Newbie story and trouble with well-reputed eBay Seller ozark_sports

[r0sta]

Hello,

I'm a newbie here, and not really looking to start collecting. My leatherman doesn't really do the job, so I decided to grab a pocketknife. Doing the reading, I settled on a spyderco.

First, I decided I wanted something small, but not too small. I had settled on a Delica, but then I looked at the Salt I, which is basically a delica, but rust-free. This sounded great to me, since I'd love to use the knife in the kitchen. So I bid on and won a Salt from a high-feedback eBay seller, ozark_sports. This was on May 4th, and starting a week ago, I began exchanging emails with the seller. Or, well, trying to.

Three days in, I started getting rude responses, ending with a complaint that he was going to have to file for insurance soemthing with the USPS. I sent a followup asking what this meant for me / my money / my knife. This was on thursday. If I don't hear from him tomorrow (giving very generous allowance for vacation time), I'm filing for a chargeback with paypal. Any thoughts for what I should / shouldn't do?

After waiting for a month, I said screw it, and purchased a Native at walmart today. It's pretty impressive, but I don't have a basis of comparison beyond my leatherman squirt and a few swiss army knives.

So, how should I proceed?

Thanks,
-Ross

 

[tonydahose]

call paypal and ebat. its quicker to get live help with ebay...its on the top.
paypal is 888 221-1161

 

[JD Spydo]

I have on 3 occasions considered buying Spyderco knives that this seller has had up for sale. On all 3 occasions I sent e-mails asking questions about the item for sale and NEVER, EVer got a response from them. I know that they have a lot of feedbacks and that their Ebay seller rating is decent but I am very leary of someone who won't respond to me.

This guy's getting similar treatment that I have gotten from them in the past. I just won't deal with someone who won't communicate

 

[r0sta]

UPDATE - Maybe it was just a confluence of unfortunate events - the seller responded again this morning, much more reasonably. Though details were still sketchy, it's clear they intend to either refund me or send me another knife once the USPS insurance goes through. To be clear, I retract any implication that this seller has faults beyond poor communication.

-Ross

 

[Ritt]

it's clear they intend to either refund me or send me another knife once the USPS insurance goes through.

Just my opinion, but YOU shouldn't have to wait for the insurance to "go through". If the shipment got screwed up, they should immediately make things right with you (refund or ship another knife), and THEY should wait for the insurance to go through.

 

[bigbcustom]

This is just my two cents for what it's worth. I bid on and won a cold steel recon scout for $60.00 plus $8.00 shipping which is a pretty good price. He said he shipped it usps but couldn't give me a tracking number for two weeks because it shipped from an offsite warehouse. After two weeks (who has ever had usps take more than two weeks to get something to you) I emailed, and got a response that he would have to file for insurance (I know that usps tracking numbers only confirm delivery, but at least if I had a number I could confirm that it was shipped) I asked for the tracking number, and was told that he couldn't find it. Then he said he didn't have another one to ship and returned my money after two months. He then said that he would sell me one for the same price when he got one. Further emails over the last several months have gone completely unanswered. It is my opinion that if you win the bid for too low a price, your package will be "lost in the mail" and he will graciously go ahead and refund your money, but if you pay enough that he is happy with his margin, your package will arrive without problems.

 

[Steelhed]

Ritt - That's right. It was not your mistake, and maybe not theirs, but they have your money and you do not have the knife. Unless you feel like you want to loan them your money then you should get it back right away and let them wait for the USPS refund, which in my experience can easily take six months.

 

[dselsor]

I guess this is the thing that I continually fail to understand. This guy, ozark_sports, is selling a Spyderco Salt for 42.99. A well-known, REPUTABLE dealer, in this case KnifeCenter, is selling the same knife for 46.95. Basically, a $4.00 difference. From my experience with eBay, only 15 transactions, none really bad, a savings of 4.00 is nowhere near worth the hassle of dealing with anyone on eBay. I don't care what their feedback is. Maybe it's just me, but if I can't afford the 4.00 difference, I shouldn't be spending the 43.00 in the first place. Why people go for eBay when most of this stuff can be found from a reputable dealer is unfathomable to me. Go with 1 Stop, KnifeCenter, Knife Outlet, or New Graham. Between those four, you'll get a good deal and you will not get ripped off.

