Deal alert! uni-t UT210E US $17.27 on ebay!

[edavid]

What's the best thing to do, I am attempting to figure out an appropriate response (its now shown as "delivered" to the wrong address.. ) 

I just clicked on Contact Seller -> I didn't receive my item

The seller gave me a refund in a couple of days - I did not have to escalate to eBay.

[bitseeker]

I made an offer for less money and it was rejected, why would they reject an offer if they are shipping empty bags?

Maximize profits. Why settle for less money for nothing when someone else will give them all the money for nothing?

Why would they spend money in shipping if it is a scam?  Are they stealing tracking numbers?

Last I heard, they don't spend money on shipping because shipping for small items (those ubiquitous gray plastic bag envelopes) is subsidized. So, it doesn't cost them anything to ship a plastic bag with little (or even nothing) in it.

[Brumby]

What's the best thing to do, I am attempting to figure out an appropriate response (its now shown as "delivered" to the wrong address.. ) 

I just clicked on Contact Seller -> I didn't receive my item

The seller gave me a refund in a couple of days - I did not have to escalate to eBay.

This allows them to keep a low profile - and as long as the buyer doesn't leave (bad) feedback, there is no sign there is anything wrong.

If the Seller is running a scam, then providing bogus tracking information (maybe for someone else's genuine shipment of a completely unrelated product) and sending wrong items are just delaying tactics.  There are time limits for lodging a claim through eBay - and for leaving feedback.  If the seller can string a buyer along long enough for those windows to close, the buyer is not going to get ANY response ... and the money is gone.

[cdev]

Already have started the complaint process.

[mtdoc]

I messaged the seller asking for a refund. This is the message i got back:

"Hello dear friend
I'm really sorry,
Received your mail after I first time contact the warehouse office to ask the situation,
It has now acknowledged acknowledged,
Our careless staff sent the wrong item and address?
This is unforgivable,
I apologize to you?
I will send you the project again for you,
Is this okay?
We are committed to give you full service?
I hope you can forgive us, I will ship you again,
Of course you can also choose a refund,
I still hope you give me a chance to correct,
You really are a kind and Upright buyer,
Can meet you and become friends with you,
I am really honored,
Looking forward to your visit again,
Bless you and your family happy every day!
From Chinese friends?
Sincere blessing


2017-09-30

gaobing2199"

[Specmaster]

I messaged the seller asking for a refund. This is the message i got back:

"Hello dear friend
I'm really sorry,
Received your mail after I first time contact the warehouse office to ask the situation,
It has now acknowledged acknowledged,
Our careless staff sent the wrong item and address?
This is unforgivable,
I apologize to you?
I will send you the project again for you,
Is this okay?
We are committed to give you full service?
I hope you can forgive us, I will ship you again,
Of course you can also choose a refund,
I still hope you give me a chance to correct,
You really are a kind and Upright buyer,
Can meet you and become friends with you,
I am really honored,
Looking forward to your visit again,
Bless you and your family happy every day!
From Chinese friends?
Sincere blessing


2017-09-30

gaobing2199"

Yep that's about the way most of the Chinese responses go to something not arriving. You could also ask them to upgrade the delivery service to airmail or some other service to speed it up seeing as they admit the mistake.i have always got either the item re shipped or a refund,  even if the item arrived and was incorrect or defective, they never want the old unit returned. I had a multimeter recently with a frequency range that would drop the signal occasionally, they replaced it so now I have 2 meters, the meter worked perfectly on all the other ranges, so good all round.

[cdev]

So, I just got this same letter too.

I think its likely the sender does not speak English, or speaks only fragmentary English.

I am basically writing back to tell him that I am asking others who know ebay better than I do, if I would be risking my money if I allowed him to ship me another meter by air freight - but he would have to give me a tracking number and it would have to get here within 3 days.

 Is that a mistake?

I messaged the seller asking for a refund. This is the message i got back:

"Hello dear friend
I'm really sorry,
Received your mail after I first time contact the warehouse office to ask the situation,
It has now acknowledged acknowledged,
Our careless staff sent the wrong item and address?
This is unforgivable,
I apologize to you?
I will send you the project again for you,
Is this okay?
We are committed to give you full service?
I hope you can forgive us, I will ship you again,
Of course you can also choose a refund,
I still hope you give me a chance to correct,
You really are a kind and Upright buyer,
Can meet you and become friends with you,
I am really honored,
Looking forward to your visit again,
Bless you and your family happy every day!
From Chinese friends?
Sincere blessing


2017-09-30

gaobing2199"

Yep that's about the way most of the Chinese responses go to something not arriving. You could also ask them to upgrade the delivery service to airmail or some other service to speed it up seeing as they admit the mistake.i have always got either the item re shipped or a refund,  even if the item arrived and was incorrect or defective, they never want the old unit returned. I had a multimeter recently with a frequency range that would drop the signal occasionally, they replaced it so now I have 2 meters, the meter worked perfectly on all the other ranges, so good all round.

[Specmaster]

I would say that you really do need to give them the chance of putting the mistake right, about arriving within 3 days, I'm not sure if thats possible. Does their site offer any other shipping methods? If so then I think its fair enough to ask them to upgrade the shipping to the best of them, don't you?

