What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for someone to ship used curriculum after you've sent payment?

[Hikin' Mama]

I sent payment for something via Paypal 4 days ago for items I found on homeschool classifieds. I've only bought and sold used on these forums in the past and have never had a problem as buyer or seller. When I've bought in the past, the seller usually shipped items the next day and let me know when they did so. I've done the same when I've been the seller.

 

With this transaction, I didn't hear from the seller at all after I sent payment. I waited a couple days and e- mailed asking as gently as I could when she was going to ship them. She told me Thursday (yesterday) and that she would send me a tracking number. Still haven't heard from her.

 

Am I being too impatient? When should I get Paypal involved and get my money back? This wasn't a small purchase,at least not in my mind. It was $65 for a curriculum that was "new, in plastic."

 

TIA for your advice!

 

[StephanieZ]

If there was no agreement about speed of shipping/etc, then . . .

 

I'd wait a week before getting antsy (and messaging/emailing); I'd wait two weeks before requesting a refund if the seller still hadn't shipped. I'd wait about a month before requesting a refund (whether or not the seller now claims it had been shipped).

 

90% of the time folks ship right away. On occasion, people goof up for one reason or another and forget to ship it for a bit. I wouldn't get too worked up about it yet, but I don't think you are out of line inquiring/reminding. I'd say about 10% of my purchases here have taken more than a week to get shipped, but they were always accompanied by a big apology and explanation. The last time that happened, I didn't miss it b/c I'd forgotten about the purchase, lol, b/c it wasn't something I needed this year.

[Lily_Grace]

I give people a week, mostly because I may also need the courtesy. BUT, I want them to tell me up front and I want them to be prompt in communication. If after a week I get no tracking number and no reply to my inquiries, I would file.

[Um_2_4]

Hmm. I try to do the same, ship right away and provide tracking, but I realize not everyone lives near a PO like me (or has a DH who passes several on the way to work) so I give it a week and if no tracking number is provided, then I would tell her I would like a refund since she hasn't shipped yet and I need it ASAP. If she DID ship and is just slow about getting you the info, this will prompt her to give you the tracking number ASAP. But Unless she promised to ship within 1 day, I wouldn't be stressed. These are other HSing moms too usually, so she just may not have had a chance to sit down and send you the tracking info.

I see many on that site that state they only ship on Mondays or the like, so I do not expect 1-2 day handling times.

I think Paypal gives you 30-45 days to file, check their site.

[Hikin' Mama]

Thank you for the perspective, ladies! I will try to be patient, which is not one of my strengths. :)

[milovany]

I manage a very large curriculum swap group on FB, and I would tell people, if asked, to wait a week. Once in a rare while, it takes me that long to get to the post office. It's usually 3-5 days; rarely is it the same day or the next day. People's situations vary. Some have easy access to the post office, some don't. Some can ship from home, some can't or choose not to.