Upset with the seller on ebay, should I respond?

[klapka]

Hello. Today I have recieved the lens ELMAR-C 1:4/90mm bought on ebay the 17 of August 2011. Yes. it took the lens 36 days to arive and now I know why.

This was a lot with no reserve and US shipping only. I wrote the seller a letter and asked if he could ship it abroad (as I live in Russia) fully insured and with tracking. He said: "yes, happy to ship it to you."

So I have won the lot (for 195$ if it matters) and wrote him another letter asking the shipping cost. He asked 41$ for shipping. And I payed 236$ (195$+41$) immediately via paypal.

After a week I had to write him another letter as the item was not marked as shipped and no tracking was provided to me.

He replied, the lens was shipped the next day he saw the money and they gave him no tracking for Russia, what seemed strange for me.

Today after 36 days of waiting the lens is here. To my surprise it was shipped via the cheapest USPS mail wraped into a thin paper and put into a paper bubble mailer with the cost of shipping marked $9,6 on the envelope. I couldn't belive the lens to be intact inside as almost no protection was aplied to it: no box, no soft filler, no nothing. I don't think it is possible to ship fragile lens abroad just putting it into a bubble mailer.

Now I have 2 feelings:
1) I am happy at last I got my lens and by some sort of luck it is safe;
2) I am really angry with the seller sending it in such an unsuitable not safe way. And becides why charge me 41$ for propper shipping and then mail it for only 9,6$ in the envelope. Looks like some kind of cheating.

This is not my first ebay experience and for more then 2 years of buying I was lucky to deal only with the highly honest and polite sellers. This is my first misluck..

Now the question is: should I do something like openning the case and demanding some kind of refund or just leave things as is and be happy that I atleast got my lens?

 

[sepiareverb]

FYI, USPS has little to no tracking or insurance available to most countries now. But, a lens in a bubble envelope seems pretty darn dumb. A testament to Leica build? I once got an M2 just wrapped in a single paper towel and stuffed into a Small Flat Rate Box. It too survived the trip.

Trying to get any recompense from ebay/paypal is like pulling teeth. Good luck.

 

[Lumix]

What eBay feedback have you given the seller?
I've found that a poor scoring has always produced a response from eBay asking about my satisfaction with the deal.

LUMIX

 

[klapka]

Decided not to open the case, but I was so angry with the seller that gave him negative feedback. Have no idea what would I do if the lens came broken..

 

[sevo]

A poor feedback certainly is indicated, so that the seller cannot pull the same "cash in for insured but send the worst way possible" trick again. If you want to follow up, Paypal/ebay will probably refund you the difference between claimed and actual shipping cost.

 

[David Hughes]

A poor feedback certainly is indicated, so that the seller cannot pull the same "cash in for insured but send the worst way possible" trick again. If you want to follow up, Paypal/ebay will probably refund you the difference between claimed and actual shipping cost.

Hi,

Complain to ebay and they will probably sort something out for you.

I had a mint camera sent once and it was in a dirty damaged condition and I got a full refund of everything from ebay, who took the money from him. we then sorted out a fair price.

Regards, David

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Definitely follow it up. I have had to do so in at least a half a dozen instances this year where I have purchased cameras ex-ebay that were not as described. I am a reasonable buyer but if a seller who is in business selling cameras, makes certain undertakings about condition, and these are patently incorrect, I will always follow up. I don't expect perfection in a camera that's forty or fifty years old, I do expect due diligence from the seller and accurate descriptions, unfortunately I often don't get this. To date I don't think I have been unsuccessful in obtaining, for instance, a partial refund when a item has been significantly not as described, and it is the condition of the item on arrival under Paypal's user agreements that is relevant.

I don't know if the seller you bought from is a camera reseller or not, however it sounds very much as if they have been negligent by despatching the lens in such poor packaging, so personally, I would have no compunctions in pursuing this matter, even if they are a private seller. I would have contacted them in the first instance, before leaving negative feedback, to see what, if anything, they were prepared to do to rectify the situation. This is after all, what ebay recommends, and personally, I think they like it, when they see buyers following their guidelines. Bear that in mind for next time, perhaps. But because you paid by Paypal, you should still be able to open a case because, from what you have said above, the 45 day period you have to do this, which begins from the payment date, has not expired yet, although it's not far away.

The thing to do is to contact the seller and politely and clearly explain what the problem is Ie. the condition of the item on arrival was not as described. Hopefully you will still have the packaging it came in? Digital photos of this and the lens should be taken to be tendered if needed (I have never had to do this but if I have the remotest concern I will routinely document the parcel before opening and after).

Because you have left negative feedback already it is quite likely the seller may not be very interested in agreeing to settle the dispute with you. Give them a day to respond. Assuming they don't, or are negative (which I would suggest is the likely scenario under the circumstances) it will then most likely be necessary to open a Paypal dispute. If the seller still fails to agree to a resolution satisfactory to you, it can be escalated to a case, and eBay/Paypal (depending on which eBay site you bought through) will review the situation, contact both parties and make a decision. I would expect they would treat you fairly sympathetically, as they seem to be quite pro-buyer these days.
Regards,
Brett