When would you start to be concerned about not hearing back from a vendor?
I purchased a stone & paid by bank wire transfer. When I received the stone, it was nothing like what was pictured & I immediately wanted to return it. Unfortuantely, it had to be shipped from the USA back to Portugal. I shipped it by a method approved by the seller, and the tracking information shows it was delivered 1st thing Monday morning.
I asked the seller to contact me when the package arrived, so I could stop worrying about it being in transit. I have yet to hear back from him, after emails & phone calls. The phone number is now coming up as “Unavailable” when I try calling.
When I explained the situation to my family, they immediately became concerned, even if this seller is a known/respected vendor on Pricescope.
This is a large amount of money -- over 7K. The discount given for a wire transfer is now seeming like a bad choice; at least with a credit card or PayPal I would feel like I had a little more protection. Secondly, the seller requested the money be sent to a bank in Germany, the stone shipped from Portugal, and the “Main Office” is listed as in Japan.
As I write this out, I’m starting to feel like I have been had. That sounds horrible, as many of you reccommend this vendor, but I’m going to feel absolutely sick until that money is refunded to me.
As soon as I posted on Facebook about ordering the stone, I received an email from the vendor, saying he “hope none of those undercover psychopaths on Pricescope talks bad about my stone.” This immediately turned me dead cold -- it seemed like a paranoid, and perhaps childish thing to say. I came to Pricescope looking for advice & instead, I’m getting stalked by the seller himself (I had not given him my Pricescope username). It just seemed like such an unprofessional comment, I was a bit shocked. But the money had been sent. If the stone arrived & was fantastic, I would choose to ignore such a comment.
When I emailed the seller to let him know I would be returning the stone, as it appeared completely brown & not lively at all, at least in my eyes, he wrote back explaining that “many cheaper rubies are like that.” I suppose my perspective may be different than some, but a 1.34 carat ruby at over 7K is NOT cheap. I realize I do not know a lot about gemstones (I have never pretended to) -- and yet I was a bit insulted to be told that the reason I didn’t like the stone was that I had chosen something “cheap.” When I was interested in ordering the stone, he had nothing but praise for it. Again, it just seemed so spiteful, and again, far from professional.
Lastly, when I mentioned on Pricescope that I was interested in rubies from another vendor, I got an email asking if I had seen them in person. I didn’t really think a seller should be asking about your interactions with other vendors, but maybe I’m wrong here. It just seemed again like he was insecure about the stone I had ordered, and didn’t want me talking to anyone else.
So please, could someone assure me that I’m not losing my mind? I realize that it hasn’t been that long since the stone was delivered, but having received no confirmation that it has arrived, I’m starting to freak out. The multiple countries involved, the suddenly “Unavailable” phone number, and the snide/paranoid comments about Pricescope, my “cheap” choice in rubies & sudden disappearance are not reassuring me.
I apologize if this is inappropriate, but I really am not sure what else to do. I have tried the 2 methods of contact I have (email & phone) & have heard nothing. So perhaps he’s checking Pricescope. If so, please, please, please email or call me back to let me know you received the stone & will be issuing my refund.
Thank you.
ETA: When I asked if there was a Pricescope discount (couldn't hurt to ask, could it?), he replied "no, since everyone is on Pricescope." Well, here's a reminder to you... Supposedly everyone is on Pricescope. Which means unprofessional comments, and less than ideal return etiquette will be read by "everyone" too.
I purchased a stone & paid by bank wire transfer. When I received the stone, it was nothing like what was pictured & I immediately wanted to return it. Unfortuantely, it had to be shipped from the USA back to Portugal. I shipped it by a method approved by the seller, and the tracking information shows it was delivered 1st thing Monday morning.
I asked the seller to contact me when the package arrived, so I could stop worrying about it being in transit. I have yet to hear back from him, after emails & phone calls. The phone number is now coming up as “Unavailable” when I try calling.
When I explained the situation to my family, they immediately became concerned, even if this seller is a known/respected vendor on Pricescope.
This is a large amount of money -- over 7K. The discount given for a wire transfer is now seeming like a bad choice; at least with a credit card or PayPal I would feel like I had a little more protection. Secondly, the seller requested the money be sent to a bank in Germany, the stone shipped from Portugal, and the “Main Office” is listed as in Japan.
As I write this out, I’m starting to feel like I have been had. That sounds horrible, as many of you reccommend this vendor, but I’m going to feel absolutely sick until that money is refunded to me.
As soon as I posted on Facebook about ordering the stone, I received an email from the vendor, saying he “hope none of those undercover psychopaths on Pricescope talks bad about my stone.” This immediately turned me dead cold -- it seemed like a paranoid, and perhaps childish thing to say. I came to Pricescope looking for advice & instead, I’m getting stalked by the seller himself (I had not given him my Pricescope username). It just seemed like such an unprofessional comment, I was a bit shocked. But the money had been sent. If the stone arrived & was fantastic, I would choose to ignore such a comment.
When I emailed the seller to let him know I would be returning the stone, as it appeared completely brown & not lively at all, at least in my eyes, he wrote back explaining that “many cheaper rubies are like that.” I suppose my perspective may be different than some, but a 1.34 carat ruby at over 7K is NOT cheap. I realize I do not know a lot about gemstones (I have never pretended to) -- and yet I was a bit insulted to be told that the reason I didn’t like the stone was that I had chosen something “cheap.” When I was interested in ordering the stone, he had nothing but praise for it. Again, it just seemed so spiteful, and again, far from professional.
Lastly, when I mentioned on Pricescope that I was interested in rubies from another vendor, I got an email asking if I had seen them in person. I didn’t really think a seller should be asking about your interactions with other vendors, but maybe I’m wrong here. It just seemed again like he was insecure about the stone I had ordered, and didn’t want me talking to anyone else.
So please, could someone assure me that I’m not losing my mind? I realize that it hasn’t been that long since the stone was delivered, but having received no confirmation that it has arrived, I’m starting to freak out. The multiple countries involved, the suddenly “Unavailable” phone number, and the snide/paranoid comments about Pricescope, my “cheap” choice in rubies & sudden disappearance are not reassuring me.
I apologize if this is inappropriate, but I really am not sure what else to do. I have tried the 2 methods of contact I have (email & phone) & have heard nothing. So perhaps he’s checking Pricescope. If so, please, please, please email or call me back to let me know you received the stone & will be issuing my refund.
Thank you.
ETA: When I asked if there was a Pricescope discount (couldn't hurt to ask, could it?), he replied "no, since everyone is on Pricescope." Well, here's a reminder to you... Supposedly everyone is on Pricescope. Which means unprofessional comments, and less than ideal return etiquette will be read by "everyone" too.