# Advice on what to do with a seller who disappears...?



## Meisje (Feb 16, 2010)

I searched posts but it's hard to find things since "Paypal" is in so many threads!

	I purchased some items on here January 23, using Paypal, and haven't heard anything from the seller since I paid, and the package has not arrived. I sent PMs on Feb 7 and another last week, posted in the thread twice and finally, after still not hearing anything, sent an email on Feb 13th.

	None of these messages were returned by the seller.

	I honestly don't mind if someone is late mailing something, and I'm patient. But I haven't received my goods AND the seller has been incommunicado for nearly a month... so I'm really starting to worry.

	I'm not angry with the seller, and I'm very conscious of the fact that something legitimate may be causing this delay/lapse in communication. Shit happens sometimes! And I really hope the seller is okay.

	But it's almost been a month, so in a few days I'll have to ask Paypal recover my funds.

	Any advice on next steps would be appreciated.


  	EDIT: There's an update later in the thread.


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## 1165Cheryl (Feb 16, 2010)

That happen to me here and I never heard back from the seller nor got my item. I had purchased from her once before without any problems but then she burned me and a few others.

Did you look at her profile to see if she's been here latley?


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## MACATTAK (Feb 16, 2010)

Sounds like you've done everything you could thus far.  The next step is to file a claim with Paypal, and make sure to bump it up to a dispute right away. A month without your items or communication is too long.


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## Meisje (Feb 16, 2010)

Would you believe I never thought of that 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Thanks!

It says she hasn't been here since the 28th of last month.

Edit: Macattack, I agree, it's too long. Just because I don't have any hard feelings doesn't mean I won't try to get my money back.


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## LMD84 (Feb 17, 2010)

hhhmmm, well perhaps if she hasn't been on teh site for that long then maybe she has some personal stuff going on. howeverit doesn't make it right. the seller has your money and you are left empty handed. even if she wasn't on specktra she could have sent out your stuff because paypal have your details. do you have a direct email address for her (maybe it's on paypal). try sending one more email and if no reply then file a claim.  as you say, stuff happens which can cause delays, but not communication at all is not excusable.


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## Meisje (Feb 17, 2010)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *LMD84* 

 
_do you have a direct email address for her (maybe it's on paypal). try sending one more email and if no reply then file a claim.  as you say, stuff happens which can cause delays, but not communication at all is not excusable._

 
I already sent one using her Paypal-provided email address on the 13th, and she hasn't replied. 

I feel uncomfortable doing this simply because I don't know what her situation is, and I don't want to be a jerk. I feel there's been ample time to contact me and explain, though. 

I am going to wait until Friday, just to give her a little more time. Then I'll contact Paypal and start the process 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Do I send her an email BEFORE I do the Paypal thing? Sorry, I have no idea what I'm doing --- I've never had this issue with a Specktra sale before.


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## MACATTAK (Feb 17, 2010)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Meisje* 

 
_I already sent one using her Paypal-provided email address on the 13th, and she hasn't replied. 

I feel uncomfortable doing this simply because I don't know what her situation is, and I don't want to be a jerk. I feel there's been ample time to contact me and explain, though. 

I am going to wait until Friday, just to give her a little more time. Then I'll contact Paypal and start the process 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Do I send her an email BEFORE I do the Paypal thing? Sorry, I have no idea what I'm doing --- I've never had this issue with a Specktra sale before._

 
Nope, you don't need to email her before you start the dispute.  She's not emailing you back anyway.  You shouldn't feel uncomfortable about getting your money back.  Yes, things happen in life, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve to receive your items or money back if something has come up.


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## MissCrystal (Feb 17, 2010)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *MACATTAK* 

 
_Nope, you don't need to email her before you start the dispute. She's not emailing you back anyway. You shouldn't feel uncomfortable about getting your money back. Yes, things happen in life, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve to receive your items or money back if something has come up._

 





 even if something did happen it takes like what less then 4 seconds to send an email explaining yourself. If you can't handle the responsibility that comes with being a seller then why do it. You said they last signed on the 28th, they could have explained themselves if something did come up. That would have been 5 days since the sale took place. Sorry about this, these are some of the reasons why i won't buy things on line unless its from like mac.com or sephora places like that.


But yeah give this person until friday then file a dispute with pay pal ..


