yet another ebay question thread.

I hate to do it, but I gotta ask.

I negotiated a best offer with a seller for some coins. I initiated payment through PayPal via echeck on 12-24. The payment cleared into sellers acct. on 12-30.

the listing said that items would be shipped "within one business day of cleared payment" but no info on the shipment was available until 1-3-14. There was only a tracking number. When I plug that number in to usps this is the message I get:
Your Item Status:
The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on January 3, 2014 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if/when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.

I contacted the seller and he said that he shipped the item but lives in a small town and may not be scanned until it reaches a larger facility. That message and response was on 1-3-14 also.
now, I see that the seller has had several negs for items not received. I want to give the benefit of the doubt but just in case he is one of those that will say whatever it takes to run out the clock on my ability to file a claim, how long should I wait before I do it?

it should be noted that the transaction was marked completed the day I initiated payment (12-24-13) so even though the payment didn't clear into the sellers acct until 12-30, I need to operate within the timeframe I am given.

I just find it odd that the shipment is still untraceable if in fact it was shipped, given the usps message I get above.

well, what is the best course of action?

thanks for any input.

 

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the neg feedback raises my eyebrow, but im from a small town, and sometimes i get my item before the tracking number is ever initially scanned.

 

I think you can open a Paypal claim and if the item arrives, claim can be canceled.

 

Considering the holidays and the cold weather hitting most of the US, I would give it until Friday. Then, I would open a claim.

 

I would follow the steps outlined here for "item not received":

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/item-not-received.html

 

This makes sense and gives plenty of time. Odd occurrence though. Maybe he printed out the label at home and was delayed bringing it to the PO. TC

 

i would give it till next week packages have been very slow and sometimes the post forgets to scan along the way !!

 

Unless you wait in the long line and specifically ask for an item to be scanned when you drop it off, this is not uncommon at all in my experience. I have had many, many items not scanned into the system until the day they were delivered, and I even live in a major city. This doesn't mean he didn't mail it, it just means the post office is doing a crappy job. I'd give it a couple of days.

 

I've had packages delivered three months ago that still show "out for delivery", a priority package mailed Dec.18th that shows "delivery status not updated" (I emailed the buyer and he received it Dec.23) and, as a buyer, have seen "delivered" when, in fact, delivery wasn't made until the next day.
USPS tracking (formerly "delivery confirmation") is "iffy" at best.

 

I have had some shipping issues with USPS as well. I have had packages go though the same sorting facility, in the same city, 4 days in a row. I have always received what was sent albeit at some delay. If you are getting that message when you are trying to track a package the seller has printed the shipping label but it has not been "accepted" at the post office.

As a buyer, you should be protected for 30 days after cleared payment.

I recently purchased an inexpensive item from a seller with questionably low feedback numbers. I emailed them 3 days after cleared payment and got a response that the item would be shipped and I would receive a tracking number. After 3 more days and no email, I attempted to contact the seller again with no response. At that point I opened a item not received case against them. I won the case 2 days later and got my PayPal account credited the entire amount.

Once you open the case, Ebay attempts to to contact the seller in order to complete the transaction. If the seller does not respond or make a serious attempt to prove that the item has indeed shipped you will be able to escalate the case and most likely win.

Just make sure to file a case before 30 days. If the seller can't prove the package was shipped, you will win the case. Delivery is the sellers responsibility.

USPS is very good about tracking insured packages and I hope this package was insured. If it was your money is safe.

I would give them a day or two. If they give you the run around and the package has not been "accepted" at the post office, open a case.

Good Luck

 

The label was just printed on Friday. I would give it some time.
In my opinion , it's way too early to file a claim.

