Tuesday, August 14, 2012

45 Days to Decide

So. Today I'm in a not-unfamiliar position: waiting for an order to arrive that is now more than double the stated turn-around-time (TAT). I won't name the company, because there are still emails/etc. that need to be answered. I'd like to give the company a chance to ship my order OR refund my product before going gonzo on my blog. However, I need to vent because it's frustrating as hell!

My indie-shopping readers will be familiar with this dilemma: the TAT has come and gone, no products have arrived, what do I do now? What are your choices? Well, you can do a few things. The first (and surely most obvious) is to contact the business/business owner to inquire about the state of your package. The right way to do this is to contact the company through their business page's contact information. If (and ONLY if this garners no response), it might be worth making an inquiry on the businesses Facebook page.

At this point, if you've gotten no response to your emails, you need to start thinking about filing a PayPal claim (or a bank claim). However, PayPal limits claims to within 45 days of the order, which effectively negates many indie companies, since TATs can be much longer than this time frame. However, PayPal has been know to open claims after the fact under certain circumstances. After the 45 day period has elapsed, your best bet may be to call your bank and attempt to get a refund or charge-back this way.

Being in this situation sucks. You ordered and paid for a product you were excited to try/see/use, and as the days go by without results, you start to feel like you've been stolen from. Perhaps the *worst* part of this situation is the guilty feeling so many of us get when we have to email a company owner about missing products/orders. Why do we feel guilty about asking a legitimate question? When you've paid for a product, and you're out both money and products, it is your right as a consumer to ask about your order. You, the consumer, should in no way feel guilty about emailing a business owner over this issue.

I've done what I can about my missing order. I emailed a week ago, and have yet to hear back. At this point, I just hope to open my mailbox and see a package waiting for me. We'll see. I'm over the 45 day PayPal limit, so I will have to contact my bank soon. At the end of the day, I just *really* want my products. 


1 comment:

  1. Ugh, I'm sorry you're in this position. It totally sucks, and sellers who do this make indie look bad. I hope it gets resolved soon.

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