S/O Ebay feedback - Annoying update post 10

[MommyPenguin]

Reading the other Ebay feedback question got me thinking...

I ordered two items through an Amazon marketplace seller at the end of November.  I got a shipping notification on December 3rd, and a week or so later, one item arrived.  I emailed the seller to check, and they said that the two items were shipped separately.  So, fine, I went back to waiting for the other item.  Amazon's "your package should have arrived by this date" was December 22nd.  That date rolled around, still no item.  So I emailed the seller again.  They responded by telling me that my items had shipped separately.  Right, you already told me that, very helpful.

So I emailed them again.  And again.  And called them.  Again.  And again (they didn't pick up the phone half the time).  Finally, after two weeks of what felt like pulling teeth, I finally got a response in which they acknowledged that the item must have been lost in shipping and offered to replace it or refund my money.  I reluctantly decided to go for the replacement, because they had the best price.

Assuming that the item does finally arrive, what kind of feedback is reasonable to give?  I mean, the problem *was* resolved, but surely over two weeks is a long time to wait for acknowledgement that there was a problem and an offer to fix it.  Am I justified in giving them a 3 or so, for "item didn't arrive, seller took forever to respond but finally replaced item" or something like that?  Or is that rude, given that they did deal with the issue eventually?  I don't want to be rude or unkind, and it *was* over the holidays, but surely they had at least a few working days between December 18th and January 2nd or so.

[Kiara]

Assuming the item comes...I'd give a 3.  It's the type of thing I'd want to know as a buyer, and even though they fixed the problem...I wouldn't want to wait that long.

[Miss Unleaded]

I think the problem was compounded by the holidays, so I wouldn't leave negative feedback.  It's possible they weren't open, had limited hours, or were especially busy due to Christmas.

The whole transaction does seem very slow though.  Waiting 4+ days to ship (Amazon recommends two days, IIRC) is too long; they should have answered your emails properly, and not ignored so many of them.  I would give three stars and an explanation that 'shipping was slow, communication very poor'.

If the second item doesn't arrive in a week, ask Amazon for a refund and leave a 1.

[TaylorMade]

The whole transaction does seem very slow though.  Waiting 4+ days to ship (Amazon recommends two days, IIRC) is too long; they should have answered your emails properly, and not ignored so many of them.  I would give three stars and an explanation that 'shipping was slow, communication very poor'.

If the second item doesn't arrive in a week, ask Amazon for a refund and leave a 1.

I don't want mis-information spread around so I am going to highlight your post Miss Unleaded   I sell on Amazon in the Home & Garden Category (meaning I don't sell books or media)   As sellers we are able to state how long it will take before an item leaves our warehouse.  So on a few thousand of our items it says -  In stock. Processing takes an additional 4 to 5 days.


So, I just wanted to clear up that an item should be shipped within the time frame it says on the order.

As a seller on Amazon I think you should leave them a 3 because of their lack of communication.

[Miss Unleaded]

I apologise.  It must be different in the US, as when I used to sell books and DVDs on Amazon.co.uk Marketplace, they required sellers to ship in one or two days.

From the Amazon.co.uk Marketplace FAQ:

To determine when an item will arrive, add the item's processing time to the transit time for the shipping method you're planning to use. Items offered by Marketplace sellers are all in stock and required to ship within 2 business days.

[TaylorMade]

I apologise.  It must be different in the US, as when I used to sell books and DVDs on Amazon.co.uk Marketplace, they required sellers to ship in one or two days.

From the Amazon.co.uk Marketplace FAQ:

To determine when an item will arrive, add the item's processing time to the transit time for the shipping method you're planning to use. Items offered by Marketplace sellers are all in stock and required to ship within 2 business days.

Ahh... That is the difference    I am an Amazon Seller Central Seller.   I believe there are two type of sellers on Amazon (not including Amazon itself) Marketplace Sellers and Seller Central Sellers.   I think the difference is what categories you sell in.

