Question:
What would YOU have done?
Hello everyone. I recently completed a troubling e-Bay experience. I won a saxophone on e-Bay for a very nice price and I was excited to receive it. The seller sent me an automated invoice directly following the auction and everything was all set---right? Wrong! I had a few important questions to ask the seller (who doesn't know anything about saxophones) about how he was going to package the horn, ship the horn, etc. etc. I sent this e-mail to the seller's personal e-mail address (provided in the invoice) and received no reply. I sent the e-mail again the day after the auction ended---no reply. I waited two days and sent the e-mail again---no reply. I then contacted e-Bay and explained the situation: "I've received no reply to my e-mails---important questions, etc." and they said I had to wait and that they couldn't do anything. Finally, 9 days pass and I've lost all faith in the transaction (after more attempts to try to contact the seller).
Yesterday I receive the "Unpaid item dispute" notification from e-Bay. After I inform the seller that I sent him quite a few e-mails, he claims that I never sent them because he never got them. The dispute drags on and it becomes clear that the seller is far more concerned with getting his money than making sure I'm comfortable and satisfied (he never even enquires as to my questions). It ends with me getting an "unpaid item strike" and a promise that he'll pursue further action.
SO -- What would you have done in this situation?
After a week passed with no communication I became worried that if I received the sax and had an issue that I wouldn't be able to contact the seller, or if I didn't receive a horn at all that I wouldn't be able to do anything. I simply wasn't going to send $900 to a seller that couldn't be bothered to respond to my questions and, when we finally do get in touch, he accuses me of never wanting the sax in the first place (which I did!).
I checked the seller's feedback and this is not the first time something like this has happened. All of his negative feedback came from people that couldn't contact him in the first place, or received an item with an un-advertised issue and then was unable to contact him.
I have flawless feedback, all of which praise my communication skills. I know that I'm "legally bound" to buy the item, but when does common sense take over? I suppose I deserve the "unpaid strike" and negative feedback, but what would you have done in this situation?

Answer:
The seller should have answered, and he deserves to be rated on his feedback accordingly. You probably should have asked these questions upfront. I have had similar dead reponses after the sell. It seems they
close the door on all aspects of the auction once it has ended. You will usually get more attention to questions upfront. This is especially true if the auction closed at a low price. Nothing like a low selling price to make a seller lose all interest in the item and buyer. I think you already know what to do next time, for now, resolve the issue. Does the seller offer a return policy ? If so, roll the dice. If not, maybe you should take the hit on your feedback. What's more important, your feedback or $900.

Good luck !

Answer:
Best way to communicate on ebay is through their messaging system. That way he can't say didn't get it and ebay has a record of your attempt to contact. Don't use your own email.

Answer:
Originally Posted by tjontheroad Best way to communicate on ebay is through their messaging system. That way he can't say didn't get it and ebay has a record of your attempt to contact. Don't use your own email.
Good advice !

When I spend more money, I spend more time reading feedback, and asking questions first. The lower the price, the more casual I am. Once you win the auction , you should always be prepared to pay. If not, you shouldn't have placed the bid in the first place. This seller treated you unfairly, but you allowed it to happen by bidding on his auction. Quinntheeskimo has mentioned the losses he has incurred as a result of less than honest sellers, I too have lost money as well. It's a risk that we take when we buy online. But that risk sometimes can work to our favor as well. I feel your pain, but I know you will be a smarter buyer from now on as a result. Forget about this seller, and move on. Don't let his bad actions get you down.

Answer:
Originally Posted by tjontheroad Best way to communicate on ebay is through their messaging system. That way he can't say didn't get it and ebay has a record of your attempt to contact. Don't use your own email.
Learned that one the hard way :? .
I'm just so baffled, I've never had an issue like this before. The dispute has ended (I'm not paying) and I'll take the hit on my feedback. I'll take a 97% positive transaction rating over losing $900. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't totally in the wrong. I'll be shying away from e-Bay from now on.
More thoughts will be appreciated.

Answer:
I'll agree with what has been said, TJ is right on with the ebay messaging.
It did remind me of a sale I had a while back. Ebay is an odd place (not really any more odd than any other, but you get the idea) this buyer was a real questioner, made some demands on shipping etc(in a very odd manner as well. I got an email from him the day after I had checked my delivery confirmation with usps that he had received it ( I was a little worried about this buyer) I get an email from him asking when it would be shipped. I replied that he had receivedit the day before.
it took a while, but I did get a positive feedback from him. Best to CYA on all fronts.
Oh and don't shy away from ebay, just use common sense.

