Hello OF friends,

To cut the story short, I purchased a watch on Ebay. Seller shipped from Czech Post to US and gave a tracking number. Item still shows as 'Pre Shipment' on USPS tracking and today marks 21 days since date of shipping. Purchase was made 24 days ago. According to Ebay, watch should have arrived to me by the 3rd Dec by latest.

I am fairly certain it is lost (unless something fishy is being done by seller but he has 100% feedback out of 250+ sales on ebay). It does say it has been processed through Czech facility but has not arrived with USPS. I have bought several watches this way and none have taken this long and USPS updates everything on website well.

I have contacted seller and he says that while he is sorry, he has mentioned in ebay item description that if I took 25 Euro shipping option item would have been 100% insured but since I opted for only 10 Euro shipping I will only get back 25% of cost of watch if watch doesn't arrive. He can't even go to Czech Post to start a query since it hasn't been 30 days yet.

I am however adamant that Ebay Moneyback Guarantee covers me for 100% refund and shipping as well since item was not received. I do not wish to wait till 30 days so he can start a query with Czech Post. I am also told by a friend that Ebay rules supersede any such item description rules and I should be good to receive a full refund.

Can any Ebay experts shed light on situation? Has anyone been in a similar position? Ebay has said they will intervene on 14th Dec at the soonest and will resolve matter in 48 hrs if seller and myself do not come to a resolution. So far, we have not and he is being stubborn as well. I will escalate the case on 14th.

What do you guys think? Watch cost me a little under $200. Hoping I can receive full refund. Any insight positive or negative much appreciated.

Thanks.

To make matters even more sad, on a separate note, here is a picture of my broken Waltham that my daughter dropped today on tiled kitchen floor as I was trying to feed her some broccoli sprouts (lesson learned). Had taken it off so it didn't get wet as I was washing stuff. In retrospect would have been better off with it on wrist. Screen cracked and insides are all loose and janky making weird noises. Stopped running as well. Attaching before pic as well to show how nicely it wore. Don't think it will be worth repairing. A downer day today really.

 

So far as I know you are safe.

Insurance on shipping costs should be there to cover the seller so that is not for the buyer. As you stated you are covered under the money back guarantee for the buyer.

Good luck

P.S sorry abt your watch. Hope you can have it repaired for cheap but if not, take solace in the fact that you can always emotional blackmail your daughter when she grows up

 

Be patient and let the system work, eBay should have you covered 100% on this.

Seller is full of shit and maybe broccoli sprouts too.

 

It's December, a few billion people have posted stuff at about the same time as you to try and beat the few billion that are going to post stuff soon.

And sounds like he sent it $10 snail mail

 

Yea. Don’t worry about anything. Ebay will back you up one hundred percent if the package didn’t arrive.

 

I agree you'll be covered by eBay but I do have to question why you cheaped out on shipping.

If the seller is genuine I feel sorry for him here. He's been slightly naive in offering a shipping option with no insurance but it may well cost him several hundred dollars.

I found this out the hard way screw years ago. I sold a few bits on eBay and only offered insured delivery. The winning bidder then contacted me asking for cheaper shipping. I advised against this but said if he was willing to carry the risk I'd alter the invoice and doncheaper shipping. Lo and behold, he files and item not received case and I lose the item and the money.

Now I only ship with insurance.

 

Sorry to hear you had a bad day - hope tomorrow is better. Sounds like you just need to be patient a little longer. Care to post a pic of the watch you are waiting for?

 

The reason I did not opt for 25 Euro shipping was because I did not not need the item in a weeks time (it was marked as expedite). The shipping time for 10 Euro shipping option was very reasonable to me. And insurance for the package, as I have read up on several places now, is for the seller's safety. The buyer is protected by Ebay if item is 'not as described' or 'does not arrive'.

And I do not feel sorry for the seller at all given his attitude and behavior in our exchanges. Right now, I am the one out of nearly $200 and nothing to show for. And he has the gall to suggest I am scamming him - all the while tracking shows package has not even arrived stateside. It is not like I would be able to keep the watch even if he refunded me anyway. Tracking would clearly show it as delivered to me.

I am sorry about your experience as a seller and I completely understand why you ship with insurance. But that is not the case here. I did not ask him to send without insurance on purpose. I took the cheaper option because it made more sense to me. Even if he offered two methods of shipping but both with insurance it would have saved him and would have been acceptable to me as well. That is on him. Not me.

