Seller waited 14 days to mail my item....needed for Christmas Present.

[grannygrozas]

I have never had this happen in all the time that I've been on EBay. I opened a request  on EBay after not receiving my item & here is what happened :

My open request:

I ordered this item on December 14th. I was hoping to get this just before Christmas as a present for my Brother, since these particular replacement filters are hard to find. This item was estimated to arrive between 18th to the 22nd of December. It didn't arrive.... Also,  I never received a tracking number, so I had no way to check it's whereabouts. Shipping info only showed 1st class shipment. Also, the seller supposedly waited 6 days to ship my item out after my payment.....which would've given it only 2 days to arrive, had it ever arrived on time, or at all. Because it never arrived, I had to make alternative arrangements for a different present for my Brother. For this reason, I really do not have a need for this item now, since it never arrived & definitely not in time for Christmas.

Now:

The above is what I wrote for my "open a request" - 4 days ago. I wanted a refund, since I have no use for this, item now. The seller never answered my request till today.....apologetically explaining that they lied & that the item was never shipped out, due to a snow storm in Oregon (from Dec 14th till Dec 28th).  My Mom lives near this seller & periodic snow was present, yet a new snow storm wasn't expected till Christmas Eve.  Regardless, this fib was why I never got a tracking number, either. They never contacted me in the whole 14 days since my payment, till I opened a request.

   Now after reading my request,  they ignored my request & decided to mail my item out yesterday,  Dec 28th....w/ a tracking number . Also, they do not take returns & now I have no use for this since Christmas is over. I think it stinks that they did this & shipped the items out 14 days later (only due to my open request) .....telling me it should arrive Friday, maybe. I honestly think they forgot to ship my item out.

So my question is:  Do I have a choice to refuse this now?  Or basically any recourse at all?  P.S. Though they were apologetic, it still  stinks to have waited 14 days to ship, missing Christmas.  I thank you for your time.

[simba6]

 If it's not been sent yet, you can request the seller to cancel it.  I know late packages don't make people happy but, mail order is never best when you need it be a set date. 

[myangelandmyprincess · Accepted solution]

You can return it for not as described since it was sent late If it comes down to that. 

[grannygrozas]

Thank you for your reply......the seller mailed it out yesterday....14 days later,  with a tracking number, finally. The main issue is that Christmas is over & I believe they forgot to ship my item, since they waited so long & only shipped it upon me opening a request. It was sent & though.....do I have to accept it? I guess that was the question.

On a side note: I usually am very patient, but the point is that I was hoping for it to arrive by Christmas ( since the estimated time was Dec 18th - the 22nd) I figured it would arrived in time since we were in the same shipping zone. I am in Northern California.

[kathiec]

If you've already opened a 'not received' case, and it's been four business days since you opened it, I'd go back and ask eBay to step in. Yes, it's possible they'll ask you to wait longer since it shows shipped. But they might go ahead and refund. If they do, you can refuse delivery when the package comes.

DO NOT, however, just refuse delivery if you haven't been refunded. That will void your coverage under eBay's Money Back Guarantee. Instead, accept the package and open an 'item not as described' case. There is an option there to cover late delivery. The seller will have to send you a return shipping label, and once the item is returned you'll be refunded.

[grannygrozas]

Thank you MyAngelandmyprincess. Will do & I appreciate your reply & answer!  Also, I did respond back to the seller & here is basically what I told him:

 I'm  was sorry you had snow but this item was not shipped till yesterday. ...14 days later. My open request said that this was needed for Christmas & it never got mailed. I don't need this or want it now, as Christmas was over 4 days ago. I have no use for it now.

     I 'm sorry, but again I wished you'd read my request, as I stated I wanted to cancel this order, now....and requested a refund. Not to have the item shipped 14 days later. Also the item showed, per EBay, that it shipped out on Dec 20th, but it didn't....since you said you shipped it yesterday. This is far too late. Again I am sorry, but this was needed for Christmas & not New Years

[grannygrozas]

Thank you Kathiec.....will do! I appreciate this info, since I was gonna refuse it. Good to know not to. I've been on Ebay since 1998, but have never had this happen. Most sellers have been grand  & the few that failed to ship.....ah well. But never have I had someone wait  so long & then ignore my request for a refund/ cancellation. I appreciate your  answer (s)....Thank you much!

[downunder-61]

No you can't.

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@myangelandmyprincess wrote:

You can return it for not as described since it was sent late If it comes down to that. 

