My First Bad eBay Experience

It's no secret that as a collector, I use eBay to add to my card collection. I'm pretty sure that's a statement that most of us could make. I browse every day, and when I find something I like, I always check the seller's rating before I bid. I've heard horror stories about transactions, and I want to avoid being in one of those stories.

Unfortunately, today I am in one of those stories. Last week, I checked one of my saved searches ("Nelson Cruz," to be exact) and saw that new items had been listed. A few 2012 Topps Triple Threads cards were listed by the same seller - a base card, a green parallel and an orange parallel - all for $1 a piece. The description said that the seller would combine shipping, so for $6.50, I bit. I added all three of the cards to my cart and went to checkout. In the past, I've simply paid for the shipping up front and the seller has issued a refund for the combined shipping. So, after paying, I sent a message to the seller. I said:

"I purchased three cards, just want to make sure the shipping gets combined."

Sunday night rolls around, I notice that the cards are marked shipped and I have heard nothing from the seller. So I shoot him another message, a little frustrated this time:

"I asked before and never received (an answer). I bought three nelson Cruz cards, and contrary to the item description, I did not receive combined shipping. Will that be fixed? Thank you."

The response was my first red flag. What follows is our conversation chain.

Seller: "FIRST THINGS FIRST YOU PAID FOR THE CARDS BEFORE I COULD SEND YOU A INVOICE. THAT MEANS YOU ALLREADY PAID YOUR CARDS ARE IN THE MAIL. LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU RECIEVE THE CARDS LET ME KNOW IF THATS OK. THANKS HUEYTIX" 

(All caps and bad spelling - clearly I'm being yelled at)

Me: "You didn't say don't pay for the cards first in the description, and I've had no trouble from other sellers with this issue. It's a simple paypal refund. Don't worry about it, I'll pay for it. But this is the last time I purchase anything from you. Thanks for getting back to me."

Me: "And for the record, I emailed you the same time I purchased the items. So clearly, I tried contacting you before the cards were sent."

Seller: "I SENT YOU CASH FOR YOUR REFUND AND A NOTE LET ME KNOW IF THAT IS OK WHEN YOU RECIEVE.THANKS JOHN"

Fast forward to today.

I check my mail and see that I've received the package of cards. Here's what I find when I open it:

First off, don't call me Jud. we aren't friends and you aren't family - don't act like we're buddies. Second, which Cruz card is missing???

Oh just the orange parallel, numbered to 125, the one I wanted most. FML. And what the hell is this?

Six bucks, cash. Really? How are selling stuff on eBay without a simple understanding of PayPal and its refund technology??? 

Needless to say, I'm pretty livid right now. This post is part venting and part asking for help. I have yet to leave feedback. He did give me a refund for more than just the price of the card and the associated shipping cost. However, he failed to communicate any of this to me from the get-go. I would rather have received a full refund.

So here's my plea for help: what do I do, in terms of feedback? He did give me a refund, but the communication is poor and misleading. I don't want to leave negative feedback and then have him post negative feedback about me in retribution (while I've done nothing wrong, I feel like this person is very vengeful and would tarnish my 100% rating as payback). What the hell do I do?

So, whatever you do, NEVER, and I mean NEVER, buy cards from hueytix on eBay.