by Deryk the Pirate » Fri Dec 02, 2011 1:09 am
Well I finally got an email back from the seller through ebays buyer protection...
Seller's message:
"You received your item on Sat. Nov. 26 & contacted me with your issues. You then were able to send the pictures and, by Monday morning, you filed this. It was a holiday weekend and I needed to investigate this first. I have various questions about this and it is quite suspicious. Why all the concern about the item being insured? How is it possible that pieces would be missing from the box? Where did they go? I contacted post offices and was advised that, if a box is damaged or opened by the post office, that post office then retapes it and stamps that area with their postal information. After throughly looking at your photos, reading your messages and my own investigation, I have concluded that I believe that you tried to open the door that wood is loaded into and broke it trying to do so. I then believe that, because you broke it, that you chose to further damage a piece that was in my family for 26 years, to further your claim. The item was packaged with excellent care and integrity."
I did originally start to send a scathing message back to him, but prefered to take the higher road and escalted it to Ebays Customer Support...
Your message to eBay Customer Support:
"Clearly from reading the sellers response we arent getting anywhere, he feels I destroyed a family heirloom. There is 6 days of tracking information that isnt listed. I have photo's of the box that clearly show its been taped with clear tape over 2 rips in the cardboard one small and 1 large. I feel that this cast iron pot belly stove must have shifted in the box while in transit and the hinge was damaged and lost 3 of the 4 legs and the top round disk. Personally I dont think it was packed well enough for its mass/weight, but who knows how it was treated/mistreated while in transit. I was charged a $30 shipping fee. On the box the stamp says $15.57 After seeing the condition of the box and the damage to the stove thats why I asked the seller on 3 different occasions if this was insured, which would have solved the problem. Judgeing from his response Im guessing it wasnt insured. Im asking for a full refund of the purchase price and the $30 shipping cost. I have 10 digital photo's I can email if you need to see them. Thank You
Me and the vardo are goin away for the weekend, I guess Im bringing my laptop with me! I just want my refund. I spoke with a close friend who is a blacksmith, and he figured to make the repairs and new legs and the round top disk to make it look back the way it originally did would be 2-3 hours at $95 an hour. For me he would do it for less but these stoves retail for around $100-150 on ebay so its almost not really worth the cost to fix. Makes me a little sad...but what can ya do.
deryk
