Should I be upset with this seller?

catogtp

catogtp

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
1,233
Let me start by saying that I left the seller a neutral heatware eval before I thought about posting this thread.

I recently bought an msata drive from a seller here. He responded to my WTB thread and made me a killer deal. What wasn't mentioned was that said killer deal meant the item was going to be shipped in a yellow padded envelope via USPS first class mail that did NOT include any insurance at all. The seller's communication was great and I got a tracking number/updates without any issues. The drive was "delivered at/in mailbox" according to the USPS tracking info. I have an office/suite number and no mailbox. The carrier has to come in and hand it off. Messaged the seller and his response was "Sorry and best of luck in getting it". After that I spent a few hours on hold then talking with USPS to file a lost mail investigation. Eventually the drive showed up about a week later. Seller never followed up to see if I got the drive and last night requested a heatware eval be left. I left a neutral with a detailed explanation similar to what I posted in this thread. Am I being an asshole or do you think the neutral was warranted?
 
catogtp said:
Let me start by saying that I left the seller a neutral heatware eval before I thought about posting this thread.

I recently bought an msata drive from a seller here. He responded to my WTB thread and made me a killer deal. What wasn't mentioned was that said killer deal meant the item was going to be shipped in a yellow padded envelope via USPS first class mail that did NOT include any insurance at all. The seller's communication was great and I got a tracking number/updates without any issues. The drive was "delivered at/in mailbox" according to the USPS tracking info. I have an office/suite number and no mailbox. The carrier has to come in and hand it off. Messaged the seller and his response was "Sorry and best of luck in getting it". After that I spent a few hours on hold then talking with USPS to file a lost mail investigation. Eventually the drive showed up about a week later. Seller never followed up to see if I got the drive and last night requested a heatware eval be left. I left a neutral with a detailed explanation similar to what I posted in this thread. Am I being an asshole or do you think the neutral was warranted?
Click to expand...

I would've left the idiot seller a negative.

It's the seller's responsibility to get the buyer what was purchased in a timely manner and in the originally described condition, not the other way around.
 
Yes, the drive works. USPS sucking ass is not the question here. I am more wanting thoughts on the sellers actions.
 
seller should have definitely followed threw better after you stated that you did not recive it but that is about the only issue i see. I have shipped many items <$100 without insurence, assuming that if their is a issue i would be the one backing it, as usps sucks and is a pain to deal with if you do need to file a claim.
 
Seller did a crappy service. it his item and responsibility until you receive it
 
I disagree with most people here, at the very least I'll agree with neutral simply because of his response of "good luck"

I find it the buyers responsibility with shipment. The seller offers a price shipped, and that means the seller can choose whatever slow shipment he wants. If the buyer wants it faster or safer, they can pay more to have that luxury, but all the seller's job is, is to get the item from them to you. I don't know where this "within a time" comes from, but as long as it gets from seller to buyer, then I find it to be all he's obligated to do.

OP, you seem to not have a problem with how slow it arrived, so I don't think that's the issue. All I see is that he had somewhat of an asshole attitude in saying "good luck", and that would net a neutral feedback
 
danyune said:
I find it the buyers responsibility with shipment. The seller offers a price shipped, and that means the seller can choose whatever slow shipment he wants. If the buyer wants it faster or safer, they can pay more to have that luxury, but all the seller's job is, is to get the item from them to the shipper. I don't know where this "within a time" comes from, but as long as it gets from seller to buyer, then I find it to be all he's obligated to do.
Click to expand...

Fixed. :)

I have to agree. Although the seller could be more helpful in trying to track it down or offer any assistance they can. But, that's about the best they can do.
 
so danyune and Shotglass01...If you sold an item, didn't insure it, and it never arrived or arrived damaged, what would you do? Say tough shit and tell the buyer to move on?

Also, I never complained about the time. I more complained about the sellers lack of follow through and attitude basically telling me good luck.
 
catogtp said:
so danyune and Shotglass01...If you sold an item, didn't insure it, and it never arrived or arrived damaged, what would you do? Say tough shit and tell the buyer to move on?

Also, I never complained about the time. I more complained about the sellers lack of follow through and attitude basically telling me good luck.
Click to expand...

This is a tough scenario. Once it leaves your hands as a seller (regardless if insured or not) you effectively have no control of what happens to the package. If it was me I'd let the buyer handle it if it said it was delivered. Would I attempt to assist if I could? Sure, but in this case I don't know how effective I'd be.
 
catogtp said:
so danyune and Shotglass01...If you sold an item, didn't insure it, and it never arrived or arrived damaged, what would you do? Say tough shit and tell the buyer to move on?
Click to expand...

Well, that's not exactly a black and white question. A lot of it depends on how expensive the item is too. And, I'd have to have faith that I packed it well to help prevent damage in shipping. But once it's out of my hands, it usually becomes a back and forth with the buyer. I don't want to leave any buyer screwed, and I do insure for items normally 60 bucks or more. But, I can't completely fault the seller, and I don't fault you for leaving him neutral feedback. I'd just try to resolve it so it works for the both of us.
 
catogtp said:
so danyune and Shotglass01...If you sold an item, didn't insure it, and it never arrived or arrived damaged, what would you do? Say tough shit and tell the buyer to move on?

