So, apparently eBay sellers can send your item anywhere...and it's still considered delivered

The BBQ Pit
1

So, I’ve had very good luck with buying on ebay, up until this point. Recently I bought (or thought I did) an item on eBay. It never arrived. I contacted the seller (several times) and politely and in a friendly way, asked about the item’s shipping schedule and so on. After a few emails back and forth, where in I asked where she had shipped the item, it turns out “I didn’t take a picture of the label or anything, but I was looking at the screen when I wrote it down”.

Now, I live in an apartment complex with about 40 buildings. As you can imagine, several of the buildings have similar numbers like 202 and 220…and the apartments are all letter/number combinations. So one transposed number and someone else got a cool free item, courtesy of Miss I’ll Hand Write the Address instead of Printing from the ACTUAL Print Label Page!

Apparently the fact that the post office says it was delivered is sufficient for eBay. Doesn’t matter where, doesn’t matter that I HAVE The woman’s email where she admits she hand wrote the address, it was "delivered to “Shoes HomeTown”. Good enough.

In one email she said “I believe that priority mail has a $50 insurance on it”. So I sent a politely worded email basically saying “okay, so does that mean you DID put insurance? If so, would you please complete the procedures necessary to get the reimbursement, since you’re the purchaser of the shipping”? (only said nicely, not snarky).

No answer. And after much back and forth with ebay’s “resolution” center in which I came out the loser, I finally decided to provide negative feedback. I hated doing that, but it’s the only recourse I have.

I’m sorry that was so nice, and clean, and lacking in creative profanity describing myriad unpleasantness upon her, but I’m just bummed. And bummed at myself. I should have KNOWN not to go with a seller with only 26 stars. I know, they all have to start somewhere, but generally if I am going to buy something from a low star seller it’s something small. I won’t make that mistake again. And/or will be requesting shipping insurance.

2

She should have kept evidence of the Priority mailing for the $50 insurance. Sounds like she failed there. It was insured to $50, but she has to work the issue as the sender.

Did you open up a case? Sounds like you “politely asked”, but it is tough to even contact the other party with an issue without opening a case automatically. If you didn’t do that, you won’t get anywhere.

I’m surprised at this outcome. eBay bends over backwards to screw the sellers (as a veteran seller I should know), and kiss the buyers.

Also, keep in mind, much as I love and use the USPS, they make lots of mistakes. Just yesterday I got a snarky feedback from a guy that waited two weeks for a stamped envelope to arrive. Not my fault, I mailed same day, but the envelope must have toured the lower 48 before finding his house.

3

My experience with eBay was the opposite. But bottom line is that eBay is nowhere near what it was 10 years ago.

4

How did you pay for the item? If you paid with a credit card (through Paypal) you can file a claim with your credit card company. I think the credit card company is going to rule in your favor since the seller does not have signature confirmation. Obviously if you paid with a bank account or Paypal balance you can not pursue this avenue.

5

I’d second going to Paypal if you used them.

I ordered an item to be shipped to my daughter a few years back. Item did not arrive. I double checked the address I’d given to the seller (to be sure it wasn’t my fault) before I started bitching. Looking carefully at the tracking info and found that the shipping address was: Daughter’s name, House number, Boston, MA. No street name. The info I had sent to the seller definitely had the street name on it.
Oh, and the tracking info stated that the item had been returned to the seller. So… sent a polite email requesting that the item be resent (with a street name please). No response. Second email. Seller says she does not accept returns so does not have item. Asked for a refund. No response. Waited. Sent another email. Nothing. Called her. (lived in England at the time so payed for phone call) No answer. Left message. Nothing. Contacted Paypal. Got refund. Lo and behold, got email from seller asking that I rescind negative feedback.
Ignored it. :smiley:

6

Er… Better today…or better then?

I’ve never sold, only bought, but I’ve never had a bad eBay experience. (Cross fingers…)

7

After learning the hard way I have rules with ebay buying. Never buy anything for more than ten bucks from a seller with less than at least a year of selling experience, a 99.5% satisfaction rating and at least 200 items sold.

8

Not sure if this is an option for you in future, but I always have stuff delivered to my office. That way there’s always someone to sign for it, etc., and UPS/FedEx are much better at delivering to business addresses.

9

Yeah, I opened a case, and have been pursuing it through the post office, they’ve been SO helpful. Their supervisor has been discussing this with the mail carrier (who by all accounts is extremely meticulous and knows who I am…“yeah, she buys a lotta @#$”…:D). But it IS the holidays, and as careful as he is, and as much as he knows his mail customer base, he can’t memorize EVERYTHING, and there is an office building across the street with almost the exact address as mine, but with the last two numbers switched. Both the local PO and me suspect that, since she hand wrote the address, she transposed those numbers and the business might have my package.

Barring that, there’s also a building in my complex that has the last two numbers switched and has the same apartment number. With additional information I learned from the PO yesterday, there’s also someone at my complex with the same last name and similar first name to mine. And my name is kinda like the John Smith of girl names.

The seller was out of town and when she got my last email (which was a bit less polite than the first 10) she was completely unfazed and just asked “did you ask the post office about the insurance”? I’ve told her at least 5 times, and the PO confirmed, she’s the shipper, SHE has to apply for reimbursement.

Now I don’t even care about the item anymore, I just want the damned package so I can take a pic of the label, drive to her state, and shove it in her face…buy a !@E$!@#$ printer you MORON!

GAAAAAh. and :slight_smile: sorry, you were trying to help.

10

Sadly I paid with Paypal. But I do agree with RNATB, if I do decide to go with a low star seller in the future (if by chance they have something I CANNOT live without :D), I think I’ll use my office address. Jeeeeeez I woulda been better off if they’d sent it to my old Anchorage address, at least I know my tenants would be honest. Because that’s the second part of what is burning my butt.

SOMEONE got this package, someone who knows it’s not theirs, either the other building at my apartment, or the business across the street. So someone is being a dishonest thief. Both the post office and I are hoping it’s the business, because at least I have a chance that they’ve been too busy to find out whose the package is, or to get the carrier to pick it back up or something.

11

Yup! Yup! Yup!!! that is pretty much my rule too! But I had to have the damned thing…(stupid stupid stupid!~!!!). I will stick to my rules from now on. I’ve had very good experiences with (relatively) high star sellers and good feedback ratings.

12

Everybody pays with Paypal. The question is how was the Paypal payment funded.
If it was funded with a credit card then you can file a chargeback request for non-delivery with the credit card company. If the payment was funded with a Paypal balance or a withdrawal from a bank account then you can’t and are limited to the eBay and/or Paypal complaint system. Go to your Paypal account and look this up.

13

Oh gotcha, sorry I missed that part. Yes, (again sadly) it comes straight out of my checking account.

14

Your situation is an example of why one should have all the funding done from credit cards.

For example I have two Paypal accounts:

  1. A premier account for which I receive money which is connected to a checking account (as well as a credit card–but I only use the checking account). This account is for selling things.
  2. A normal account which is only connected to credit cards. This account is used for all my purchases. Thus for all my purchases I have credit card protection.
15

Good ideas.

16

It could also be that whoever got it doesn’t know what to do with it. It has not-their name on it, but their address. I don’t know the names of any of my neighbors; you might try finding out from the seller exactly what address she used and go knocking on the door.

17

If something of apparent value shows up at my address with a weird or unknown name my standard procedure is give it to the postal delivery person or take it to my local post office to be returned to the sender. I’m not sure why that wouldn’t be the norm.

As for the exact address it was sent to, from what Shoes has said, it seems the seller is too much of a nitwit to know exactly where they sent it.