"Moral dilemma" Topic

My wife decided to order a rucksack for my daughter. According to the Ebay listing (and despite my suspicions to the contrary) it was being shipped from Illinois. Purchased on a Buy it Now, so I wasn't overly concerned about it, as I knew we would be fairly well protected (due to the way that Ebay works with almost 100% protection for the buyer and pretty much zero for the seller!)

Order placed, tracking number received. All good so far. Hang on, I have a tracking number, but no idea of the courier so how do I track it? A little digging and it is mysteriously a Chinese courier. A prompt to the seller to be told "we are out of stock in the US so it is being sent from China"… hmm.

A few days later (with me prompting for some updated tracking information), "oh, the courier has lost it, we will send another one". I am now in the mixture of alarm bells and 'at lest they are still communicating. No tracking number this time, but they assure me they have sent it… from the US as they do now have it in stock.

A few more days go by. The courier has managed to lose it a second time, and they can't send another one because it is the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) so they are closed for 10 days. Hang on, I thought it was coming from the US, not China?

I lodge a Paypal dispute (to cover my back) and inform them they have 10 days in which to sort it out. 10 days by courier should be at least sufficient to confirm that it is well en route, if not actually arrived, and I have a window to wait before I can escalate any claim anyway.

A week after they say they sent it they give me a tracking number, by USPS. I'm still waiting for my escalation window to close, so fair enough. I give it another 48 hours, check the USPS website – no tracking data found, no such item.

So… I whack it back to Ebay who simply refund me in toto.

And NOW the tracking data is showing up…

…I really should contact them and offer payment…. assuming it does actually turn up…

Only if it shows up should you contact them. I say go with your first gut feelings on this.

Definitely suspicious as hell – I'd absolutely resend the payment if and when it arrives and checks out as satisfactory, but not a moment before – I'd not send payment again based solely on the "en route" tracking, as obviously there's been fun and games with shipping already, and I'd want to physically check it's not a shonky knock-off too….

…especially in light of recent developments in the UK over counterfeiting.

Just rechecked the tracking number and what it ACTUALLY says is:

"Electronic Shipping Info Received
The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified on February 10, 2014 to expect this package for mailing. This message does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Please be advised tracking is not available for this product. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later."

So as of today they haven't really despatched it at all… Watch this space.

Geoff, I'd get your money back if it has been a while, what is their feedback like? That should give you an indication of delivery etc, also check some of the positive comments to see if they say no item but full refund.

Should the item actually arrive and is not fake and in good condition then offer to pay them for the item as you have their paypal account on your paypal so you can return the money good luck with the outcome.

what is their feedback like?

97%, but 26 negatives and 20 neutral in the last month (839 positive). Penultimate feedback reads "Wait for 1 month. Got refund after opening a case." There are a few negative saying much teh same, and several of the neutrals also complaining about a long time to ship, and 'real leather' turning out not to be real :-) (Wasn't worried about that, as we knew this not to be leather)

I'd get your money back

I escalated and Ebay simply refunded without even questioning the seller, as far as I can tell.

I've had something similar happen to me….bought an item that I thought was coming from the UK and actually took three weeks from China. Similar excuse from the seller…."Out of Stock in the UK, had to order some more direct from China!".

Well I order a pair of pants from a company last August, it disappeared in the mail, no tracking info, even though it was being tracked, got a refund. Then at the beginning of January found it on my doorstep (surprise!). About 5 months to go from LA California to Phoenix AZ. 2nd day post too.

I would ask for a refund today.