Ebay headache: Overseas buyer claiming “Item Not Received”

The summer heat is no joke and I’m most happy with the cotton shirts I have in my closet. I could have acquired more before and I’m left circulating the same shirt and polo shirt over and over again. That’s why I was extremely happy when I got this white shirt from Mon’s grandma and Laylay on my birthday last week. I still have to use the clothing allowance we have in the office and when I get extra money, I’ll spend all of them on cotton T-shirts and polo shirts — one in every color. =D

Oxygen shirt, brick pants, Yves Saint Laurent white patent sneakers and Prada nylon and saffiano messenger

Anyway, at the back of my mind, I had a feeling that something seriously bad will happen with one of the items I have sent overseas earlier this month via Registered Mail of PhilPost. One buyer (of a bag) has filed an “Item Not Received” case against me on Ebay 12 days after I have sent her item in April 3. That was not even two weeks since I have sent it and she was pretty much informed of the transit time, as indicated in the auction, as well as my (one-way) correspondences with her uopn sending the item. It mentions that shipping might take “more or less two weeks”, so I was baffled on how quick she was to jump the gun in opening a dispute.

An Ebay 'Item Not Received' case

The tracking in PhilPost’s website was faulty and delayed, and I was excpecting that tracking information will get updated once the item reaches U.S. soil and it may take some time. I have also informed the buyer about this and I’m quite exasperated of her impatience. =/ I know the item will eventually arrive in her homestate and I did not know what will happen to my bag and money once she gets her refund. And of course, Ebay ruled in her favor and it was no surprise that the funds were taken out of my PayPal account. The reason: I allegedly did not provide a valid tracking information and there was no movement in tracking. I was gobsmacked.

There you are, the tracking number from PhilPost finally working  in USPS' website

I have half-heartedly accepted the outcome as selling internationally on Ebay.com is always a great risk. I also not made adequate research on every possible scenario that might happen, nor asked around about insuring the item in case it gets lost. Very expensive lesson, especially I had to take the shipping fee out of my own pocket because my funds are normally held for 21 days because of inadequate selling history. I have lamented this issue over a forum and was then happy to receive words of encouragement from some of the members. At their urging/curiosity, I followed up in the tracking and was happy to see that there was already movement in the tracking. It took me some time to process what was happening and thought of the best way to respond to this development. I contacted Ebay, explained the situation and hoped they would reverse the decision and give my funds back. Ugh.

See you again in July!

Today is Mon and I’s 4th year and 5th month together and a few minutes after the clock had struck 12, he gave me a piece of paper with a note and a drawing of the Eiffel Tower and some French macarons from Max’s. =D

First of all, I did not even know that these are called as such, and I initially thought that there was a mistake with the spelling (i.e. macaroons). The irony of a French major not knowing French food.

French Macarons from Max's

We had a plan to meet up with Ikle today because he is going back to China tomorrow until the semester ends in July. As it is still winter there, I decided to just give him one of the trench coats I bought last November online.

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End of the month! Bye January 2013!

January just flew past and I can’t believe it has been a month since I said goodbye to 2012! A lot of great things happened to me in January and I’m looking forward for the following months to be the same, or at least tolerable. I’ve got a lot of things planned for the year and I knew that I was living the taking-a-risk mantra little by little.

White with blue stripes longsleeves, brick pants, black 8-hole Doc Martens, vintage Coach Metropolitan briefcase messenger - Manila, Philippines

What I’m most proud of this month was the lack of online purchases. I have never bought anything from Ebay and most importantly, I have never bought a bag, be it online or offline! I never thought it would be possible but I made it anyway. Maybe the preoccupation of what should I be accomplishing this year has taken over me, that even windowshopping on Ebay did not yield any result. Again, I began asking myself “Do I need this?” and was surprised that I was actually able to reason out to that impulsive side of me. The big question now is how long I can hold this one out. I have a lot of bags in their dustbags and inside a giant container because I’m not using them that often. I know that I should eventually be selling some of them because they need a better home. Maybe this summer or before June starts, most of them will be out. I just need to rotate the bags I love AND use more often and I also consider as special. February, I can conquer you!

