Why can’t I open a case?

[averyhairbows]

I purchased an item 7 days ago and there has been no shipping info entered by the seller and he won’t respond to emails. The status is still just “paid”. When I click on order details and then “more actions”, there is no option to open a case or get eBay involved. Why not? How can I start it?

[wastingtime101]

What's the estimated delivery date?  You can't file a not received claim until after that date passes and if you see a date range like May 20-24 then you can't open until after that last day, on the 25th.

Check your purchase history page or the order confirmation email for the estimated delivery date.

Did you check the listing to see what the handling time is? Some sellers use longer handling times, or their store might be in vacation mode which would push out deliveries. Either way, the estimated delivery date is what you should go by.

Keep in mind that date is an estimate, not a guarantee, and sellers are not required to ship with tracking.

[terrycece62]

No tracking does not mean your item has not been shipped. 

You won't be able to open a case until after the last estimated delivery date.

[mudshark61369]

@averyhairbows,

You have been a member for 20 years, have sold on the site,  and still do not know the terms and policies of ebay's Money Back Guarantee (MBG)?   You cannot open an item not received dispute until one day after the last estimated delivery date at the earliest. There should be a link to the MBG on the listing page you bought from.

You seem to also not check the feedback profile page of sellers you buy from.  The answer to why the seller hasn't shipped may be there. If you look at their profile page and click on the numbers of neutral and negative they have received to read only those comments, they may tell you something.

You may also find that the seller has a fair number of feedback but none for selling before or in over a year. In that case they may not know that ebay will place a 21 day hold on new or returning sellers first few payments.  On their account the payment status is marked as Pending, so they may not think the payment has cleared.  They may not be replying to your messages, because they think you are trying to scam them into shipping an item that hasn't been paid for yet.

If you find the seller is new or returning, and want the item, try messaging them again telling them to do a google search for  "Payment on hold, ebay".   That will give them the information they need to complete the information and get the funds released. 

[saylesville2003]

I have the exact same situation.  On the day after the estimated delivery date you can go to "contact seller", click on "I haven't received my item" and it will enable you to open a case.  

[open_box_electrical]

I believe I am seeing the same issue. There seems to be a HUGE glitch that effects some listings (possibly only auctions) where there just is no handling time. Normally a buyer needs to wait until both after the sellers handling time has passed and the day after the last estimated delivery date. I think what is happening is some how listings are glitching out and there is no set handling time. I was able to open an INR case with ebay supports help, however I had to be transfer three times to reach a agent who was able to open the INR claim. 

[kathiec]

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@open_box_electrical wrote:

I believe I am seeing the same issue. There seems to be a HUGE glitch that effects some listings (possibly only auctions) where there just is no handling time. Normally a buyer needs to wait until both after the sellers handling time has passed and the day after the last estimated delivery date. I think what is happening is some how listings are glitching out and there is no set handling time. I was able to open an INR case with ebay supports help, however I had to be transfer three times to reach a agent who was able to open the INR claim. 

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Handling time has never been a factor in opening a case. The only criteria is that you have to wait until the day after the last estimated delivery date. So the lack of handling time in a listing has zero impact.

[amybethg]

I believe TWO of my recent purchases are going exactly this way! Is it a new scam? I don't understand what would be in it for someone to do this. Two first time sellers. Two paid transactions. Zero responses to messages. No shipping so far. Now i'm out $800 for the time being at least.

[averyhairbows]

Someone above in this thread told me that new sellers will have a 21 day hold placed on their first few payments. Which makes zero sense because my ability to pay immediately should have nothing to do with a seller being new. They also said that the payment is marked as pending in the seller’s account so to them it looks like your payment is just taking forever to clear and if you contact them, they might think you’re trying to scam them by getting them to send the item before payment has cleared. It sounds like a really dumb policy to me that can cause confusion for both buyers and sellers. 

[eburtonlab]

Someone above in this thread told me that new sellers will have a 21 day hold placed on their first few payments.

That prevents a new seller from taking a buyer's money and disappearing without shipping anything, leaving eBay responsible for refunding the buyer.

Which makes zero sense because my ability to pay immediately should have nothing to do with a seller being new.

That has nothing to do with the buyer's ability to pay; see above.

They also said that the payment is marked as pending in the seller’s account so to them it looks like your payment is just taking forever to clear and if you contact them, they might think you’re trying to scam them by getting them to send the item before payment has cleared. 

No. eBay tells the seller when the buyer has paid and tells the seller to ship the item; the payment is held from the seller but the payment is marked as "paid" in that case. "Pending" means the payment has not been made complete to eBay yet, and that is entirely different than what happens when a payment is made to eBay but withheld from a new seller.