How long is reasonable to wait for a classified seller to respond to payment?

[TheDudeNextDoor]

Hey folks. Recently bought something from a member in the classifieds and ever since I sent money, it's been dead silent on his end. I tend to lack patience with a lack of communication when making a deal online, so I want some input to help me determine whether to be patient or impatient at this point.

• Paid for item on Sunday evening after finalizing the sale through PayPal.
• Messaged seller to let him know I sent PayPal funds.
• No response.
  
• Messaged seller again on Tuesday evening asking for an update.
• No response.
• Just checked seller's activity, and his last log in was Tuesday night, a good three hours after my last message.

So it's been four days since I sent funds, and I have heard nothing from the seller since then. I know the holiday could cause communication delays but I know he's been on FC since I sent payment and asked for an update but he has remained silent.

So what do you think? I messaged a third time this morning, but at some point sending more requests for a response gets a little absurd. I do have PayPal protection, so I can file a claim if need be, but I figure it's not been long enough to totally give up on the guy yet.

Thoughts on this?

 

[MinnBobber]

With the holiday, a little more time may be excused but it's still kinda bad form on their part, especially if they logged in on Tues.
Hope they get back to you soon!

 

[biohacker]

It's up to you, but i've been recently burned by a senior forum member much to my surprise, and I should have filed my dispute much sooner, and not given him the time I did. I didn't mind that the item arrived broken, it was the silence after that upset me. Don't wait too long, you will have to go through a dispute process. It's sad that this shit happens, especially here. But thank god for paypal!

 

[max]

Ignoring PM's (it's pretty clear when you have new messages) concerning a transaction, after receiving payment, is definitely a bad sign. It would have only taken a minute to respond to your PM. The seller should have also received an email from PayPal by now. At best, he's being very inconsiderate. In your position, I'd be worried.

 

[DieHard]

That really sucks. A little communication goes a long way! There's no excuse for conducting a transaction like that. It only takes a minute to peck out a message. Even if it is to say there will be a delay. I hope it works out.

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

Thanks for the input everyone. I wanted to gage if I was just being impatient, so I appreciate the validation. I'm trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, but like you all say, it's kind of hard to not notice a PM waiting, and days of silence makes me anxious. I might run out of patience by Friday if I don't hear something by then.

 

[scottg402]

Just me, but I'd send him one last pm and let him know your concerned with the lack of communication and you intend to file a claim if he doesn't respond. Personally I would give him until Monday to respond and file the claim but that's only because of the holiday.

The lack of communication is inexcusable especially when he shows activity on the forum.

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

I sent a third message today at 10:52 am. Nothing from him yet, but his profile now shows he was here at 1:50 pm today. How about that.

 

[grokit]

Inexcusable imo

 

[Radio]

A day at most I usually wait for an email reply before getting a bit apprehensive. They will surely receive emails regarding the payment and have no doubt had it brought to their attention at least once since you payed.. They sound a bit dodgy. Call Paypal to log a dispute via phone. If you do it via their website it can be a slow drawn-out process, but if you call them and explain they can sometimes escalate it immediately giving the other party only 1 or 2 days to respond to PayPal before they refund your money (Instead of having to wait months)

I sent a third message today at 10:52 am. Nothing from him yet, but his profile now shows he was here at 1:50 pm today. How about that.

That sucks, dude. I wish you all the best with this transaction. How much did you put down $?

 

[RUDE BOY]

After 8-9 vape or glass purchases from members here:

I've been through a few loooooong waits for a reply after paying for items from the classifieds too.

Once being put off and put off with excuse after excuse by a well respected(at the time) member but did receive the item after a couple months, dirty and dropped in just an envelope.
Another just dropped outta sight for a month or two after receiving payment and saying they were on their way to ups "right now" but later got back to me and made good on the deal with no apology or explanation. Another took two weeks to get back to me after payment and was nothing but apologetic even acting like they felt ashamed, though they had a really valid understandable reason to be distracted(sudden drastic changes to their living/health situation) then they over did it with generosity by throwing in a few items that were worth far more then the original deal, almost made me feel bad.

I never really hounded any of them or bitched at 'em just shot an email and a PM here once a week or so.

Gotta say Most transactions here have been flawless and in the end I've at least always received what i paid for.

 

[TeeJay1952]

Gosh, it seems that a couple of members are sort of like, they are stoned! I can't imagine starting something and then fading away......

 

[biohacker]

This is nothing, try posting a negative feedback and then having the other member retort with BS and be liked for it! And then having no recourse because you're only allowed ONE post? I wish FC changed this policy, because it could help eliminate future ripoffs. I fucking hate liars and thieves. Now i'm actually scared to use the classifieds again, and will use ebay and take the 10% cut instead. I didn't end up losing too much, but losing anything is stupid, and the stress and worry was something that wasn't deserved. I REALLY hope karma exists in life.

What about this, when you are supposed to ship back an item that isn't as described, paypal only wants a tracking number. Well, what if the person ships it back in WORSE condition, OR even worse, sends back a brick? How does paypal resolve fiasco's like that?

 

[His_Highness]

When purchasing from a retail vendor... you expect to know up front, the how and when of the delivery. If the retail vendor wouldn't, couldn't or didn't provide this info you'd probably back off the transaction. But...this is not a retail transaction so it comes down to what you're agreement with the seller is and not what your expectations are.

What's your agreement with the seller for delivery and communications and has the seller not lived up to anything agreed upon? The other question is how much money are we talking here? The higher the amount the higher the anxiety. From what I've read the method of communication worked fine when you were setting up the deal. If that method is no longer working and you can tell the seller has been frequenting the site you have your answer don't you?