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I don't think so..........
AFAIK shipping time is NOT a descriptive factor.

The OP ordered an item on 14th hoping it would arrive by Christmas - 10 days during the busiest time of the shipping year.

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@downunder-61 wrote:

No you can't.

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@myangelandmyprincess wrote:

You can return it for not as described since it was sent late If it comes down to that. 

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I don't think so..........
AFAIK shipping time is NOT a descriptive factor.

The OP ordered an item on 14th hoping it would arrive by Christmas - 10 days during the busiest time of the shipping year.

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The blues on the board have said shipping time is a reason for not as described.  If the seller had shipped within their handling time and it didn't arrive on time that would be totally on the buyer.  However the seller shipped late and not even until a case was opened.  It's definitely a reason to open a not as described case. 

[myangelandmyprincess]

This is under special coverage section. 

The item arrived after the latest estimated delivery date

"Covered

The return is treated as if the item didn't match the listing."

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

[kathiec]

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@downunder-61 wrote:

No you can't.

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@myangelandmyprincess wrote:

You can return it for not as described since it was sent late If it comes down to that. 

---

I don't think so..........
AFAIK shipping time is NOT a descriptive factor.

The OP ordered an item on 14th hoping it would arrive by Christmas - 10 days during the busiest time of the shipping year.

---

No, the OP ordered an item on the 14th that showed an estimated delivery date of 12/18-12/22 and wasn't mailed until 12/28. If the package was mailed on the 15th or 16th and just didn't arrive on time you can invoke the "busiest time of the shipping year" argument. But in this case it simply doesn't apply.

[grannygrozas]

The final outcome was that the seller finally gave up & I got my refund  the same day....& I thank you all for the great advice! It helped me a lot!  Why did I get the refund so quickly?

  Because the seller lied, yet again. The item never shipped at all, as he'd previously stated.  He lied this 2nd time about the item being shipped 14 days later,  when it hadn't.....(I felt it was because he was trying to railroad me into taking the item, anyway).   The seller originally stated that my item had shipped out 12-20-2021......& then again on 12-28-2021.

   When I posted here on 12-29-2021, it was cause the seller had ignored my "open request" & responded  that he'd mailed my item out the day before.  He ignored my request for a cancellation & a refund after 14 days for non-shipment. He now provided a tracking # and decided to ship the item out anyway.  In truth, he never shipped at all . Upon checking the tracking #,  it showed that the seller's post office was "still awaiting the item for shipment". Nice~ 

 After I got everyone's wonderful advice, I told him that if it was shipped out & received, against my request/ wishes....that I'd put in a claim for "not as described" & I'd return the package.

 1 hr later, I received an EBay email telling me that I was getting an instant refund, likely due to the seller never having shipped the item out at all. 

I really wanted to thank everyone for the great advice, since I had no idea you could return an item for being "not as described"....when the seller waits too long to ship. I would've refused the package, so you saved me from doing something dumb. Thanks again!

[potterybyrobin]

Oh good, I'm glad you were refunded without having to be troubled with a return. That's very poor seller performance processing your order. You can use feedback to express your opinion of the seller's business professionalism, or lack  of same.

[grannygrozas]

Hello Potterybyrobin,

     I was just a happy camper to have gotten my refund so quickly. Though I did consider leaving something less than stellar for the seller, believe it or not.....they actually have 100% positive feedback with over 265 sales.....no even a neutral.  I don't want to run a smear campaign on them......but am still pondering a neutral. I actually chose this seller because of their feedback. 

     I've only been a buyer in the 22 years that I've been on EBay,  so all my feedback is due to that . It's always been my belief that I'd only leave a negative feedback for a seller when a seller stole from me.....RE:  sold me something, refused to ship & then refused to then refund my money. In that time I've been grateful enough to have only had to leave 3 negatives.  So this one, I am still on the fence about. I don't want to destroy their feedback, cause again, they don't even have a neutral. I'm still pondering this, but I am grateful that EBay worked so well for me these past 22 years, including this time with the Community & all of your help. Thanks again!

Adrienne

[myangelandmyprincess]

I personally would leave a neutral because as a buyer I'd want to know this occured. If it was a fluke and doesn't usually happen with the seller one neutral wouldn't effect my purchase.  However if you don't leave because hey maybe it was just a fluke then the next buyer may have the same issue say the same thing not leave feedback until they finally get someone who does but then it's only one feedback and the pattern isn't seen that it keeps occuring. 

Hopefully all that makes sense