help: my ebay hell!

bickle · Post by **bickle** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:55 am

So, about a month ago I buy a mixer from this guy on ebay, and it shows up damaged in shipping. He's kind of a jerk about it at first, we go back and forth on email forever, he accuses me of scamming him, etc. etc.
FINALLY, after great suffering and time-wasting, fedex settles the insurance claim with him, without ever even checking out the item. Weird.
I have verified with fedex that the "claim is settled", and the shipper has told me to send the thing back to him and he'll send me a check.
I WANT THAT CHECK! But I'm not sure how to ship back the mixer and still guarantee that he'll send me the money. I'd rather have the broken mixer than nothing...
Advice?

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:03 am

Can you do an escrow thing with the money?

bickle · Post by **bickle** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:06 am

Thanks for the quick response! Maybe on the escrow thing, not sure if he'll go for it...what's a trusted site? And I assume there are fees involved?

RodC · Post by **RodC** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:24 am

Seems like he should send you the check first. That is the traditional way. Or just have him pay you with paypal, then he is covered.

I assume thats how the original transaction was.

He had the item, you sent him the money. Now you have the Item so he sends you the money.

When was the last time someone shipped you a product, you received it, then paid?

bickle · Post by **bickle** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:49 am

Appreciate the responses - I've definitely come to the conclusion that it'd be crazy to send the thing back to him w/o getting money. Problem is, when I told him that (nicely), he got pissed and said "this is how refunds are done blah blah blah". I can't believe the guy. He thinks I'm pulling some kind of scam where I give him a bunch of money and then ask for it back. What!?
I'm going to try once more to convince him, and then I'll be filing claims of some sort.
Anyone have experience with this? I think my best bet is actually to file with my credit card company, rather than Paypal or Ebay. Ebay is little help, and it's hard to find info about my options. I'd love to hear any advice any of you trusted folks may offer...

E-money · Post by **E-money** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:06 am

I think you need to stand in his shoes for a few minutes.
He is probably as suspicious of Ebay foul play as you are, and he's afraid of coming away empty handed.

If the mixer was damaged in shipping, you should pursue a claim with the shipping company.

mingus2112 · Post by **mingus2112** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:17 am

If he got the claim settled with fedex. . .then. . .well. . .he has your money AND fedex's money. . .right?

If you WERE scamming him. . .and he refunded you. . .and he never got the mixer back. . .then he still has the money from fedex. RIGHT?

I'm failing to see how he could get screwed here. Either way he has the money.

-James

bickle · Post by **bickle** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:13 am

James, you're absolutely right - he has my money and whatever he got from fedex (I'm not sure it's safe to assume he insured it for the entire amount I paid; it could have been less). I have no way to pursue a fedex claim, as I had no contract with them - they can only tell me (and they have) that his "claim is settled".
I have no idea how he could think I'm scamming him. I don't know how to convince him otherwise, though.

John Jeffers · Post by **John Jeffers** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:30 am

Try getting a phone number. Emails are not the best vehicle for conflict resolution. People are usually more reasonable and polite on the phone.

??????? · Post by **???????** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:00 pm

John Jeffers wrote:Try getting a phone number. Emails are not the best vehicle for conflict resolution. People are usually more reasonable and polite on the phone.

best advice so far. You can request it from ebay. It will be an intimidating call to make but as soon as he gets on the line it will probably all be better. Good luck.

bickle · Post by **bickle** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:12 pm

Yeah, I don't want to do it, but it sounds like a great idea. I gues I'll have to give it a try...
thanks for the advice!

bickle · Post by **bickle** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 4:13 pm

SO: I took yor advice and tried to call the guy, and his number's disconnected! He has responded to email, though, insisting that he won't use escrow or anything. Am I better off filing a claim than sending him the mixer and hoping for the best? I think so...
Ebay's claim system apparently can't get me more than $200; I think I'll have to go through my credit card company. I would much appreciate advice from anyone who's had similar experiences.

Commodore · Post by **Commodore** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:24 am

I agree... call him.

mingus2112 · Post by **mingus2112** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:37 pm

How did you pay? Straight credit card or through paypal? If it was through paypal, I believe they take care of you. You can file a claim with them and they're pretty good with it.

Otherwise, call your credit card company and talk to someone. Tell them the situation, etc and let them know that you're OK with sending the mixer back as long as they'll get you the money back if he doesn't. I would want comfirmation from the bank BEFORE i sent that mixer back. You already sent him money in good faith for a product. I don't know why he can't show you the same faith you showed him.

-James

??????? · Post by **???????** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 12:03 am

oh man, that's a conundrum. Here's hoping it all works out in the end.

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help: my ebay hell!

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