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## LivestrongH2 (Feb 17, 2010)

make sure you don't wait too long to file your claim with paypal.  I can't remember what the time frame is, but you only have so long to file a claim before it's too late.  Sorry you're having to deal with this.  Not cool.


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## LMD84 (Feb 18, 2010)

yeah i wouldn't bother emailing first, i'd just file the claim.


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## Meisje (Feb 19, 2010)

Claim filed! I'll let you know what happens.


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## 1165Cheryl (Feb 20, 2010)

I filed a claim when it happen to me but I didnt get my money back. I won the dispute but she had no funds available...I hope yours turns out much better


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## Makeup Emporium (Feb 20, 2010)

^^^Same thing happened to me before as well!  The only way you are guaranteed to get your money back when your shipment doesn't arrive and you buy outside of EBay is to make sure you pay with a credit card and not a PP balance.  Then you can have you CC company stop payment.


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## Meisje (Mar 7, 2010)

The seller never responded to anything (pms, emails, nor the Paypal dispute) so I escalated it to a claim.

Her profile shows that she has not logged into Specktra at all since January 28th. Although, again, that was after I purchased the items.

Either something terrible happened or she did it on purpose --- I'll probably never know!

Does anyone know what happens if the seller doesn't respond? Is it like fighting a ticket where you win automatically if they don't show?


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## Meisje (Mar 19, 2010)

I won!!! I got my money back, she had a balance, and it's now back in my Paypal account. Wohoo!


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## panda0410 (Mar 19, 2010)

thats great news!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Did she ever respond to you?


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## abbyquack (Mar 20, 2010)

Yay so glad that it worked out, I srsly hate deadbeat sellers! It's so frustrating, just all the work it takes to get your $$ back is totally a PITA. But I am glad it did get returned.


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## 1165Cheryl (Mar 23, 2010)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Meisje* 

 
_I won!!! I got my money back, she had a balance, and it's now back in my Paypal account. Wohoo!_

 

That's great!! I'm happy you got your money back


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## Meisje (Mar 24, 2010)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *panda0410* 

 
_thats great news!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Did she ever respond to you?_

 
Nope! She never responded to me, or acknowledged anything during the Paypal dispute. 

I checked the thread after I had paid and there were people offering to pay for what I had already bought. I hope nobody else got snookered.


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## kabuki_KILLER (Mar 24, 2010)

I think in Japan, one auction site has this system where the website HOLDS the money the buyer pays once payment is authorized and doesn't deposit it in the seller's account until after the seller varifies that they've received the item. Of course this system isn't perfect (in the event you have a sleezy seller, so you get a tracking number and maybe insurance if the items were expensive), but it's a little more balanced. That way the seller knows you have money to give and you can make sure you get your stuff before they take the money from you for good.

I've never had a problem with being on the seller side, but I've had a problem as a buyer sometimes. One seller would often use my "lack of specific instructions" as leverage and excuse for spending 4 bucks to ship a 7 lb item when I gave them 15 for shipping, then it getting lost. Brilliant. I guess it all depends on how honest the seller and buyer are, really.


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## Meisje (Oct 4, 2010)

I never, ever heard from the seller, but oddly, they seem to be actively selling again.


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## bellaboomboom (Oct 4, 2010)

^^she is selling on this site again?  That scares me since I buy things from people on this site.


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## n_c (Oct 4, 2010)

Hmmm who is it?


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## bellaboomboom (Oct 4, 2010)

Would love to know.....


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## Meisje (Oct 4, 2010)

The original sale thread had lots of complaints in it, including posts from me warning people that stuff that was still listed for sale was paid for by me and never received. That thread is now gone and a new one is in its place (the things I bought and was refunded for by Paypal are still for sale).

I think it would have been a good idea for the seller to acknowledge what happened before they started selling on this site again. If you read this thread, I gave the seller the benefit of the doubt and would have been more than receptive to an explanation.

I am really not sure what I should do. I don't want to be a total bitch here.


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## vipervixen (Oct 4, 2010)

Did the seller have feedback? Also is the person a longstanding member here?


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## Meisje (Oct 4, 2010)

I can't remember if the seller listed off-site feedback at the time, I believe they had a couple of "it was okay" feedbacks here. They've been signed up a year and a half at this point, although my experience was in January of this year. They haven't been particularly active --- I've been signed up for only two months longer than this poster and I have quadruple the amount of posts.

I didn't leave iTrader feedback because technically, there wasn't any transaction and the person disappeared for a long time --- I thought they had simply left the boards. Now I realize how dopey that was of me.


