Been buying 1/48 Accurate Miniature kits slowly through ebay auctions. So far I've won two, and both kits arrived on time, and in good condition.

At the beginning of Dec. I won the auction for a 1/48 scale AM TBM-3 Avenger for $23.45 + $10 shipping from Colorado. The kit was listed as arriving no later then Dec 18. Well, I waited till the 20th and no kit. I opened a case, and emailed the seller. Took several days to get a reply. He's had some serious housing issues, and hasn't been able to access the kit, but will try again over this past weekend. If I wanted to cancel the order I could. I emailed him back that I would still accept the kit if he could mail it out at the beginning of this week. If not, then I would like to cancel as he has no firm shipping date. Cancelation has to be approved by him through ebay.

Well, today is Monday, no email or phone call for the last 4 days whether or not he's been able to access the kit for shipping, yet alone shipped the kit. If I don't hear from him by Tuesday night the latest, then I'll ask ebay for a full refund through the buyers protection program which covers my purchase.

This is the 1st time I've ever experienced any issues with ebay auctions. I always make sure that the seller has a perfect or near perfect approval rating. And that the kit comes from the lower 48 states, since over seas postage can be very expensive, and take weeks to get here. Personally, I'd rather have the kit, but the truth is I have no idea if what the seller is stating is true or not.

Joel

well it is a personal issue the fellow is going through that he has owned up to, and he probobly needs the cash. I would bear with him at least through the holiday, he probobly has alot oon his plate. I sympathise.

on the other side, I often buy things off E bay from China or Ukraine, and wait weeks without any notice, and then am happy it arrives at all.

Jonathon,
I did wait, but this is a business transaction, and I already paid for the kit. All he had to do was contact me. If he didn't have access to a computer, he could have used his smart phone to send an email, or call as he has my phone number. He emailed only after I reached out to the ebay resolution center. And he said that he still isn't even sure he can gain access to the kit.

I'll wait until 12/26 as per the resolution center deadline date. If I don't receive my kit by then, I'll contact the resolution center and cancel the transaction, as well as get my funds back via a charge credit.
Joel

If I may, cancel the sale. You have no idea who's at the end of the chain. Check if you want his feedback as a buyer. Still don't go over your 40something days of (damn I forgot the name)...

I'm sorry, I am on morphine legally and I lose memory and english is not my born language.

But do not go over the 40 days before cancelling the sale.

Marc, his seller ratings were 100%. Like I said this is a business transaction. If I didn't pay, or my Credit card was expired or over the limit, I'm sure that ebay/paypal would remove me as a member at the least. The instructions were to wait until 12/26 before requesting a cancelation. I have two days, and then I'll cancel.

Joel

As per eBay's instructions, I waited until this morning the 26th, before taking further action. Still no kit, no email, no text, no phone call from the seller, even though I emailed him twice, gave him my address, phone number, and email address. Since he replied once so he had means to communicate with me, and ebay. All he had to do was contact me that he was still having issues, and couldn't access the kit. So I contacted the resolution center, filled out the few questions. They ask for 48 hrs. to resolve the situation as they need to read through all the emails (3), and the transaction details. It took all of 4 hours to get a email from them that they have issued a full refund including shipping to my Credit Card account, as well as an apology.

Needless to say I'm not happy with how this seller conducted himself throughout this transaction. Actually, he did next to nothing, but he had my money. As I said from the start, this is a simple business transaction, and therefore he should have conducted himself in a professional manner, not just do nothing nor say anything. I have no proof that he has any personal issues other then what he stated, which in reality has nothing to do with the transaction. I went to his feedback page and listed my dissatisfaction.

On the other hand, I'm thrilled at how professional and safe ebay/PayPal transactions have become.

Joel

It appears that you did everything right. As they say in The Godfather, "this isn't personal, it's only business". While your seller may be going through difficult times it's not up to you to see him through. You followed the rules, when your merchandise didn't appear you cancelled the deal. No one can blame you for that.

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

I have purchased over 500 items on the bay, and have had very few issues. All those were resolved through PayPal with refunds. They have teeth. If the seller was experiencing those problems they should not be conducting financial business. It lends itself to problems like these. I am not a cold hearted person, but doing financial business when under emotional stress is problematic.

Congrats on solving your issue and managing to get your money in full. It has happened to me a couple of times and that why I had said to not go over your 40 days period.

Forrest said it all: sh*t happens my friend. You solved it by following the rules. Best way there is

Thanks Dan & Marc.

With PayPal buyer protection program, I was never worried about getting stuck and loosing my money. If the guy was having housing issues, then he should have gotten in touch with ebay and had all his open auctions canceled until he could conduction busy in the proper manner. He didn't do anything. So now he lost his 100% rating.

Even though he has several Accurate Miniature kits I really want, I'll never buy anything from him again, no matter what.

Joel