This topic should be old hat by now, but apparently there are still suckers getting shafted by some online sellers. So let's go over the "dos and don'ts" of online buying:

1.) Use PayPal. PayPal will refund your money if there is a legitimate dispute, but don't wait months to complain about a seller. I believe you have to complain within 90 days to get your money back. After that, they will only send exhortatory emails to the seller.

2.) Use a credit card if you're in the States. Our banking laws require card issuers to refund disputed monies if warranted (I don't believe non-US card issuers are so protective of consumer rights). Again, if there's a dispute, the card company will look into it and can refund your money. If you didn't get the items or they were defective or not what was advertised, then you're OK.

3.) Be smart, and don't order from oddball retailers. I can't believe frankly anyone is still ordering from places like Internet Hobbies who have generated complaints here for nearly a decade. If you never hear anyone here praising a vendor, there's probably a good reason they aren't, whereas there are lots of sellers that get props all the time. Unless it's something no one else has, I stick with the majors like Sprue Bros., Luckymodel, Hobbyeasy, or Miniatures Warehouse.

No retailer is perfect, and some of our problems are self-inflicted. For example, most of the complaints people have about Luckymodel revolve around orders for items that are listed on their website as "available" but never ship because they never come back in-stock. Raymond Chung the owner has been great about cleaning out the "Available" items that were OOS for years, but that doesn't mean an estimated arrival time is for certain. Even Sprue Bros. "real time inventory" isn't perfect, and they have less stuff than LM and are more expensive in many cases.

When in doubt, email a vendor about an item.

4.) Finally, be EXTRA smart. Make sure a retailer isn't having problems (do a "search" on this site for posts about them), and don't take chances. Don't think because somebody here, despite all the negative publicity, got an order right away so it's OK to buy from them. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since after the Bernie Madoff scam broke, it turns out some of his investors had been cheated before by another Ponzi schemer.

Just when you make something fool-proof, Nature invents another fool.

The fundamental rules of remote purchasing:

Caveat emptor.

"If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

KL

you only have a 40-45 day window to complain to PayPal and you also have to esclate your complaint in order to get a refund.

Speaking from experience here.

Also, in the current climate don't be too anxious if items seem to be taking a bit longer than normal to arrive. A quick email to the seller might help calm your fears.