Also, I never complained about the time. I more complained about the sellers lack of follow through and attitude basically telling me good luck.
Click to expand...

Shotglass01 said:
Well, that's not exactly a black and white question. A lot of it depends on how expensive the item is too. And, I'd have to have faith that I packed it well to help prevent damage in shipping. But once it's out of my hands, it usually becomes a back and forth with the buyer. I don't want to leave any buyer screwed, and I do insure for items normally 60 bucks or more. But, I can't completely fault the seller, and I don't fault you for leaving him neutral feedback. I'd just try to resolve it so it works for the both of us.
Click to expand...

Agree with Shotglass01, it's a relatively case by case scenario, but typically if the buyer wants insurance, they will request it. I will always package my items to the point that the shipping service would have to literally play soccer with the package to make it damaged. If a package got lost, sure I'd do what I can to help, but I don't think there's much I'd be able to do.

Normally when I had to submit a case to USPS, it was because I was the buyer, so USPS would talk to me and not the shipper
 
I sold some Shin-Etsu on here that was taking forever to deliver with no tracking updates. I was sympathetic towards the buyer and kept in touch until it arrived over a week late. Turned out they thought the syringes were drugs and had opened it to inspect.

I think the seller's attitude does suck, but the problem doesn't seem like it was in his hands. Would insurance have mattered since they marked it as delivered? Neutral feedback is probably fair either way.
 
You can be upset with the lack of customer service on his part but you did receive the item and it's in working condition. Sure, packing is less than desirable and he didn't buy insurance but insurance protects the seller, not the buyer. If you didn't receive this at all, then he would have to refund you plus be out of a item. From his poitn of view, the item was marked as delivered and you are trying to pull a fast one. He doesn't know about your mail circumstances, all he knows is that it's marked as delivered and his job is done.

Normally I side with the USPS but I have been a victim of "delivered inside mailbox" 2 times since last October. One time it was for a box that coulnd't have fit inside those community cluster boxes. I went right down to the post office and got the superviser to call the driver. The driver said he delievred it and there's nothitng more to it. I was told to file a report, we'll look into and get back to you. I did just that. Next day the box mysteriously shows up. I used to gift card this guy $50 every year. Not this year.

Your frustration should be directed at USPS, not the seller. Give him a positive. He fulfilled his part. Heck, in your own words, he gave you a killer deal. I bet right now he's regretting that "killer deal."
 
My frustration was the attitude of the seller, "good luck" when a package didn't get delivered is a bit of a gut punch.
I am very surprised at the replies of "seller dropped it off, not his problem" though. If you bought a $13 battery charger from Amazon and it said "delivered" but you never got it, would you not be on Amazon to replace it? I fail to see the difference in the scenarios so please enlighten me.

As for me, as the buyer, needing to request insurance....I don't care if the package is insured or not. That isn't the point. The point is that when the seller ships and item and it doesn't arrive, I need my money back or a replacement item. I am not sucking up hundreds of dollars because I should have requested insurance, that isn't my duty to ask and not my responsibility to ensure the item is delivered in working condition. That's on the seller.

Said item was several hundred dollars, it wasn't a $30 SSD.
 
I'm torn on this, because it isn't always the seller's fault, especially if the shipper screws up. However, the seller should have ponied up a few extra cents and gotten tracking. I have bought and sold on hear and eBay for over a decade. Hundreds of transactions. I NEVER ship without having tracking and enough insurance to cover the transacted amount. It gives me peace of mind, but also gives the buyer peace of mind that an item is on it's way. I fully expect the buyer to monitor the tracking to make sure they know when to expect it.

So I don't think you were necessarily wrong for being frustrated. The seller should have been more sympathetic, but I wouldn't have put the blame on them for what USPS does. You didn't leave negative feedback, at least.
 
I was mentally replacing insurance with tracking number. Long day, not enough coffee. I meant that I would never ship without kicking in a little extra for enough insurance to cover the money that the buyer sent to me. If the package is lost, at least I can refund the money to the buyer.
 
DeaconFrost said:
I was mentally replacing insurance with tracking number. Long day, not enough coffee. I meant that I would never ship without kicking in a little extra for enough insurance to cover the money that the buyer sent to me. If the package is lost, at least I can refund the money to the buyer.
Click to expand...

I've never even considered a seller not covering my purchase but I am starting to second guess it. I never thought I would have to ask a seller if they are going to insure the package and cover it if it's lost in shipping.
 
catogtp said:
My frustration was the attitude of the seller, "good luck" when a package didn't get delivered is a bit of a gut punch.
I am very surprised at the replies of "seller dropped it off, not his problem" though. If you bought a $13 battery charger from Amazon and it said "delivered" but you never got it, would you not be on Amazon to replace it? I fail to see the difference in the scenarios so please enlighten me.

