Etsy Problem

And not the "I'm like a junkie" problem.

I commissioned a new highchair cover via Alchemy WAAAAY back in February. I ordered the fabric, shipped it to the woman, paid her and have been in contact with her --- BUT I STILL DON'T HAVE THE CUSHION! She claims she shipped it, and claims to have "upped" the shipping, but I still am cushion-less (and cannot use the old one b/c I sent it to her to use as the model for the new one). The crafter only had positive feedback ....

I'd planned this so that I'd have my finished cushion right around the time Mattie turned 6 months old (which means I gave the whole process a month). Mattie is now 7 months old and I still can't use my highchair.

I'm so frustrated. Is there any other recourse besides leaving negative feedback? I'm not only out the $ I paid the crafter, but also the $$ I paid for the laminated fabric, and the $ I paid to ship it to her. Plus, I now have a non-useable highchair.

[spotty_dog]

Oh, man. When did you pay her? You have a limited time, I think 60 days, to file a dispute with Paypal. That would be your best recourse. Paypal has a whole system in place to arbitrate such disputes. Definitely leave feedback. There's also a FAQ for Alchemy that states What if I have a problem with an Alchemy transaction (buyer doesn't pay, seller doesn't ship the item)? and the suggestion is to contact Support (http://www.etsy.com/contact.php).

That stinks. You would think that upgraded shipping would have included proof of it having been delivered to you.
Great idea for customizing your high chair!

I paid March 3rd. I just checked PayPal and it's 45 days to file a dispute, so I'm out of luck with that. I'm worried that if I leave negative feedback, she'll do the same to me. I don't sell on etsy, but I do shop, and I don't want people to refuse to sell to me.

I've been messaging back and forth with her (and have all the conversations on etsy) the whole time. This is just BS.

I'm seriously about to go out and buy a new high chair -- I'm really pissed.

[Phoebe]

That sucks! There's no way for her to track the package she sent through the post office or company?

I've already asked her for the tracking info and haven't heard back. We hadn't set a specific date, although my Alchemy request had a completion date in March.

[Tenacious_D]

Shame on her for not taking a partial loss and sending you back the original cushion and at least half what you paid her. That would seem like the fair thing to do. If she doesn't want to do that then....go with the negative feedback and make mention of the fact that you weren't provided with a tracking number.

[alison]

It sucks that you're at the end of the deal where you can't prove that you have or don't have the item. I would write her again and see if there's some kind of agreement that you can come to: "what would be in it for me to claim that I didn't get the item?" You can tell her that you really want to sort this out, and would hope that there's some way you can come to a resolution without having to involve negative feedback.

I think it would be appropriate to tell her that if she can't get you the tracking number and help solve this, you are ready to move on and leave negative feedback. Does Etsy have any means for contesting negative feedback if she does that to you?

I'm pretty sure the only negative feedback recourse on etsy is "kiss and make up."

What were the shipping arrangements? Did you pay for insurance? I don't believe that first class shipping automatically provides a tracking # through USPS.

What is troubling is that she doesn't seem willing to work with you to make amends. Does she know how upset you are? Since she can't make another cushion without the fabric you supplied, a refund is her only option. I would email her one last time and tell her that you expect a full refund - including shipping charges - within 10 days, and if you don't receive it your next step will be to leave appropriate (and lengthy) negative feedback and notify etsy, paypal, her local district attorney, and your credit card company (if a credit card was involved in your paypal account.) Chances are she won't readily know the deadlines or policies of each.

I wouldn't worry about retaliatory negative feedback, just expect it. Clearly she's Crazy Seller here.

Well, I filed my thing with etsy. We'll see what happens.

She was to pay for shipping on her end in exchange for me paying for and shipping the original fabric to her, along with the original cushion. I paid $25! to ship all of that to her (2 yds of laminated fabric & cushion + shipping to Canada). I'm out about $100 on this little fiesta ...

She promised she'd email me a picture of the finished item back on 4/9, never got it. Today when I logged in to etsy to file my grievance, she'd uploaded a picture of it ... so she did make it. It's possible that it got lost, but she's never acted like it couldn't be tracked, or even surprised that I hadn't gotten it yet.

[Amiens]

Jane,

Whatever happened with this? Did you get a refund or some resolution to the problem?

No refund. The seller never responded to my complaint, so etsy banned her. Annoying, but I've gone on to make several more purchases from other sellers w/o issue.