Capt_Uhura Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I need to vent and also see if anyone has filed a claim with Half.com and if so, how long did it take to get it settled? I ordered K12 Human Odyssey from a seller at Half.com. My previous order w/ Half.com for the same book was canceled b/c the seller had multiple listings and didn't keep track of inventory. This was when a discussion at the WTM curriculum board caused a run on this book. I initially tried to cancel the order immediately after I placed it b/c I found out that it wasn't much more brand new. 5 minutes later, I canceled the canceling :lol: and decided it was better to recycle a used book (seller stated like new). Anyhow, I never heard anything from the seller. Since my previous half.com order had been canceled after 5 days post-order due to multiple listings, I wanted confirmation that I had in fact ordered the book. My credit card was charged the same day I placed the order. That was March 3rd. The book still hasn't shown up nor has the seller responded to 5 emails! I did the final email using the button "Item has not arrived" after which I must give the seller 48hrs (working hours) to respond (last Thursday (5am) and Friday). No response. So today I initiated a File Claim w/ Half.com. I can't have $50 in limbo for months trying to get this settled as I need to order this book from another source. Mind you, I have ordered FOUR items through Amazon Marketplace, shipped Media Mail, from all over the country including the state this package was coming from, and they ALL arrived within 7 days of my placing the order and being charged. I am beyond :cursing: at this point. I had an issue w/ Amazon. Amazon initiated communication with me, stating that since the seller hadn't acknowledged shipment of the item, they would not charge and I should contact the seller. I did. Within 24hrs, the seller emailed me saying that she was notified there was a purchase but when she logged on there was no info and she would check into it. The next day I had shipping confirmation from Amazon and an email from the seller explaining she didn't realize she had two accounts and she was checking the wrong one. She shipped my package Priority even though if she had shipped it Media mail, it would have arrived w/in Amazon marketplace's shipping window. Now that is service. anyhow, if you read this, thank you for letting me vent. Capt_Uhura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted March 29, 2010 Author Share Posted March 29, 2010 I guess I'm the unlucky one. Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnieB Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I haven't ever had an issue with half.com....but I believe that they are owned by ebay so chances are their claim process will work the same...and I've had several issues with ebay. So assuming that ebay/half.com work the same: Now that your claim has been filed, and escalated because the seller didn't respond, if it's the same as ebay then someone will review your case and attempt to contact the Seller. Ebay/Paypal require that the Seller provide proof of mailing of your package....failure to have that proof means they'll lose the claim. But, if they have proof from the post office that they mailed it, YOU will likely lose the claim. If that happens, your remaining option to receive a refund is to contact your credit card company. I've had to do this several times over the years (not just through ebay or paypal, but other merchants as well). My credit card company will remove the charge from my balance immediately, marking it "pending" so that I don't have to pay it, nor will it incur finance charges or late fees or whatever. Then they will contact the merchant to learn their side of the story, but unlike ebay/paypal if it comes down to a "he said she said" I ALWAYS have won. In other words, my credit card company believes me when I say it never arrived, and they hold the merchant responsible for getting the package safely to ME. Not to the post office which is ebay/paypal's policy, that the Seller is simply required to prove that they gave it to the post office. After that ebay/paypal considers it a problem with the post office....and while I'll agree the post office isn't perfect, far from it......there is little that a buyer can do at that point, because the post office won't even conduct a trace unless initiated by the seller...so the buyer is dead in the water. All that said....remember that if it was being sent media mail it CAN take 4-6 weeks to arrive. Media mail is the lowest delivery priority, and the lower the delivery priority the better the chance that it doesn't make it on a truck or plane today. Since that is based on the volume of each post office not the state, that could account for your other package from the same state arriving but this one not. I've had cases where my large order was put in two boxes and the two boxes from the same company mailed at the same time arrive a week apart. One box made it on the truck or plane, the other did not. If the next day that same exit point has a large volume of non-media mail it can sit there again...and again. It is worrisome that the Seller doesn't respond to 5 emails....but sadly that seems to be common even with "good" Sellers.....they ignore emails for whatever reason. Seems silly to me given that it makes buyers feel they aren't a good seller, I would want to assure my buyer that I did mail it and remind them to be patient since it was sent media. But it's amazing how many stories like yours get posted and everyone thinking "oh poor lady she's never gonna see her books" only to have the OP post in a week or two that it finally arrived. I'll hope that is your case as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I have been buying my son's college textbooks on line, and I have had several that didn't show up. I haven't kept track of the purchases once they are resolved, but I do believe that one of those was a half.com purchase. It did take a while,for them to follow it thru and get my refund, but it did show up. I don't think it was months, but weeks for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam L in Mid Tenn Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 and it took several months to clear up!! Like 4 or 5 months if I remember correctly. I ordered one book, but recieved a different book. I paid for a $50 book and got a $5 book in the mail. The seller would not respond to me at all! Half dot com DID clear it up... I returned the $5 book and my money was refunded but it took FOREVER. I will not buy from Half dot com again. (I think LOL) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 sigh..... I keep hoping the book will show up but since the seller hasn't even responded to the "haven't received package" button, I doubt I'll see it. The seller has good ratings. Unless