I'm so mad! Ebay rant

So I bought an undergravel filter with a powerhead for my little ten gallon aqarium off of ebay last week. I recieved it today. The packaging was terrible, and he didn't include the powerhead! Plus, this guy had the gall to enclose a note that said "This set just has 1 riser tube, but that's all you need for your tank." I paid this jerk $25.00 for this item, and the only reason I bought it from him is because it said it INCLUDED the powerhead! I could have went to petco and picked up the filter part for $6.00. There is no way I would have spent $25.00 for that crappy little piece of plastic he sent me. I sent him a nice note which said that I recieved the item, but the powerhead was missing. I told him that I REALLY NEED the powerhead. I wasn't rude at all. So we will see if he even writes back. This is my first bad ebay experience. If he doesn't respond, should I report him to ebay for false advertising? I made sure that my email was very polite, because if I end up reporting him, I'm pretty sure ebay will want copies of my emails. I haven't left him feedback yet, I've never left anyone a negative feedback before. I hate confrontation, but I really feel like I was screwed. It's only $25.00, but still! I guess you live and you learn.

My advise to you is first do what you have done and contacted him explaining the situation. Give him a reasonable time to reply ( if it was me then a couple of days would be plenty) If you get no response from him then
(assuming you paid through Paypal) contact Paypal and report it. I have only had to do that a couple of times over the years, but they have proved quite affective in these situations. If you have not paid through Paypal then report it to Ebay. Good luck.

NO NO NO!!!! If he doesn't respond within a few days (if he is a big ebay seller) and a week if he isn't, tell him you are going to report him for the false information. I would be furious. I've bought and sold a few things, 40 stars , and I've actually never had a problem yet.

Good luck with this and don't let this looser get away with it.

I agree with you being polite on the first letter, just in case, but if he doesn't respond or doesn't see the problem......That's when you need to tell him he IS going to get reported! Sellers are more than happy to tell me I will be reported if I don't pay (within 7 days after the auction, I always pay!), so buyers should be more than happy to say I will report you if you don't send me my stuff!!!!!!

Stupid question....does the auction state that the power head is included? If so, make a screen print of the entire auction, so you have proof that it says the power head was supposed to be included. Contact him, which you have done, and tell him that he didn't include the power head. Now you have to wait to see what his response is. If he sends the power head, all should be right. If not, you will need to contact e-Bay via the 'Dispute Console." To find the Dispute Console, go into "My E-Bay" and it is at the bottom of the links on the left hand side of the first page. Here is the first item of the Dispute Console....

As a buyer you can:
*Report a problem with an item (that was not received or that was significantly not as described) to eBay and your seller.
*Communicate with your seller to find a solution.

If the auction states that the power head is included, and it wasn't sent....that fits into the "significantly not as described" category.

Good luck! I only had to start the dispute console once. After 5 weeks, I still had not received my item. Once I opened a dispute, I received the item in about 3 days. When I received the item, it was in excellent condition, so I gave positive feedback and received positive feedback in return (even though I had opened a dispute.)

It could just be an honest mistake, and he'll fix the problem. You definetely did the right thing by talking to him and being polite first. If he refuses to send you the missing part or remedy the situation, then I would report him to ebay. Did you use paypal to pay for the item? If so you can notify them too, because they have a buyer protection program.

You did the right thing by keeping your emails (did you keep his too?). After every transaction, I keep all correspondence for 30 days, just in case.

If he said the powerhead was included, it should have been, therefore, you have a right to insist he send it to you (and free of charge, including shipping charges--don't let him charge you again for that). Give him a couple of days (unless you specified a time limit in your emails--I usually gave them 2-3 days to reply). If you don't get satisfaction, report him to eBay (good luck there--in my experience, if you're a buyer, they send you stock emails, but don't do anything in your defense. I had this happen recently, too.).

And don't feel bad complaining over "only" $25. Money is money; when you pay for something, whether it's .25 or $25,000, you should get satisfaction. I once had an on-going dispute with a jerk on eBay about this. He liked to rip people off (not sending the stuff) for about $10 each time (found this out after I bid--I have a knack for that! He had little, but excellent feedback unitil that point). He said, "Why are you worried over 10 bucks?"

I hope eveything gets resolved in your favor--keep us posted!

Thaks guys! Yes, the auction listed that the powerhead WAS included, he even went on to say how he was going to upgrade it to a more powerful one. He hasn't written back as of this morning, and I'll probably give him until Monday night or Tuesday morning. When I go in and look at his detailed feedback, one of the complaints that customers gave was *not responding to emails*. Uuugh. I already made a copy of the page and saved it in case he goes in and changes it. (If he can) Also, I truly believe that this WAS NOT an honest mistake, not after reading his note.

use the dispute console in ebay, it will put you in the right direction, it will say if you have to go through paypal or not.

Hope you get it sorted

I count myself *very* lucky to have never had a bad ebay experience. I know a *lot* of people who have been ripped off there, and it's *so* sad!

I'm sorry that you got hit in this way. $25 could be a lot of money, depending on circumstances (you have pets to take care of, after all -- that's money you could have put into improving the aquarium setup in the first place!). If he said the powerhead was included, he *has* to include it, in my opinion.

Hopefully you can get this resolved either through Ebay or through paypal.