eBay

sodelight · ‎12-18-2018

Made what I thought was a simple purchase of 2 bags of cat food on Sunday. Used a $10 off $30 coupon. Just a few minutes later I receive a seller message which states first they found the cat food to be defective when preparing to ship and then that they had returned all the cat food to the distributor due to being defective and didn't know when it would be available again. They asked me if I wanted to cancel.

I told them I would not initiate a cancellation and if they selected buyer cancellation as an option I'd contact ebay. I knew they were trying to avoid an OOS defect. I asked them what the defective bad issue was and called them out on their opposing excuses. I quickly receive a reply stating they found another distributor (on a Sunday) and would be processing my order after all. They failed to address my questions and left me the canned 'have a nice day' response. I knew this seller was lying about everything and making up reasons as to why they didn't have the product to ship.

Monday shows tracking input. Today (tuesday) I'm awoken by packages being thrown on my porch. I think, "Wow! They really did ship my cat food". I opened the door and saw a plain white truck pull away. The boxes were from Walmart.com, I was perplexed since I didn't order anything from them. I see the tracking number on the label matches the seller provided tracking. I open up the packages shocked and appalled to see they shipped me 2 4# bags of Kibbles n Bits DOG food and NOT the 12# Fancy Feast CAT food I ordered. I knew they did this on purpose just to mess with me and create a hassle, but needed to be sure it wasn't a warehouse fullfillment mixup. I confirmed this with a call to Walmart, who this seller dropshipped from. This seller did in fact order the Dog food shipped to me. I then further confirmed this by seeing Walmart is OOS on the Cat Food I ordered! This proved 100% the seller did this on purpose! When I messaged them about what I received they continued to lie, claiming Walmart filled the order wrong. This was 100% invalid!! No matter what, this seller wouldn't admit to lying through this entire ordeal.

I phoned ebay throughout these issues. I then had to file a return. Of course I knew the seller would agree in order to avoid the defect they tried to avoid from the start! So minutes later I received a return shipping label addressed to Walmart returns center. I confirmed with Walmart that this seller did in fact expedite a return and Walmart supplied a label. Walmart was appalled that any anyone would do this type of thing to a buyer on purpose.

The shipping label kept printing blank! It required me to download the label versus a direct print option. It wasn't my error, I printed something immediately after to check. I had to phone ebay yet again and spend a half an hour to get a workable label. The Ebay CS rep lied stating ebay supplied the label when I questioned why I was given a label with a return address to Walmart. There is no way ebay supplied that label, they didn't know where the seller was shipping this bogus item from! I don't understand why the seller was able to get away with this. I'd expect the return would have to go to their seller account address and not a third party.

If sellers wonder where all the buyers have gone they only have other sellers to blame!! All I did was purchase 2 bags of cat food to feed my rescue cats, immediately paying. That should have been it. Instead this has been a nightmare ever since I pressed the purchase button!! While the horrible seller sits at home drop shipping items galore, a buyer is left holding the bag having to make constant phone calls, having my monies out there and having to go through the PITA return process. Not to mention I lost the $10 coupon I used to purchase from this awful person. Ebay claimed they were immediately reissuing it to me, but of course they failed to do so!

This seller is the absolute WORST I've ever come across. The intentional fraud they've perpetrated is simply disgusting! Next time you wonder why ebay has to believe the buyer over the seller as to what they received, think about this post! Ebay continues to let these type of sellers chase away the buyers!

fern*wood · ‎12-19-2018

Thanks, and I'm sorry for your loss, and all others that have posted.

I definitely failed at getting this thread back on track, though, but we have to speak out for our rescue babies.

sodelight · ‎12-19-2018

@iaintdoingit wrote:
@*madison wrote:
@iaintdoingit wrote:
You are a seller yourself and maybe, just maybe, you need to put yourself into this sellers shoes!!!!!!!!!
Why would the op or any decent seller want to put themselves in a lying sellers shoes?
Oh Madison -- You are someone from the other side of the 'pond' and you must know that I have an amazing respect for you!!!! As a 'Seller', I must say that I would never ever put an animal of any-king in 'harms way' at all.

For the buyer -- I believe they had a 'snag-n-their garter', so to speak!!!!! The 'buyer' was out for 'whatever' -- maybe just need to complain and at the same time lost a discount coupon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You really need to STOP with your hostile rude posts and insults. Your the only poster who has insulted me. I did nothing wrong, simply placed an order I expected to be filled. A seller needs to put themselves in the shoes of a buyer!! Instead this seller perpetrated an intentinoal fraud and lied over and over. Just because I also sell doesn't mean that when I buy something from a horrible lying seller I have to accept their actions! This is precisely why ebay has their policies in place to protect buyers.

