should the seller have acknowledged her error?

[blahblahblah]

I purchased an item online through an auction site. The seller only accepted payments via check or money order, so I sent in a check. Waited a few days before I logged into my checking account and saw that my check had been cleared. Great! So I went back to the auction site and requested a tracking number for the item.

I received a response the next day from the seller: "How can I provide a tracking # when I haven't received payment?"

I responded, "I know you received payment because the check was cleared in my banking account." I even provided a screencap of the cleared check. I finished up with saying, "I guess there was some misunderstanding," deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway, several more days went by without a response, and I began getting antsy, thinking that she was planning on ~taking my money and running~ lol. I finally requested another tracking #, and the seller responded to that by saying she'd ship the item that day. She actually didn't ship until the day after (no tracking # provided), but oh well. I was just happy to finally receive my item.

Now my issue is... I think the seller should have acknowledged her error. That's not unreasonable, right? I could have believed that her initial response was simply a misunderstanding - I did indicate my purchase order # on the check, but depending on how much she sells, it's something that could have been overlooked or lost in the shuffle. But her ensuing silence did make me think that she had been trying to scam me, and I found it irritating that she couldn't even find the time to say something like, "Sorry, my mistake!" or even an "Ah, got it!" if she didn't feel like apologizing. It makes me wonder if she would have shipped the item at all if I hadn't pressed the issue.

In your eyes, would this qualify as poor customer service?

[CakeBeret]

It's absolutely poor customer service. She should have a system in place to note orders once she receives a check, and it's not your fault that she doesn't. Her response was borderline rude; at the very least, she should have said, "I have not yet received your payment." Finally, taking several days to respond to you was really terrible service. Can you leave feedback on this site? If so, I would leave negative FB and explain the issues you had.

[blahblahblah]

Yeah, I can leave feedback. I'm generally hesitant to leave negative feedback, though, so I wanted to make sure that I wasn't  overreacting. Especially since, overall, it didn't take that long for my item to arrive, at least compared to some of the horror stories I've read here. Maybe about three weeks from sending the check to receiving the item. Of course, it was a bit on the long side considering that we both live in NYC, but hey. (I think I'm spoiled from Amazon Prime's fast shipping, haha.)

[Twik]

Let's see:

1. She lied to you about receiving payment.
2. She was late shipping the product, only doing so after repeated prompting.
3. After repeated requests, she *never* provided a tracking number.

Either she's just not good at running a business, or she was hoping to pull a fast one, and you were too proactive for it. Either way, I'd definitely warn other people. If you have something good to say about the received product, you can mention that as well. But as a prospective customer, your experience is something I'd like to know.

[Margo]

I agree with Twik.

Even if the initial response was based on a mistake (rather than a deliberate lie about having received payment) she was rude.

I would have expected her to have made the effort to send the item as soon as you pointed out to her that she'd made a mistake and overlooked your payment. Instead, she delayed further, didn't provide a tracking number, and didn't apologise for her rudeness.

If I were a prospective purchaser I'd definitely want to know.

[DaDancingPsych]

I agree with the others. This was not a single, one-off error. This was a series of mistakes that she never acknowledged, let alone apologized for. If I read your description, I would not necessarily not purchase from this seller, but I would still want to know what I may be dealing with.

[bopper]

This is what feedback is for.  After you have recieved your item, leave feedback on the auction site saying that there was a delay between your check being cashed and your item being shipped.

[DaDancingPsych]

This is what feedback is for.  After you have recieved your item, leave feedback on the auction site saying that there was a delay between your check being cashed and your item being shipped.

If the site allows the space, I would like to see the entire story wrote out factually. If I just read that there was a delay, I would think that the buyer was impatient, which is not the case here. The whole story allows me to see where the problem is. Again, I may still use this seller, but I would want to know.

[lowspark]

If the auction site allows neutral feedback (as ebay does) that's what I'd do. I don't think you should leave negative feedback unless you did not get satisfaction in the form of the correct product for the correct price. That's just my opinion and I realize others might not agree so you have to make your own choice about that.

I agree that her communication was rude and inadequate.

As an ebay seller, I can see though, that she may not have known your check cleared yet. Even though your bank showed it as cleared, her bank might not have. Now, in that case, the proper response from her should have been something more like, My bank does not show the check as having cleared yet and I will ship as soon as it does. Or something like that.

Also, as far as a tracking number, I don't always have one because some of the things I sell just require a standard enveleope with a 45cent stamp and it's not worth the extra $$ to get tracking added. Again, if was something along those lines, the best thing would have been for the seller to explain that to you in a polite fashion.

So my point is that there may have been reasonable explanations for at least some of her conduct even if her replies were rude or nonexistent.

The lateness in mailing is a separate issue so if you feel the need to leave negative feedback on that, you could. If her auction listing guarantees shipping within a certain length of time, you can call her on that, but again, so much depends on when her bank actually showed the check as cleared and you really don't have any way of verifying that. Her poor communication promotes a lack of trust here, but doesn't prove anything really.

[charlatan]

As an ebay seller, I can see though, that she may not have known your check cleared yet. Even though your bank showed it as cleared, her bank might not have. Now, in that case, the proper response from her should have been something more like, My bank does not show the check as having cleared yet and I will ship as soon as it does. Or something like that.

If that was case she would have known that the check arrived, though. She told the OP that she hadn't received the payment, which to me means that she was either mistaken about whose check she did receive (since one was clearly received and deposited) or she was planning some sort of scam.