Hold your ground Mike, you have done the right thing.
The buyer started this stuff-up by not paying in accordance with the
auction terms. Because of that he has to wait the two weeks for
clearance. Don't be tempted to send the lens to him until you are 100%
certain that the money is yours.
And if he leaves negative feedback you can respond the same way.
Andrew McPhee
At 12:09 AM 29/12/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>Since there are some experienced sellers on this list, and this is about
>some OM equipment, I hope the OT police won't crucify me :)
>
>Here's my question -
>
>I listed a Zuiko 65-200 on ebay:
>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3853167242
>
>It made the reserve and the guy sends me a Western Union money order, while
>I explicitly asked for USPS money orders. Having never dealt with WU, I
>queried the local agents to find that none would cash the money order to a
>walk-in customer. This is in line with the policies outlined by WU on their
>website, where they say that their money orders are "just as good as a
>check" and that it is up to the individual agent to decide if they will cash
>them out.
>
>This is after it takes a week and a half for the MO to arrive. He also
>wanted the box shipped to an address other than his home - in c/o his name
>to a UPS store.
>
>So I tell the guy I'll accept the MO and I send it to be deposited in my
>account. The bank puts the $130 in and says that if the MO comes back bogus
>in the next 2 weeks it will be deducted, which is exactly how they handle
>checks. I notify the buyer about this delay as soon as I am aware of it.
>
>Tomorrow will be the end of the 2 week period and I receive an email from
>the buyer stating:
>
> >I have attempted to be patient, but at this point in time I think I have
> >exercised a reasonable amount of understanding by anyone's standards.
> >
> >As of this date, I cannot possibly leave positive feedback.
> >
> >On Friday of this week I will file a fraud complaint with Ebay.
> >
> >On Monday of next week I will file a fraud complaint with the Internet
> >Crimes Division.
>
>Now does anyone else think this is harsh? $130 is the average cost for one
>of my textbooks (I'm a full time engineering student) and more than I make
>in one week at my part-time job on campus. I have no way to absorb losses
>like other sellers might, so I'd be a fool to not take advantage of all the
>protections afforded to me by my bank that I can. I tell this to the buyer,
>several times.
>
>I've been forthright, courteous, honest, and prompt in all of my
>communications with this guy. I've answered his emails to me within hours
>and clearly stated my situation and my intentions. I even provided him with
>the contact information for my bank so he could ask them about how they
>handle WU money orders.
>
>So if you were in this situation - as a buyer or a seller - how would you
>handle it?
>
>Right now it's looking like I should have returned his payment and just said
>"Sorry, try reading my payment instructions (in the auction listing) again!"
>
>-mike
>
>
>
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