You obviously didn't even read or comprehend my post, since you seem to think I ordered dog food when I don't even have dogs. I wasn't out for 'whatever' I only wanted to feed the rescue cats I took in. I chose to purchase on ebay to HELP sellers here, not to cause a problem, the seller did that by listing items they don't have and lying about it! I wasn't putting my cats in harms way. Seller doesn't have item, they file OOS, end of story!!

Your illwill toward me and and every other seller who also purchases here are very telling!

BTW, you may want to read up on posting etiquette and rules.

ersatz_sobriquet · ‎12-19-2018

It isn't completely off topic... I can't prove that the vet shot killed my cat. The OP can't prove the cat food wasn't defective as seller stated. When I can't prove something, I accept. I also think it puts things in perspective--not getting an order of cat food imho ranks somewhat lower than the loss of a cat. Sorry for everyone's loss of fur babies! We'll miss them forever. The base of my gigantic Norway pine has given her a majestic gravesite. I like to think she would approve.

sodelight · ‎12-19-2018

@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:
@tunicaslot wrote:
I don't like the system anymore than you do - but I don't like a lier and as a buyer - I'm not taking a mark against my acct for requesting too many cancellations when I didn't ask for it.

Thing is we can't have it both ways. You wouldn't hold the seller accountable because it might affect his livelihood just like someone who won't leave a neg as it might affect their livelihood - but is this the type of seller you want on this venue - disappointing buyers? I don't.

I'm sick of seeing others complain about sellers and refusing to use the rules Ebay has in place to weed these poor / bad sellers from the venue. How many buyers leave the venue because they don't feel sellers can be trusted due to OOS merchandise or misdescribed merchandise - all because someone accepted what that seller did because it might affect his livelihood? How about my livelihood and the livelihood of all the other sellers here who do the right thing and all the buyers who appreciate a heads up before they go and purchase from this bad seller?
I like sweet southern tea's answer best. Tell me and I'll agree to cancel and not hold your feet to the fire. Didn't this seller ask for a cancellation? They did. Buyer decided sight unseen the product was not defective and seller was trying to avoid an out of stock defect, and buyer wanted to make sure that seller received a defect. Imho, that's making the cat food sale personal. We can't know whether the product was defective or not, seller said it was. Maybe the bag was torn open in a corner? Who knows, we sure don't. Maybe the seller was lying and they were out of stock. My point was that this transaction was for cat food? Was it worth it to go through all of that with the wrong dog food delivered? I wouldn't want this situation to play out for me. I would think, ok, cat food not available for whatever reason, and accept cancellation and move along and buy from some other seller. It's cat food, not the one of a kind item that comes up on ebay only ever 10-20 years.
Do we want sellers who are out of stock? Of course not. As disappointments go in life, where would you put out of stock cat food on a 1-10 scale? Would it stop you from buying on ebay? It wouldn't stop me.
Should the seller have accepted an out of stock defect? Yes!
Would I try to force a seller to accept an out of stock defect? No!

Please re-read my post. I asked the seller what the defective aspect of the food was when they stated this. Personally, I did this because to know whether it was a tear in the bag(s) or if there was something presently wrong with the brand as a whole so I wouldn't purchase it elsewhere! But, they also claimed they had ALREADY returned the cat food to their distributor, while at the SAME time they claimed they found it to be defective while PREPARING to ship! This is IMPOSSIBLE if they already sent the food bag. This told my they were lying! Thus if they wanted to cancel all they needed to do was send an OOS cancel. As I've stated before, I wasn't about to receive a buyer buys and likes to cancel strike on my account! Ebay told me they issue them when a prior seller claimed I cancelled when I didn't. As I stated, all the seller needed to do was be honest with me. They chose to creat this web of lies, not me! I had no idea that when they said they'd be filling my order and to have a nice day, they planned to send me something else to make things more difficult for me! They cost Walmart money by doing this. They don't seem to care who they take advantage of, because it's all about THEM!

Many Sellers get upset when a buyer purchases and then suddenly cancels a few minutes later, yet some seem to think it's supposed to be alright for a seller to do the same!

sodelight · ‎12-19-2018

@emerald40 wrote:
I never understood buying it on ebay from a drop shipper. Since the drop shipper needs to make money, you are paying more not saving.

Walmart is everywhere. With manufacturers coupons and sales surely it would be cheaper to buy it from the source. And safer for your pet.