My personal Masterchef!

I had barely woken up when Mama handed me out an envelope from BDO. First, I thought that it was a pre-approved credit card. I had no intention of having one, even if I was already called by several agents trying to woo me over the benefits of owning one but to no avail. When I opened the envelope, this was securely plastered on the paper:

BDO's Emerald Rewards card, which can essentially function as an SM Advantage card

Over breakfast, I read the accompanying letter and with the help of Google, I found out that what they sent me was essentially an SM Advantage Card, the BDO way. =D Interestingly, in one of the get together’s I have attended last December, Marcial gave a thorough explanation over the benefits of an SM Advantage Card and I was genuinely interested in having one. So after eating my food, I immediately registered the card and it was already ready for use.

Purple V-Neck shirt, brick jeans, Red Wing 875 boots, Gucci microfiber messenger - Manila, Philippines

Since last month, I got accustomed to wearing a comfortable cotton top (preferably, a T-shirt) on my way to work and just change in the office because until now, I still feel a bit uncomfortable. But two months from now, summer will officially start and I plan to buy lots of cotton T-shirts and polo shirts to prepare for the blazing heat. I also plan to go back to the tailor who made my favorite pair of black pants to have at least two more pants done: khaki and navy blue. But unlike last year where we bought all the way from Kamuning’s famous fabric market, we will just buy it in the Public Market of Marikina. Even if the fabric costs less per yard, it was such a hassle to go there again. Besides, the fare alone already made up for that supposed-discount.

Since the start of the year, I made a personal pact to continue with my quest to bond with my stationary bike. I was also fortunate enough that I no longer have to make this effort clandestine to Mon and he was supportive of whatever it was that I wanted to do. We’ve been trying to eat healthy as well, with occasional cheat days. I’m also very grateful that his cooking skills has been more apaprent because he has been cooking our snack at home more frequently.

Mon's herb and garlic pasta

Mon's herbed marble potatoes

Mon prepared this light cappellini aglio olio and marbled potatoes with a strong garlic flavor, which I absolutely loved. Both were cooked in olive oil and I was very fast to finish my share. He admitted that all the marathon watching of Masterchef US since last December has inspired him to cook and cook more lately. =D I also learned how to cook before. When I was in grade school, I remember my mother teaching me how to cook some dishes because she had to go and work abroad again. Well, as my othe siblings were more adept at cooking, I just let them do the chore and I was perpetually relegated to take care of the dishes after (and that continues until today). My brother even has impressively perfected and improved my mother’s baked macaroni recipe. Her fiancée was also good at cooking (they have prepared lunch for all of us last Saturday)! Good thing that between the two of us, Mon can cook quite well, or else we’re doomed to takeaways!

Brick and black

Few months ago, I wore the same top and pants as today but with the only brown pair of Doc Martens I have. Then I realized that I have never used the pants with any of my black DMs. But then again, I only wore the pants a few times more than my usual black ones.

Blue chinese-collar polo, brick pants, 8-hole Doc Martens, Mulberry wexford messenger briefcase - Manila, Philippines

Mulberry wexford messenger briefcase and black 8-hole Doc Martens - Manila, Philippines

Honestly, as the weather was still hot, I get too lazy dressing properly for work and I just go the office in the most basic things (a T-shirt most of the time) and just change with the clothes I keep in the office. But recently, after almost five years, I just found out the location of the shuttle station near our place that services all the way to Ayala Avenue, Makati. For years, I thought that the only station was near Concepcion Church and they only operate in the morning. I really could not remember what triggered me to research about the other one that operates until afternoon, but I got there anyway. For five consecutive work days, I’ve been taking the shuttle service and it was really more comfortable (as expected). Also, this comfort now allows me to give ‘better’ office dressing another chance. =)