eBay & Etsy Moms

Hi!  I do not sell on ETSY but I'm a regular buyer.  I've always had wonderful experiences with etsy, until recently.  If you're a seller, I would like your opinion, as I'm sure I'm seeing this one-sided and would like to know if I'm expecting too much.

I was going to buy some personalized bibs for a friends baby shower.  I found what I wanted and convo'd the girl to tell her the shower was 10 days away (I specifically stated I had a shower on such-and-such date) and could it be done and to me by then.  She said yes, so I purchased the bibs and she sent me a revised invoice with extra shipping b/c she said she would need to send it priority.  I agreed and paid the extra shipping to guarantee it got to me in time for the shower.

The day before the shower, still no bibs.  I convo her asking when she shipped them and she replied and said they should arrive that day.  No bibs arrived that day.  The day of the shower...still no bibs.  So I had to go buy another gift from Target to take.  The friend does not live near me and the shower was at her sisters house, so now I'm going to be buying her two gifts basically b/c it's not like I can return the monogrammed bibs or save them for another friend and I had to buy her something else to take to the shower.  I'm also going to have to pay for MORE shipping yet again to now mail these bibs to her when they finally arrive (they have not arrived yet).

So (sorry this is long!), I convo'd the seller after the shower and said the bibs hadn't arrived, I had to buy another gift and out of courtesy to me for having to now ship them to her, I'd like her to refund me the shipping costs.  Remember, I paid extra to guarantee they'd get to me.  She refused to refund my shipping and said she didn't know why they didn't arrive in time.  And she did not apologize or anything - she just said USPS is not her responsibility.

I'm mad.  I know we're talking like $4 but it was more than that when you consider the extra $30 I spent on another gift plus more shipping.  And if she couldn't finish them and get them to me in time, she should have just TOLD me so I could find something else - not promise something she couldn't deliver.

Please tell me if I'm being unreasonable as a buyer, and if not, what is my best course of action?  Thanks for your input!

           

  

I think you are totally in the right here. Unless the package was indeed lost (did the date shipped correspond with the sellers date?) then I think she should refund your shipping. That really isn't much to ask seeing as how much this fiasco has actually cost you.

Did you tell her you'd leave appropriate feedback if you can't resolve the situation? Sometimes this is extra incentive to please the customer.

As a seller I know that custom items are always quick to ship however a seller should always be honest about that up front.

Good luck!

http://littlemissfrilly.etsy.com

Hi Joy, thanks for responding!  My DD is a March '09 baby. :)

Just wanted to let you know that I contacted the seller again last night to tell her still no bibs and I think a shipping refund is fair.  She emailed me later that night and said another buyer had just contacted her and she had accidentally sent my bibs to that person.  She was very apologetic and offered to refund everything, make new ones and send to my friend or whatever I wanted.

I'm still not sure about when she shipped them since that person didn't get them until Monday either!  But that's okay - I just wanted my shipping money which she sent me, and she's mailing me the bibs when she gets them back.

Quite the mess! :)

           

  

Oops I needed to edit my post I meant custom are not quick to ship (lol) at any rate I'm so happy she's doing the right thing. Some sellers don't offer rush and I can understand but those that do really should stick to it!

I also love to shop on etsy ~ that's the problem with selling I'm on etsy too much in general so I tend to browse a lot lol

Awww March 09. I can't believe how quickly time flies. My Lily girl is going on 19mths. I was guest cl on the March 10 board until they found a perm cl. I can't believe it ~ March 2010!! It feels like I just had Lily.

http://littlemissfrilly.etsy.com

Oh, I know, I'm on etsy too much.  I keep having to tell myself not everything Cassidy owns has to be made or monogrammed. ;)  I even bought all of our Christmas stocking on there for this year and talked my mom into buying stockings too - ha!

It is amazing how time flies!  I can't believe Cassidy is 7 months!  My cousin is having a baby in Mar 10 and I just can't believe how far along they are already.  So fun. :)