Wanting a few opinions on this.

I order some Lilly of the Valley pips (one order of 5 white, one order of 3 pink) from a high-volume
Ebay seller using buy-it-now and immedately paying via Paypal. Soon afterwards, I get a boilerplate
e-mail with the subject that the item "has been shipped", but in the body of the message it points
out that the seller ships on only Mondays and Tuesdays. So that would have allowed for a few more
days before shipping. But 14 days after the "item has shipped" notice it still hadn't arrived, so I
e-mailed the seller and asked if he could double-check on if the order had actually shipped yet (and
yes, I was polite and non-confrontational about it). He told me that he would ship it again.

Then, the very next day (15 days after the "item has shipped" notice) the order finally arrives--
and is postmarked 12 days after the "item has shipped" e-mail. As quickly as possible, I e-mail the
seller to say that the item has arrived, and to not ship the replacement order if possible, and
asked how I should handle the second package if it has already been sent. I get no reply from the
seller.

Now, yesterday, I get a package from the seller in the mail. Postmarked 6 days AFTER I told him to
not re-send the order. AND, it turns out, it contained only the pink pips, so if the first order
really had been missing, I still would have been missing half of the order.

Now, if the first order really had been lost in the mail, it would have been a great gesture from
the seller to re-send the order at his own expense. But it hadn't been lost-- it just hadn't been
sent, despite his e-mail saying otherwise. And not only was he not able to track that, he didn't
bother to NOT resend (half of) the order even though he had multiple days notice that I had finally
received the first order.

So (and here's where the question comes in) I've decided that I'm just going to keep the damned pips
from the re-sent order and not offer to ship them back to him or pay him ($10.00 plus $3.99 shipping
for 3 pips, even though it cost only $1.29 to send them) for the extras, as in my opinion almost all
of the problem has been caused on his end.

Any opinions of wherether I do that with clean hands?

Thank him for the bonus plants he sent as a result of the problems he caused
you by not shipping when he should have. Since it isn't a full order, you
have every reason to believe it is a peace offering.


"Darren Garrison" wrote in message
...
Wanting a few opinions on this.

I order some Lilly of the Valley pips (one order of 5 white, one order of
3 pink) from a high-volume
Ebay seller using buy-it-now and immedately paying via Paypal. Soon
afterwards, I get a boilerplate
e-mail with the subject that the item "has been shipped", but in the body
of the message it points
out that the seller ships on only Mondays and Tuesdays. So that would
have allowed for a few more
days before shipping. But 14 days after the "item has shipped" notice it
still hadn't arrived, so I
e-mailed the seller and asked if he could double-check on if the order had
actually shipped yet (and
yes, I was polite and non-confrontational about it). He told me that he
would ship it again.

Then, the very next day (15 days after the "item has shipped" notice) the
order finally arrives--
and is postmarked 12 days after the "item has shipped" e-mail. As quickly
as possible, I e-mail the
seller to say that the item has arrived, and to not ship the replacement
order if possible, and
asked how I should handle the second package if it has already been sent.
I get no reply from the
seller.

Now, yesterday, I get a package from the seller in the mail. Postmarked 6
days AFTER I told him to
not re-send the order. AND, it turns out, it contained only the pink
pips, so if the first order
really had been missing, I still would have been missing half of the
order.

Now, if the first order really had been lost in the mail, it would have
been a great gesture from
the seller to re-send the order at his own expense. But it hadn't been
lost-- it just hadn't been
sent, despite his e-mail saying otherwise. And not only was he not able
to track that, he didn't
bother to NOT resend (half of) the order even though he had multiple days
notice that I had finally
received the first order.

So (and here's where the question comes in) I've decided that I'm just
going to keep the damned pips
from the re-sent order and not offer to ship them back to him or pay him
($10.00 plus $3.99 shipping
for 3 pips, even though it cost only $1.29 to send them) for the extras,
as in my opinion almost all
of the problem has been caused on his end.

Any opinions of wherether I do that with clean hands?

