Won an item, got automatic reply noting 20-day delay in shipping. Is this a scam?

[morvan]

Hi Everyone,

I just won an item, and instantly received this automatic reply:

"I'll be happy to ship it to you ASAP, BUT wanted to let you know I just had to leave for a business trip and won't be back before November 14th. I can then ship the item to you.

You might want to hold payment until then.

Any question, please let me know."

Now, I know that failure to pay after 4 days, the seller can request to cancel the sale. If I hold payment as the seller suggests, does that put the sale at risk? The arrangement feels weird. Am I over-reacting?

Thanks in advance.

[divadeals215]

you can always cancel the sale by yourself. I'd look elsewhere see if you can get another one if not just wait it out

[inhawaii]

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@divadeals215 wrote:

you can always cancel the sale by yourself. I'd look elsewhere see if you can get another one if not just wait it out

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The buyer can't cancel the sale, only the seller can.

[doc-holmes]

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@divadeals215 wrote:

you can always cancel the sale by yourself. I'd look elsewhere see if you can get another one if not just wait it out

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How so? 

[inhawaii]

What is the estimated delivery date on the listing?

The seller is obligated to comply with that.

If you want the item, you should pay right away.

If you don't pay the seller can cancel the sale for non-payment after 4 days and you will get a non-payment strike.

[lilabooks123]

If you want the item then I would pay for it and wait.  If he doesn't ship by Nov 15th you can file a claim with Ebay and get your money back.  

The seller is providing terrible service and this would be reflected in the feedback that you give them.  I would make the feedback factual stating the date that you paid and the date that it was shipped (or that it was never shipped and that you had to file a claim).  Their service will also be reflected in their performance metrics that Ebay maintains for sellers.

I hope that this helps.

[a_c_green]

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@morvan wrote:

Now, I know that failure to pay after 4 days, the seller can request to cancel the sale. If I hold payment as the seller suggests, does that put the sale at risk? The arrangement feels weird. Am I over-reacting?

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@morvan : I take it from that wording in the seller's message that you have in fact not paid yet. The message sounds ridiculous, and I'm wondering whether it's just an elaborate plan to let the seller bail on an item that didn't sell as well as he had hoped. (You said you "won" it so I'm assuming an auction here.)

After four days from the end of the auction, he can slam the door on you for non-payment and you'll get an Unpaid slap on your record as well. He can then try listing again and hoping for more.

What is the item? Can you get it elsewhere? If not, I would suggest paying him for it now, and that puts the ball in his court to ship. Once you are past the last Estimated Date of Delivery, you can file an Item Not Received dispute and get your money back in full.

Thus by paying now, you put the obligation on him to ship, not on yourself to pay later.

[ittybitnot]

 and that you had to file a claim

@lilabooks123 

I believe that is against eBay's feedback policy.  Mentioning eBay claims can get the feedback removed altogether.  It is likely a detail under the not allowed/referencing  investigations: 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-policies/feedback-misuse-policy?id=5030&st=3&pos=2&query...

[morvan]

Wow, thanks for the swift response! Indeed, it was an auction, and I got a good deal. Was thinking he might be looking for some sort of out to the deal. It is a digital recorder bundled with a microphone and a few accessories. I'm going to take your advice and pay right away. Thank you so much for help!

[ittybitnot]

 and won't be back before November 14th. I can then ship the item to you.

@morvan 

Sending you a message like that (whether it is true or not) does not change the last estimated delivery date after you pay if the seller did not change it first to compensate for their business trip.   Pay attention to that date found under purchases/order details.  It should not change.  You have 30 days after to file a claim if need be.  Not shipping until 11/14 may put it past the timeframe. 

[morvan]

Thanks for the 411! The estimated delivery date is October 31-November 4. The seller did not change it prior to the end of the sale. It seems clear that they wanted bids to go higher, and now presented this as a way to try to wiggle out of the deal. What is the penalty for the seller if they simply don't ship the item, and wait for me to request a cancellation? I once heard it was mail fraud to refuse shipping an item paid for on ebay. I don't know if that's true, though it would pose an incentive for them to comply if it were. The posted mode of delivery is listed as USPS Priority Mail.

[linda7913]

This "business trip" seems rather sudden. Isn't the seller aware of the Time Away feature and ended his listings while he is gone? He needs to honor the auction and ship the item before he leaves to avoid future problems. Even eBay suggests on the Time Away dashboard that all shipments should be done before leaving and to adjust the time away to accommodate that.

[mam98031]

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@divadeals215 wrote:

you can always cancel the sale by yourself. I'd look elsewhere see if you can get another one if not just wait it out

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@divadeals215 

Buyers can not Cancel a sale.  They can Request a Cancellation, but only the seller can process the actual cancellation.  

This is good advice.  I would send the seller an email and request they cancel the order since they are unable to ship for 3 weeks.

[mam98031]

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@lilabooks123 wrote:

If you want the item then I would pay for it and wait.  If he doesn't ship by Nov 15th you can file a claim with Ebay and get your money back.  

The seller is providing terrible service and this would be reflected in the feedback that you give them.  I would make the feedback factual stating the date that you paid and the date that it was shipped (or that it was never shipped and that you had to file a claim).  Their service will also be reflected in their performance metrics that Ebay maintains for sellers.

I hope that this helps.

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You would only give the seller one day for delivery?  The seller said they can't ship until Nov 14th, so it is pretty much guaranteed that the buyer will not have it on the 15th.

The OP hasn't paid yet.  Or at least that is what I understand, things could have changed as they created this thread a few hours ago.  

IMHO it is in the OP's best interest just to request a cancellation due to the delay in shipment.