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## elegant-one (Oct 4, 2010)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Meisje* 

 
_The original sale thread had lots of complaints in it, including posts from me warning people that stuff that was still listed for sale was paid for by me and never received. That thread is now gone and a new one is in its place (the things I bought and was refunded for by Paypal are still for sale).

I think it would have been a good idea for the seller to acknowledge what happened before they started selling on this site again. If you read this thread, I gave the seller the benefit of the doubt and would have been more than receptive to an explanation.

I am really not sure what I should do. I don't want to be a total bitch here._

 
You are not! In fact, you have been extremely reasonable!!! That seller has the problem not you & they need to be looked into or booted. That was just flat out deceptive & wrong on their part.

I notice that newbies come on this site for no other reason than to peddle their wares.


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## DILLIGAF (Oct 4, 2010)

This may be an occation where you may want to name and shame the seller. For the better benefit of the larger community. I buy from Speckra because I trust the women here.


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## MzEspressoXo (Oct 4, 2010)

I would have just left either neutral or negative feedback. That's what feedback is for, even though the transaction didn't go through, you still can leave feedback based on the whole experience. Everyone else can choose to trust the seller or not based on that. Maybe just leave an honest post on the sellers sale thread and leave it at that if your not allowed to leave feedback anymore.


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## roLLerGrrL (Oct 4, 2010)

To help your fellow Specktra-ites make an informed decision I would definitely leave feedback ASAP about what happened before it happens to someone else. You're not telling lies, you're stating your experience with this person. Besides, maybe you will finally get an explanation.

The only excuse I would take is if the person was dead (sorry to be blunt) but they're obviously not. Personal issues or not they could have sent you a very quick message or email saying "Sorry about the delay I have had *blah blah blah* happen". That takes just 2 minutes & any reasonable honest person would have taken the time.

Not good enough!

Maybe you should contact a Moderator to see what the policy is about naming & shaming, and if it's OK with them, I'd do it! If it's not OK, at least your feedback will be there.

We've got to show people that this is NOT ON & it won't be tolerated. If you want to do things like this, go elsewhere!


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## LMD84 (Oct 5, 2010)

i think that you should leave feeback as a negative or neautral. this way it will let other people know what happened without causing a scene. i don't think that naming and shaming would be a good idea at this time. the feedback will speak volumes.

luckily i have only had one transaction on specktra turn sour - products never arrived and i never got my money back. because it wasnt a huge amount of money i wasn't too fussed. but it did make me warey so now i always read feedback. 

and i may have said this before but i personally prefer to buy things from people that i have spoken to in other threads. not just people that come on to sell their things. this somehow makes me feel a bit safer if i have communicated with the person outside of the sales threads.


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## bellaboomboom (Oct 5, 2010)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *elegant-one* 

 
_You are not! In fact, you have been extremely reasonable!!! That seller has the problem not you & they need to be looked into or booted. That was just flat out deceptive & wrong on their part.

I notice that newbies come on this site for no other reason than to peddle their wares._

 






"Peddle their wares"  - that just struck me as so funny this morning!  Don't ask me why. I am weird.


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## Meisje (Oct 5, 2010)

Thanks for the advice, guys. 

I am definitely not into outright naming and shaming but I did leave a neutral feedback stating that the seller disappeared after I paid and that I had to file a Paypal complaint. It technically deserves a negative but I'm still unaware as to what happened so, just in case something terrible happened (although I agree there has been ample time to contact me!!!), I left it as neutral.

I really don't have any hard feelings about it and don't wish the poster any ill will, but it was a terrible feeling to pay for something and have the person drop off the face of the earth and I don't want it to happen to anyone else.


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## elegant-one (Oct 5, 2010)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *bellaboomboom* 

 
_





"Peddle their wares"  - that just struck me as so funny this morning!  Don't ask me why. I am weird.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 





 I guess its kind of an old fashion saying. But I'm happy to make you laugh dear


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## kimmietrinh (Oct 16, 2010)

On that note...I'm wondering if anyone is still waiting for a package that was supposed to arrive a month ago? I don't think names are allowed, so if anyone is, please let me know. I bought from a seller the first of Sept, and nothing has arrived. I've contacted her, and she has contacted back giving me plausible explainations so I have been so patient. The last contact was the 28th, which she said she has mailed out. I have not seen anything or heard anything. I've filed a dispute, and it has been automatically escalated to a claim. Pretty much bummed about it, since I've been so nice about her issues.


