So this is weird.

Back in late November or early December of last year, Denise mentioned that she wished someone would invent a heated mouse. Sure enough, Googling for the phrase “heated mouse” turned up several blog articles referencing a company that claimed to produce just the item she was looking for. Never one to look an obvious Christmas gift idea in the mouth, I placed an order. I was a little troubled by the ordering process, which required me to make payment using PayPal, but I went along with it because other people seemed to having orders filled with no troubles.

I placed the order on December 10, and after a few days I sent in an e-mail inquiry to ask when the item would actually be shipped. I received a quick reply that assured me (in ALL CAPS, no less) that I’d get it on or before December 24. Great!

Well, Christmas came and went with no sign of the heated mouse. Subsequent e-mails and phone calls to the seller went unanswered. I finally filed a complaint with PayPal around January 10, but they were unable to do anything about it. (Thanks, PayPal!) I chalked it up to a $59.99 life lesson and moved on.

Hearing about someone else’s recent troubles with a sale through PayPal reminded me of my problem, so I once again Googled to see if anyone has reported problems similar to mine. I was surprised to find new comments on one of the blog articles I’d seen last year, in which other shafted customers were complaining about non-delivery of their heated mice. Most surprising, however, was a comment allegedly from the fellow who was actually selling the mouse:

Ladies and Gentleman. I am Rudy Hinojosa, creator of the heated mouse. I want to publicly express my apologies for not being able to process your orders in a timely fashion. My manufacturer deal did not go through. I’m being forced to make them once again by hand. This is so frustrating. I have about 60 back orders in queue. I have stopped new orders alltogether. I will be providing refunds for those who request it. My contact information is still the same. I’m working overtime to get these orders out.

“Rudy” neglects to mention why he never replied to any of his customers’ e-mails or phone calls; I’m not optimistic that I’ll actually get a response if I try to contact him about a refund. But I suppose it won’t hurt to try. Stay tuned.