Giving my first negative feedback -- LONG

creighbaby

creighbaby

O.G.
Jun 4, 2006
2,441
163
#1
I think I am about to give my first negative feedback. Here's the long story.

I bought my husband a vintage watch two months ago for his birthday and paid $650 for it. Before buying it, the seller assured me that it kept accurate time. When my husband got it, the watch was losing up to 10 minutes a day. I communicated with the seller and he had me send it back to be repaired. I also asked him to buff out a deep gash that wasn't mentioned in the watch description. When we got the watch back, it lost even more time a day. As much as my husband liked the watch, he couldn't keep it because he'd never know the real time and since the seller said the watch was accurate we didn't feel like we should have to pay to get it adjusted.

I communicated with the seller and he said to send it back and that I would have a refund in 5-7 days and that he would sell the watch. He put it up for auction again and corrected the listing to mention that the watch was losing up to nine minutes a day. Almost three weeks later I still didn't have my money, but since the seller had been very open about telling me the status of my refund, I wasn't too bothered. At his urging, I called him up on Friday and he was a patronizing jerk to me.

He told me that I would have to wait until he sold the watch because he didn't have the money. I told him that I'd been very patient and that I would need the refund in 48 hours because I still owed my husband a watch for his Sept. 26 birthday. He said that he didn't think he'd have the money by then. Then he goes on to tell me that real watch collectors know that vintage watches don't keep accurate time and that real watch collectors know how hard it is to resell a watch. Blah, blah, blah. Everytime I would try to talk he would just steamroll right through me and remind me about "real watch collectors." I finally said, "I don't really care about real watch collectors. You did business on ebay with someone who did her research and she wants a date for when her money is being refunded."

What I should have done – and I didn't – was file a paypal claim IMMEDIATELY. I felt that since we'd been communicating that that was sufficient. I blew the deadline for a paypal claim and almost missed the deadline for filing an ebay claim. Paypal told me that I could still file the claim, but there was no guarantee that they'd look at it since I missed the 45 day deadline.

So after all that, today I got the $650 back. He didn't refund the shipping I'd paid him, nor did he refund the shipping I'd paid twice to send the watch back. Plus, since he didn't do the transaction as a refund, paypal took out more than $19. So I spent $664.40 on the watch, plus $24 to ship back twice and I got back $630. I lost almost $68 and I am really peeved.

I learned a very valuable lesson today: Use Paypal's buyer protection because it is there for a reason.

So, I am think I am going to leave him negative feedback. He left me positive feedback ages ago so I have no concerns about retaliatory feedback. When I spoke with him he'd asked me not to leave negative feedback and I told him that I wouldn't – but I only said that to make sure that he would give me back my money. Since he didn't refund shipping as he said he would, I am leaning toward negative.

What would you do? I've never left negative feedback before, but there's a first time for everything.

Wow, this is long. Sorry. Thanks for listening/reading,
C.
 
#2
Absolutely leave a neg. You're now out $68, and looks as though that is now gone. I'm sure he thought he was being smart by sending the Paypal payment, rather than refunding your original. As a seller, he would be completely aware you would have had to stand fees on a payment. As you are out of the 45 day limit, personally, I wouldn't risk returning it, as you couldn't guarantee you'd get a refund via Ebay.

I'd go with something like;

"Damaged watch, bad cust service, forced refund via Ebay"

(Sorry, can't remember the feedback letter limit...)

Good luck!

K
 
#4
Crap. He just called me. I sent him a message thanking him for the refund and telling him that I am disappointed that I ended up losing $68 on the deal because he didn't use the refund function on paypal and didn't reimburse me for shipping as he'd said he would.

I told him I was on deadline, which is true, and that I'd call him back. I really don't have the energy to deal with him right now.
 
#5
Well you've told him your situation, that you are disappointed about the loss, and if he doesn't get back to you within the next day or two leave the neg. Something like 'Watch not as described, slow to refund' is pretty accurate. I suppose you could leave it as a neutral since he did refund you, even though it wasn't the full amount.
 
#8
I agree, if he refunds the difference then fair enough, no neg, but no positive either - a neutral seems the most fair. After all you have gone through a lot of hassle for an item that wasn't as described even if you do get your money back.
 
#9
I just got off the phone with the seller and ick. I'm glad the transaction is over.

He said he is going to refund me $34.40, which is the paypal fee and one shipping fee. Many times during the conversation he felt it necessary to tell me how ebay works. I told him that I have been buying and selling on ebay for a long time and I don't need a lecture on the process. "I'm not lecturing you," he would say then proceed to again tell me how buying and selling on ebay works. Then he says, "You're probably going to hang up on me or leave me a negative, but I'm going to tell you this," and he proceeds to tell me again how buying and selling on ebay works and how accommodating he's been.

I reminded him that I have been also very patient and that I didn't file a dispute with paypal because we had been communicating. I said that had I done so, he would have been penalized by ebay and paypal and I didn't want that.

Here's neutral feedback that I'm going to leave once I get the last of my money.
"Watch was not as described. Seller was VERY slow to refund."
 
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