Many suppliers behave in this way. It is far cheaper for them just to r-send
than go to the bother of checking. It also promotes goodwill.
I had a very expensive [£40 $80?] Spear & Jackson stainless steel spade
that never quite 'rang' correctly when used and eventually snapped on the
shaft. I phoned their service department who promised to replace free of
charge. One week later, nothing. Another phone call~"It will be sent
shortly". Yet another call after another week with the same answer.
Four days later 3 spades in a single delivery and meanwhile I had managed
to find a welder to repair the original.!! When I contacted them they were
quite happy to leave them with me. A whole family and friends with fabulous
S&J spades!!
Best Wishes Brian
Locally, L of the V grows like a weed but never for me! A friend has it
pushing through the driveway to his garage!!
"Darren Garrison" wrote in message
...
Wanting a few opinions on this.

I order some Lilly of the Valley pips (one order of 5 white, one order of
3 pink) from a high-volume
Ebay seller using buy-it-now and immedately paying via Paypal. Soon
afterwards, I get a boilerplate
e-mail with the subject that the item "has been shipped", but in the body
of the message it points
out that the seller ships on only Mondays and Tuesdays. So that would
have allowed for a few more
days before shipping. But 14 days after the "item has shipped" notice it
still hadn't arrived, so I
e-mailed the seller and asked if he could double-check on if the order had
actually shipped yet (and
yes, I was polite and non-confrontational about it). He told me that he
would ship it again.

Then, the very next day (15 days after the "item has shipped" notice) the
order finally arrives--
and is postmarked 12 days after the "item has shipped" e-mail. As quickly
as possible, I e-mail the
seller to say that the item has arrived, and to not ship the replacement
order if possible, and
asked how I should handle the second package if it has already been sent.
I get no reply from the
seller.

Now, yesterday, I get a package from the seller in the mail. Postmarked 6
days AFTER I told him to
not re-send the order. AND, it turns out, it contained only the pink
pips, so if the first order
really had been missing, I still would have been missing half of the
order.

Now, if the first order really had been lost in the mail, it would have
been a great gesture from
the seller to re-send the order at his own expense. But it hadn't been
lost-- it just hadn't been
sent, despite his e-mail saying otherwise. And not only was he not able
to track that, he didn't
bother to NOT resend (half of) the order even though he had multiple days
notice that I had finally
received the first order.

So (and here's where the question comes in) I've decided that I'm just
going to keep the damned pips
from the re-sent order and not offer to ship them back to him or pay him
($10.00 plus $3.99 shipping
for 3 pips, even though it cost only $1.29 to send them) for the extras,
as in my opinion almost all
of the problem has been caused on his end.

Any opinions of wherether I do that with clean hands?

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 19:21:58 +0100, "Brian" wrote:

Locally, L of the V grows like a weed but never for me! A friend has it
pushing through the driveway to his garage!!

I was looking for something to grow in a raised bed under the shade of a large hickory tree. I
thought that these would do a good job of living in those conditions.

Darren Garrison wrote:

Wanting a few opinions on this.

I order some Lilly of the Valley pips (one order of 5 white, one order of 3 pink) from a high-volume
Ebay seller using buy-it-now and immedately paying via Paypal.
-snip-
So (and here's where the question comes in) I've decided that I'm just going to keep the damned pips
from the re-sent order and not offer to ship them back to him or pay him ($10.00 plus $3.99 shipping
for 3 pips, even though it cost only $1.29 to send them) for the extras, as in my opinion almost all
of the problem has been caused on his end.

Any opinions of wherether I do that with clean hands?

First off- the shipping-- *actual* shipping may be 1.29-- but he
probably has more than $3.99 invested in shipping and handling.
Packaging and trips to the PO are not free. [Chances are he's paying
someone to do all the work & that's why the long delays.]

You asked about ethics-- You, legally & ethically, owe him for the
plants. If I were you I would offer to pay for them.

He, on the other hand, if he[she] is any sort of a business person
will apologize & tell you the plants are a gift.

Don't forget to reflect his lack of quick communication when you leave
feedback for him.

Jim
[And if you need some more Lilly of the Valley's & live anywhere near
zip code 12309-- give a holler & I'll dump a couple shovels full in
your trunk-- and throw in some old fashioned Iris that are nearly as
hardy & don't mind the shade.g]

It will most likely thrive. Many things I can grow to excess but Vinca and
Lof the V defeated me after very many years. Some plants do seem to be
choosey!!
Best Wishes. Brian
"Darren Garrison" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 19:21:58 +0100, "Brian" wrote:

Locally, L of the V grows like a weed but never for me! A friend has it
pushing through the driveway to his garage!!

