How long to wait before reporting seller?

[Merkava_4]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0299829529&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT&viewitem=

The last I heard from this seller was on February 10 when I requested an invoice. I sent the money order out on the very same day. I emailed the seller on both the 12th and 13th of February and still no reply. I wanted to know if the seller had received the money order. Most sellers reply back within 24 hours. I'm going down to the post office tomorrow to fill out a form 6401 - money order trace form.

I'm thinking if I don't receive the item within 2 weeks of the time payment was sent, I should report the seller, that would be on February 24. What do you guys think?

 

[35mastr]

2 weeks sounds about right.It will take a few days for the MO to get to him and a few to get your* item to you.If nothing in that time frame then go to plan B.

 

[PowderKeg]

I'll give @ 2 weeks to receive before politely emailing for a status update, then get pushy if/when there's no communication for several more days. Some sellers are better than others for comm, some don't comm at all (just use the automated fleabay/fleapal/other canned emails).

 

[mkdive]

I get impatient after 2 days.... 2 weeks is plenty of time to get your items to you or at least respond to a email. I say file a complaint!

 

[MAD]

If you sent the money order from CA to NY by regular mail, it is quite possible that he has not even recieved it yet.

 

[35mastr]

I am very impatiant when it comes to this also.That is one of the reasons I use Paypal.As the item is usually shipped the next day and I get a tracking number so I can track it while in route.

 

[paramudduck]

Wow getting nervous after mailing on the 10th and expecting it to go across the country on the 12th? It probably was still in California then.

To go from here to my daughter in Arizona takes 5 to 7 days fairly often. Thats the problem with money orders, they put you at the mercy of the USPS.

By the way thats a pretty stock photo of a dual 80 flex in the photo but the details say it is a F831.

 

[Merkava_4]

I've got a sick feeling about the possible loss of $57.

 

[Stuey]

*slaps forehead* why do you keep using money orders??

 

[J.A.F.E.]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0299829529&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT&viewitem=

The last I heard from this seller was on February 10 when I requested an invoice. I sent the money order out on the very same day. I emailed the seller on both the 12th and 13th of February and still no reply. I wanted to know if the seller had received the money order. Most sellers reply back within 24 hours. I'm going down to the post office tomorrow to fill out a form 6401 - money order trace form.

I'm thinking if I don't receive the item within 2 weeks of the time payment was sent, I should report the seller, that would be on February 24. What do you guys think?

I think it costs about $12 to trace the mo IIRC so you might want to wait a day or two. Certainly if you haven't heard from the seller or gotten it by the 24th that is more than enough patience on your part. I get impatient and can be very antsy when waitng for stuff.

The picture also looks like a stock SO image of the FLF80, not the F831 listed, but it's hard for me to tell.

 

[wrenchr]

Use of the stock file leads me to suspect you were ripped off!!!

 

[Merkava_4]

By the way thats a pretty stock photo of a dual 80 flex in the photo but the details say it is a F831.

I mentioned that to the seller before I bid on it. He said he thought he didn't need a photo since he listed the part number and the ratchet is new.

*slaps forehead* why do you keep using money orders??

It's my way of sticking it to the bank.

The picture also looks like a stock SO image of the FLF80, not the F831 listed, but it's hard for me to tell.

It's a file photo of an FLF80. The seller thought it wasn't necessary to post any actual photo; which looking back on it, is another thing that worries me because it makes me think the item was never in the possession of the seller in the first place.

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

Why don't you use PAYPAL? You can even purchase a prepaid card to use if you don't wont to register your credit cards. Stop that Money order stuff. Its to slow.

I thought you couldn't use Money orders anymore?

 

[J.A.F.E.]

It's a file photo of an FLF80. The seller thought it wasn't necessary to post any actual photo; which looking back on it, is another thing that worries me because it makes me think the item was never in the possession of the seller in the first place.

I just couln't tell if it had the screws showing or not. The image came up not all that clear on my screen.

I also don't use PP, but it does sometimes make life more difficult not to. I didn't know you could buy a prepaid until I saw Nealcrenshaw's post.

 

[Merkava_4]

Why don't you use PAYPAL? You can even purchase a prepaid card to use if you don't wont to register your credit cards.

Prepaid card?

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

Yeah, They cost about $5-10 and it has the Visa logo to use anywhere credit cards are accepted you just load money on it whenever you need to charge or buy something online.
http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/index.html

 

[wrenchr]

Just get the paypal credit card and buy buy buy!!!!