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## Meisje (Dec 4, 2010)

An update on this...

  	I just got an angry message from the seller whom I paid in January and got the reversal on in March. Most of the message is in caps as if they are yelling, and the message claims they never received payment from me. I have the messages I sent and proof of the Paypal reversal. On the advice of this thread, I left that neutral feedback (months ago) when the seller started selling again.

  	Well, the message threatens that if I do not remove the neutral (which they claim is "negative" even though it's not) feedback, they will leave negative feedback for me to "warn" sellers! I did nothing wrong. It's very upsetting, especially if you recall how much benefit of the doubt I gave this seller.


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## Meisje (Dec 4, 2010)

The left me a rather libelous negative feedback without even answering my message. Now I regret leaving neutral feedback and wish I'd left a negative.

  	I have Paypal documents to prove she is lying but I'm not sure what to do about this. Do I have any immediate recourse in terms of my feedback? This is so upsetting


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## MACATTAK (Dec 4, 2010)

That makes no sense to say she never received payment, because then PP would have nothing to reverse!!  I don't think there is any recourse unless you decide to get outside advice.  You've already received your refund, and feedback has been left on both sides, so that pretty much completes a transaction.  Maybe you could contact one of the moderators about the seller and give them a heads up.


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## Meisje (Dec 5, 2010)

This person has never responded to my reply asking how they justified never answering my communications.

*I am willing to send a screenshot of the Paypal reversal to anyone who wants to see it.*

  	I have sent the seller the screenshots, forwarded the emails from Paypal and the email I sent inquiring about my purchase. Unfortunately, there's nothing to be done about the unfair feedback I received.


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## keetuh (Dec 13, 2010)

I am very sorry for your trouble that you received but I do want to thank you for posting this because I was thinking of purchasing a few things from her post.


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## Meisje (Dec 13, 2010)

You're welcome. I have not received any response since I sent my screencaps and email forwards. I'm keeping my eye on the sales thread to see if further posts are made, because I would really like a response and if that thread is updated I will know that individual has been to the site.

  	I hate any kind of drama  I am hoping after she realizes there was a mistake made on her part she'll do the right thing and contact the mods to remove the feedback.


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## Hilde (Dec 13, 2010)

And now that she's left feedback, everyone will know who she is.


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## Funtabulous (Dec 13, 2010)

Oh wow, that's awful! So sorry to hear about that. Good thing we all know about it now.

  	I wasn't sure if I should start a new thread on this, but I am going through something very similar to you at the moment.

  	I started communicating with a seller on December 1st. We agreed on the sale and I sent my payment that very day. She said that she would ship out as soon as the money entered her account. I didn't hear anything for a while, so on December 7th I asked her if she had shipped yet, and have not received a reply.

  	They were last active on the site on December 6th.

  	I am not sure if it is too soon for me to start worrying yet? Like the OP, I am very patient and understanding but it has been almost 2 weeks already.

  	They have good feedback on the site, and buyers have often said she had very good communication. This seems out of the ordinary then. Hope it isn't anything serious! What should I do?

  	Sorry if it seems I am hijacking your thread I just didn't really know if I should start a new one or not... Any advice would be very appreciated.


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## LMD84 (Dec 13, 2010)

yeah there seems to be a few bad sellers at the moment. i just had to file a paypal claim too for somebody who dissapeared with my money


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## Meisje (Dec 13, 2010)

to Funtabulous: I would send a PM, then an email to the address supplied by Paypal, and perhaps wait one more week. When you feel you've waited long enough for a response, you could try filing a Paypal claim (which will only work if they have a balance available). I was very understanding in all my communications, super friendly and gave the seller the benefit of the doubt. You never know what might have happened.

  	I guess I would just warn anyone doing a Paypal reversal that it doesn't keep the seller from leaving retaliative feedback on your profile here since Paypal and Specktra are not really linked. As you can see from my feedback, I have one hell of a negative --- I also have screencaps and emails that prove I did nothing wrong, but that's not evident just from looking at my profile.

  	I am embarrassed by this whole thing and cringe every time I think about that feedback. I hate to say this --- even though I know that leaving the neutral feedback (written politely) was the RIGHT thing to do, if I'd known the seller would show up nine months later and freak out at me, I might have done it differently.