I can help it, I won't be using Half.com again. I haven't even received a note from half.com that they are working on the issue. Now I have $50 tied up. On the half.com site, it states that if you deny the credit card charge, you will forfeit your buying/selling privileges. Just in case there is that book or item, I just absolutely have to have, I'd like to keep that open. I may go ahead and order the K12 Human Odyssey book I need (needed it 2 weeks ago and it's now 4 weeks). If by some miracle the other shows up, I'll re-sell it. I have NEVER had a media mail shipment take longer than 4weeks. thanks for your post everyone, Capt_uhura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 I am so disappointed in half.com. It is now day 4 and I've heard NOTHING from half.com since filing the claim. An email acknowledging that they've received it and are attempting to contact the seller would have been nice. The product would have to be good as gold and not available anywhere else for me to use Half.com again. I'd rather pay more somewhere else. :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnieB Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 I totally understand your frustration....but remember, they have to look at the issue from both sides, seller and buyer. YOU know that the seller is at fault, but they have to give both sides the benefit of the doubt. While the post office has improved their delivery times for media mail over what it was a few years ago, they have always kept the policy that media mail can take 4-6 weeks. Half.com's Buyer Protection program sayd they have to wait 30 days after your claim to give it time to arrive. I copied the below from half.com's FAQs (the RED highlight is mine). I just read on another forum a case where a buyer was abusive to the seller, sending multiple emails each day for over a week because their item hadn't yet arrived, but the seller apparently provided a delivery confirmation number proving it had been sent, but the post office hasn't delivered yet. Others on that thread have said they have had similiar abuse from buyers so I guess some sellers may ignore emails in that fear. Personally, though I would think you'd at least answer one reminding the buyer to be patient for media mail to arrive. Subsequent ones, especially abusive ones, I could understand ignoring (and obviously I'm NOT saying OP was abusive, just trying to grasp why a seller might not respond). Others are saying that book dealers never respond because they have such a high volume they just can't keep up. I can't say I find that ok, but what do you do? I know I've bought things from a seller and gone to look at the rest of their listings only to find it's tens of thousands of items, so I can imagine the volume of email they get....not that it's a valid excuse to me, but many people run their business differently from how I do...communication is the cornerstone of good business in my book. Anyway...I wanted to be sure that you realized that the delay does not mean they didn't receive your claim or are ignoring you like the seller did....but that they are waiting to be sure that it doesn't just arrive later than expected. What are the Guidelines for the Buyer Protection Policy? When you order on Half.com, we provide an estimated arrival date for each item in your order. The vast majority of the items you order will arrive within that timeframe. In rare instances, items will take somewhat longer to arrive due to shipping carrier delays and other factors beyond the seller's control. Because of this, we encourage buyers to contact their seller through the Half.com Email Forwarding System. Most issues can be resolved amicably via email between buyer and seller. A Buyer Protection Claim cannot be filed until the seller has been contacted at least once via the Email Forwarding System. The "Contact Seller" button should be visible as soon as a buyer places an order. The "File Claim" button should be visible 2 working days after the "Contact Seller" button has been used. Buyers may file a claim for "not received" after the estimated arrival date has passed. Buyers have a maximum of 60 days from the date of the order to file a Buyer Protection Claim. **Note: the "Contact Seller" button must have been used first allowing for 48 business hours to have passed so that a claim can be filed by the 60th day. Buyers are limited to filing one Buyer Protection Claim per month with a lifetime maximum of three Buyer Protection Claims. There is a $750 per item limit on the Buyer Protection Policy. However, there are situations that need to be investigated further even though the monthly or lifetime limit is already reached. For this reason we will review each claim on a case by case basis. Claims for "not received" may not be reviewed until 30 days from the order date to allow the item ample time to arrive. A claim may take over 30 days to fully investigate and come to a complete resolution. Please note that an investigation does not guarantee that a refund will be issued for the transaction. We reserve the right to change this policy at any time. You may not contact the seller or submit a Buyer Protection Policy Claim to Half.com if you have instructed your credit card company to charge back the disputed item. Buyers who go through their credit card company to dispute a charge may lose their privilege to buy or sell on Half.com. Buyers may not file a Buyer Protection Claim on any purchase where the seller had a feedback score of -1 or less at the time of the purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 I understand what you are saying but to me, it's still unacceptable. If they had just acknowledged that they received my email, that they had contacted the seller and that the package had indeed been shipped on April 5, 2010, I'd be happy to wait another month. The only information that I have is that my credit card was charged and that the package was expected to be shipped by April 5, 2010. I have no shipping confirmation. But with NO communication from the seller that the package had even been shipped, and with NO communication from Half.com that they have even been in contact with the seller, is unacceptable. If I had a shipping confirmation, I would be fine with it. I was never abusive to the buyer. I've always gotten shipping confirmations from Amazon.com and Half.com. WHen I received none, I inquired whether the item had been shipped. If I had gotten a "We have too high a volume to respond to emails" i would have been fine with that. But I got NOTHING. ANd this is not a high volume seller and appears to be a person rather than a dealer. Tuesday makes 5 weeks. The part I"m upset about is no communication from ANYONE. You can't tell me that half.com is that much larger than AMazon. Amazon INITIATED contact with me after having NOT received shipping information from