Weird online shopping situation

[flourella]

I bought some items from an Etsy shop in Germany. A parcel was despatched with tracking and arrived on Tuesday, but it is not my order. It contains two items shown as being sold straight after I bought mine.

Messaged shop owner and he said that as the other customer was in the UK, we should exchange parcels directly.

Heard nothing all day yesterday, so messaged today asking if he knew if other customer had received my items. He said no, but that they are in Paris and the parcel has been sent to an address in the south of France and they will be travelling down to get it soon . Gives me address of a warehouse and logistics facility in Cogolin; no individual to whom the parcel should be directed, just Warehouse Name, Street Name, Place Name.

I remind him that he said other customer is in UK, he says no, "certainly France".

I tell him I'm not comfortable with this, because if I send this parcel to this address but never get my items in exchange, I will surely have no recourse to a refund because I will have placed an order, accepted the parcel and then sent it on elsewhere unrelated to the shop in Germany. I think we should both return our parcels to him, and he can send them back out correctly.

He insists that the French customer needs their items and I should change my mind.

What should I do? Is it risky to exchange directly with a Mystery Person at some warehouse 500 miles from where they apparently live in Paris, or am I being overly cautious?

You need to open a case with PayPal stating clearly that the items you received were incorrect. I’m pretty sure there’s a box fit that option that you tick. Then take photos of the item you received and write s comprehensive explanation of the problem.

Once you’ve done that the seller has the chance to explain themselves through PayPal. You then have recourse to escalate the claim if it’s not resolved and 99.9% of the time the buyer will get their money back.

The only place I would be sending that item would be back to the seller with full tracking attached so you have proof.

It's a scam in all probability. Even if they are telling the truth, you have no guarantee that you will ever see your money or items! You may now spend even more money and still not get your item.

Ask them to send you a voucher or courier to return the item (also tracked) to them, or raise a dispute with Etsy. And don't return it until the seller has confirmed that they now have your item (in their hands) or have agreed to give you a refund.

I understand about you not wanting to open a dispute right away, but I'd still be asking Etsy what's the "correct" way to sort this out so that you're not out of pocket and you actually get what you've paid for. The logistics are the German seller's to fix. Your contract is with them, not the other customer in France. Please do get in touch with Etsy. I suspect they'll tell you and the French buyer that you both have to return the incorrect items to the seller and make them post them out again, properly. It's the seller's mistake. Make them fix it, properly, without leaving you vulnerable.

NonononoNo!! It's a scam. Talk to Etsy.

You also DO NOT want to buy off him again. Nobody does this.

It's a hell of an elaborate scam if that's what it is! He has also actually sent me two horrible striking pottery jugs that were definitely on sale in his shop (though I don't know how their value compares to what I bought). It must be an honest mistake. Bloody annoying and incompetent though, and you're right that I shouldn't be planning to buy from him again.

I'm definitely not sending them anywhere but back to him in Germany. And if you're all telling me to let Etsy know what's going on rather than keep it between him and me, I guess I'll be brave and do that. I really hope he doesn't get arsey with me.

Either a scam or a huge piss take. Either way, nope out of there ASAP.

Ask him to provide the return label that he has paid for, if he doesn't, then contact customer support.

He won't be able to get arsey. He posted you the wrong bloody things to the wrong people! It's not the end of the world, but it's not YOUR problem to fix. They've clearly got a really cheesed off customer in France, who seems to desperately need the jugs they've ordered, but that's really not your problem. Your problem is that the items you ordered and paid for are in another sodding country.

But if he DOES get arsey, there's always the opportunity to leave him (accurate, please make it accurate) feedback.

He could actually be scamming you for the money you paid. The pots he sent you may be cheap rubbish and there is no buyer in France. Not elaborate.

The elaborate part is selecting a warehouse on the French south coast as the address but claiming that the customer lives miles away in Paris. The whole situation is off, and surely scams are designed to be plausible?

I did feel it was dodgy as soon as the other customer was suddenly in France not the UK as (s)he supposedly was yesterday. If I return the jugs, I could be told that the vases are on their way to me when they are not and if I try and claim that I've not received them, he has evidence that I signed for a parcel from him and we're all square. Is that the scam, even though I have proof of these messages and photos of the jugs? I really pissed off, actually. If it's a mistake, why couldn't he just pay attention and get it right?! And if it's a scam, he can just fuck off!!

Sod it, I'm telling Etsy.

How much money have you paid for the original items?

Even if it isn't a scam, what if the thing you have ordered is broken or damaged or doesn't arrive. You are doing the right thing. A warehouse if France sounds weird. Definitely contact etsy. If you have paid through paypal you will have protection.

The elaborate part is selecting a warehouse on the French south coast as the address but claiming that the customer lives miles away in Paris. The whole situation is off, and surely scams are designed to be plausible?

Sounds to me like he is spinning you a tale. Contact etsy and proceed with what they advise you. Keep all your evidence. Photograph everything.

I hope everything works out OP and that this is just a stupid mistake and a rather clumsy way of trying to fix it quickly with the least amount of effort (for the seller, anyway). If not, alerting Etsy is a good thing to do!!

It’s his problem and he has two of them.
You’ve not received your order.
He needs to arrange collection of the wrong order from you, at his expense.
If you want to forward on the other customers order, he needs to reimburse you your postage costs, likewise for the other customer.
He also needs to have your consent to forward your address onto other customer under GDPR .

Send it back. I once had someone in Cornwall (i live in london) receive a new look parcel of mine instead of her own. She tracked me down on facebook (i have a unique name) and when i responded she said that she rung them and was told to send it straight back to them so thats what she did. I chose to be refunded as items went out of stock and i have no idea if she received her parcel in the end

OP, you've mentioned that you ordered glass vases. Even if this is genuine, if the person in France gets a cheap courier and crap packaging, and they get drop-kicked to you, you'll have no come back if they arrive with you as a pile of shards if you g othrough some personal agreement to swap parcels. As it stands, you only have his words that these vases exist and that he didn't just use a stock photo on the website. You've done the right thing by contacting Etsy.