Yes, I often purchase it from them. But this seller had it for less and as I stated I wanted to use the coupon and provide an ebay seller with a nice sale since I purchase 2 largest size bags. Walmart wasn't giving me $10 off. Purchasing pet food online is a huge business! It saves me time going to the store lugging the big bags too. I've purchased it from many online sources, always with nice savings.

sodelight · ‎12-19-2018

@readabouthorses wrote:
I wonder how a walmart dropshipper would even know something is out of stock? I've gone to the walmart website, checked on something I'm wanting to buy, website says they have 10 in stock in my store ... I go to my store and there isn't one anywhere to be found. So I decided to order online and have shipped to store .... nope ... even though it says they have 10 they have none .. they are OOS! I think Walmart's inventory control is a big ole hot mess.

So if the dropshipper checked online and thought it was available but then when they order it is suddenly OOS it may not be the dropshipper's fault. Yes, I do think the dropshipper could have handled it better but I think I'd rather stick a hot poker in my eye than try to dropship from Walmart on Ebay !!!! LOL

This particular product showed Out of Stock on the Website to me. I checked after receiving the package, as I had no idea where it was being shipped from. Seller stated they found a 'New' distributor and could now will me order. This was yet another lie! They repeatedly lied. I gave the seller the benefit of the doubt when I phoned Walmart to confirm this was actually ordered and not a fulfillment error. They also confirmed they're OOS in that size, so it was impossible for it to be a mix up! Walmart was willing to ship me what I needed had they not been OOS.

sodelight · ‎12-19-2018

@sharingtheland wrote:
We order all of His Highness's food from the A place. Should this worry us ?

ADORABLE!!

sodelight · ‎12-19-2018

@terrycanarsky wrote:
The problem is - the seller did tell you they were OOS and did ask you if you wanted to cancel since they did not know when they would be able to ship. You refused, going on the defensive with the assumption they were trying to avoid a demerit. Maybe they were, we don't know. But it is not "seller biased" to give someone the benefit of a doubt, especially since we don't have the other side of the story.

Doesn't excuse IF the seller tried to retalliate with sending you the wrong stuff, of course. But this is not intentional fraud. It is a case of a seller failing/forgetting to mark something OOS, trying to explain the problem, your refusing to understand and work with the seller for resolution, and the subsequent hard feelings all the way around.

I'm having trouble figuring out why you are so vehement, even understanding how frustrating this must be, or how you do not realize you also share responsibility in this string of events.

~M

Hi, You certainly have a right to your opinion. But if a seller is OOS, they don't need to ask a buyer if they want to cancel, they should make them aware and then file the OOS cancellation. The end. You don't lie to the buyer with contradicting reasons. Just like a buyer shouldn't lie to a seller about reason for return. I'm so sick of all this lying going on regarding internet purchases!

Purposely shipping me items the Opposite of what I ordered IS Intentional fraud, how could it not be! They had my money for purchasing something else and made the decision to send me something else. The knew what they were doing, they knew I didn't order 4 pound bags of dog food! They selected it in order to pretend they filled my order and have tracking to upload and show delivered to ebay. That's intentional. I provided ebay with the W order number in the returns case, all anyone has to do is phone the W company and they will confirm the person indeed orders 2 bags of inexpensive dog food. W has no reason to lie!

A buyer who sends make something else or a bag of bricks isn't committing fraud. They are. Fraud is the intent to deceive, deliberate deception. Everything this seller did from the email message on was deliberate deception.

You may feel I'm vehement, it's the seller who was. I had no intent to cause them harm by making a purchase. I've been ripped off and defrauded more times than I can count in the past year. I'm tired of it! I'm tired of the constant lies in society and the attitude that no one else matters. Do right by me and I'll praise you, try to scam me and I won't take it. Too many people just walk away and let these people pull the same thing on someone else. Sometimes it's not about the easiest thing to do, it's about the right thing to do. Only I can make that decision for myself. If a buyer has to deal with lies and retaliation when making a purchase than what's the point of buying here at all!

Had the seller simply filed the OOS cancel we wouldn't even be discussing this right now.

ersatz_sobriquet · ‎12-19-2018

Sodelight,

What do you think annoyed you more--the seller being out of stock or the seller possibly lying?