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## Meisje (Dec 13, 2010)

I am also questioning the policy of deleting "old" sale threads, because it also deletes any comments or history of issues. The thread I made the purchase from did have comments from me detailing the situation and from other buyers and potential buyers complaining about a lack of communication, but my feedback now points towards the sellers new thread. It doesn't take much effort to go to the end of a thread to make a new post... I feel like sellers should have to keep the same sale thread and that old threads should at least be archived.


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## Funtabulous (Dec 14, 2010)

Just wanted to post an update:

  	My package arrived today in good condition! So, I guess it all worked out in the end. I feel kind of bad for posting this now. =\

  	Ah well. I'm just happy I avoided any conflict over it.

  	Meisje, don't feel too bad about it, you didn't do anything wrong! I would feel really bad too if it were me but you were much nicer than she deserved!!


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## banana1234 (Dec 14, 2010)

the joke is on her, because now she had left you bad feedback, everyone knows who she is and wont buy from her


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## Meisje (Dec 14, 2010)

I have been waiting for something to happen after sending proof that I did pay and that Paypal judged in my favor --- today I got a message saying she didn't have time to "review" it right now but she'd let me know. It's screencaps, and I forwarded the emails to her address, so it would literally take one glance to see that I did indeed pay.

  	banana, that's true, although it was never my intention to call attention to the person as a seller. When I originally posted this, they'd abandoned the site and I had no idea they would return. They don't seem to be a very active member of the community other than selling.

  	Funtabulous, I'm glad your package arrived unscathed. Probably a case of slow holiday mail.


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## Nzsallyb (Dec 15, 2010)

far out i am sorry to see what you have gone through! the feedback is terrible that she has left


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## Meisje (Dec 17, 2010)

Thanks, I'm pretty upset about it. It's very unfair.

  	It was more than a week ago that I sent her the images and emails proving I paid and that Paypal reversed/judged in my favor. It has her full name, email, and all the info. Aside from a message from her on the 14th saying she needed to "review" it, I haven't heard anything from her.

  	Edit: I just sent her a message asking her to contact the mods to remove the feedback.


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## Meisje (Apr 3, 2011)

The person never responded and never asked for the feedback to be removed. They also are no longer using their account. The feedback is still there.


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## roLLerGrrL (May 3, 2011)

Meisje said:


> The person never responded and never asked for the feedback to be removed. They also are no longer using their account. The feedback is still there.


  	Looks like they've flown the coup....


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## Meisje (May 8, 2011)

Or they've registered a new account to sell with.

  	Given the libel and histrionics I've had to put up with from that seller, I don't even go into the sale forum anymore. But I bet if I did, I'd find a thread selling the same things with a bunch of "hey, I contacted/paid you, where are you?" posts. The original thread, which she had deleted when she came back to sell after months of absence, was chock full of complaints.


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## LMD84 (May 8, 2011)

Meisje said:


> Or they've registered a new account to sell with.
> 
> Given the libel and histrionics I've had to put up with from that seller, I don't even go into the sale forum anymore. But I bet if I did, I'd find a thread selling the same things with a bunch of "hey, I contacted/paid you, where are you?" posts. The original thread, which she had deleted when she came back to sell after months of absence, was chock full of complaints.


	you should try not to let the bad experiance stop you from taking a look at the sales threads. like you i had a seller dissapear on me and i never got my items or a refund. but i would never let that one bad thing stop me from buying from other people. now i am just more careful about who i buy off. i usually buy off people that i actually take to on a regular basis in the forum rather than sellers that just come on to sell things- just my personal opinion of course


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## Sylvia60 (Oct 25, 2013)

Some things never change!
  Four of us at the moment are having an issue with products bought, paid for and with the seller disappearing from Spectra.


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## webdesign (Oct 28, 2013)

There are many case like that in buying online product. Well, I guess knowing more the seller before buying her product.


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## Meisje (Jun 29, 2014)

I'd forgotten about this, but it was the main reason I stopped using Specktra. I had ample proof that I was the one who was cheated but still have to put up with libelous feedback that will sit on my account forever when the culprit was simply able to register a new account and keep scamming people. I now only buy from online storefronts with a ton of feedback and will never again use a swap/sale section. It's a system too easily preyed upon by the dishonest.


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## Ajigglin (Jun 29, 2014)

I know this is old, but I'm all for naming names to make sure others are protected.


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