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When to become concerned about an Ebay purchase?


Fendercaster

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I purchased a Roland Fantom-X6 keyboard on Ebay, using Buy it Now. It's been three full days and I've had no response from the seller. I've sent him a question concerning shipment, no reply. I paid with Paypal from my checking account so I'm covered, but I'd really like to see the keyboard show up. When should I start being concerned and what measures should I take if I don't hear from the seller soon?

Thanks, Scott

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hi Scott,

 

If the seller has a good feedback rating on similar items I wouldn't start losing sleep yet. I take PayPal and it is not always instant. Sometimes there'll be a message from PayPal saying not to ship the item until the money has cleared from the buyer's bank into PayPal. And then once the money is in PayPal it can take another three to four business days before it reaches the sellers bank account or pocket (there's a daily maximum for ATM withdrawals - and the weekend is treated as a day).

 

Also if the seller is an individual (as opposed to a merchant) they may be trying to locate a shipping box and padding. Buying an odd-sized shipping box and massive quantities of bubble-wrap in advance is wasteful if the buyer turns out to be local (which happens more than you might think with larger or heavier items). Careful packing is much more valuable than hasty shipping. Merchants have shipping departments - individuals don't.

 

How many days after the money has cleared does the auction specify for shipping?

 

best,

 

john

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Thanks for the response, jabney, you hit the nail on the head. Since I posted my question a couple hours ago, I got an email from the seller, he had trouble getting a proper box and will ship it out tomorrow. Also, he's in Baltimore, I was in Maryland last weekend, if I'd bought it a day earlier, I could've picked it up in person!

Thanks again, Scott.

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I beg to differ. It's eBay's policy that buyer and seller send out communication within three working days. I always demand communication from anyone I'm buying from and always give it to anyone I'm selling to. If they have my money, they should visit with me. If three days goes by and I do not get a response to my email, I get the sellers phone number and mailing address from eBay and contact the seller directly. If that fails, I notify the seller that to communicate or I file a claim with paypal and leave a neg.

That being said, if the seller communicates with me but it takes him a while to ship, I don't mind that at all. As long as he is talking to me, I'm alright with it. To this day, I've never had to give out a neg.

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I guess I was a little overly worried, but with the money I spent, I didn't want any problems. Since you're dealing with an unknown/unseen entity as opposed to a known store, I feel that quick communication is very important. I've only sold one item on Ebay, but I emailed the buyer immediately and had the item in the mail within an hour.

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I guess I was a little overly worried, but with the money I spent, I didn't want any problems. Since you're dealing with an unknown/unseen entity as opposed to a known store, I feel that quick communication is very important. I've only sold one item on Ebay, but I emailed the buyer immediately and had the item in the mail within an hour.

 

 

Well that's really the key. A tiny quick bit of communication will always make a person feel better about giving up their money sight unseen. It's nice to know there is actually a human being on the other end who is willing to acknowledge the transaction. Living in a very rural remote area, I've bought and sold on eBay for many many years. I still get concerned until the stuff arrives. I just gave a dealer in Pennsylvania a couple grand for some oak office furniture. The stuff won't ship to me for 6 weeks or so, but I called and talked to the seller twice before buying. I realize I could still suffer a loss, but I feel ok after visiting with the business. I usually like to email a seller before bidding, even with a dumb question, just to see if they are communicating. If no response, I tend to move on to a different seller.

Also, I look at comments, even pos comments, to see if I discern any trend from that seller regarding slow shipping or poor communication. If I do, I tend to move on to a different seller.

Power sellers can be difficult to communicate with. Some of them will generate a form "letter" to you, some nothing at all. I try to steer clear of them unless their ratings and comments are exceptionally outstanding.

If a seller is going to bend me over and abuse me, the least he could do is talk to me while he is using me.

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Your concern is understood. I have had some really poor communications from sellers but as long as it arrives within a couple of weeks I don't panic. However, once I bought something from a guy that took nearly two months to arrive. When I got it, the box was trashed. I think it got held up in customs as it was coming over from Canada. Luckily it was a Boss SE-50 and those things are built like a brick.

 

One more thing to consider - at least he was taking the time to find a good box, and not sending it out in any old piece of crap. I got a unit that was allegedly owned by a famous rock guitarist, sold by a music store, and the thing came in a box that was barely the size of the unit, with about a half-dozen styrofoam peanuts thrown in to make it look like it was packed. I would rather they had taken the time to find a suitable box.

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