I am considering that ebay's penalty system may instill less confidence in buyers than a system with less penalty. These drop shippers would be less inclined to lie by need to preserve their business. When Walmart or any online merchant is out of stock and the website incorrectly states they are in stock, I think most of us accept and move along with a smaller amount of disappointment, or are annoyed but make do until restocked or orders end up having long delivery dates. My concern is that the situation became very annoying to the BUYER. Perhaps the penalty system and what length drop shippers will go to in order to avoid defects is not such a great idea. Simply out of stock, your order cannot be currently processed, would suffice with less penalty, thereby less need for a seller to lie. The defect system doesn't seem to be working, imho.

sodelight · ‎12-19-2018

@mg152 wrote:
God bless you for rescuing animals. I don’t know how much I can say here but purchase ingestibles from a store. All I’m gonna say is my sweet baby died shortly after ingesting something I bought online. I don’t know that the product killed him but I feel like it did and I totally blame myself. He’s been gone nearly 5 years.
Also I got some fake Seresto collars a couple years ago that nearly killed my other 3 dogs at the time. I have 5 now but I had 3 back then. It cost me a boatload if money and grief.

I'm so sorry to hear this!! It's heartbreaking to lose a furry friend! I've lost many.

Do know that the majority of recalled pet food resulting in sickness or death was also pulled from b&m store shelves. You really shouldn't blame yourself.

sodelight · ‎12-19-2018

@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:
I have 3 rescue cats.
Some years ago my sweet 12 year old cat was given her rabies shot right before we left for vacation. She died a week later, she became sick very quickly and she was taken again to the vet while we were gone by my daughter. An autopsy was not done. Who knows what was floating around in the air, on the equipment, or in that shot or on that needle. There's more germs in a hospital than anywhere else. I feel very strongly that if she had not visited the vet before we left for vacation she would not have become deathly ill. But proving things is another matter, and so when we can't prove something, or go to the extreme costs to prove something, it's best to accept and move along in life. I miss her dearly.

SO very very sorry!! It's been found that the rabies vaccine can cause issues. Some animals are allergic to it or become allergic. I'm scared to give it to mine because of this. I keep them inside so their not at risk of getting rabies. The odds of an animal contracting rabies indoors is lower than them becoming ill or dying from the vaccine. I do realize the majority of counties require it despite this.

gloryglorygifts · ‎12-19-2018

I have to disagree with you, sorry. Dropshipping isn't the problem. If the seller is a bad one, they are going to be that way regardless if they have the product in house or dropship.

km181177 · ‎12-19-2018

As an animal lover, I am so sorry to read about your experience. There are a lot of really bad people out there selling on eBay and other sites. That is just terrible what happened. I would encourage you in the future to never order animal food from eBay, I have read a lot of it is bogus China **bleep** and it would be horrible to have the rescue cats get sick. I also feed a feral colony, I buy my food from Chewy - they are awesome and ship fast. Please don't let this experience taint you about all eBay sellers, but I sure do understand your frustration. Take care, Kathy

sodelight · ‎12-19-2018

@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:
Sodelight,
What do you think annoyed you more--the seller being out of stock or the seller possibly lying?
I am considering that ebay's penalty system may instill less confidence in buyers than a system with less penalty. These drop shippers would be less inclined to lie by need to preserve their business. When Walmart or any online merchant is out of stock and the website incorrectly states they are in stock, I think most of us accept and move along with a smaller amount of disappointment, or are annoyed but make do until restocked or orders end up having long delivery dates. My concern is that the situation became very annoying to the BUYER. Perhaps the penalty system and what length drop shippers will go to in order to avoid defects is not such a great idea. Simply out of stock, your order cannot be currently processed, would suffice with less penalty, thereby less need for a seller to lie. The defect system doesn't seem to be working, imho.

Hello,

It was definitely the lying and then making it worse by intentionally shipping something else!

Seller could have told the truth, filed the OOS cancel and I'd have been gone! They kept things going with their constant deception. Don't expect a buyer to take the hit via a cancel strike on them when your out of stock. I'm sorry that ebay has the defect system so stringent.

sodelight · ‎12-19-2018

@km181177 wrote:
As an animal lover, I am so sorry to read about your experience. There are a lot of really bad people out there selling on eBay and other sites. That is just terrible what happened. I would encourage you in the future to never order animal food from eBay, I have read a lot of it is bogus China **bleep** and it would be horrible to have the rescue cats get sick. I also feed a feral colony, I buy my food from Chewy - they are awesome and ship fast. Please don't let this experience taint you about all eBay sellers, but I sure do understand your frustration. Take care, Kathy

Thank you Kathy. I have more issues with NEW product here than I've ever had with vintage. One would think the new ould be a slam dunk purchase. Not so. I'll stick with the vintage.