I was looking for something to grow in a raised bed under the shade of a
large hickory tree. I
thought that these would do a good job of living in those conditions.

you dont pay, but you leave a glowing feedback. Ingrid

Darren Garrison wrote:

Wanting a few opinions on this.

I order some Lilly of the Valley pips (one order of 5 white, one order of 3 pink) from a high-volume
Ebay seller using buy-it-now and immedately paying via Paypal. Soon afterwards, I get a boilerplate
e-mail with the subject that the item "has been shipped", but in the body of the message it points
out that the seller ships on only Mondays and Tuesdays. So that would have allowed for a few more
days before shipping. But 14 days after the "item has shipped" notice it still hadn't arrived, so I
e-mailed the seller and asked if he could double-check on if the order had actually shipped yet (and
yes, I was polite and non-confrontational about it). He told me that he would ship it again.

Then, the very next day (15 days after the "item has shipped" notice) the order finally arrives--
and is postmarked 12 days after the "item has shipped" e-mail. As quickly as possible, I e-mail the
seller to say that the item has arrived, and to not ship the replacement order if possible, and
asked how I should handle the second package if it has already been sent. I get no reply from the
seller.

Now, yesterday, I get a package from the seller in the mail. Postmarked 6 days AFTER I told him to
not re-send the order. AND, it turns out, it contained only the pink pips, so if the first order
really had been missing, I still would have been missing half of the order.

Now, if the first order really had been lost in the mail, it would have been a great gesture from
the seller to re-send the order at his own expense. But it hadn't been lost-- it just hadn't been
sent, despite his e-mail saying otherwise. And not only was he not able to track that, he didn't
bother to NOT resend (half of) the order even though he had multiple days notice that I had finally
received the first order.

So (and here's where the question comes in) I've decided that I'm just going to keep the damned pips
from the re-sent order and not offer to ship them back to him or pay him ($10.00 plus $3.99 shipping
for 3 pips, even though it cost only $1.29 to send them) for the extras, as in my opinion almost all
of the problem has been caused on his end.

Any opinions of wherether I do that with clean hands?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

Doesn't that kind of thing make "feedback" kind of useless.

Bob

wrote in message
...
you dont pay, but you leave a glowing feedback. Ingrid

Darren Garrison wrote:

Wanting a few opinions on this.

I order some Lilly of the Valley pips (one order of 5 white,
one order of 3 pink) from a high-volume
Ebay seller using buy-it-now and immedately paying via Paypal.
Soon afterwards, I get a boilerplate
e-mail with the subject that the item "has been shipped", but
in the body of the message it points
out that the seller ships on only Mondays and Tuesdays. So
that would have allowed for a few more
days before shipping. But 14 days after the "item has
shipped" notice it still hadn't arrived,

You asked about ethics-- You, legally & ethically, owe him for the
plants. If I were you I would offer to pay for them.

You don't owe him for the plants, because it wasn't your order. To give your
conciense a rest, (and it's the nice thing to do) you should attempt to
contact the seller to see if he would like the pips returned. I know you're
having communication problems, but if he answers back most likely he'll let
you keep them. It would most likely cost him more money to collect them from
the PO than to just let you keep them. Even if he wants them back, it's no
great loss at $1.29 postage (He might even offer to pay it). If he doesn't
answer, well you tried, not much else you can do.


Don't forget to reflect his lack of quick communication when you leave
feedback for him.

Give the most detailed feedback you can, so others have a good idea of what
kind of seller he is.

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 13:42:51 GMT, wrote:

you dont pay, but you leave a glowing feedback. Ingrid

Forget that I disagree with you on the payment issue. Why leave
'glowing feedback' for someone whose goods are not that great a deal,
communication is poor & apparently can't get an order sent out right?
[first late, then incorrect]

Misery loves company, but on Ebay the tools are there to forewarn
people about less than stellar dealers.

Jim

Subject: Ebay ethics queston (plant related)
From: "Brian"
Date: 4/20/2004 1:21 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

A friend has it
pushing through the driveway to his garage!!


I've had the same problem.