Answer:
Don't shy away from Ebay. If we leave Ebay to these "X?!@# people, it won't be worth a damn.
Think of it this way, if you shy away, he wins.Don't let this guy do that to you. Learn from it,
(you already have) and be more careful. It can be frustrating, I know! But you can find some
nice horns, and along the way, some good people. It's not all bad.

Answer:
Always use ebay email-"contact seller."
Check into "mutually withdrawn feedback."

Answer:
1) Ask shipping questions before you commit to buy.
2) Check for troubling negative feedback before you commit to buy.
3) Don't complain after you commit to buy when you didn't do the above.

Answer:
Thanks for the encouraging words and suggestions, guys. I guess I found myself in one of those "it'll never happen to me" e-Bay situations.
Live and learn. I'm young and I've got a lot of both to do. Thanks everyone.

Answer:
Anytime you don't pay for an item you risk feedback problems. Was your concern only about the packing? If so, I would have paid for it, gotten it and if it was packed poorly, then contest it. Was there anything on the auction about packing?

Answer:
Bruce,
Both the shipping arrangements and return policy were not listed in the auction. The auction description read that arrangements were to be decided at the close of the auction between the buyer and seller. I e-mailed the seller at the close of the auction (mistake #1) to make sure he knew how to pack a saxophone and to set-up some sort of return policy (as specified in the auction). Once he didn't reply my worry became that if I received the saxophone and it was packaged poorly I wouldn't able to contact him to contest it. The more I learn about this seller the more I'm happy with the choice I made.

Answer:
In this case, you are correct.

Answer:
The seller may not want more negative feedback so you could either just neg him and take the almost guranteed neg he'll give you or hold off negging him and see what he does. There's also a way to retract negs by mutual consent afterwards.
One of the problems with the rating system is that you cannot leave an honest neg without taking a retaliatory hit yourself - this is exactly what happened to me and is something that irritates me quite a lot about eBay. I'm not sure what the answer to that is, but I think it could be improved a little more.

Answer:
The sensible thing to do is to ask questions beforehand to get a sense of the seller's bona fides or lack of. Also use ebay messages as someone said. I made a similar mistake to you recently - problem is that there's a temptation to feel that if the seller is kind of clueless you'll end up getting a bargain. In fact, you might just as easily end up with a horn with a hole in it that the seller thinks is "pristine" just because it was lying under grandma's bed for 30 years. The feedback issue is also tricky, in my opinion. In theory, I agree that you should leave negative feedback and take the hit (that's being responsible to other ebayers, + good ebayers will read between the lines). On the other hand, other clueless ebayers will think you might be a bad risk. The question from your point of view is: Do I accept that I'll be doing fewer deals with people who are inexperienced on ebay or do I not?

Answer:
If the guy said he'd sort out details at the end of the auction he should have been true to his word - but by not checking before hand you have left yourself open to an unpaid item strike. TBH I've dished out one of those before to a dawdler - there's plenty of other buyers out there. I wouldn't worry about the hit to your feedback, when I'm checking out someone's feedback and they have overwhelmingly good feedback with one strike I still go ahead.

Answer:
ebay messages
Hi to all,
I do not agree to tjontheroad advice on using Ebay messages system to contact sellers in case of dispute. I’ve just posted something about it a while ago.
It was precisely while using the Ebay messaging system that my seller claimed not receiving my answers.
I wonder if any of you had this experience before: After writing the answer I was requested to fill in the “security code” (those fuzzy numbers) before clicking the “send” button.
Nothing appeared after as sent in my tray, and the only answer I got from Ebay people was suggesting me to call the seller on the phone.
Final result: no track of my answers on Ebay system.
Cheers.

Answer:
I've had a similar experience recently. Multiple emails asking for confirmation that the shipping price quoted was for shipping to Canada. No answers.
He hasn't filed a dispute(yet), but it does sound like it could be the same seller.

Answer:
On a happier note, last week I won a TT really cheap and the shipping was stated at $35 from Ohio which was OK with me as it was spelled out on the auction. The next day the seller paypaled me $15 saying the shipping came out less! The horn arrived today and was packed really well, had all new reso pads and the original case and mouthpiece. Still great sellers out there. How often have you gotten shipping refunded???