Bad swap meet deal -- how long would you wait before taking action?

[ssipes]

Hey, I guess this is a first for me.

I paid for a swap meet item 20 days ago. I have not received it nor any confirmation from the seller. Emailed her a week ago to ask for status, no reply.

My PM in which I informed her I'd paid for it on March 4th is no longer marked "unread". However, a PM from a week ago asking if she'd shipped it is still "unread".

How long would you wait before submitting a complaint to paypal? It is a small ticket item. Perhaps she just (forbidden word meaning not remembered), but I seem unable to rouse her with any form of communication.

[mekyria]

Have you tried to reach her through other means, like her email account? Sometimes these things happen when the seller can't be online due to circumstances. However, not returning your PM is bad communication from her side.

[*Shira*]

Does her profile offer any alternate way to contact her, such as telephone? If so, you might try that just in case she's having a computer outage problem.

[ssipes]

Yes, I have emailed her to the same address I paypal'ed to. No other contact info given.

Unfortunately, I got sucked into the mosh pit of the swap meet and didn't notice she had a brand new bhuz account and had no track record or community ties.

[Razia]

Wow, that sucks! Is it someone who frequently sells stuff on bhuz?

[ssipes]

Originally Posted by Razia

Wow, that sucks! Is it someone who frequently sells stuff on bhuz?

No, not really. She was selling a number of items, and I know that at least one person who bought from her received the item in a timely manner. Her bhuz profile indicates she hasn't logged on since March 5th, but I know that statistic is not necessarily accurate.

I decided to go ahead and open a paypal resolution dispute, since the first stage is simply to get the seller to communicate.

[bintbeled]

Good luck with your Paypal dispute. I did this with an unresponsive eBay seller, and it worked out very well for both of us.

Latifa

[jaziri]

I just sent you a pm, hope things work out.

[danielabellydance]

Don't wait too long to dispute with Paypal. I never received a video I bought from a bhuzzer and gave her every benefit of the doubt because she was a bhuzzer. By the time I decided enough was enough and I was filing a complaint with Paypal - it was too late. They wouldn't do anything.

File the complaint now, if she comes through with the costume you can always resend payment.

[Vahana]

I have had really good results using the PayPal dispute process (not for a bhuzzer, but for another bellydance online vendor). It was resolved and there was no hard feelings between the seller and myself.

I think the "official" dispute process is a good way to go with this.

Good luck.

[maliam]

Originally Posted by Vahana

I have had really good results using the PayPal dispute process (not for a bhuzzer, but for another bellydance online vendor). It was resolved and there was no hard feelings between the seller and myself.

I think the "official" dispute process is a good way to go with this.

Good luck.

I'm glad to hear this. I just had to open a dispute with an eBay seller for an item not received (even though he kept promsing it was on its way). They only give you 45 days to open, and then another 20 or so to make a claim

Good luck!