 

[Merkava_4]

Yeah, They cost about $5-10 and it has the Visa logo to use anywhere credit cards are accepted (....)

Do they work like a prepaid phone card?

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

Exactlamondo!!! my garage friend!!!

 

[Tlag]

Their feed back is pretty good, but there may be some signs of other slow responses. They've also been registered since 2006. Since there are no flames in their feedback. I would keep trying to reach them. There's not much Ebay can do anyway.

My guess is its neglect, not fraud. Working another gig last week???

Just the same, I'd keep working it. Do you have their email address, a name, etc? Google it.

Contact some of their other buyers. See what they know or have to say.

Just remember, its not safe on the highway either, but most of us take that risk every day. Good luck!

 

[Skyline]

Another option to make Paypal a little safer is to set up a bank account just for the purpose of buying on eBay. Plenty of banks will still give you a free account these days. Add just enough cash to fund your purchases. Get a debit card on that account. All this is free. Then link the debit card to Paypal. Simple...no more paying for money order fees, and you save the gas in driving to the PO to get them. You are missing out on one of the key features of Paypal...Buyer Protection. To some degree this guarantees you get what you paid for, and I can't see why one would want to buy on eBay without this protection, (unless making a face-to-face transaction).

By the way , if you look at that seller's feedback it is 100%....but almost completely generated as a buyer. So he may not be too smooth or proficient in his sales / shippibng process...you may want to cut him a little extra slack before getting worried.

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

He should at least respond to your emails within a week. Unless he's extremely busy or had to deal with an emergency. $57 is a lot of money to waste in these trying times. give'em 2 weeks, or 7 more days to at least respond.

 

[autoace]

You might be alright. Buyers that used to send me money orders annoyed me. Sometimes it would take a week after the auction ended to get the money order. Then I would ship the item. He should get back to you though, but sellers hate waiting for their money just as much as folks hate waiting for their stuff. I would give it a few days. I noticed the seller also only has 63 feedbacks, so it may be his first money order, nobody really uses money orders anymore.

 

[autoace]

^^^^
PS The guy lives in NY, if you sent it regular mail (snail mail)he probably didn't get it yet. It can take the post office a solid week to make it from CA to NY.

 

[Merkava_4]

^^^^
I'm hoping that's the case, but still, he should've replied to my email asking him if he got it yet.

 

[737JetMech]

I think you should give them about two weeks as well. As far as using Pay Pal, my sister in-law tried to use a pre-paid card to open an account with no luck, they want your address to match the credit card address, so it would not accept the prepaid card. I like Skyline's idea of opening a seperate bank account just for paypal. I use a CC that I only use for PayPal, and I am sent an alert anytime a charge over $50 is posted on that account, but I like the seperate bank account idea better. Anyways hope this helps.

 

[r6_cannibal]

I get impatient simply because I want to have my purchase immediately after paying for it.
The sellers rating is good even though he only has 64 feedback. I think you'll be ok, for 50 bucks I don't think he'd compromise his 100% feedback...unless his account got hacked by Somali pirates...

 

[diiulio]

The seller is about 30 minutes from me if you need me to go knock on his door and say hello.

 

[vc-onthepc]

well heres how you handle it . next time use paypal . if you had when you contact ebay to report a bad transaction they will contact the seller . if they get no response then they will refund your money . if you can belive it ive heard rumors that they take the money from the sellers .

ive had tons of ebay transactions and only 2 that were bad both times i was refunded my money thru paypal.

yes paypal charges fees to the seller ...it costs you nothing to use paypal !

 

[RAYJAY]

from CA to PA it takes us about 10 days to get a money order in , we hold the money order like a personal check (7 days ) because our bank has to make sure its ok,

because of all of the fake money orders

and if we don't have anything for sale,we only check the e-bay message about once a week, so the seller did not get your message yet,

also
on the seller listing

Will usually ship within 2 business days of receiving cleared payment.

from e-bay
Handling Time

The handling time is the number of business days the seller will take to ship the item after receiving your cleared payment. A payment is considered "cleared" after the money from the buyer has been deposited into the seller’s account. If the buyer pays by PayPal, the payment may clear immediately. However if the buyer pays by check, money order, or eCheck, it may take several days.

This does not include the number of business days the shipping service will take to deliver the item to you.

