Ebay dilemma

[nessatse]

A while ago I ordered a few of those cheap arduino modules off ebay. Well six weeks later and its a no show, so I opened a case on ebay.  The seller responded and offered to either refund me or resend the items on the provision that I close the case first, and deal with them outside ebay, because having open cases against them 'causes a lot of problems'.  Now, I have no experience in selling on ebay, but this sound a little fishy to me, as my understanding is that I will lose all protection from ebay should I do this.


Has anyone else had this kind of experience?  How should I handle it?

[wraper]

Don't close the case as it cannot be opened second time. Once it is closed, he owe you nothing. It don't hurt him as it stays opened until case is escalated to review by ebay.

[Stray Electron]

The seller responded and offered to either refund me or resend the items on the provision that I close the case first, and deal with them outside ebay, because having open cases against them 'causes a lot of problems'. 

  I think I would forward that to E-bay!  They take a VERY dim view of people making deals outside of E-bay.  As for causing him problems, that's what opening a case against him is supposed to do!

  Your seller sounds like an idiot! He should have just refunded your money and moved on.

[zapta]

I wouldn't close the case first. Resolve with ebay (http://pages.ebay.com/ebay-money-back-guarantee/ ) and if it fails dispute with your credit card company. If possibly, I would try to exit the process with a negative feedback to the seller rather than neutral, not to let him game the system.

BTW, my experience with ebay sellers, many in China, is good in general.

[grumpydoc]

There is no dilema - follow the case through in ebay, do not worry about the sellers "problems".

If you attempt to deal with him outside ebay chances are you will see neither your money nor your arduinos.

[dannyf]

There is some rationale in their saying but I would not close the case first. Ask for a refund then close the case. If you want you can buy from them again.

[Junction Runner]

Sounds like he is trying to rip you off, don't close the case. I'm surprised though, the people selling those cheap modules usually don't care, it's most often a Chinese company, and probably costs them next to nothing to mail more out.

[Bored@Work]

but this sound a little fishy to me, as my understanding is that I will lose all protection from ebay should I do this.


Has anyone else had this kind of experience?  How should I handle it?

You will lose all rights if you close the case. If a seller wants to play such games I immediately escalate the case to eBay. He got his chance by being asked to respond to the opening of the case. He blew it. In fact, he made it clear he doesn't want to play by the rules. So how much do you think is any of his promises valid?

Don't waste time, escalate. It is likely you will get another response from the seller. E.g. a heart-wrenching story of how you hurt his business. Or, I now had that two times, a threat. Stay polite but firm, and tell eBay. eBay likes to hear about threats, it speeds up your case.

[nessatse]

Thanks for all the advice, I have decided to follow my initial instinct to keep the case open and request a refund.  I was just a little surprised at the sellers response since he has a reasonably good rating and this is only a few dollars. After all non-delivery is not necessarily a bad reflection on the seller, more likely the shitty postal system over here.

[marshallh]

Probably he intends to ship you additional units. But, deciding to do so outside ebay is something you should avoid at all costs, all the time.
Get a refund

[tautech]

There is no dilema - follow the case through in ebay, do not worry about the sellers "problems".

If you attempt to deal with him outside ebay chances are you will see neither your money nor your arduinos.

+1
I once had an issue with an Aussie seller.... all sorts of sob stories. 
eBay sorted him out...full refund, but by the time it was sorted I lost money through exchange rate movements.
Be warned, get on to it, or the only one that will profit from the sale will be Paypal. 

[dannyf]

I don't think the seller meant to ask you to buy outside of eBay. It is likely an open case hurts his rating which in turn hurts his sales. Given the long delivery time, you may not be able to resolve the case to your satisfaction before eBay gives him a low rating - thus the desire to close the case now.

i think it mutually beneficial to ask a refund, which can be done quickly, before closing the case.

[grumpydoc]

I don't think the seller meant to ask you to buy outside of eBay. It is likely an open case hurts his rating which in turn hurts his sales. Given the long delivery time, you may not be able to resolve the case to your satisfaction before eBay gives him a low rating - thus the desire to close the case now.

Arranging the refund is a few clicks in ebay/paypal and will not hurt the sellers ratings (because the case is closed without ebay intervention), I'm not even sure that counts against you even with the admittedly draconian "defects system" that ebay has introduced.

The sob story and attempts at avoidance are what is ringing alarm bells.

[IanJ]

Sellers will go to all sorts of measures.........had one recently who was so hell bent on saving their feedback rating after I had won a case against them that they offered to send me replacement units even after I had been refunded........just as long as I didn't give them negative feedback.

Not a chance......the negative feedback was well deserved and given.

Ian.

[grumpydoc]

had one recently who was so hell bent on saving their feedback rating after I had won a case against them that they offered to send me replacement units even after I had been refunded.

You'd think that if they were that hell bent on saving their feedback they would have given you decent service in the first place.

Not every transaction goes smoothly - buyers do have to recognise that but how a seller handles it makes all the difference.

[nctnico]

If something doesn't arrive ALWAYS open a case with Ebay (Paypal). Even with slow shipping sellers I bought from before I open a claim if an item takes longer to arrive than the 60 day period Paypal allows. After that there are an extra 30 (or so) days for the item to arrive.

Usually I send the seller a message that I'm about to open a claim in order to give the item more time to arrive. An honest seller will not get nervous because of that.