How long should I wait with no answer from seller?

[Spikes]

Hello bartertown,

I have negotiated and payed for some items a week ago after receiving the seller's approval and his paypal address. Afterward I have asked him (many times) when he shipped the item and what the tracking number is so that I may see the items' progress through the mail.

It's been a week (including weekend) and I haven't received any answer since. I'm wondering after how many days should I start a paypal procedure to get my money back and/or report a bad trader.

Thanks!

[porkuslime]

If you paid a week ago, and he has not even said he got the payment.. or said that he sent, I would seriously consider looking into paypal refunds.

Are your messages being read? (going from out to sent box?)

If he is reading them, and ignoring them, you MIGHT have a serious issue. Does your trading partner have a good reference score, with no negatives? Any BTR's open on them?

-Porkuslime

[Spikes]

No BTRs, I searched for his name on the forums.
The messages are being read, they don't stay in the outbox folder.
I have sent him a personal email to the address provided on his paypal account.

References: 6 good, one bad (the bad one was a figure for figure trade in which he had to send first, and didnt)

[Ralph]

Unfortunately, many of us have been through the same thing. Especially as you are relatively new to Btown and may have been asked to ship first.

Don't give up hope. It is the summer and it may be as innocent as he thoughtlessly went on vacation. Or, life sometimes gets in with of our hobbies.
Who was the seller?
Is he also new to Btown?
Did you check the his feedback?
Is he listed on the bad trader forum here on Btown?

You do have some other options, if you think you were ripped off.
But, before filling a complaint with paypal/stopping payment if you used a credit card on paypal, filling a postal fraud complaint with the post office, check his contact information that should be available on paypal. I'd try to give him a phone call and see what is going on. If you're not satisfied then, let him know what you intend if he doesn't ship by a set date.

I hope everything works out.

Ralph

[Spikes]

Unfortunately, many of us have been through the same thing. Especially as you are relatively new to Btown and may have been asked to ship first.

Don't give up hope. It is the summer and it may be as innocent as he thoughtlessly went on vacation. Or, life sometimes gets in with of our hobbies.
Ralph

The thing is, he still has access to internet, because the messages are not stuck in my outbox. Therefore he reads them, and he is two clicks away from replying, yet he doesn't. Hence my worry. I will wait a few more days and then file a complaint.

Out of respect in case this is just useless worry, I will not yet disclose the username in case it turns out to be a false alarm.

[HarlequinZero]

No BTRs, I searched for his name on the forums.
The messages are being read, they don't stay in the outbox folder.
I have sent him a personal email to the address provided on his paypal account.

References: 6 good, one bad (the bad one was a figure for figure trade in which he had to send first, and didnt)

Obviously this is not possible to fix now, but for future reference you should probably ask the person with the lower ref to ship first. 6 good trades with one negative means he has a rating of 2 yes? You have a 14. The fact that he has a negative mixed in there should make you even more leery of sending him anything first.

Like I said, this is obviously me giving advice that you can't use now and I'm not trying to make you feel bad, just trying to help you out on any future trades.

Now, onto the relevant advice. I'd send him one more PM and explain very clearly that you see he's been reading your PMs and not deigning to respond to them. Give him a hard deadline of something along the lines of 48 hours. If he still doesn't bother to reply with solid information like a delivery confirmation number you should start a claim with PayPal. If it really is just a misstep on his part it's no problem to send the money back when the models arrive. But if you let him string you along and it gets past the 45 day mark you have no hope. Also, if you paid by credit card, you do have the option to force a charge back from your card issuer. However, I'd hold on that option for a week or so just to see if the PayPal claim doesn't get him to act. Your card company can definitely get the money back, but PayPal doesn't like anyone taking their money and might suspend your account or something similar.

-HZ

[MagickalMemories]

All good advice above.


Please, also PM me his Username. I will not make it public.


Eric

[JohnHwangBT]

First off, if you had the higher rating, he had a single-digit rating, and he had a negative in the ratings, you *never* should have paid first. Shame on you.

Secondly, you should have set a timeline of when he would confirm monies and ship to you. I'd have required confirmation within 24 hours (as you're doing electronic payment), and required shipping within 2 business days.

Third, waiting a week without response is more than enough time to open a BTR. Simple courtesy means that he should have acknowledged payment by now and given a timeline to ship. I'm assuming that you've sent some sort of "I need a reply by Friday" e-mail, right?

If I were you, I'd do the following:
1. initiate credit card / bank fraud immediately
2. initiate PayPal dispute resolution after talking to your credit card / bank. Force him to satisfy PayPal requirements to prove shipment.
3. inform him via PM that he has 24 hours to provide shipping information, and 72 hours for the merchandise to arrive
4. start a BTR
5. inform him of the BTR

At this point, you no longer need offer him the courtesy of giving him the opportunity to reply before posting the BTR. If, over the course of a week, he can't be bothered to spend a few seconds to confirm payment and an hour to ship your stuff, you don't need to inform him in advance.


Be sure to leave feedback. If you're sufficiently annoyed, Neg him afterwards, but definitely don't give a Good.

[MagickalMemories]

I have to say, I agree with John on everything except #3.
Unfortunately, 72 hours is unreasonable to insist on. Even Priority Mail doesn't guarantee its' time frame.

I think the 24 hours is a good (stern) requirement, though you might have better luck with 48.

Remember, if you file a PayPal dispute, but he comes through, you can always cancel the dispute.


Eric

[JohnHwangBT]

I picked 72 hours, because Priority is supposed to ship 2 days, 3 days at most.

[Adunaphel]

I picked 72 hours, because Priority is supposed to ship 2 days, 3 days at most.

While I agree with you on this most of the time, I have had SEVERAL Priority packages that took quite a while to arrive.

I had one that went from Tucson, AZ to Los Angeles, CA and it took 8 days. I don't know what happened with that box, but I thought it was just lost for a while.

So, even though the post office states that Priority takes 2-3 days, it doesn't always happen.

Karl

[JohnHwangBT]

And I've had far more First Class packages arrive 1 or 2 days faster than what the website says.

The fact that the USPS can be slow once in a while should not be used as an excuse to give a slow seller even more slack.

[MagickalMemories]

Understood.
I just think that, if the DC # *IS* provided within 24 hours, as required, and it registers on the USPS site, there's no reason to press the 72 hours.
Plus, if the guy doesn't know any better and pays for Prioirty, he's going to crap his pants when they tell him that it isn't guaranteed to get there within 2 - 3 days.

USPS has a GREAT "system" going on there... they say what the SUGGESTED time frame is, but stress that it's not guaranteed in that time frame (but, for only $xx.xx.....). So, if it takes an extra 5 days, you have no recourse.



Eric

[JohnHwangBT]

Given that he's sat on the merchandise for over a week, why should the OP wait any longer?

It's one thing to pay Priority when you ship the Next Business Day after receiving payment.

It's quite another to ship Parcel Post after sitting on a package for a week without any updates.

You delay by a week, you make it up by shipping Priority.


STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR POOR PRACTICES!

[Spikes]

I have given a firm deadline of wednesday 1pm EST, stating the obvious fact that he read my messages but did not answer. After that deadline, if I have no tracking number nor refund, I will begin the paypal claim.

Thanks for your help!