Did I get screwed?

A

alexfort93

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Messages
1,847
Well, let me outline my situation for you.

Purchased a Gigabyte GTX 770 2GB from MetalX on August 6th. Sent him a payment of $250.

After waiting a few days for tracking number, he told me he would ship on Monday, August 10th. Gave it a few more days, and contacted him on the 14th asking for an update, and told me he was unable to ship it yet and offered a $25 refund. I just told him to put that money towards expedited shipping so I could get my card.

He said he was moving, and it was the cause for the delay in shipping the package.

Tried sending out another message yesterday (20th) and noticed that he hasn't been on since the 14th.

I'm a pretty patient guy, but I was really hoping to have my computer up and running by now.

Has anyone ever dealt with him before? He's got a long history here, didn't seem shady. I'm just hoping I didn't get screwed... What would you do?
 
Set an ultimatum. Tell him to get tracking to you by latest Friday (or which ever day you want). If you don't, you'll submit a dispute with PayPal for goods never being sent, negative heatware will be submitted, and a warning about his failure will go up on [H].

15 Days is starting to get up there.
 
I'm normally one to be open and understanding about situations. I am very lenient and patient when it comes to sellers because I know things happen. (see heatware under FNtastic for references of patience :)) He may be moving. But, that is no reason to stiff a buyer for that long. The seller willingly posted things for sale. They knew about their situation. And a trip to any post office/shipping company takes 30 mins at most.
You need to submit a PayPal dispute immediately. This will not only document the lack of initiative by the seller, but also give them a reminder under the chance that they completely forgot. And, as mentioned before, with real life going on, people CAN (and do) forget. PayPal dispute can be a helpful thing in such circumstances. Just have your documentation prepared for when you file the claim. And, good luck!
 
I can't remember the last time I had to file a claim... I'm not even entirely sure what "documentation" I would need. Typically, I thought PayPal would ask the seller for proof of a tracking number, and that's that.
 
As long as you paid in compliance of the sale of goods policy, you tell them it hasn't been shipped yet or has failed to ship within the promised time frame (usually a transcript of PMs can help).

They look into his account, they'll notify him of the dispute and he has to provide proof of shipment. If he can't supply that or doesn't respond within x days then the account is deducted that amount and refunded back to you, even if his account balance is 0. He'll have to owe that money back to PayPal.
 
Who sells stuff on the internet and then moves at the exact same time?! That is such a lame old heavily used excuse. Plz...
 
wgm3446 said:
As long as you paid in compliance of the sale of goods policy, you tell them it hasn't been shipped yet or has failed to ship within the promised time frame (usually a transcript of PMs can help).

They look into his account, they'll notify him of the dispute and he has to provide proof of shipment. If he can't supply that or doesn't respond within x days then the account is deducted that amount and refunded back to you, even if his account balance is 0. He'll have to owe that money back to PayPal.
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That's good to know, I thought PayPal would only refund what was available in his account.

I'll keep this updated...
 
This is what I pulled from the PayPal's policies on disputes. Unless I read it incorrectly.

We encourage you to file a dispute through our Online Dispute Resolution Centre if you have a problem with a transaction. By filing a dispute, you can attempt to resolve your problem directly with the other party. If you are unable to come to resolution, you may escalate the dispute to a claim and we will evaluate it under our buyer protection programmes.

You must file a dispute within 180 days of the date of the transaction, and escalate the dispute to a claim within 20 days of the date the dispute was filed.

If you cancel your dispute/claim or if PayPal denies your claim, you may still pursue your credit card chargeback rights or rights that accompany any other funding source. If you file a dispute with PayPal and then escalate it to a claim, and we do not complete processing of your claim until after your credit card issuer’s imposed deadline for filing a chargeback or after your bank’s deadline for filing an Electronic Fund Transfer Act dispute, and you recover less than the full amount you would have been entitled to recover from the credit card issuer or the bank, we will reimburse you for the remainder of your loss (minus any amount you have already recovered from the seller or PayPal).

You may not pursue a dispute or claim with PayPal and a chargeback with your credit card issuer at the same time. If you initiate a dispute or claim with PayPal and then file a chargeback with your credit card issuer before we have had a chance to resolve your dispute or claim with us, PayPal will cancel your dispute or claim and you will have to rely solely on your credit card chargeback rights.
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Well, that's good news.

Filed a dispute, and it's open. Should I escalate immediately, or give him a day?
 
I would give him a reasonable amount of time to respond. He might not log on here to check PM's etc., but rest assured he is checking emails. The email from Paypal will get his attention. Only time will tell if he is sincere about taking care of business.

Fish :cool:
 
alexfort93 said:
Well, that's good news.

Filed a dispute, and it's open. Should I escalate immediately, or give him a day?
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I would escalate it immediately considering he has 1 negative and one neutral heat out of not too many feedback. Also you already gave him over 2 weeks which is more than enough. You can always cancel your dispute once he sort things out.
 
I would not escalate right away. If you escalate, there's no turning back, it's entirely in Paypal's hands. I would give him until next Wednesday or Friday to provide tracking, but keep the dispute open until you have verified that you have a completely working card. Because if you close it and get a defective card, you cannot reopen it.
 
felt said:
Who sells stuff on the internet and then moves at the exact same time?! That is such a lame old heavily used excuse. Plz...
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or when people happen to get sick during the time when they sell something
 
Did you not get a phone number?

Isnt that in the guide, always get a phone number and verify it is good!
 
MrGuvernment said:
Did you not get a phone number?

Isnt that in the guide, always get a phone number and verify it is good!
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I've never heard of that... Even if I had his phone number, I fail to see how this would have changed anything.

An update: I received an email earlier from PayPal saying that he had refunded me with $30 for the extra hassle and wait, and after logging on today, it seems there is another pending refund for $250.

Seems like he is sincere, but at this point I'm not entirely sure. I kinda feel like the dick in the situation as it seems likely something did happen... thoughts?
 
If he is refunding money then take it for what it is. He seems to have decided to keep the card, or his life is to busy for him to get away. Frankly, be happy you got your money back and I'd move on. Seeing as money did change hands you should leave him another neutral heat. State that you bought the 770, got no real updates, and after opening a PP dispute he refunded your money. (do not request him to leave feedback, and hope he doesn't retaliate.) Life happens so I wouldn't be mad at him. And seeing as you got your money back (assuming it comes back.) then you are only out the two weeks.
 
alexfort93 said:
I've never heard of that... Even if I had his phone number, I fail to see how this would have changed anything.

An update: I received an email earlier from PayPal saying that he had refunded me with $30 for the extra hassle and wait, and after logging on today, it seems there is another pending refund for $250.

Seems like he is sincere, but at this point I'm not entirely sure. I kinda feel like the dick in the situation as it seems likely something did happen... thoughts?
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Well, I could still overnight it to you. Not really sure how much more I can do to make this right for you. I would imagine that the refund needs to clear my bank first.
 
MetalX said:
Well, I could still overnight it to you. Not really sure how much more I can do to make this right for you. I would imagine that the refund needs to clear my bank first.
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The refund is entirely fine. No harm no foul in the end.
 
Glory be to Lord Gaben.

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