When to put in an ebay dispute?

[HaffiesRock]

I have put this in here as its a horses ebay transaction and I thought more people would see it.

I'll run through whats happened and the situation so you'll understand why I am wary of doing a dispute.

Saw a stable door plaque that I wanted on the 27th February. The listing said over 8 letter email for a quote (8 letter were £7.99). I emailed and received a reply the same day and was told it would be £9.99 and if I put the order through ebay and sent an invoice request he'd amend the price. So I did. It came up as £7.99 plus £1.50 postage but I have that stupid 1 click pay, so when I clicked the PayPal link to request the amended invoice, it paid for it. So I replied to the man again to tell him what happened and asking for his PayPal so I could send £2.

On the 4th March I had not heard anything from him so I sent an email to check everything was OK. It's a door plaque so I am not desperate for it. I appreciate they have to be made and posted so told him I wasn't in a rush, just wanted to pay the £2 I owed him and check everything was OK. He replied later that day saying he makes the plaques with his autistic son as a hobby, but he has become over whelmed with orders and cannot cope. He said he'd had some nasty messages and had closed the ebay listing as he didn't want his hobby turning into a business. He said he had made my plaque and it would be posted that day and he apologised for the delay. I replied politely that I was sorry to hear that, and just wanted to check all was OK. I asked again for the PayPal to pay the extra £2.

Last Friday (21st March) was then 2 and a half weeks after he said it was posted, and I hadn't received it. I sent another polite email to say it hadn't arrived (listing said standard deliver 3-5 working days) and if there was a problem to let me know. I fully understand and am not angry or upset, just a little concerned.

I still haven't heard a thing It was 3 weeks yesterday since he said the plaque was posted and I received my last email from him.

What should I do? When I looked on his feedback on the 4th march it was 100% with posts from that day. I have just looked now and he has 6 negatives all saying no reply and no item. 3 neutrals saying the same but still a couple of positives saying nice item (last was 21st March)I think I need to raise a dispute don't I? Wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but think its a losing battle It was such a beautiful plaque too.

 

[L&M]

A difficult one - if his story is genuine, I would probably write the money off and mark it down to experience.....

But then I have always been a soft touch!

 

[HaffiesRock]

Its awkward isn't it? Its less than £10, but it's my £10. I have raised a dispute and sent a polite message saying I'd really like the plaque still if it is possible, I am not in a hurry for it, but if you cannot do it then a refund would be lovely. Sorry for your situation etc. I am yet to leave feedback, but looking at his page he has withdrawn everything he had for sale. I don't want to leave bad feedback so I'll leave it for now and see what he comes back with.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Abacus]

I would raise it now. If he has a backlog he might put yours to the top, or just refund.

 

[Wagtail]

Yes, raise a dispute now. It's no big deal. Seller is just messaged to ask them to respond. If you then don't get a resolution, you can escalate the claim and ebay usually will just refund you immediately.

 

[lula]

A difficult one - if his story is genuine, I would probably write the money off and mark it down to experience.....

sorry, i dont agree.
sure, its not an amount of money worth losing sleep over, but i dont have much sympathy for these small one person companies who take people's payment happily enough but then give the 'woe is me, its all become too much' and then stop responding to customers who's money they have and aren't too busy to spend im sure.

I'd raise a dispute now Op. there might even be a time limit Ebay put on to open a dispute, although im not sure, so check it out. I think you've been incredibly patient.

 

[Billabongchick]

I think I know of this guy; he sent me a message to my plaque and sign making business when I started up asking if we could bounce work off each other. Seemed a genuine, nice sort but we were at such opposite ends of the market I didn't see how I could help him especially with pricing/products being so different. It sounds like he is having a tough time or had a personal issue which has affected your order; however I would still pursue a refund whatever as it's not on for them to keep the money. As someone else mentioned you have a limited time scale to open a case on eBay so do it sooner rather than later. Am not surprised they are overwhelmed with orders; they can't be making much even if it is not a 'proper' business by the time postage/wrapping/materials are taken into account. If it is a hobby and has gone crazy to the point they can't cope then perhaps they have just switched off from it totally and buried heads in sand so to speak. Good luck I hope you get it sorted.