Road Cycling - Ok so how long do you give an eBay seller?

Grr :mad: So about 48 hours ago now I won an auction for a 03 Marin Mill Valley flat bar road bike on eBay. Within 20 min of the end of the auction I paid via paypal (seller's desired method of payment) and haven't heard anything other than the automatic eBay and paypal emails. I emailed the seller yesterday and at the same time today, asking when he may ship and I have gotten no response. Guy seems to sell a bit (not a lot but a few things) and his feedback was ok (2 negatives but everything else was glowing, probably should have run at the 2 neg but it went for a good price).

So how long do I give this guy? IMO if you post something on eBay it is your responsibility to be availible at the time of the sale so I don't to hear that he could have gone on vacation, that is just BS.

As you can probably tell by now I am starting to get pissed...at what point am I ok to flip out? :D

If you still haven't heard back from him after 72hrs I would pull his contact info and give him a call. There could be many reasons he has not returned your emails but not many are good enough for me. He knows when his auction ends unless it was a BIN and should be ready to finish the transaction. Good luck.

I was checking the closed auctions and did not find your bike. The only one similar was this one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=27947&item=7106368021&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

but the reserve was not met so no transaction.

Please post your auction #

Dear Seller.
I am the winner of Item #&*$#@&*%$#, This auction ended 48 hours ago, I do not want to sound over anxcious. BUT I did send payment immediately, along with a few emails. I do think I am entitled to a response.
After all doesnt your listing state that the buyer must make contact within 3 days? Common courtesy goes a long way with a smooth transaction and feedback. I do hope you understand and reply to me at your soonest convenience.
Most Sincerely Grasschopper
Then if that doesnt work send another one the following day but a bit more stern, then you could do as Bluechip said look up his info and call him.
And if that doesnt work REPORT him.
Rotsa Ruck Grasschopper

Sunday I "won" a pair of Pearl Izumi shorts and the seller promised to ship the next day. They arrived this afternoon and I'm 3000 miles away.

Most sellers expect buyers to respond within 72 hours. It seems perfectly reasonable that a seller should respond within the same time.

Maybe he's still trying to figu0re out how to pack it :o

how did you pay? I always like paypal with a credit card. If paypal won't do anything, your credit card company will, just a phone call will take care of it. Sellers that do a lot of business often don't bother with answering all their email, but they do quickly send out the items. And selling a bike might require the seller find a box and haul it to the shipper...might take a bit of effort compared to selling small parts. But after 72 hours, you could send an email saying you will be contacting paypal if you don't hear from them in the next 24 hours. good luck.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7107297072&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

Here is the auction. Says 2004 but it is a 2003. I knew that when bidding. I paid via paypal with some being balance and the rest being CC payment. I assume I am covered X 3 here as I should have protection with eBay, Paypal and my CC.

I was burned on ebay by seller that never shipped. She (could have been a man pretending I suppose) strung me along, even had me call off the paypal dogs so the money could transfer. I gave her the benefit of the doubt because it was for a Bianchi that I have been looking for for years. Given this guys feedback, I'm guessing that he'll come through eventually. Buyers are going out on a limb by sending money before seeing the item. I wish sellers would be more considerate and put them at ease. The wait sucks.

Hmmmm I would email him and wait a day or two. I am sure you will get the bike Its the wrong color, has the wrong name and there is a kickstand on it :( j/k
Sounds like you are covered, its a shame tho that the seller doesnt have the courtesy to email you with an update.
I have never been conned on ebay except for high shipping fees, but have had the same experience , (No emails from the seller) but my items always came in.
Good Luck Grasschopper :)

Oh believe me the kick stand is the first thing coming off there. The dork disc if still intact will be #2. The color is the 03 color and the name is the name of the series of bikes (Marin calls their flat bar roadies ALP). Like I said I knew it was an 03 going in. I get a little impatient at times. :D Not like I could be riding it in this rain anyway :(

Oh believe me the kick stand is the first thing coming off there. The dork disc if still intact will be #2. The color is the 03 color and the name is the name of the series of bikes (Marin calls their flat bar roadies ALP). Like I said I knew it was an 03 going in. I get a little impatient at times. :D Not like I could be riding it in this rain anyway :(

Man, I love riding in the rain...not in lightning mind you, but I have a fairly quiet and safe road I can put in about 18 miles on without much traffic, so when it comes down, I head out there and pretend I am in Belgium...Mrs. Zen AND the GF think I am doing it to avoid them, but I love it...

Sick, sick, sick...

Z

LOL sounds like me when I lived in Albuquerque NM, It would be snowing and I would be out on my Roadie, the ex wife thought the same thing... (she was right) :beer:


Man, I love riding in the rain...not in lightning mind you, but I have a fairly road I can put in about 18 miles on without much traffic, so when it comes down, I head out there and pretend I am in Belgium...Mrs. Zen AND the GF think I am doing it to avoid them, but I love it...

Sick, sick, sick...

Z

I wouldn't get excited yet. I have bought and sold many items on ebay and never had a bad experience. Most sellers go to great lengths to make sure that you get what you buy. The seller is kind of new to ebay transactions looking at the deals he's done he may still be a little green. I would suggest patience.