[Slartibartfast]

Unfortunately, I've had a similar experience.  Babybartfast drinks a lot of PediaSure (basically high-calorie baby milkshakes to help her gain weight), which comes in either cans or plastic bottles.  I usually get the bottles, but I found someone who sold cans for about the same price, so I ordered a box of the cans.  When they came, 13 of the 20 cans were dented - NOT in shipping.  Looks like the seller got them as factory seconds or something.  The description very specifically says "cans are NOT dented when I ship them, things happen, this is why shipping includes insurance."  Sounded like a scam to get the post office to refund her money    I went back and forth with her, filed the claim with USPS even though I'm sure it wasn't their fault, left a negative feedback, and eventually she sent me a replacement.  12/20 of those cans were dented too.  I got a note from eBay saying she had requested that I change my feedback, and so I changed it to neutral (still with the comment that most of the cans were dented and probably factory seconds).  I only changed it because a) she gave me two shipments for my original price, and b) so far, none of the cans have actually been unusable (although I'm checking closely).

When I was cruising listings looking for more PediaSure recently, though, I found the same seller had several more lots up, same description, and it says she still has a 100% rating.  Did my neutral not count?

[Kiara]

Neutrals don't affect the percentage.  Only a neg will bring them down.

[MommyPenguin]

Especially given that I was already thinking maybe a 3, and a lot of you have confirmed, I think I'll go with that.  If the item shows up in a reasonable amount of time (they said they'd ship the replacement in 24-48 hours, which I considered reasonable).  I'll give them five business days or so beyond that for shipping, because their location is on the East Coast, as am I, so it shouldn't take too long.  Thanks for all the advice!

Slartibartfast, I'm sorry about your experience!  It sounds like all her cans are dented, and she's counting on people figuring that there's nothing "wrong" with dented cans, necessarily, and not protesting.  I think I would have left a negative feedback just because she didn't replace your cans with undented ones, she just gave you extra dented ones.  Ugh.  It is frustrating that it didn't affect her 100% rating, though, because most people will glance at the percentage and not look at the specific feedback comments.

[Slartibartfast]

Especially given that I was already thinking maybe a 3, and a lot of you have confirmed, I think I'll go with that.  If the item shows up in a reasonable amount of time (they said they'd ship the replacement in 24-48 hours, which I considered reasonable).  I'll give them five business days or so beyond that for shipping, because their location is on the East Coast, as am I, so it shouldn't take too long.  Thanks for all the advice!

Slartibartfast, I'm sorry about your experience!  It sounds like all her cans are dented, and she's counting on people figuring that there's nothing "wrong" with dented cans, necessarily, and not protesting.  I think I would have left a negative feedback just because she didn't replace your cans with undented ones, she just gave you extra dented ones.  Ugh.  It is frustrating that it didn't affect her 100% rating, though, because most people will glance at the percentage and not look at the specific feedback comments.

Yes - I assumed that a neutral would count against a 100% rating, which is why I agreed to change it.  If I had known, I would have left it as a negative 

[MommyPenguin]

Ugh.  So, yesterday, the replacement package arrived.  I opened it to find... another copy of the DVD I already had!  I had originally ordered two DVDs from them, and when one didn't arrive, I'd clearly told them which one I didn't get.  So they mailed me another copy of the same DVD.

I've had it up to here.  I don't even know what to do next.  Sigh.

[TaylorMade]

You can open an A-Z claim through Amazon.    This is the official process through which Amazon will help you when you have a problem with a seller.

[Lisbeth]

Ugh.  So, yesterday, the replacement package arrived.  I opened it to find... another copy of the DVD I already had!  I had originally ordered two DVDs from them, and when one didn't arrive, I'd clearly told them which one I didn't get.  So they mailed me another copy of the same DVD.

I've had it up to here.  I don't even know what to do next.  Sigh.

I'd give a low rating and, as the PP suggests, open a claim through Amazon.

[MommyPenguin]

Yeah, I guess I'll have to do that.  I have all the emails, so I can show that I clearly stated which DVD didn't arrive.  This is just incredibly annoying.  Bad seller, bad!  They had a 100% rating, too.