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

When purchasing from a retail vendor... you expect to know up front, the how and when of the delivery. If the retail vendor wouldn't, couldn't or didn't provide this info you'd probably back off the transaction. But...this is not a retail transaction so it comes down to what you're agreement with the seller is and not what your expectations are.

What's your agreement with the seller for delivery and communications and has the seller not lived up to anything agreed upon? The other question is how much money are we talking here? The higher the amount the higher the anxiety. From what I've read the method of communication worked fine when you were setting up the deal. If that method is no longer working and you can tell the seller has been frequenting the site you have your answer don't you?

I guess I do. Dude is on FC right now as a matter of fact.

By the way, I do realize FC is not a retail store, but thanks for clearing that up. LOL

The agreement was set when he sent his PayPal addy and I sent him funds. My expectations were that he would then ship the item as agreed. Ever since I sent money, he has been silent. Perhaps my expectations are too high?

In terms of how much money, not a load but enough to be concerned about. I don't want to say just yet because I am trying at this point to keep the member's name out of it until I am certain he is screwing me over. I think that has become clear now. I messaged him when I saw he was currently online, and he immediately disappeared from the "online now" list.

 

[Gonzo]

IMO, you may now be at the point where you have no choice but to call this person out and file a complaint.

Is the member a well known member? Do they contribute here a lot? Some public shaming may be in order IMO. The least the member could have done is respond to your messages (Especially if they have been on the forum).

At this point I would feel like the person has no intention of sending it if I were you.

 

[pakalolo]

This is nothing, try posting a negative feedback and then having the other member retort with BS and be liked for it! And then having no recourse because you're only allowed ONE post? I wish FC changed this policy, because it could help eliminate future ripoffs. I fucking hate liars and thieves.

As a well established member you should have realized that this post breaks our Be Nice rule.

The FC policy is not likely to change since the benefits of allowing more than one post are far outweighed by the potential for endless sniping back and forth.

 

[biohacker]

Thanks Pakalolo, apologies, I figured by not stating the member's name, I was in the clear - but I realize now that it's pretty easy to figure out. It's a shame, because if I didn't post the negative feedback, he wouldn't have replied, and people would be completely unaware of the situation. By allowing him the last word, he can say whatever he wants, and there is no way to answer back. Rules is rules (sic), I wish there was a better way, but I guess people have to judge for themselves how trust worthy a member really is, no matter how senior they are on here. Sucks that shit like this happens. Sorry again,

 

[Gonzo]

This is nothing, try posting a negative feedback and then having the other member retort with BS and be liked for it! And then having no recourse because you're only allowed ONE post? I wish FC changed this policy, because it could help eliminate future ripoffs. I fucking hate liars and thieves. Now i'm actually scared to use the classifieds again, and will use ebay and take the 10% cut instead. I didn't end up losing too much, but losing anything is stupid, and the stress and worry was something that wasn't deserved. I REALLY hope karma exists in life.

I know what you mean. I have seen some pretty lame excuses when people are called out.

I quit using the classifieds because a vape I bought arrived covered in residue and ABV. At the time I wasn't living in Colorado and was pretty angry.

Ever since then I sell my vapes locally on Craigslist and buy only new vapes from reputable dealers. Just no worth the hassle or stress.

 

[His_Highness]

The agreement was set when he sent his PayPal addy and I sent him funds. My expectations were that he would then ship the item as agreed.

TheDude - I'm not trying to be an asshole, (although it does come naturally to me), but it really comes down to what's in writing and/or what was verbally agreed to. What exactly did the seller agree to? Did the seller say ... once I receive payment I will immediately ship the item overnight and PM you the tracking #? Or was nothing agreed to other than the price and method of payment? Don't get me wrong...I still think it's bad form the way the seller is handling this and after the disappearing act on the site you just mentioned I'd do as Gonzo suggested and might even cancel the deal.

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

TheDude - I'm not trying to be an asshole, (although it does come naturally to me), but it really comes down to what's in writing and/or what was verbally agreed to. What exactly did the seller agree to? Did the seller say ... once I receive payment I will immediately ship the item overnight and PM you the tracking #? Or was nothing agreed to other than the price and method of payment? Don't get me wrong...I still think it's bad form the way the seller is handling this and after the disappearing act on the site you just mentioned I'd do as Gonzo suggested and might even cancel the deal.

I hear you, man, and I get your point. He was vague in what he would do, and now I suspect that was by design. I asked a question about the item, he responded with an answer, I told him consider it sold and asked how he would like to proceed. He sent me his paypal addy, and this is the last word from him:

"That's my paypal address, I'll grab a box in the AM."

That was Sunday evening. Silence since then despite four follow-up PMs from me.

 

[smokum]

From observations at this point.. I'd say sack the deal, file a dispute, and out the bitch in the proper negative thread in the classifieds.

 

[Gonzo]

From observations at this point.. I'd say sack the deal, file a dispute, and out the bitch in the proper negative thread in the classifieds.

I would have to agree with Smokum. Unless it's a custom piece of glass that you cannot get anywhere else, I would file a dispute with Paypal to get the money back and let people know to beware of the member.

 

[Roth]

From observations at this point.. I'd say sack the deal, file a dispute, and out the bitch in the proper negative thread in the classifieds.

Agreed.

The poster has had ample opportunity to respond. It takes less then a minute, and they've clearly been online since then.

 

[His_Highness]

He sent me his paypal addy, and this is the last word from him:
"That's my paypal address, I'll grab a box in the AM."

If the seller didn't do anything other than 'grab his box' he'd still be within the agreement but this is not Judge Judy so fuck the legalities. I'm leaning toward Smokum's suggestion.

From observations at this point.. I'd say sack the deal, file a dispute, and out the bitch in the proper negative thread in the classifieds.