 

[Fedwrench]

Using Ebay is always a risk. However, mail is slow these days despite their claims of reduced volume. There was also a holiday on the 16th so, that will slow things down even further. I would wait 7 working days from mailing which for me would be 18 Feb (I don't count the 10th as it depends on when you mailed it if it went out that day). Then use the Ebay system to report an item not received. It may not do anything but, often sellers will respond to Ebay emails quicker than those sent by buyers. As others have said, two weeks is about right to wrap up a transaction lately. It maybe longer if the seller is sending you the ratchet from New York to California via parcel post. At any rate, I wouldn't start panicing yet. There is no perfect payment system on Ebay. It's always buyer and at times seller beware. If you want instant gratification, buy from your local tool truck.

 

[KustomZ]

I always send money orders certified mail with a return receipt so there is no question when they say they didn't receive the payment. When I am on the selling end I don't ship anything until the payment has cleared the bank, but I always make it clear to the buyer and try to keep them updated frequently.

 

[RAYJAY]

Using Ebay is always a risk. However, mail is slow these days despite their claims of reduced volume. There was also a holiday on the 16th so, that will slow things down even further. I would wait 7 working days from mailing which for me would be 18 Feb (I don't count the 10th as it depends on when you mailed it if it went out that day). Then use the Ebay system to report an item not received. It may not do anything but, often sellers will respond to Ebay emails quicker than those sent by buyers. As others have said, two weeks is about right to wrap up a transaction lately. It maybe longer if the seller is sending you the ratchet from New York to California via parcel post. At any rate, I wouldn't start panicing yet. There is no perfect payment system on Ebay. It's always buyer and at times seller beware. If you want instant gratification, buy from your local tool truck.

by the 18 I would not even have the money order yet ......... maybe by the 20th if lucky .........

 

[Chris Adams]

Rayjay says it all.

It takes at least a week to get mail from Ca to NY.
There is a holiday involved, so add 2 days, not one because mail service slows down before a holiday, then you also lose the day.

Banks take at a minimum 1 week, sometimes 2 weeks to verify a money order since so many are fakes now.

Many e-bayers are slow at responding to e-mail, even allowing that their service (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) don't flag your e-mails as spam.

If I order something from NY and pay with a money order I would not expect the item in less than 15 working days.

 

[SocketDeviler]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0299829529&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT&viewitem=

The last I heard from this seller was on February 10 when I requested an invoice. I sent the money order out on the very same day. I emailed the seller on both the 12th and 13th of February and still no reply. I wanted to know if the seller had received the money order. Most sellers reply back within 24 hours. I'm going down to the post office tomorrow to fill out a form 6401 - money order trace form.

I'm thinking if I don't receive the item within 2 weeks of the time payment was sent, I should report the seller, that would be on February 24. What do you guys think?

Not to be rude but you seem to have a lot of ebay problems or at least ebay worries. You might want to stick to local sales. Save yourself the stress.

 

[Danglerb]

Did you use any tracking or delivery confirmation with the money order?

I agree with what everybody else has said, using a money order potentially added 3 weeks to the transaction time, AND several opportunities for problems. Bad address for the money order, mistake in amount, payee, some other detail, problems with your address from manual entry by seller, but mostly the added time and bypassing of most of the security features of ebay transactions. If you didn't use tracking or delivery confirmation the seller can claim no pay received as long as they want etc.

 

[PJDiesel]

PAYPAL. (period)

 

[T56 Impala]

You guys are nice..... I complain to the seller at day 7. I make a LOT of noise. If I don't have the item by day 9 or at least a reasonable and believable expected date of delivery I start getting PP to do the work. 12 days is WAY out of line for a shipment. I expect, and communicate it to the seller, updates everyday about the status of my item.

Yes, I have been screwed on eBay. I also have, despite my pressures, a 100% feedback and have had since I singed up. I am honest with the people I deal with and expect them to be the same.

 

[SocketDeviler]

For what it's worth, it's not unusual for a letter from my family in PA to take 5-6 days to get to me here in TX.

I see the seller is not auctioning anything at this time. On the not so negative side, it's possible that he has not bothered to check his messages, hence no reply. Also, he is an infrequent seller. Feedback dates are quite scattered. In other words not ebay obsessed. Personally speaking, the listing is too vague for my bid money.

 

[Rory Bellows]

I know in my area you can buy Ebay gift cards at Giant Eagle grocery store. I think this would be cheaper, faster, and much easier than money orders. I personally have never used them but I know everytime I purchase from ebay they have a space for gift certificates.