Help with Radio Silent Seller: At which point to worry?

General
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Hey guys. Have kind of a quick question. I recently made a somewhat lower end purchase on eBay (around 75 bucks) for three cards. The seller had around 15 feedback, all being positive. They were quick to answer questions and were super polite, even sending additional images I requested. I purchased the cards and payed right away, but with a CC, rather than directly over PP (not sure if that’s relevant). This was mid-day last Thursday.

The seller said they’d ship out the cards either on Friday or Saturday and I asked them to notify me of any updates/changes. Saturday evening came, without any messages or indication of shipment. I wasn’t too worried, so I asked if there was any updates. The seller responded they will be sent out that day. Mid-day Sunday I asked if he ended up shipping them out and whether a tracking number was available. He quickly answered that they had indeed been shipped and he’d get home and upload a tracking number.

Since then, I have received no responses from the seller, nor a tracking number or any indication of shipment. I payed last Thursday and it is now Wednesday, a full 6 days since. I wouldn’t be too concerned if the seller was able to let me know of any personal restrictions or anything like that, stopping him from uploading tracking, but he has been radio silent, even after I’ve sent messages asking if everything is alright, or if there was any issue.
I understand holiday season may be hectic, but he had responded fast (often within 15-30 minutes of my messages), without mentioning that there would be any problems.

The listing itself had standard shipping, no guaranteed delivery date or anything like that, just an estimated arrival for January 3rd. I’m a bit inexperienced as a buyer on eBay so I’m not super experienced in regards to these sort of situations. While I am ready to wait longer, I politely let him know, now 6 days since I payed, that if I don’t receive proof of shipment, or any sort of response, by the 3rd, I’d consider looking into opening a case for a refund. (Hoping to generate some sort of response)

My question is: At what point do I open a case? I’m always hoping to have a pleasurable transaction for the seller and buyer, so I’m ready to wait longer. I know that while a week is alarming, it’s possible something popped up and they’re busy. Is this whole situation a reasonable issue all together, or has it not been long enough to get too worried?

Any and all help, or criticism to how I’ve dealt with this situation so far is appreciated! As mentioned previously, I’m less experienced with buying over eBay so any advice on how to deal with this sort of thing is incredibly helpful. I’m not too worried as of yet, but I’m growing slightly concerned lol

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The seller may feel like they’re being bombarded with questions. Just be patient.

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I understand what you mean and I’ve stopped sending messages at this point. My question is just, how long to wait in these sort of situations? Im pretty patient and ready to wait, but just would like to know at what point is it reasonable to actually “give up” and pursue a refund. The answer varies for different people, but Im just trying to get an idea in general what it is for the more experienced eBay buyers. At what point is it not worth waiting. Hope that makes sense. I appreciate the advice nonetheless!

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eBay website
“If your buyer hasn’t received their item and the estimated delivery date has passed, they’ll let you know there’s an issue by opening an “Item not received” request.

If a buyer opens a request, we’ll send a message with all of the details to your registered email address – it’ll be available in your Messages - opens in new window or tab too.

Once a request is opened, you’ve got 8 calendar days to resolve the issue. After that time, either you or the buyer can ask us to step in and help resolve the issue.”

Pretty much just wait, either you get your item or wait some more and get your money. I wouldn’t worry at all, you’re protected so it’ll be ok.
Hope this helps.

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Is this US → US? Or is it international shipping?

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Just slam the Item Not Received button as soon as estimated delivery day expired and let eBay handle it from there.

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US->US

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Will do! Didnt know thats how that button worked lol. I thought that was only usable once the order was indicated as “shipped”. I appreciate it! This helped a ton.

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Not sure how recent this purchase was, but we just had Christmas holidays. The seller might have been busy with that. So maybe he didn’t have the time to give you a quick reply. Your covered with Ebay if the item doesn’t arrive.

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To be honest I’ve still had some inexpensive cards not arrive since the start of December and I’ve only just started chasing them. December is a pretty busy month so I’d say just give them some time.

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Deliveries can be severely delayed during the holidays.

If the expected delivery date comes and goes and you haven’t received your card, send the buyer one last message to inform them. If you don’t hear back within 24 hours, pursue an “Item Not Received” case on eBay.

Either way I hope you get your cards!

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I agree with this.

Bid
Win
Pay
Wait two weeks domestic before doing anything like messaging the seller.

Your spending waaaay too much time for nothing. After all, what are you accomplishing messaging the seller now, creating posts, etc?
Enjoy the holidays.

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I usually give the item 14 days to arrive to me from when I buy it. Honestly, I never really get worried on ebay purchases anymore because I know if anything funny happens from the seller, I will always get my money back.

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I figure I was probably worrying too much lol. Just got me curious as to when actually to get worried. Two weeks seems like a more reasonable time frame and one Ill probably stick to in the future. I appreciate the perspective!

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I feel like I had to repeat myself.
eBay won’t do anything for you if the estimated delivery day has not been met yet. You can send whatever you like to the seller, a seller is not obliged to reply to any of it. Take in account that during the holidays shipping is slower than usual. As long as the package arrives before or on the day of the estimated delivery day, you have nothing. Once it goes past that date, you have right to report the item as Not Received and let eBay handle it from there. Don’t wait 30 days, because 30 days after estimated day the option to mark it as Not Received is gone and eBay assumes you received it (pro-tip: scam sellers haggle you for a long time so it expires and you lose your chances, don’t get caught in their web).
So… Steps of action for any bought item on eBay;1) Realize eBay is not Amazon2) Pay the item3) Wait till estimated delivery day4a) Did it receive on time? In good shape? Leave positive feedback4b) Did it not receive on time? Was item damaged? Open a case (Not Receive for delayed, Not Described if anything wrong, Damaged if real damage to item and not packaging).
5) No worry, be happy, on to the next item.

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Agreed with most of the above posts and glad you took an understanding of the situation at hand. About 4 or 5 months ago I had a situation where I accidentally lost the tracking number for a buyer’s purchase (unfortunately the 2nd time I’ve made this mistake) and told them as such but informed them that they should receive it within a week since we lived only a couple of states away. l told them to contact me if it didn’t arrive in that time frame.

Sure enough, for the next couple of days, I receive a flurry of questions ranging from “What time do you think it’ll arrive?” to “I need the tracking info, what if it doesn’t come in time?” which I mostly answered. However, after 3 days of it, I stopped responding to the buyer and after a few days I assumed he received it without issue as he left me a positive review on the purchase.

Sometimes, as sellers, we respond to a flurry of questions and sometimes we don’t check messages just because, as humans, we have other things to attend to.

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Mini update: Turns out the seller had been locked out of his account on eBay and PayPal for suspected fraudulent activity. After speaking with eBay he was able to get the account back and is shipping them out along with some compensation cards. I appreciate all the advice! Glad to know I know how to handle similar situations in the future, as I now have a bit more knowledge in regards to eBays policies that you guys helped clarify. thanks everyone! Hopefully everything ends well :slight_smile:

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Good man! Glad it worked out, and yeah for the future keep in mind you have the power if the seller never ships or rips you off so bombarding with questions (especially, let’s be real, with a cheap purchase) so it’s best to just relax :blush:

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Record yourself opening the package… You might get some safety pins instead.

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I doubt it. The guy seems legit and with the exception of the week long delay has been very helpful. Never know though lol. Guess we will see