unpaid item dispute on ebay--help!?

Question

I won something on ebay from a seller who stated that they shipped worldwide, yet would only accept international money orders in british pounds sterling, no other currencies. Finally, after a few emails, she said she could accept US dollars cash sent registered mail.

The day I sent the money, she opens an unpaid item dispute on me on ebay. I emailed her asking why, when I had emailed her earlier that day stating that I had sent the payment, and she said not to worry.

The post office said it should take between 6-10 business days (ie not weekends) for the money to arrive to her; meanwhile, it's been a week and she still claims she hasn't received payment.

I don't know what to do at this point. There was no option on ebay's form that says 'I have already sent cash', so I had to state that I sent a money order, and when they asked for the number of the m.o., I made up a number b/c I didn't have a number.

Is this going to negatively affect my ebay account?

I would just like to say that I did not *lie* to ebay.

Answer 1

You really shouldn't have made up a number but contacted e-bay to say that you have submitted the payment and have the sales receipt to prove it and if it was registered mail than you should have some sort of confirmation number to track it or see when it was delivered.

I don't believe it will affect your ebay account, I had a similar problem and mainly all you have to worry about is the feedback the seller is going to give. If she was so impatient about opening a claim on you then I wouldn't expect anything great...

Answer 2

OK, so yeah was a bit silly! As a seller I would find this a pain in the ***, but hey, it was a mistake. You can't be forced to pay for anything, but making a bid is agreeing to a legally binding contract and by NOT paying you will receive an unpaid item strike and neg feedback both could result in sellers and/or buyers avoiding you in the future. If the seller is a jerk - and there is rather a lot of them about he could even take you to court for not paying, BUT that's really unlikely unless you agreed to pay hundreds. Plus I think by getting unpaid item strikes (I think it needs to be more than one though) eBay may restrict your activities. The unpaid item dispute is when the seller informs ebay you didn't pay, you are then contacted and have to say you agree to ending the transaction. This is done so the seller won't have to pay the charges for selling the item as the sale didn't happen. He can then leave you neg feedback to 'warn' others that you didn't pay and probably will, but it means you can not leave him neg feedback as technically you were in the wrong. Best thing I can suggest is to pay for the glasses, you may like them once they arrive and if not can always re-list them on eBay and sell them yourself - never know you may make a bit on them. This way you will have honoured your contract with the seller and will have done the honest thing. It is really frustrating as a seller when people change their minds AFTER bidding. As I said before you enter into a legal contract when placing your bid, if you don't have time to read a listing completely before it ends it's usually best to walk away - there will always be another one. Obviously it's completely up to you but I hope you get it sorted. Best of luck.

Answer 3

kt_carrera,

sorry, but you screwed yourself. there is nothing ebay can or will do for you.

you sent payment in the most UNSAFE way possible! the second worst way is WESTERN UNION!

your seller knows that and there isn't a dang thing you can do about it!

and lying to ebay was not smart at all. they can check the MO # you gave them and will know it's fake.

you may possibly be booted from ebay for that.

if you insist on buying on ebay, ALWAYS
pay through PAYPAL and fund it with a CREDIT CARD.

then if anything goes wrong and PAYPAL can't get you a refund, you then have the option of filing for a CHARGEBACK through your CC provider.

NEVER SEND CASH!!

PAY SAFE, STAY SAFE!


kt_carrera,

NEW INFO HERE::

ebay will forgive the first Unpaid Item Strike.

you may get lucky and have an honest seller that may get the money and send you your item.

but please, for your own sake and your hard earned money, NEVER do this again. pay heed to my post.

if ebay gives you any problems about the fact you gave them a fake money order #, please contact me and i will see what i can do to help you with that.

Answer 4

NEVER EVER SEND CASH BY MAIL! Since it is cash you can not prove she received it.