On Apr 14, 2009, at 5:31 AM, Andrew Grebneff wrote:

> Well, finally the shells arrived... far from all the specimens I'd
> sent payment for, but nevertheless of some value.  Payment was sent to
> the seller's address, as he and his brother had agreed that I could
> pay for my winnings from both this way. Some days later the seller
> (Rongcai Zhang "saleseashell" <[log in to unmask]>... the brother is
> "shelllover") sent a message to say that the money didn't arrive, but
> that he had sent the shells anyway.

I sincerely doubt that's how dealers do it -- unless you have a history
with them. How did you pay? Please tell me you did not send cash!
That is untraceable. If you paid by check, bank draft or credit card,
it's
easy enough to check and see if the checks were cashed or your card
was billed. Bottom line is, he sent you shells not of the quality you
had
anticipated and without waiting (so he says) for the funds to arrive.
That
is not your problem, Andrew. You sent the money in good faith and got
sub-par quality shells in return. Legally, there is no way for him to
hassle
you, since he had the option of waiting until the funds arrived. He also
misrepresented the actual quality. Simply resign yourself to the fact
that
you won't be doing business with him in the future. You could offer to
return the shells if your payment is returned to you, If he foolishly
failed
to wait for the funds to arrive, whose fault is that?

I hate to sound cold, but there are too many dealers that always have
an "angle." Confine your purchases to dealers with a stellar reputation.
I'd be glad to tell you which dealers I am always willing to buy
from, as
they are always willing to return my money if I return a shell I am
unhappy
with. That's how you get repeat customers. You might pay 10-20% more
on certain shells, but you will always be taken care of by the truly
reputable dealers.

Stop beating yourself up! You lived up to your end of the deal. There is
nothing to feel bad about, period.

Hope this helps!
Jim

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