Well, sounds like the consensus here is that I should lower my optimism, oh well, I guess I tried to give he/them another chance since apparently they were good to some people in the past. I still need a couple more heat/light sources, so I was trying to hold out some hope for good bulbs.
Anyway, I'm glad I found this thread and got my Paypal claim filed just in time (last day I think of the 45d period), so that's underway regardless. I was just asking to get an idea of how the process goes after escalating the claim for my own sake, hopefully that does not take another 2+ months to get the money back if it comes to that.
I hope you are successful with you Paypal claim.
13.5 Dispute Resolution. If you are unable to resolve a problem directly with a Seller, you can go to the Resolution Center and follow this process:
Open a Dispute. Open a Dispute within 45 Days of the date you made the payment (or the date of the transaction if using Pay After Delivery) for the item you would like to dispute to negotiate with the Seller for resolution of the Dispute. We will place a hold on all funds related to the transaction in the Seller's Account until the Dispute is resolved or closed.
Escalate the Dispute to a Claim. If you and the Seller are unable to come to an agreement, you can escalate the Dispute to a Claim within 20 Days after opening the Dispute.
You must wait at least 7 Days from the date of payment to escalate a Dispute for an Item Not Received (INR), unless the Dispute is for the equivalent of $2,500 U.S. Dollars or more (or currency equivalent). If you do not escalate the Dispute to a Claim within 20 Days, PayPal will close the Dispute.
Respond to PayPal’s requests for information in a timely manner. During the Claim process, PayPal may require you to provide documentation to support your position. You may be asked to provide receipts, third party evaluations, police reports, or anything else that PayPal specifies.
Comply with PayPal’s shipping requests in a timely manner. For Significantly Not as Described (SNAD) Claims, PayPal may require you, at your expense, to ship the item back to the Seller, PayPal, or a third party and to provide proof of delivery.
For transactions that total less than $250, proof of delivery is confirmation that can be viewed online and includes the delivery address showing at least city/state or zip, delivery date, and the URL to the shipping company’s website if you've selected “Other” in the shipping drop down menu. For transactions that total $250 or more, you must get signature confirmation of delivery.
Claim Resolution Process. Once a Dispute has been escalated to a Claim, PayPal will make a final decision in favor of the buyer or the Seller. You may be asked to provide receipts, third party evaluations, police reports, or anything else that PayPal specifies. PayPal retains full discretion to make a final decision in favor of the buyer or the Seller based on any criteria PayPal deems appropriate. In the event that PayPal makes a final decision in favor of the buyer or Seller, each party must comply with PayPal’s decision. PayPal will generally require the buyer to ship an item that the buyer claims is SNAD back to the Seller (at the buyer’s expense), and PayPal will generally require a Seller to accept the item back and refund the buyer the full purchase price plus original shipping costs. In the event a Seller loses a Claim, the Seller will not receive a refund on his or her PayPal or eBay fees associated with the transaction. If you lose a SNAD Claim because the item you sold is counterfeit, you will be required to provide a full refund to the buyer and you will not receive the item back (it will be destroyed).
I cannot find it right now but it seems once it is escalated they decide within 30 days. For the times I've had claims it is usually only a day or two.
