okay sooo, a while ago i bid on several items from a seller, paid all at once, and waited.. and waited.. and waited and no items.
i sent an email to the seller asking when she had sent them and she sent me a receipt back, and since im in canada i figured the post might just be a tad slow.

anyways, i noticed that my time was almost up on the resolution centre help in ebay so i opened the thing to say i had not received my item, etc.

the seller is very upset that i opened a claim and is asking me to close it because its holding funds in her account. i'm pretty sure that you aren't supposed to close a claim until its all been resolved. she said she has claimed with her post office for the amount of the now considered "lost" package, and will refund me when she gets the claim back and advised i should close the claim so she could have access to her money.

i'm concerned that if i close the claim, i will end up being out the money spent on these items (they are pony related), and i dont want to seem like an insensitive person, because i believe this seller is a pony girl from the boards.

advice?

Don't close it. If she files with the post office she can get her money from them. Don't close the claim until it's been resolved.

hannaliten wrote:

Don't close it. If she files with the post office she can get her money from them. Don't close the claim until it's been resolved.

thank you lovely lady. i thought you weren't supposed to close claims until they were resolved. its honestly been so long since i've had any problems, that i completely forgot.

I know this situation is frustrating for you and for your seller, but hannaliten is right - dont close it until it has all been resolved The seller has her receipt so she should get her money back . Your seller seems to be an honest person, but if it turned out that she wasnt and you closed the case before you got a refund, then you could be out of ponies and monies.

Ringlets wrote:

:hug: I know this situation is frustrating for you and for your seller, but hannaliten is right - dont close it until it has all been resolved The seller has her receipt so she should get her money back . Your seller seems to be an honest person, but if it turned out that she wasnt and you closed the case before you got a refund, then you could be out of ponies and monies.

thanks ringlets, you're always so friendly and helpful.

Good advice above. I agree not to close the dispute. They may require information from you about the transaction for the lost package claim) if they do try to cooperate) but they are recovering their funds from the post office so you should make sure you also recover your funds. I'd hate to think anyone would double dip and keep both money but I'm sure it does happen.

RustyRainbow - I don't know why she's asking you to close it first :-/ It's good that Canada seems to have insurance though.

You cannot re-open later. I wouldn't close a valid claim. If they do end up showing up at your door later, you could always repay the seller if it comes to that. (I've only had to open two claims. Both times the sellers went awol, and never sent period. Had 1 parcel go missing. didn't claim, because I requested cheap first class shipping, and knew they had been mailed. showed up 6 months later. The seller's PO was really messed up).

Did she provide proof of shipping? If insurance was paid for on this, and she kept the shipping receipts I don't see much issue. If it shows as missing by her P.O then she could claim that, and shouldn't be out her sale price at least, in addition to you not being out your money.

Right, that's why I don't get the issue. I mean, it sounds like it's covered by the post office. I'm assuming it came with tracking?

So why doesn't she just refund it and move on?

well there is a discrepancy.. i paid 6 pound for shipping, and now that i'm looking at her claim she spent 3.80 and its only airmail, not insured.

this package is coming from england.

rustyRAINBOW wrote:

well there is a discrepancy.. i paid 6 pound for shipping, and now that i'm looking at her claim she spent 3.80 and its only airmail, not insured. this package is coming from england.

Oh ok, but I thought with Royal Mail you can still make a claim if it doesn't make it? Even when it's not insured?

Am I totally wrong about this? I always thought about how British Mail was awesome for that.

rustyRAINBOW wrote:

well there is a discrepancy.. i paid 6 pound for shipping, and now that i'm looking at her claim she spent 3.80 and its only airmail, not insured. this package is coming from england.

So it sounds to me like she overcharged you for shipping and will not be able to recover the funds for that. If she didn't get insurance at all and cannot recover any of the funds that is a shame. There needs to be a better way to ship internationally. I know you don't want to be out the money and neither does she but if the package was shipped and lost without any coverage one of you will end up taking the hit. So it depends on how you feel about it. Ebay is on the buyers side every time. And hey you could always reissue payment if the package eventually arrives

RockinPrettyBeats wrote:

rustyRAINBOW wrote: well there is a discrepancy.. i paid 6 pound for shipping, and now that i'm looking at her claim she spent 3.80 and its only airmail, not insured. this package is coming from england. Oh ok, but I thought with Royal Mail you can still make a claim if it doesn't make it? Even when it's not insured? Am I totally wrong about this? I always thought about how British Mail was awesome for that.

Yes, you can claim on Royal Mail if the parcel is simply "lost" even if you bought without insurance but you are not allowed to submit a claim until 25 days after the item was posted [for "rest of the world" postage]...by the time the giant paper hungry monster that is Royal Mail come back to you with a decision it can make an international claim very tight in time frame.

I would assume it was just sent Airmail and if so the sender is entitled to the following "Actual loss up to 100 x 1st Class letter stamps at the first weight step or the market value, whichever is the lower." "Market value" is a pain in the butt to prove as it really needs to match up to what was on the customs declaration form and they often ask for "proof". Although in a case like this a print off from paypal and from ebay should work.

I would assume she wanted the dispute closed as it may have frozen her paypal account which is a pain. If its the freezing of paypal which is an understandable concern, could she simply not refund you and then you could close the claim? If you get the ponies you can pay her again and if you dont then she will get whatever she can back from the post office?

On a personal note however - I do think ebays tendency to side with buyers is causing a bit of an unpleasant trend - if I buy something and have it shipped without insurance I accept the fact that its very much at my risk if it doesnt get to me. Only if I pay extra for insurance and something happens, would I expect a seller to refund me...I am not a big fan of the fact sellers can so easily be out on ponies and out on money because a buyer decides not to pay for insurance. But thats just my opinion....maybe I am the only one who things this way...

just to clarify, i'm not looking to rip anyone off here.
i would like to protect what i paid for, and i'm definetly not out to get a good deal or something.

so yea.

rustyRAINBOW wrote:

just to clarify, i'm not looking to rip anyone off here. i would like to protect what i paid for, and i'm definetly not out to get a good deal or something. so yea.

I hope you didnt take that I was accusing you of ripping anyone off from what I said - I dont mean that I was just voicing an opinion.

If you didnt get your item you are certainly entitled to claim if you wish - especially if you asked for insurance that you did not get...all I was saying is that the system does allow for complete protection of the buyer now with little consideration for the seller...and thats not always fair. As the ponies were shipped without insurance and if they are genuinely lost then someone is going to seriously loose out. Thats either going to be a seller or a buyer - one of whom will be missing both the ponies and their money! Insurance would at least protect everyone...its just posts like this that make me think when selling on ebay in the future I am only going to ship with insurance whether domestic or international.

I hope you can work this out to your satisfaction - and I am sure we will all keep everything crossed that those ponies actually show up!