A lot of my attitude on this sort of thing depends on the seller's reply to a note telling the problem. I have had them send the correct coin and an envelope for the return of the wrong one and I've had them wait a week to reply and act like they were doing me a favor correcting their mistake. Guess which gets another order.
Well, here's the update: No response so far! On Sunday I sent a simple and polite email explaining I received a number of coins but not the one I had paid for. I can only imagine the person who received my coin would be rather upset and emailing them as well! I wrapped the coins up and put them in my office to keep them safe, but how is my coin being handled right now?
Thank you, but I suspect most people are like me. We just never hear about the good in the world. Only the bad.
If its the past Sunday, they may be on vacation? I would wait for a few weeks and see, pretty sure they would want to sort out the issue especially if the other person files a chargeback. But then again you never know, I got a duplicate order one time. Contacted the place and they reassured me they did not make that mistake. Guess what? I still have a box full of dollars sitting there from 2 years ago.
It happens. Happened to me on a CNG auction last year. Sent the coins back and currently have a credit on my account for my next purchase. CNG was awesome throughout the whole process and actually notified me that the wrong coins were on the way (it takes awhile to get them up North) because they had already been notified by the other buyer.
If you can pay $300 for a coin then you have the money to ship them back. It will only cost $5 or $10. They are not your property. Mistakes were made, contact the auction house, and mail them back. Someone else paid a lot of money for their coins too and didn't get them because they ended up at your house. Laziness is not an excuse for righting a wrongdoing. Be the better person. So what about your time? You spend an hour a day just eating a meal. And a box only costs $1 or $2. So about $15 or so to correct an error for about $1,000 (or more) worth of coins...it shouldn't need a debate.
You shouldn't just send them back. The auction house has to acknowledge the mistake and make preparations for the return of these coins, and also to arrange with the other bidder for the correct coin to be returned and them mailed to @Nemo . Don't forget he is also missing the coin he won, and who knows where that ended up. And yes, the auction house should cover all expenses. It was their error, and not Nemo's actions which caused this inconvenience for at least two bidders.
1. The OP did contact the seller and the seller has not yet responded 2. Why would you attack someone by calling them lazy? The OP has tried to contact the seller. 3. I did not realize there was a debate. All the posts I read suggest that the coins should be returned. 4. Personally I did not appreciate the tone of your message. It was far too negative.
My 2 cents... Everyone makes mistakes. I deal with stuff like this keeping in mind how I would want to be treated. If it were me I would pick up the phone and call if I didn't get a reply to my email. There is a lot going on in Europe at the moment and coin dealers are under a lot of stress. As far as I am concerned if I find something or receive something that is not mine it would be stealing if I did not make a serious effort to find the owner or return what was accidentally shipped to me. And yes, I have returned found wallets full of cash and had my daughters do the same and NOT accept a reward... Alfred Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk
Thanks for the kind defense @Orfew and @Sallent. 1) Thank you @SeberHusky for informing me these coins are not my property. That news does not come as a shock however. Perhaps you misunderstood my intentions. Keeping them was never an option nor did I state a "ransom" for me to return them. 2) $5 to ship $1,500 of coins registered, insured, tracked? Could you post the link to the shipping company with those rates? Or do I throw them in an envelope and hope for the best? If they are lost or damaged whose fault is it? And where is the coin I paid for? And, although I may seem lazy and wealthy, $300 is a lot of money to me. 3) I usually eat my dinner after the post office has closed. A nice meal and a good wine can take far more than an hour. If I decide to catch the fish for my dinner, which I do as often as possible, it becomes an all night event. @DeLaFe "There's a lot going on in Europe right now and coin dealers are under a lot of stress." I really don't know what that means.
It means some dealers feel their time is more valuable than ours and replying to emails is beneath them. It means that sellers expect us to send the merchandise and trust them to refund when they get around to it but will not provide us postage in advance. I have added three sellers to my "nevermore" list this year; two were European; none had good email skills. What happened to the expectation that a seller sell each coin only once and send the correct package to the correct buyer. Certainly, everyone makes mistakes. The difference that matters is how these professionals handle their mistakes.
With Brexit and lines down the block at most reasonably sized coin dealers, I fully understand how it may be a few days before email gets responded to. I sometimes get weeks behind on things, especially when a health problem lays me low.
I'm not sure why so many are negative regarding the OP. All @Nemo has said is that he sent an email and had received no response yet. No complaints, just a statement.
Not that I sell an awful lot, but I have both sent and received the wrong items from time to time. In my experience I don't want to get it wrong and happy to put it right when it happens, as were other sellers when it has happened to me. I guess the big perceived problem is that folk want it put right !NOW! and I understand that, but life doesn't always work like that. Give folk a chance and usually things get resolved. Karma and it is nice to be nice. I hadn't noticed this and actually I was the only one in Bloomsbury Spink yesterday whilst picking up a book - and I was there some time. The headless chickens will soon quieten down when there is a realisation the world didn't end. Brexit may not actually occur anyway.
If I were you, in that situation, then I would expect for the seller to cover the return shipping cost and I would return the coins as quickly as possible.