eBay refused to refund my purchase price after package was clearly delivered to the wrong address

[gtcruiserman]

I had bought a couple of small tubes of oil, total cost was about $14.  The day after I purchased them I got a shipping notification but no tracking info so I had no idea what service they used. I waited about three weeks and nothing showed up.  I sent the seller a note and he responded immediately and, in very poor English, said there was a problem with shipping and he'd get back to me.  He never did.  I opened a case with eBay and within a few days he provided tracking that showed FedEx delivered the package a day after I ordered it and it weighed 4 pounds.  The oil might've weight a quarter of a pound, most likely a LOT less so I have no idea what package that was.  He shipped with FedEx and they had a picture on their website of the package on a porch but it wasn't my porch and the house number was on the door and it wasn't my number.  The whole thing seemed like a scam to me.  I think the seller somehow has access to FedEx's database, found a package delivered to my are and used that number.   eBay said since it showed it was delivered, I wouldn't get a refund.  They told me to file a claim with FedEx, which I did.  I provided all the info they needed, waited 2 weeks and they said I couldn't file a claim because I wasn't the shipper!!!    Doesn't eBay know that? Why would they suggest it.  My brother works for UPS and told me I should've be filing the claim, the seller should.  This left me with a bad taste in my mouth, I assumed buyers were protected.  I lost $14 this time through no fault of my own, what if it was something much more expensive?  Shouldn't the seller be liable....even if it gets stolen off of my porch?  I've given refunds to buyers if something went wrong.  As a result, I will be using eBay a LOT less than I used to.

[eburtonlab]

Good instructions for dealing with false tracking info can be found here:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/what-do-I-do-if-I-never-received-my-package-but-tracking-shows/...

Shouldn't the seller be liable....even if it gets stolen off of my porch?

No, once the item has been delivered to the correct address it becomes the buyer's responsibility. The buyer is responsible for having a secure location for packages to be delivered to or making arrangements for packages to be held for pickup.

[ed8108]

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@gtcruiserman wrote:

I had bought a couple of small tubes of oil,.  The day after I purchased them I got a shipping notification but no tracking info 

I opened a case with eBay and he provided tracking that showed FedEx delivered the package a day after I ordered it and it weighed 4 pounds.  The oil might've weight a quarter of a pound, 

He shipped with FedEx and they had a picture on their website of the package on a porch but it wasn't my porch and the house number was on the door and it wasn't my number.  eBay said since it showed it was delivered, I wouldn't get a refund. 

They told me to file a claim with FedEx, which I did.  I provided all the info they needed, waited 2 weeks and they said I couldn't file a claim because I wasn't the shipper!!!    Doesn't eBay know that? Why would they suggest it. 

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Unhappy ebay buyer experiences such as yours may be one reason for a decline in buyer purchases

Very sad

Was your payment with a credit card or PayPal ?

If so file a claim with PayPal or with your credit card company.

[gtcruiserman]

Thanks for that, I never saw that before.  The only thing is that FedEx really didn't want to deal with me as I wasn't the shipper.   It bothers me that eBay probably knows that too and still insisted I file the claim through FedEx. 

[gtcruiserman]

It was with PayPal and that's my next step.  I also checked the buyers page, and my negative review is not in their feedback!