Doug

 

[r0sta]

I guess this is the thing that I continually fail to understand. This guy, ozark_sports, is selling a Spyderco Salt for 42.99. A well-known, REPUTABLE dealer, in this case KnifeCenter, is selling the same knife for 46.95. Basically, a $4.00 difference. From my experience with eBay, only 15 transactions, none really bad, a savings of 4.00 is nowhere near worth the hassle of dealing with anyone on eBay. I don't care what their feedback is. Maybe it's just me, but if I can't afford the 4.00 difference, I shouldn't be spending the 43.00 in the first place. Why people go for eBay when most of this stuff can be found from a reputable dealer is unfathomable to me. Go with 1 Stop, KnifeCenter, Knife Outlet, or New Graham. Between those four, you'll get a good deal and you will not get ripped off.

Doug

In this case, I hadn't done huge amounts of homework, and hadn't heard about these sellers by that point. eBay, on the other hand, was familiar to me. I'm not a collector - I was just looking for an EDC.

 

[bh49]

Just my opinion, but YOU shouldn't have to wait for the insurance to "go through". If the shipment got screwed up, they should immediately make things right with you (refund or ship another knife), and THEY should wait for the insurance to go through.

Absolutely agree with that. However, for some reasons many e-bay stores do not operate like the rest of the country. I hate the rule to mirror your feedback.
I bought few knives on e-bay and most of them from private people.

 

[shao.fu.tzer]

Just my opinion, but YOU shouldn't have to wait for the insurance to "go through". If the shipment got screwed up, they should immediately make things right with you (refund or ship another knife), and THEY should wait for the insurance to go through.

I don't agree with this statement. The USPS has been known to deliver packages on the extreme end of late. In fact, just the other day I sold a $300 knife to this guy through Ebay and shipped it immediately using Priority Mail (insured). After 10 days the guy e-mails me and tells me he called his post office with the tracking number and they told him it was lost. He asked for a refund and told me it was my responsibility to file the insurance claim. I checked the tracking number and sure enough - no record of the item. I told him out of the 2000+ packages I'd shipped, I had yet to lose one, and to please bear with me a few more days. Sure enough - a few days later I get an e-mail from him that the knife finally arrived. If I had refunded him immediately, I could have been out $300 and at his mercy to return my money since the insurance claim wouldn't have held water. I understand the customer should come first and all - but I'm not freakin McDonalds or whatever. Most people can't afford to swallow $50 - $100 - whatever $$$ - anytime a customer is feeling antsy.

Shao

 

[Ritt]

If an experienced, honest seller is at the point that they're going to file an insurance claim, they should make it right with the buyer and then deal with the insurance themselves. That said, it's reasonable to wait at least a couple weeks for a package to arrive, even if it was sent "Priority". You have to wait 21 days to file a claim anyway (7 days with Express mail). I've had Priority mail packages take 2 weeks just to move a few hundred miles down the Atlantic coast.

 

[dselsor]

I've had Priority mail packages take 2 weeks just to move a few hundred miles down the Atlantic coast.

My personal record is 20 days for Priority mail. Another one took 10. In my experience, about 2/3 of the packages take two days, with the rest taking three. Occasionally, the delivery confirmation number never shows up in the system, though the package has been successfully delivered. My post office says this is because some postal worker just don't bother to scan them. Seems the only way to guarantee the number makes it into the system is to use Click-n-Ship and print your own labels.

Doug

 

[sak_collector]

Be careful taking his word for it that he will refund or send a knife once the claim is in. It seems there are a few who like to string you along until the time has passed that paypal will allow you to contest a charge.

 

[Razzierb]

My suggestion, given the past correspondence, would be to ask the seller to refund your payment within three days via paypal. If he cannot, or will not refund your $$'s, I would start proceedings through paypal to get a refund. It may well take him months to settle with the PO.

Razz