Consumer Rights In SL - Non Existant?

Ten days ago I bought some Goth Socks from a clothes shop. When I opened the box and copied the contents to my inventory, the only thing I got was a folder with a landmark in it and no Goth Socks!

So I IM'd the seller/ owner telling them basically I had received an empty box.

Since then I have sent them a further three IM's and also dropped them a notecard advising them of my prediciment.

To date I have had no response at all to my IM's and notecard.

I have also checked to see if they are online to no avail.

I find it hard to believe a shop owner in SL never logs on to check how their business is doing!

Although the amount was only 135 lindens which is nothing in RL money, its the principal of the matter, that if I bought goods from a seller I expect to receive said goods in exchange for my lindens.

Basically is there anything I can do or should I just put it down as a bad expierence and move on?

According to the Terms of Service:

My advise is just don't buy items from people you don't know, trust or learn to make them yourself or take the risk and hope if problem happens the person will help you and treat you decently.
There no protections for us, its buyer beware based on the information in Knowledge base,etc.

the only right u have is to wave ur rights byebye when hitting the connect button

Due to a combination of disgust over SL's current state and an RL crisis, I once (fairly recently) went two weeks without logging in even once.

It can happen. That may or may not be the case in this circumstance, I'm just saying I can believe it's possible.

Keep in mind that most shop owners do this as a hobby, not as their career. Sometimes people go on vacation, are distracted with family or work obligations, or are otherwise indisposed. If when you do talk to them they refuse to remedy your situtation then you'll have every right to complain. If it's just a matter that you haven't been able to get in touch with them after trying for a few days, just be patient. Most shop owners in SL are quite courteous and try to provide good customer service (when real life doesn't interfere).

There are a great many explinations on this one, honestly. Even though its been ten days, sometimes RL takes people away for long periods of time. Sometimes their offline IMs cap and they dont receive your message. Sometimes even notecards dont get through (did you ever get a note saying so and so (whoever they are) accepted or rejected your notecard?)

I know ten days is a long time, but it might just be a combination of bad timing and SL bugs. I know of a lot of people lately that have purchased things to find the items missing. Maybe this seller is over run with requests for replacements and cant keep up. Just never find it hard to believe that a seller might not be on for a long period of time. SL is SL...RL always comes first.

Regardless, good luck in getting the item! I hope it all gets worked out for you!

There are few if any protections on either side of the sales aisle, unfortunately. What can be made and sold, can also be stolen by various means and resold.

A business with no or poor customer service should get no repeat business. This is true in real life and it extends to second life... well, at least in world... Many complain that SL itself has no customer service from the Lindens, but here we all are day after day.

If continued attempts to get help from the store go unattended, I would recommend that you cease to shop there and spread the word amongst your circle of friends as to why you are no longer shopping at that location.

You can't post the store name here or risk suspension or even being banned, but word of mouth advertising, good or bad, is a traditional practice. Many of us go to great lengths to make certain our customer service will prompt only the best word of mouth advertising.

Good luck with getting your refund or your product.

Char

Just be good and sure you aren't dragging them through the mud for the crime of simply going on vacation.

It's possible that the vendor did not rip you off intentionally.

However, in answer to the original question, Linden Labs will offer you no help whatsoever. If the vendor is dishonest or uninterested, then your money is just gone forever. If it is a case that the vendor just hasn't had access to IM or other communication recently, more IMs will not make the vendor come back faster. If, next week, the vendor contacts you to make things right, then take it as a pleasant, unexpected surprise.

Thanks for all your replies - didnt expect so many.

Point taken about the vendor possibly away from SL due to holiday or not logging in on a regular basis.

Also I dont (hope anyway) think I was ripped off intentionally, probably a genuine error on the vendors part.

Hopefully I will try and catch her online at some point - if not then just glad the amount I spent was not anything substantial.

Me thinks should spend some time making my own clothes instead of constantly shopping - lol.

Once again thanks for the advice so far.

That is unfortunate.

I have had this happen to me 3 times. Once with a poseball set, once with a Skin set, and one with a menu driven bed. With a quick IM, the poseballs were replaced, same with the skins, but the very expensive bed was never dealt with.

Ya win some, ya lose some.

i remember having something like this happen with older boxes..sometimes you have to go into edit and open the contents tab to see everything then drag them into your inventory..
it may be the case here also..i hope this helps

That's funny! Imagine how little shopping you would do if you only bought from people you knew ...

I actually rezzed the box on the ground and clicked it to open it as per the float text above the box. It then supposedly copied the items to my inventory. Once it had copied the items, the box "self destructed". So I never retained a copy of the box.

Only people usually who hire me or buy things are my friends. I don't shop much because there are other things like making my own textures,etc with my lindens.
If I can't make something, I can always find a friend who can. Why would I need to shop and risk not getting what I thought I was paying for? If I really need something and I don't have available friend to make it. I rather find someone through my friends who can make it and then pay more for it. I rather buy a customizeable item directly from someone I know who will do a good job with good repuation with permissions I want.
I hate not being able to make back copies or modify my own items or things that don't work because of permissions. Spending over 1500l on complex scripted item is useless unless you know how to set it up properly. Why pay for script that anyone can get? If my friends can program it and I can pay for it I rather they get the money first.

.... and how many of us would go out of business if only friends purchased from us




Sorry you are having trouble Louhell, hope it is just a case of the owner away from SL for a short while. I think most shop owners do help customers with problems