As many of you know, I've been having "fun" with eBay lately. At the end of April, I won an auction, my first eBay auction in about seven or so years, for a Mark Grace Cubs jersey as a gift for my wife. What ensued in the few months after that has been anything but encouraging.
Well, it has been a month since I've updated you all and since I formally complained to eBay about my "experiences." So read on for Part Two in my continuing quest for eBay eQuality...
August 4, 2005
I've sent in my complaint message to eBay and receive a series of form replies... blah, blah, blah. Typical BS. I reply to the addresses in the "reply to" portion of the e-mail asking for some verification that they really are doing something about it and not just blowing me off. No, I never expected anyone to actually reply as it was likely a shell e-mail address that just "dies," per se.
Much to my shock, someone did reply and it was a bit more personal than the standard form reply. They assured me that something was being done. Mostly just contacting the seller and whatnot. They offer me four options of recourse including:
- Directly contacting my seller - well, duh, what did you think I was going to do?
- Reporting the transaction to my payment issuer - the grocery store where I bought the money order?
- Filing a report with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center - I somehow doubt I would be a high priority.
- Filing mail fraud charges - can I do this?
- Reporting the transaction to law enforcement - see number three.
I actually replied with the above comments. Oh, and for the record, the answer to number four is "yes." Hm, who knew? Not me, apparently.
At about 4 p.m. (CDT), mootown actually replies to my e-mail saying that they tried to refund my purchase through PayPal but my account would not accept funds.
- Thanks for taking your sweet time reporting this fact to me.
- Well I would sure as help hope it wouldn't considering I didn't have a PayPal account. Nice trick if it did.
I reply telling them that I requested a refund via money order, the same method I paid by. They reply saying that they only issue refunds via PayPal so they have written (electronic) record of the refund. I complain that I didn't need it from them when I sent them the payment, why should they need it from me? Again they insist.
Begrudgingly, I establish a PayPal account.
August 5, 2005
PayPal account is up and running and I let mootown know.
A guy named Gabriel from eBay contacts me via e-mail to let me know that he is personally following up on the investigation. Nice to have a name.
At 4:00 p.m., mootown replies to my PayPal e-mail by asking if I would accept a grey Cubs jersey, same size, with the Grace name and number. I reply that I thought they couldn't find one and that, sure, I would still take it if they send it out immediately.
August 6, 2005
I receive an e-mail from some customer service group at eBay asking me to take a survey regarding whether or not my customer service needs were met. I decline.
I also receive another e-mail from Greg at mootown confirming the existence of the grey jersey and asking again where I would like it sent. I tell him where he can stick... er... send it. He even provides me his phone number. Gee, that only took you four months.
August 9, 2005
Greg e-mails again to tell me that the jersey will be sent out on Friday, August 12. He then proceeds to thank me for my patience and calls me "a rare ebay class act." Umm... okay.
August 15, 2005
I actually use my PayPal account to buy Katie's physics textbook. Kinda easy to use once you figure it out. Maybe I'll keep it. Sorry for the aside.
August 19, 2005
I e-mail Greg to ask if the jersey was actually shipped. I had no idea how long shipping would take and requested a tracking number. He replies saying "actually I think it left Tuesday" referring to August 16. This might explain a delay. However, I continue to press for a tracking number and am left wondering why he "thinks" it shipped Tuesday and doesn't actually "know."
August 25, 2005
I receive an e-mail from Greg saying that the tracking number would be coming from a company called Triple Threat Sports. Oh, great, we've got a third party involved. The roller coaster takes another twist.
I e-mail TTS and copy Greg. Chris from TTS replies saying that the transaction would be taken care of in the next couple of days and, to Greg, says, "do not involve me in these transactions." Wow. Guess their friendship ain't the strongest, eh?
Chris then replies to me personally in a separate e-mail saying that I have his personal guarantee that the jersey would ship on Friday, August 26.
August 26, 2005
I receive USPS confirmation that the jersey did, in fact, ship on the day Chris promised and that it would arrive on or around Monday, August 29. Chris forwards the confirmation to me just in case I didn't receive it and informs me that it should be a quick ship because he's located in Mokena, Illinois, not too far away from here.
August 29, 2005
No jersey in the mailbox. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow.
August 30, 2005
I open the front door to leave for work and there's a package between the screen door and the wood door. It's the jersey. I never thought to check there yesterday. I open it and give it to Katie and she tries it on. Yes, it's long. But, like I said, her mom said it could be hemmed.
Yay! It all worked out.
I'm still jaded a bit and it may be a while before I use eBay again. But, at least it worked out. Only took four months.