 

Thank you, I appreciate it. It is a Ruhla Chronograf StoppMeister. Will post pics when I get home.

 

Just wanted to post a quick update here. I got an email this evening (after I had escalated the case early this morning) that after review, case was decided in my favor. I will be receiving a full refund (including shipping) within a few days. Thank you all to those who replied and clarified the situation.

 

Of course it was decided in your favour. eBay always sides with the buyer.

I'm glad you're not out of pocket and I'm sure in this instance there was no deceit on your part but this thread should also serve as a warning to legitimate sellers about the risks of shipping without tracking and insurance.

 

Yes, I was hoping it would. Sucks being out of money and having nothing to show for especially if you are buying knowing that if item doesn't arrive you will get refunded. As far as I saw it, it was pretty straightforward.

And indeed. Hopefully new sellers understand from this whole case. I called Ebay right after as well to verify and had a chat with the agent. He clearly told me that insurance is so that the seller is safe in case item goes missing. Buyer has nothing to do with it as far as Ebay is concerned. He recommended sellers should always use insurance and should include that price in sale of item.

 

Yeah buyer doesn't have to worry about insuring. That's on seller like I said above and as ebay agent confirmed to you. Glad it went in your favor

 

Agreed.

The fact is that not all sellers are completely clued up, especially those who may be used to selling small bits on eBay and perhaps sell an inherited watch as a one off.

As you've demonstrated, buyers often want cheaper shipping and this frequently results in a loss of insurance. Sometimes sellers mistakenly believe that by pointing out to the buyer that there is no insurance for loss or damage, that the buyer is taking the risk once the sellers ships in good faith. The truth is sellers carry the risk and they should refuse to offer cheaper shipping without insurance, to avoid being out of pocket as a result of trying to accommodate a buyer who may be unaware of the rules, may know that in fact it's the seller who is at risk or at the extreme end of the spectrum, my be outright trying to scam the seller.

I buy a lot of watches and I frequently get packages, usually worth less than say £500 which have been posted without insurance. I've never had one go missing en route to me, but equally I know if if I wanted to be a scum bag, there's nothing stopping me filing an "item not arrived" case with eBay, allowing me to keep the watch and pocket a refund as the seller has no proof the watch arrived with me.

This isn't a rant at buyers - I'm a buyer much more than a seller and as far as I'm aware most scams target buyers. However, it's worth being aware that sellers can get targeted and it's actually quite easy with eBay's policies.

 

I mostly buy things, very rarely do I sell anything so I do understand the dillema. But I always make sure to learn the rules of the platform I do my trading on.

I also emailed the seller last night - even after he had given me attitude about it - that he need not worry as far as item coming to me is concerned. Package has tracking and even if it didn't, if it arrived at my doorstep anytime I would refund the whole amount to him. I'd much rather have the watch. I am not someone who would try to scam someone trying to make a living, for 200 bucks. I make good money but more for me, I would like to set a good example for my little ones. And doing shady things is just not what I stand for.

 

Packages often get stuck in US customs for weeks. Even trivial items such as a dial or a crown would take 6 weeks to arrive.

 

Agreed. This watch will show up to you in another two weeks.

 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipp...ER-quot-INSURANCE-TO-MY-BUYERS/qaq-p/21891138
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Escrow-Insurance/Buyer-pays-for-insurance/td-p/1388317

Just came across this and thought abt sharing as it might help someone. Sellers cant ask buyers to buy insurance separately (which I didn't know about too). It isn't permitted by Ebay rules. If you are a seller I would definitely recommend adding insurance within the shipping cost as it comes out to be very reasonable shipping cost. For example, USPS Priority comes with $50 insurance built in. I just sent a watch to my sister worth $300 coast to coast and it only cost me roughly $12 dollars (small flat rate box + insurance). Domestic to US off course. Something over $300 your additional insurance cost would be $4.60 + 0.90 cents per $100 uptil $5000. Still very reasonable. So yes, bottom line is always insure. And don't expect buyer to pay for insurance, just offer shipping that already has insurance included. Win win.

 

It's against the rules to make buyer pay PayPal fees also. Try stopping that.....