Here is another unfortunate e-bay story, I found an Athearn "N" F59PH in Amtrak West colors, I was so excited. Paid for the item with PayPal, but that was over 12 days ago. No item yet, and no response from the seller offering a scan of the receipt or a tracking number. I have had to open a case. I really wished the item had just arrived and I would not have to go thru the hassle. Hopefully I'll get my money back and then have to start looking again. Everyone here has been really good about pointing me in the direction of items I wanted, thanks. If anyone know's where to find one of these, please let me know, I'd be most thankful. fatalxsunrider43
I had the same thing happen to me once. I won a very seldom sold Athearn 5 pack CSX coal porters and I was waiting and waiting so finally after twenty days of no response from seller and no item I contacted ebay and I was so mad cause just my luck I didn't get the cars but then I found out from ebay the person who sold me the item had passed away. And I've felt bad. I've been looking for a set of coal porters ever since, I'm missing number two of a three set.
Doesn't Ebay get your money back through Paypal in that case? I've had several bad buys through Chinese sellers lately.I bought a few model helicopters,the deals all went terribly,got my money back in every case from Ebay..Never had any problems buying from US sellers,worst that ever happened was a long wait..
eBay is pretty good about returning your money if you paid with PayPal. I've had a few problems in the past and, when it wasn't resolved, I got my money back. You'll have to go through the whole process though. It will take time, but if the seller doesn't respond you should get a refund.
I don’t think 12 days is long enough to give up. I’ve waited a little over a couple of weeks for items and just as I was going to report it to eBay the package would show up. I don’t understand it, but even when I buy outside of eBay sometimes I’ll get it in 2 day and other times over two weeks from the time I get notice that it was sent. There was one time when I was getting worried after 2 weeks went by and no package. I finally decided to say something and when I logged into eBay I noticed I had a message asking me if I still wanted the item. Well I sent a reply that I indeed did want my purchase since I already paid for it. I immediately got an apology because there was some sort of mix-up with PayPal. I nominally pay for my items within seconds of winning the bid and I paid before the seller even got notice that the item sold. I now try to wait at least 5 min before paying.biggrin:
I looked up your auction. The seller has 100% feedback, although he hasn't been very active lately. When someone is slow to pay or ship, I will ask E Bay for their contact information and give them a call. Nothing like a phone call to get things going. Once I called a buyer that was slow to pay. His mother answered the call and asked what I wanted. I told her. She had me hold on and I could hear her give her son the riot act in the background. He paid the next day. I like the phone call approach. It is much more personal than E Mail.
Oh sorry forgot to mention that I did get my money back thru ebay. But I wanted the coal porters more then getting my money back.
How about trying one of our advertisers? My bet is that there is not a really big difference in the price with shipping between used and new on an auction site and new with one of our e-tailers.
A minor caveat: sometimes a seller with 100% feedback who hasn't been active, but is now selling stuff, is a sign of an account that has been hijacked. BUT NOT ALWAYS -- for example, my account was quiet for about four years before my recent spate of sales. Anyway, the joy of Paypal is that they do a pretty good job of resolving cash issues. And as a buyer, you're usually out cash. Sellers can often lose the items and postage, which of course ebay can't always reimburse. I'll keep my eyes open for those and if I see them for sale, I'll post.
Well, good news , the item arrived, all be it late, it is in one piece and exactly what i wanted, case closed. fatalxsunrider43
I have been dealing on and off eBay for over 10 years, as both a seller and a buyer. My observation is that generally, most of us are pretty normal, but there is an unexpectedly large percentage of nut case whack jobs out there, both sellers and buyers. On a recent purchase of a ConCor Hudson I got for a good price, when I opened the box, the smell of "ganga" and cigarettes overwhelmed me and I ended up giving the loco an alcohol bath, and quickly disposing of the box. I have learned to never be surprised. Thank God I am pretty much retired and inactive from that "site" and prefer swap meets and train shows. At least the buyer and seller see each other eye to eye. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
Never be surprised, it still is difficult to not want to react. Lately, people have generally gone lower on the scale of civilized. Animalistic, tribal, self serving is the modern mode that is taking all of society to a new low. It effects us all in one small way or another. fatalxsunirder43
So did the alcohol bath actually work? I have a few pieces that still have not come clean, but I did not use alcohol.
On a recent purchase of a ConCor Hudson I got for a good price, when I opened the box, the smell of "ganga" and cigarettes overwhelmed me and I ended up giving the loco an alcohol bath, and quickly disposing of the box. ************************* Skank can be an issue, I bought a set of Deluxe intermodel cars , when I got them the box was loaded with ants. That was gross.
I have purchased a number of items off the bay and do so while I am out of town for extended periods (Months at a time and I have a neighbor receive my items) and do not know if what I purchased was received until I get home. I always turn in a good positive feed back report even before I see what the items look like or in the case of locos if they run. I may have been lucky as I have had no issues with any one. Some weeks I may purchase as many as 15 items from different vendors and have been doing this for the the last few years as this is my way of occupying my evenings while out of town on construction projects. Plus I do purchase some items from our advertisers as well.
