Etsy Troubles

Over the past couple of years, I have become a huge fan of etsy. For those of you who are not familiar with etsy, you should definitely check it out. It is basically an online marketplace for individuals to sell their handmade products. You can find almost anything, and the prices are typically very reasonable!

At the end of May, I ordered matching outfits for Sydney and Harper to wear for pictures on the beach. Before ordering, I asked the seller if it would arrive before June 18. She said that wouldn't be a problem, and I placed the order. Well, June 17 came and went . . . no package. We went to Florida without the dresses. I didn't really worry about it since they have several cute little outfits to wear. I just asked my neighbor to check for the package while we were gone. I didn't want it to sit outside all week. She looked everyday, but it never came.

I logged onto my etsy account and sent a message to the seller asking about my package on June 25 (one week after the date we agreed upon). On the seller's profile, I noticed their feedback was only 50% positive. I was sure that I checked before ordering, and it was 100% positive. Otherwise, I would have never ordered from this person. I started reading through the comments and around June 18 people started giving negative ratings to this person for non-delivery. Most of the buyers, like me, wanted the clothes for pictures and were forced to buy something else at the last minute. One individual wrote that they spoke to the seller, and she had a family emergency. I can understand something coming up, but the seller at the very least should have communicated that to customers or offered refunds.

I filed a non-delivery notice with etsy and initiated a dispute with PayPal. I was able to send messages to the seller through both, but she never replied. I checked back on etsy, and the shop no longer exists. I don't know if etsy shut it down or if the individual removed it. So, today I escalated the PayPal dispute to a claim. Hopefully, I will be able to get something back. I know there are dishonest people in the world, but it really surprised me that someone would do this.

Have any of you ever had any trouble like this?

UPDATE: Paypal refunded all of my money! Yay!