 

Mine was an priority (insured) package... and made stops at three different sort facilities in the SAME day... it went "out for delivery" then back to the sort facilities... and the final entry was "delivery status not updated". Luckily, I had an honest buyer, because if he filed an "item not received" case, he would have won:

Acceptance

Dec-18-13, 15:27 PM, RIVERSIDE, NJ 08075

Dispatched to Sort Facility

Dec-18-13, 18:29 PM, RIVERSIDE, NJ 08075

Processed at USPS Origin Sort Facility

Dec-18-13, 22:25 PM, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19116

Processed through USPS Sort Facility

Dec-19-13, 19:52 PM, FEDERAL WAY, WA 98003

Depart USPS Sort Facility

Dec-20-13, 00:00 AM, FEDERAL WAY, WA 98003

Arrival at Post Office

Dec-20-13, 05:32 AM, LYNNWOOD, WA 98036

Sorting Complete

Dec-20-13, 09:18 AM, LYNNWOOD, WA 98036

Out for Delivery

Dec-20-13, 09:28 AM, LYNNWOOD, WA 98036

Processed through USPS Sort Facility

Dec-20-13, 15:10 PM, LYNNWOOD, WA 98036

Processed through USPS Sort Facility

Dec-20-13, 21:29 PM, SEATTLE, WA 98168

Delivery status not updated

Dec-20-13, 23:28 PM

 

Very true. The best way for a seller to protect themselves against dishonest buyers is by requiring a signature upon delivery. Packages insured for more than $500 are signature required. For packages insured for less than $500, you can add this service for a nominal fee. I definitely would never sell anything of real value on Ebay without requiring a delivery confirmation signature. It's just asking for trouble.

 

The company I work for ships several thousand packages a day through the Post Office. The response you received from the Post Office tells me that he is using something like Stamps.com to print the label. It does not mean the package was shipped. And, he is correct in that it may need to hit another facility before it shows any real tracking data. That said, you could ask him what service level he used as that is a good tell tell sign. Both First Class and Priority mail require frequent scans from the Post Office whereas lesser shipping methods such as Parcel Post do not. If he tells you Parcel Post, I would give him a few days. If he say's it was shipped via First Class or Priority, I would begin the claim process tomorrow (as the Post Office does the bulk of their updates over night). While you may have to reverse the claim, I would say the 'shot across the bow' is merited as he clearly didn't tender the package to the Post Office in a timely fashion.

 

I 100% agree with you jmon

 

You have 45 days to file a claim with paypal. I recently had a package not show acceptance for over a week, and then was actually headed in the wrong direction. I would give it until at least Friday, then contact the seller again before opening a claim. M2C

 

ok. Thanks for the input everyone. Another small complication is that eBay is going off the date I initiated payment.... The 'expected delivery date' given is 12-30, which is the date my payment cleared. Given the timeframe (purchased on 12-24 with expected delivery of 12-30) I feel like I should give the same amount of time (6 days) from the date he said he shipped (1-3). I will take the advice that if it hasn't arrived in the mail by Friday's delivery I will try another communication and start a claim. I just feel a little bad about it, you know? He haggled with me, which I appreciate and I think I got a good price. I likewise don't wish to muddy the waters in a way that would make him want to block me just in case everything is on the up and up.

for those of you that sell regularly on eBay, if you had mailed an item and a claim was filed, would it cause you to block the bidder from future auctions if you had to issue a refund or send a replacement? How about if the item was delivered and the item not received case was cancelled?

 

i agree with you 100 percent errors are made and things are missed i had a package right after christmas that was listed as delivered so i weight 2 days and it was not at the post so i went to the post showed them the tracking and sure enough they found it they had miss placed it at the post office!

 

This may be a requirement by the USPS, but I can promise you it doesn't happen. I've had many Priority mail shipments that didn't get scanned in until it reached the destination post office. Here's a recent one that I shipped out from Atlanta, Ga on 12/17/13. You can see from the tracking info that it never got scanned into the system until it reached the recipients state. Notice that it also didn't arrive within the 2-3 days as promised.

Delivered

Dec-22-13, 10:20 AM, GLEN ELLYN, IL 60137

Arrival at Post Office

Dec-22-13, 03:23 AM, GLEN ELLYN, IL 60137

Processed through USPS Sort Facility

Dec-21-13, 04:59 AM, ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL 60007

Depart USPS Sort Facility

Dec-21-13, 00:00 AM, ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL 60007

 

What's the hurry? I've had packages take two or three weeks after purchase to reach me. I think some sellers just send out their mail once a week or whenever they get around to it. It may not be as fast as I'd like, but I won't go raising a ruckus until it has been three weeks at least. I think you get at least 45 days to open a case if there's a problem.