the buyer - I did not contact them - and said they would not charge me as they had had no contact with the seller. An automated response from Half.com that the seller has been contacted they will give the seller 3 months to respond with a shipping confirmation would have been acceptable to no communication. So I sit here for another month waiting for a package to arrive that I have no information was even shipped in the first place. Unacceptable. I'm not yelling at you BTW, just venting. I do appreciate your post. And believe me, I"m normally the most laid back person, I always give folks the benefit of the doubt, but something here is not right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 (edited) I hesitated w/ this seller b/c of the low number of transactions but I figured I'd rather support a person than a large company and all the feedback was positive. The last transaction this seller had was Jan 2010 and then 1-3 transactions per month (at least given ratings for) for 2009. The seller currently has no other items for sale. I have never left poor feedback on anyone, never had to, but if this isn't resolved in another 3 weeks (it's almost 5 weeks now), with no communication from the seller, I will have to leave a negative rating. Edited April 2, 2010 by Capt_Uhura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 (edited) I've never done business with half.com, but I used to do ebay (notice I said used). I had a dispute with ebay, and it did take a long time to resolve. Because it was over the condition of the item and it was he said she said, the seller offered me half my money back and ebay forced me to accept. I don't do business with them anymore. There is virtually no protection for the buyer. Did you do some digging for a customer service number? Try googling for a number for half.com. We've done this with other internet companies and had success. Once you start calling, they WILL listen. Blessings! Dorinda PS is that the appropriate form of the word used? I don't think so. . .Don't tell my dd's I'm speaking improper English OK?:leaving: Edited April 2, 2010 by coffeefreak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted April 3, 2010 Author Share Posted April 3, 2010 My lips are sealed! Your secret is safe with me. :lol: Perhaps I will try to dig up a phone number. I see the book I've been wanting has been shipped from K12 and will be here on Tuesday so at least we can get our history on the way. :glare: Capt_Uhura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted April 4, 2010 Author Share Posted April 4, 2010 YEAH! I got an email from Half.com asking if I have received the item. Nope. I got a package in the other day but it was an Amazon Marketplace which I placed on Monday and arrived via media mail on Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted April 8, 2010 Author Share Posted April 8, 2010 Lo and behold I got an email from Half.com saying that they have credited my account!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!! So it took 1.5weeks from when I field the claim. I'm assuming the seller didn't answer Half.com inquiries b/c today starts 6weeks since I ordered and they didn't say that it had been mailed nor asked me to wait for media mail any longer. I'm just relieved it's over and I have been credited. The book which I ordered right from K12, for nearly the same price, arrived today and I ordered it last Thursday! Closure.....finally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Well, that's good to hear! I was kind of peeved at Half.com on your behalf :lol: I actually didn't look there for a book I was researching today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted April 8, 2010 Author Share Posted April 8, 2010 :lol: Thanks everyone for giving me a place to vent. I've never had this happen before and was just so irritated. Especially since it has put us 3weeks behind schedule now w/ history. It wasn't so much the time frame, as I know sometimes media mail can be slow, it was the total lack of communication from both the seller and half.com. But at least once I heard from half.com, they acted quickly. But I doubt I will be ordering from half.com again given the wonderful response I had from Amazon when they didn't get shipping info from the seller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 :lol: Thanks everyone for giving me a place to vent. I've never had this happen before and was just so irritated. Especially since it has put us 3weeks behind schedule now w/ history. It wasn't so much the time frame, as I know sometimes media mail can be slow, it was the total lack of communication from both the seller and half.com. But at least once I heard from half.com, they acted quickly. But I doubt I will be ordering from half.com again given the wonderful response I had from Amazon when they didn't get shipping info from the seller. Did you get your money back, or did you finally get the book? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted April 9, 2010 Author Share Posted April 9, 2010 Oops, did I leave that part out? They are crediting my account within 5days. I knew since there had been NO communication with the seller, that I would not be receiving the book so I went ahead and ordered it last week from K12 directly. It arrived this week and we'll be starting with it tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anon87 Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 I have had the same experience - only it's been over two weeks now since I filed the claim. I ordered a book for my class on Aug. 18. School started Sept. 8 and I figured that would be plenty of time for it to arrive. Not only did it not arrive in time for class, it has now been well over a month. I have ordered a handful of other books that have since arrived. I filed my claim on Sept. 9 (the first day they would let me) because when I communicated with the seller, all she had to say was that she had indeed shipped the book, and that her post office is "kind of a joke." I have since heard nothing from the seller OR half.com. As a college student with only a part-time job, I don't have the money to wait around for half.com to reimburse me, if they even do that. I'm doubting that now because it's been such a long time since I filed the claim. Regardless of if the book arrives now, why should it take so long? Not acceptable. I ordered it for my class and we are now three weeks into school and still no book. I need to order a new one, but because my money is still tied up in the last book issue, I don't have the money to order a new one. Just felt the need to vent to people who may understand, because I'm sure if there were any advice out there other than to wait, I would've just read it in the previous posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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