Think I'm being ripped off...

[Sandy4453]

Three weeks ago (almost) I purchased a Dend. (Latourias...yes!!!) on ebay. So far, I've yet to receive it. I'd appreciate your thoughts as I typically am very patient and understanding but feel like I'm being snowed, now.

I emailed the vendor almost a week later, asking where it was. She told me that she was going to send it out the following Monday. I gave it time to arrive and when I still hadn't received it, I emailed her again and she replied, telling me that "unforuntately, I had to go out of town" and she'd be sending it out, first thing...that was last Monday. Last night I emailed her again; she responded with how lousy the weather has been in northern Calif. and hasn't been able to leave the house. All this may have been true except, it took my having to contact her to receive these excuses, her well aware that I was waiting to receive the package.

Do you think I'm being a little too suspicious? I've not been feeling totally myself lately and just wonder if I may be blowing this out of proportions, perhaps?

[Grandma M]

I would also be upset. I would e-mail her with the message, PLEASE NOTIFY ME WHEN YOU SHIP THE PACKAGE, and possibly a few more choice words about her service. At least you will know when to expect it.

Marilyn

[whygreenberg]

Jeez, Sandy. That's really unfortunate. My $0.02? Even giving the vendor the benefit of doubt, that she isn't intentionally scamming you, I think you've still got a legitimate reason to ask for your money back. I'd keep it civil, and just request your money back since it's been three weeks and you haven't received the goods. If she THEN refuses to return the money and still won't send you your order, you'd have every right to file a complaint with ebay or paypal.

[cb977]

I agree with Yvan on this one...cancel the order (due to problems on the seller's part) and request a refund. If she doesn't do that immediately, contact ebay.

[cowboy51278]

Just out of curiousity, did your paypal transaction take forever. I bought a few a couple weeks ago and the seller and myself were in a holding pattern. Paypal took the money from my bank account and it didn't show up in the sellers accounts til this week. So now Im waiting til after xmas because of mail volume and cruddy weather. So before you get upset make sure she got your payment that first week. And if she did, then get on your huffy bike and ride circles around her!

[ronaldhanko]

Have you looked through her feedback to see if others have had the same problem? I won't buy from anyone who's feedback is under 99.5% and if it's that low, I always check their negatives for poor communication and poor service. There are some who manage to keep their feedback reasonably high by the volume they sell in spite of numerous negatives. Ebay also has a new policy, I think, of wiping out older feedback. It gives the vendors a chance to redeem themselves in some cases, but also hides some poor service.

[RoyalOrchids]

I don't think you're being too suspicious. Don't jump to any conclusions, but being suspicious on ebay is good.

Things do happen, but I would have expected the seller to contact me should anything come up. This might be poor business practice, but doesn't mean you're being ripped off. But hey, I'm an optimist.

[Sandy4453]

Originally Posted by RoyalOrchids

This might be poor business practice, but doesn't mean you're being ripped off. But hey, I'm an optimist.

This is what I'm hoping, that she's not a good business person and screwed up on the promises and it just seems suspicious....

Ronald, her score is 100%.

Paul, the payment transaction went through immediately.

I'll let her latest correspondence speak for itself. This came after I wrote and reminded her that I immediately paid her for something that hasn't materialized after almost 3 weeks and no notifications from her except excuses each time I wrote.

This mail was stamped at 9:30 a.m. which I find odd. I've already asked her for the tracking number and so far....nadda.

"Dear Sandra,

Your orchids are shipped. We were able to use chains at last to get through the deeper snow pack areas. There were so many autos that had slid off the roadways it was unbelievable. We avoided a near-hit collision just barely when another car slid out of control, careening towards us. I've included a nice bloom-size Slc. Wendy's Valentine 'June' AM/AOS orchid as a bonus for the lateness of shipping."

[cowboy51278]

Originally Posted by Sandy4453

"Dear Sandra,

Your orchids are shipped. We were able to use chains at last to get through the deeper snow pack areas. There were so many autos that had slid off the roadways it was unbelievable. We avoided a near-hit collision just barely when another car slid out of control, careening towards us. I've included a nice bloom-size Slc. Wendy's Valentine 'June' AM/AOS orchid as a bonus for the lateness of shipping."

Does she live in the flipping arctic circle???? I drove from Buffalo to Rochester today, in a blizzard! We got almost a foot of snow dumped on us and the plows didn't go out on the roads until after 3pm (that upset me a little) And I still managed to do it without a mishap and no chains on my tires!

[ronaldhanko]

We live on the West Coast and people here are paranoid about snow. We had barely two inches with wind and everything shut down, so it is possible that she is not making excuses, though they might seem so to you living on the east coast. Her communication could be better, though.