-

theoneflasehaddock

Subject: Ebay ethics queston (plant related)
From: Jim Elbrecht
Date: 4/20/2004 4:05 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

Darren Garrison wrote:

Wanting a few opinions on this.

I order some Lilly of the Valley pips (one order of 5 white, one order of 3
pink) from a high-volume
Ebay seller using buy-it-now and immedately paying via Paypal.
-snip-
So (and here's where the question comes in) I've decided that I'm just going
to keep the damned pips
from the re-sent order and not offer to ship them back to him or pay him
($10.00 plus $3.99 shipping
for 3 pips, even though it cost only $1.29 to send them) for the extras, as
in my opinion almost all
of the problem has been caused on his end.

Any opinions of wherether I do that with clean hands?

First off- the shipping-- *actual* shipping may be 1.29-- but he
probably has more than $3.99 invested in shipping and handling.
Packaging and trips to the PO are not free. [Chances are he's paying
someone to do all the work & that's why the long delays.]

You asked about ethics-- You, legally & ethically, owe him for the
plants. If I were you I would offer to pay for them.

You do not owe him for plants you didn't order.

I wish you hadn't supported price gouging on ebay. Remember, it MAY be cheaper
to deal with a plant nursery than ebay, in some cases.

-

theoneflasehaddock

nooooo. the seller did everything they could including sending another shipment to
complete the order. they deserve a glowing report for doing everything they could to
fix the problem.
see... sellers cannot control the mails, they cannot always control a lot of things.
so the difference between excellent sellers and assholes is the great sellers "make
it right" including complete refund if necessary.

"Bob" wrote:
Doesn't that kind of thing make "feedback" kind of useless.

Bob

wrote in message
...
you dont pay, but you leave a glowing feedback. Ingrid

Darren Garrison wrote:

Wanting a few opinions on this.

I order some Lilly of the Valley pips (one order of 5 white,
one order of 3 pink) from a high-volume
Ebay seller using buy-it-now and immedately paying via Paypal.
Soon afterwards, I get a boilerplate
e-mail with the subject that the item "has been shipped", but
in the body of the message it points
out that the seller ships on only Mondays and Tuesdays. So
that would have allowed for a few more
days before shipping. But 14 days after the "item has
shipped" notice it still hadn't arrived,




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

I didnt get the impression the goods werent that great.
when the seller was notified the goods didnt arrive they sent another order. big
whoop there was a mixup, the seller is trying to get it right. and if the person
complained that the order still wasnt right, they would probably send another one
too. that is a great seller.
eBay and shipping isnt like going to your local store. locally you pick out what you
want, plunk down the money and leave. instant gratification.
on eBay there are a lot of factors in between. there are few career professional
sellers on ebay (well increasingly there are) so they dont always have their stock
well organized, etc. everything is shipped. that means stuff goes missing, stuff
gets broken, etc. this is all happening long distance thru computers which break
down, email gets dumped, etc. patience is required. understanding. I am willing to
give em a break when they are trying to get it right cause I can get stuff cheaper
and/or get stuff I never would have been able to get my hands on otherwise. I
absolutely LOVE eBay, and most of my experiences have been good, most sellers are
honest and doing the best they can.
the glass is half full.
Ingrid

Jim Elbrecht wrote:

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 13:42:51 GMT, wrote:

you dont pay, but you leave a glowing feedback. Ingrid

Forget that I disagree with you on the payment issue. Why leave
'glowing feedback' for someone whose goods are not that great a deal,
communication is poor & apparently can't get an order sent out right?
[first late, then incorrect]

Misery loves company, but on Ebay the tools are there to forewarn
people about less than stellar dealers.

Jim



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

Subject: Ebay ethics queston (plant related)
From:
Date: 4/22/2004 9:09 AM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

nooooo. the seller did everything they could including sending another
shipment to
complete the order. they deserve a glowing report for doing everything they
could to
fix the problem.
see... sellers cannot control the mails, they cannot always control a lot of
things.
so the difference between excellent sellers and assholes is the great sellers
"make
it right" including complete refund if necessary.


I would personally leave decent feedback. However, the postmark indicates the
seller lied about when they were sent. It may take longer or shorter than
anticipated in the mail, but postmarks always indicate the day it was mailed.

-


theoneflasehaddock