[cdev]

My gut feeling now is that I was wrong, the skeptics here were likely right and that is that he is following some kind of script for ripping off buyers and that he never had any intention of sending a meter at that price.

Maybe I should just go with my gut feeling and demand a refund.

[Specmaster]

My gut feeling now is that I was wrong, the skeptics here were likely right and that is that he is following some kind of script for ripping off buyers and that he never had any intention of sending a meter at that price.

Maybe I should just go with my gut feeling and demand a refund.

If the seller has a good number of feedbacks and high percentage of satisfied customers, then I really doubt it's a scam. If it was someone with either zero feedbacks or into very low numbers then, yes I could believe it was.

If you escalate it to Ebay they will more then likely tell you to try talking to the seller first and then go back to them if you cant resolve the problem, so I'd talk to the seller and see what they can do about expediting it to quicker first. At the end of the day its your call and yours alone.

[cdev]

I'm waiting for a response from them, other than this canned one which offers to ship the product again,

"We are committed to give you full service?
I hope you can forgive us, I will ship you again,"

however, that basically means wait another several weeks, right?

What is the time span that I have to demand a refund?

[Specmaster]

Thats a question for Ebay / Paypal, sorry I cant help more on that aspect.

[bitseeker]

What is the time span that I have to demand a refund?

Here's what eBay says (emphasis added by me):

If you haven't received an item: You can report that you didn't receive the item and open a request for a refund after the estimated delivery date has passed. You must open the request within 30 days of the estimated delivery date.

For more information, see: https://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/item-not-received.html

[edavid]

What is the time span that I have to demand a refund?

Here's what eBay says (emphasis added by me):

If you haven't received an item: You can report that you didn't receive the item and open a request for a refund after the estimated delivery date has passed. You must open the request within 30 days of the estimated delivery date.

For more information, see: https://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/item-not-received.html

I don't think that's the whole story... I believe if the tracking shows that the item was delivered, you only have 30 days from the supposed delivery date.

[bitseeker]

Yeah, just assume whichever 30-day period is the shortest. Even better, don't wait, especially if the item went somewhere else. Submit the report and get your refund. Then, if you want to try again, order again.

Approximately 90% of my orders from China are successful. The ones that aren't, I get refunded and try again. I've even had a couple of sellers in China tell me to take the refund and then submit a new order.

[mtdoc]

I received my refund.

I agree with others - Don't try to negotiate another shipment - just open a dispute with ebay and paypal and get a refund.

I knew when I did this order there was a good chance it would end up this way. Too good to be true and all that. But it's kind of a fun gamble on these deals and sometimes they pay off. Very little risk since ebay/paypal will always get your refund.

It's certainly possible this is just an incompetent seller who can't ship a product correctly. There are now other similar cheap deals for this meter so maybe I'll try again with another seller.  It's entertaining if nothing else.

I already have one of these that I paid the usual $30ish price for. They're the perfect "carry in the car" meter IMO. I'd like another one for a second vehicle.

[cdev]

Has anybody of the people who ordered actually received even just one single UT210E meter?

[nidlaX]

My tracking says my package is actually still in shipment, so no final word yet.

[cdev]

Keep a close eye on it. Its likely going to go to somebody else.

[Brumby]

Keep watch on the time limit for claiming your money back!

[Specmaster]

According to Paypal UK, you have 180 days to raise a claim, might be the same everywhere?

[Brumby]

Going through eBay - the time limit is much less.  PayPal does say 180 days for me as well, but I expect a lot of people won't think past the eBay facilities - which I am sure dodgy Sellers will hope for.

Wherever you are, just check what the limits are for your location.

[TK]

My order was also shipped and moving... to Hawaii!!!  I live in Pennsylvania.  I will ask eBay for a refund once the tracking shows it as delivered to the wrong address.  It is a scam.  If the seller takes all the money out of his/her paypal account, how does eBay issue the refund?

[edavid]

If the seller takes all the money out of his/her paypal account, how does eBay issue the refund?

You aren't allowed to sell things with just a PayPal account, you also have to have a linked bank account, that PayPal can drain to issue refunds.

Also, for new sellers, and in other circumstances, PayPal holds incoming funds for additional time past the delivery date.

That said, even if there is no money available from the seller, eBay has still promised a refund, and will have to pay for it.

[Brumby]

Percentages.

EBay makes money - don't you doubt that for a femtosecond.

For new, unproven and/or suspicious sellers, eBay/PayPal will hold funds for a period.  I recently sold a multimeter - and I couldn't get the funds out of PayPal for 3 weeks ... and there is nothing even remotely problematic with my eBay or PayPal accounts.  These funds "holds" can run up to 6 months ... and if PayPal wants to be nasty, I would not be at all surprised for them to have other delaying tactics.

For those Sellers able to slide under this radar, eBay will certainly have a fund set aside to honour their Buyer Protection.  EBay have gone to inordinate lengths to encourage Buyers to feel safe using their platform - so forking out $20 here and $50 there is small change compared to the damage to their reputation if they didn't.