As for me, as the buyer, needing to request insurance....I don't care if the package is insured or not. That isn't the point. The point is that when the seller ships and item and it doesn't arrive, I need my money back or a replacement item. I am not sucking up hundreds of dollars because I should have requested insurance, that isn't my duty to ask and not my responsibility to ensure the item is delivered in working condition. That's on the seller.

Said item was several hundred dollars, it wasn't a $30 SSD.
Click to expand...
Did you actually ask him for your money back? It's not really fair to expect him to just offer your money back if the tracking info says the thing was delivered.

Also, as the seller, I think I'd probably insist on waiting a few days in this situation before offering your money back anyway, since my experience is that this "marked as delivered, actually shows up days later" thing seems to happen all the damn time.
 
catogtp said:
I've never even considered a seller not covering my purchase but I am starting to second guess it. I never thought I would have to ask a seller if they are going to insure the package and cover it if it's lost in shipping.
Click to expand...
To me, it was just a given, that as the seller, I'm responsible for the package until it arrives at your door. So, if it is lost in transit, the buyer has every right to ask for a refund. I've had that happen once before, and I was able to get UPS to cover the cost, but only because I had purchased the insurance option.
 
RazorWind said:
Did you actually ask him for your money back? It's not really fair to expect him to just offer your money back if the tracking info says the thing was delivered.

Also, as the seller, I think I'd probably insist on waiting a few days in this situation before offering your money back anyway, since my experience is that this "marked as delivered, actually shows up days later" thing seems to happen all the damn time.
Click to expand...

No, it wasn't to that point yet. I messaged him for help, he said "good luck". I also would have waited up to a few weeks before asking for a refund, the seller just didn't seem to care at all if I got it or not.
 
catogtp said:
Said item was several hundred dollars, it wasn't a $30 SSD.
Click to expand...

Yep, that, that right there means I'm insuring the package. Of course tracking is a given for any package. But I sure as heck wouldn't have just said 'good luck.'
 
catogtp said:
No, it wasn't to that point yet. I messaged him for help, he said "good luck". I also would have waited up to a few weeks before asking for a refund, the seller just didn't seem to care at all if I got it or not.
Click to expand...
Are you sure he didn't actually mean "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do besides call the post office. You're closer, and probably better able to describe what the problem is to them, so why don't you call first, and I'll get involved if you really can't get them to do anything. Good luck - I know it sucks, but I'm rooting for you"?

I can't imagine sarcastically saying "hurrdurr good luck with that" to someone I was doing business with. I like to think that almost no one is that kind of a jackass deliberately.

Regardless, you felt neutral about the affair, and in my opinion, if you felt neutral, that's how you should respond on Heatware. It would be kind of useless if everyone were a carebear and only ever posted positive feedback for fear of offending someone.
 
RazorWind said:
Are you sure he didn't actually mean "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do besides call the post office. You're closer, and probably better able to describe what the problem is to them, so why don't you call first, and I'll get involved if you really can't get them to do anything. Good luck - I know it sucks, but I'm rooting for you"?

I can't imagine sarcastically saying "hurrdurr good luck with that" to someone I was doing business with. I like to think that almost no one is that kind of a jackass deliberately.
Click to expand...

I don't think he was intentionally being a jackass, but he offered nothing other than this direct quote: "Sorry and best of luck in getting it". To me that was a big "sucks to be you, I hope it shows up but I have washed my hands of this".
 
USPS tracking is complete shit.

Also it's the sellers responsibility if the package is lost. That's how it works folks.

When I sold a PSU on here last year, it got lost in the mail. Turns out they got confused and started trying to send it back to me, realized and sent it back to NY (the buyer). I communicated and ate dirt and called USPS. They didn't want to talk to the buyer, but the shipper -- because I was the one who had done business with them.
 
Krazy925 said:
USPS tracking is complete shit.

Also it's the sellers responsibility if the package is lost. That's how it works folks.

When I sold a PSU on here last year, it got lost in the mail. Turns out they got confused and started trying to send it back to me, realized and sent it back to NY (the buyer). I communicated and ate dirt and called USPS. They didn't want to talk to the buyer, but the shipper -- because I was the one who had done business with them.
Click to expand...

USPS tracking used to be shitty. Now it's not bad at all. They've come a long way in the last 5 years.
 
There are way too many people out there that game the system these days. People who are happy to claim that the package never arrived even while they are holding it right there in their hands, and all too often it works and they end up being able to keep the item AND their money. This happens VERY often. So as a seller, when I see the tracking say "delivered", then I largely feel that any responsibility that I have is over. Quirky issues related to how USPS delivers to a buyers address is something that should be worked out between USPS and the buyer, and has nothing to do with the seller. There are also plenty of buyers in high-crime areas where the package ends up stolen from their doorstep because they decided to leave it out there for 6 hours. That isn't the seller's problem either.
 
Furious_Styles said:
That's too bad. I've probably sent hundreds of packages over the past year and have only had one issue.
Click to expand...
It always gets there. Just not in the most obvious way. I send dental merch and equipment and if it's over about $75 I send it UPS/fedex signature.
I'm in Oakland CA and that's all over NorCal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top