Grr :mad: So about 48 hours ago now I won an auction for a 03 Marin Mill Valley flat bar road bike on eBay. Within 20 min of the end of the auction I paid via paypal (seller's desired method of payment) and haven't heard anything other than the automatic eBay and paypal emails. I emailed the seller yesterday and at the same time today, asking when he may ship and I have gotten no response. Guy seems to sell a bit (not a lot but a few things) and his feedback was ok (2 negatives but everything else was glowing, probably should have run at the 2 neg but it went for a good price).

So how long do I give this guy? IMO if you post something on eBay it is your responsibility to be availible at the time of the sale so I don't to hear that he could have gone on vacation, that is just BS.

As you can probably tell by now I am starting to get pissed...at what point am I ok to flip out? :D

I can't aswer for this seller, but when I sell and know I won't be around for a few days, I let my bidders know that. For example, say I'm selling a Litespeed whatever, and I'm going to be out of town this weekend and won't be able to reply to emails, I say so. I also let them know that I will reply to the emails once I'm back into town.

It's possible this guy is having trouble with his computer, or had an emergency, or what not. Looking at the feedback given to the guy, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. His recent feedback shows a good shipping record.

Good luck.

I have had bad luck with ebay and will not do any more high dollar transactions on ebay. Last time I was conned out of 1200 for a laptop.

I asked him a question on another item he is selling. I'll see if he responds.

I contacted the buyer of his last item which was a Dell Axiom. That guy says he is supposed to get the Axiom tomorrow and I asked him to let me know if e does. Thing is because he is in NY and I am in central PA even if he ships it today I should have it tomorrow (stated shipping method was UPS) and can use it this weekend. :rolleyes:

My guess is that he/she has never shipped a bike before and is running around like a headless chicken looking for a box or a good rate ;)

ah grasschopper one must learn to listen to the sound
of one gear turning.
I've had similiar delays and lack of communication. Never had
a bad experience or been burned.
his 2 negatives sound like he tried to rectify situation.
You always have paypal and ebay safe harbour to back you
up.
Marty

It too soon to worry yet. Cycliste's post is probably correct.

Here's a little TRICK I learned in my 100+ transactions:

Contact Info -- Request a member's contact information (http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?UserInformationRequest#ContactInfo)

Click this link, and enter the User ID and item# under Contact Info. This will email each of you the other's contact info. Almost every time I have done this, the other party has kicked his or her ass into high gear, and if they don't immediately contact you at least you can try their phone#. Another thing this does is allow you to verify whether they even have valid contact info, cause if they dont they are in violation of policy and can be suspended.

Interesting idea. I actually think I already had his contact info from an email I got right after the auction ended but I did it anyway since like you said it essentially tells the other individual that I am looking for the info. Lets see what happens.

Hmm even more interesting. The info request got me a slightly different phone number. Area code is the same next 3 are different and the last four are the same. So how does that happen? Cell phone change maybe? Middle 3 aren't similar enough that one is a typo one is 526 and the other is 321. Anyone from Long Island able to help with some local change?

paypal via credit card is slower than bank paypal...sometimes a seller wont see the cash in their acct till 3-4 days later...so be patient, but expect some feedback from him...if he wont respond via email call him, if you cant get hold of him there, report him. He is selling something, and therefore should be there to answer.

I just picked up a bike off ebay 3 weeks ago and it took the seller 3 days to get back to me. Then there was an extra 4 days delay on the shipping, good news was that they threw in a set of speedplay X-2 pedals, some nice shimano shoes, cleats and a under seat bag. Don't forget to hassle them a bit if they don't get back to you right away or delay shipping, it's an easy way to get extras. Also, double check your email and make sure you're checking the proper address. Did you get an email notification saying the auction had ended? Ebay sends these out to the email address that the seller would be contacting you through.

most times that i have bought off of ebay, I ask them a couple of question pre-bidding. If I dont get a timely and curtious response, I dont do business. Just for future reference, not to snipe at you.

courteous.....(brain fart) :o

Well apparently you give them 72 hours. :rolleyes: I just called him...one of the 2 numbers was wrong but the other was right. Seems like a nice enough guy. Gave the the tracking number and UPS says I should get it in the morning, so unless it is all messed up I guess everything is cool.

Thanks for all the comments. :)

Confucious say be patient grasshopper

I asked him a question on another item he is selling. I'll see if he responds.

I asked him what size some boots were that he was selling. Here is his answer....


4 1/2



odog bites.


You might want to check the bike for drugs when you get it!

:D

Well apparently you give them 72 hours. :rolleyes: I just called him...one of the 2 numbers was wrong but the other was right. Seems like a nice enough guy. Gave the the tracking number and UPS says I should get it in the morning, so unless it is all messed up I guess everything is cool.

Thanks for all the comments. :)

Please let us know as soon as you get it, don't leave us off the hook like this.. ;)

Well I got the bike and slapped it together. Sure looks to have more than 50 miles of time on it but is in VERY good condition and I don't feel ripped off. I am going to leave work early today to tune it and go for a ride. Cleaned and tuned this bike should be perfect for the intended use and I will probably commute on it as well.

Oh yea anyone want a kick stand? That is already off...still have to cut that dork disc off though. :D

Alls well that ends well. Nice pick up Grasschopper, you can't beat that price...
A

Glad to see you got the bike, even if it had more than 50 miles on it.

I guess you are happy with it.

Yea it is pretty nice...very light which I wasn't expecting at all. Just got done with a clean up/tune up and everything works perfectly. The amount of greese that was on the rear der was pretty funny but simple green and an old tooth bruch later and it is all good.