Is this eBay buy a lost cause? First bad experience

Hi all, as someone relatively new to eBay I’ve come across my first bad experience. I was wondering if this is normal and if you guys had any advice on things I could try. I’m particularly interested in hearing the opinions of sellers, whether you think this seller is still being reasonable.

Some background; this is my first $1000+ purchase. Seller has good eBay feedback including some deals of a similar price. Has a 5k follower pokemon Instagram account and seems well known.

Timeline;

October 23rd - Seller accepts my offer and I pay. Item is listed as being shipped next day insured Royal Mail special delivery.

October 26th - No movement so I ask seller when it will be shipped and tracking provided. Seller replies quickly saying “tomorrow”

October 28th - No movement so I ask seller “update?” They do not reply, do not provide tracking but update the ebay status to shipped.

October 29th - Item should have arrived if shipped as advertised. No sign of it so again I chase the seller.

Seller replies he is out the country and his partner is dealing with packages, he will get the tracking number and update me “tomorrow”

October 31st - Still no further update.

At this point I feel like I’m being completely messed around and the seller has no intention of sending the item.

Any sellers able to give any other perspective and say this behaviour is reasonable?

I’d much rather have the card than a refund, any advice for next steps?

At this point, it’s up to you. How much longer are you willing to wait to get the card? You have 30 days from the date of purchase to open a case with eBay, so if it’s an item you really, really, want and you’re okay with waiting a while, just give it a little bit more time.

It’s definitely a pretty annoying situation. A seller who doesn’t stick to their word is not someone I would want to deal with. But the good news is that you will absolutely be covered for a full refund if you want one.

It just boils down to how long you’re willing to wait for the seller (or his partner or whatever) to get off their lazy ass and ship the item.

Sounds like it’s time for you to open an ebay ‘Request’

if the seller is being an asshole he doesn’t deserve your money, that is not how you do business.
I would give him one last dead line and if he doesn’t move his ass I would ask for a refund.

1 Like

you have a time frame to request a refund. if you want it that bad and can forgo the funds for the meantime, wait. People forget that just because you have paid for an item it still isn’t actually yours until you receive the item as described. There are many other factors in between that may render the purchase incomplete.

I understand when you want a card so bad, but this isn’t your go, not from this ass. Agreed with Chappo. Send one more email, then file for the refund. Ebay makes him either upload a tracking number, or refund you. If he doesn’t answer them, they take his money involuntarily. When a seller takes more than a week to ship, with the only exception being if they are good with communication and trustworthy, I reach out, and if they don’t act responsibly and/or professionally and do their business they agreed to do, they don’t deserve the business, for one, and two, deserve a refund filing. Remember–if they actually shipped it, which they probably didn’t and are therefore conning you or don’t care enough, they will be forced by ebay to provide tracking or they will take your money back for you and return it. So it isn’t like if you request the refund that you still don’t have a chance of actually getting it.

Don’t give up