it well, sent it via certified mail so it shouldn't get lost enroute, and it even arrived before the estimated date. He seems to have a good future on EBay if he keeps up this behavior.
I don't want to cause trouble for him. According to EBay's site, falsely reporting an item as unpaid is a very bad thing, and I believe him when he said it was a mistake. However, I don't want inaccurate information on my account either.
What is the best way to resolve it? Shall I post positive feedback and presume he will do the same? Will that be enough?
I use eBay quite a lot.
My only advice to you is the following.
As you were the buyer, and you completed your part of the contract first, by paying for the item, the seller should leave you a feedback first.
Once you have received the item, and you are happy with it, you should then leave the seller a feedback.
The only time you need to contact the seller, is if the item was not as described.
He may offer a full refund or a partial refund, if you are happy to keep item.
If he does not respond, then you can open up a case in eBay. If you paid by PayPal, they would refund the money.
As a buyer, I always wait for the seller to leave feedback first. This is my rule, which I vehemently stick to.
As a seller, I leave feedback as soon as I receive money.
You will find that as a seller, you give more feedback than is returned.
In your case now, I hope that both of you have left a feedback. If seller has not, just send a polite message asking them to do so. If they do nothing, then forget it, but do not buy from them again.
Millions of people use eBay everyday, mostly without a problem, so this may be just a one off, so do not get disheartened.
Quote: "COINMAN1"I use eBay quite a lot.
My only advice to you is the following.
As you were the buyer, and you completed your part of the contract first, by paying for the item, the seller should leave you a feedback first.
Once you have received the item, and you are happy with it, you should then leave the seller a feedback.
The only time you need to contact the seller, is if the item was not as described.
He may offer a full refund or a partial refund, if you are happy to keep item.
If he does not respond, then you can open up a case in eBay. If you paid by PayPal, they would refund the money.
As a buyer, I always wait for the seller to leave feedback first. This is my rule, which I vehemently stick to.
As a seller, I leave feedback as soon as I receive money.
You will find that as a seller, you give more feedback than is returned.
In your case now, I hope that both of you have left a feedback. If seller has not, just send a polite message asking them to do so. If they do nothing, then forget it, but do not buy from them again.
Millions of people use eBay everyday, mostly without a problem, so this may be just a one off, so do not get disheartened.
It's very rare that I read something with which I agree 100% but this is it.
eBay is all about common sense, there are so many protections and the bias towards the buyer so extreme I have to wonder how people still manage to get fleeced. I'm an infrequent buyer mostly because I have far better local alternatives but I'm familiar enough with how it should work. eBay would be a great place if we lived in a world that wasn't filled with people looking to screw each other for a fast buck, whether buying or selling.
There's plenty of well established, reputable sellers, why do people insist on buying coins from "asdfghjkl" in China? Yeah, they scored some cheap silver dollars but the silver paint is already flaking off by the time the parcel arrives. Find good sellers, be prepared to pay a fair price and treat them as you would like to be treated and you won't go far wrong.
If a seller is unresponsive to legitimate questions then move on to one who is. If his inventory is full of "retro pattern proofs" and other junk, move along. There's plenty of good fish swimming in the eBay ocean, no need at all to be taking a chance on the sharks.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
Thanks Coinman1 and Pnightingale. However, that isn't the problem. I'm sorry if I clouded my question with too many details.
Here is the shortened version:
New seller apparently trying to be a good ebayer accidentally opened unpaid buyer case
I want unfair unpaid buyer case closed
When I searched EBay for answers, it sounded like very bad things happen to sellers who make this mistake.
How do I get EBay to do that without causing him trouble so he doesn't get disheartened and quit?
Thanks
Agreed my dear Pott, the response was about eBay in general.
To your specific question, there's only so much you can do. If a seller can't or won't deal with a problem entirely of his own creation then maybe selling coins online just isn't for him. I don't think there's much more you can do in the absence of a response. eBay customer service should be able to quickly resolve an unpaid item strike as they also own PayPal and the two seem to be pretty well integrated.
It speaks well to your character that you would make the effort, I hope the stored karma will be your reward.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
Quote: "Pott"Thanks Coinman1 and Pnightingale. However, that isn't the problem. I'm sorry if I clouded my question with too many details.
Here is the shortened version:
New seller apparently trying to be a good ebayer accidentally opened unpaid buyer case
I want unfair unpaid buyer case closed
When I searched EBay for answers, it sounded like very bad things happen to sellers who make this mistake.
How do I get EBay to do that without causing him trouble so he doesn't get disheartened and quit?
Thanks
I use ebay all the time and mainly buy from sellers whom I have built a relationship with. I make mistakes and they make mistakes. Ebay customer service is not what it should be, however.
I just had a situation where the seller mixed up an order and I received someone else's order. He immediately had the other buyer and me apply for a refund. He paid for us to ship the coins back and re-shipped to us. Ebay caused the problem and took his money away. I called and cleared up (after talking to 3 people) the issue. I asked why they would penalize a seller who went out of his way to correct an issue and they finally got it.
If you need, call ebay until you get a person who understands there is no issue.
Beware of forgeries. But....sometimes they can be valuable, too.
I'd just leave positive feedback and hope the seller does too, don't get worked up over it. The thing I don't understand is the seller having to claim the money, whenever I've sold on ebay the money has automatically went into my paypal account. Just did a search for claiming money on paypal and there's other people not able to claim money for whatever reason.
Quote: "Pott"Thanks Coinman1 and Pnightingale. However, that isn't the problem. I'm sorry if I clouded my question with too many details.
Here is the shortened version:
New seller apparently trying to be a good ebayer accidentally opened unpaid buyer case
I want unfair unpaid buyer case closed
When I searched EBay for answers, it sounded like very bad things happen to sellers who make this mistake.
How do I get EBay to do that without causing him trouble so he doesn't get disheartened and quit?
Thanks
It is entirely possible that his selling account has a default setting to open a case for non payment after a predetermined amount of time. I believe that e-Bay defaults at like 48 hours. I had something similar happen to me while selling...if that is the case though he can simply cancel it. If he has just begun selling he may not be familiar with how this works. Given that he seemed to otherwise be on the up and up I would imagine this was the case. Just make sure he resolves that.
Quote: "Reklaw"I'd just leave positive feedback and hope the seller does too, don't get worked up over it. The thing I don't understand is the seller having to claim the money, whenever I've sold on ebay the money has automatically went into my paypal account. Just did a search for claiming money on paypal and there's other people not able to claim money for whatever reason.
It's been a couple years since I sold anything on E-Bay... From what I remember of their rules, they put money on hold for new sellers/sellers with "low" ratings until buyer leaves neutral/positive feedback, or an item was shipped with tracking and shows as delivered, otherwise you have to wait 21 days.
To get your money immediately, you must meet certain qualifications, including:
- At least 25 transactions
- $250.00 USD in sales
- 90 days since your first sale
