Expert: Marvinator - 5/14/2004

Question
Even before your answer I sent both sellers a polite letter simply asking what happened...I also went to thier feedback and came to find out one (that I had bought 2 items from) had recieved 12 negative feedback for the same problem in the past 2 weeks. Seems I am not alone. The other seller said he was unsure what had happened and he was very polite and offered to send me out a duplicate set of what I ordered. So...now my question is..I paided via pay pal...how do I go about getting a refund from the non replyer?
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Followup To
Question -
I have 3 seprate articals I paid for but never recieved...is there anything I can do to get my money back if the person will not contact me back?? each of the items I bought at least a month if not more ago
Answer -
In order to get your money back you need to examine how you paid.  If you paid by credit card, contact the Card company and explain that you never received the item.  If you paid via Paypal, then contact them. If you paid via Money Order, Personal Check or (horror) Cash, then you may have to take other steps.

A lot of times, we so expect things to go right that we are unprepared for when things DON'T go right.  Let's examaine the steps to take when things start to go wrong.

First and foremost, when something seems to be going amiss, write the seller.  Write a polite note asking for clarification, shipping numbers, or just a date the item was shipped and the method (USPS, FedEx, UPS or whatever). Tell them that in the case that you do not hear back within 48 hours, you will be forced to assume that the seller wishes to cancel the sale and you will seek a refund through whatever means are necessary.  Explain that you paid via Paypal or Credit Card and that you will be requesting a refund from them.  

If you paid via one of the other methods, you may have more problems.  It may be necessary to file papers with the local constabulary (the police). When I say the "local" police, I mean Local to the seller.  YOUR police can do nothing, so you must contact the police in the city where your seller lives.  In addition, these other forms (Check, MO, Cash) had to be MAILEd, so you can contact the United States Postal Authority FRAUD Division and file papers with them.  Always remain detached, polite and matter of fact.  Never threaten, or inform the seller of what you plan to do.  Use the phrase "Necessary steps" or "file necessary paperwork".

A lot of unscrupulous sellers on Ebay rely on the fact that very few bidders know WHAt to do or HOW to do it and they also rely on the fact that very few bidders will want to file all this paper work for small claims.  Some of them are quite bold, emailing their victims with expletive filled taunts and rantings.  

Always remain calm.  Remember these salient points.
1) You have 45 days to file a claim with Ebay.
2) You have 90 days to leave feedaback for the seller. don't leave it too soon or too late.
3) you have 60 days to file a claim with the Post Office.
4) Contact your card company or Paypal before the 30 day point.
5) Regardless of how the seller treats you, or the items involved, you need only point out to the authorities a) the amount of money involved, b) where it was sent and how, c) items were never received.  Anything more will only muddy the waters.

Lastly, when you are feeling overwhelmed, step back and ask questions.  Ask until you understand things correctly.  Sometimes laws change overnight.  I recently learned that Paypal is now considered a viable payment option for the Post office to step in on mail fraud IF the seller said they were going to use the USPostal Authority to send out the item.  

Good luck!  

Answer
If a seller recieved that many feedbacks for not sending items, he may be NARU before too long (If he isn't already).  (NARU=No longer a Registered User.)

The way to do this varies on your method of payment.  You need to take the time to read up on both the  Buyer Protection plan and the Buyer Complaint Process.  You can get all this information at the paypal site (www.paypal.com) in the HELP Section (Click the word HELP in the upper right hand corner.) Then look down the left hand side for the link that says: Protection Policies.  All you questions should be answered in there.  

If I can help further, please let me know.