How did this seller get my neg removed, plus numerous attached mysteries
This is so full of weirdness I can't even see how the ostensible explanations would work. This will be long but please read the whole thing before offering theories because each added detail debunks the theory I had prior to it. I think you'll agree this is a total head-scratcher, but maybe someone knows exactly what is going on.
Thursday the 28th I ordered packing tape from a seller who has zero negative or neutral feedback (I always check with new items, particularly to see if they got any complaints about being a drop-shipper). The next day I was notified that the item had shipped. It said USPS but the tracking number was 0004020621953611660436604195963 -which is obviously too long, and I got no results by pasting it into Google or the USPS website.
Sunday the 31st, there's an Amazon Prime package on my porch, obviously delivered by Amazon, as it was Sunday, Easter Sunday at that, and on my porch as opposed to my mailbox. And it was the tape of course.
I negged the seller, citing Amazon drop-shipping.
Now today I get another notification that this item has shipped.
So I go to my Purchases page, and there is a new tracking number, a normal one from USPS. -That (long) other number is no longer there. Now, I have had sellers issue more than one label for purchases before and I have done it as a seller (when I made a mistake on the first one or whatever) -and whenever this occurs, normally BOTH numbers continue to show for the item. But somehow in this case, the new one totally replaced the old one. The only reason I was able to find the old one and post it ^ just now was because I remembered it started with at least a couple 0's, so I typed them in Google and my search from the other day popped up.
I realized something weird was going on so I went to the seller's feedback, and sure enough they got my neg wiped somehow. NOW -this is the part where someone might tell me that this is not a drop-shipper violating eBay policy, that they do whatever kind of arrangement where it's okay with eBay (I'm still not clear on that but whatever) and that's why they were able to get the neg removed. But hang on, if this WAS an approved version of drop-shipping, then why upload another tracking number today and (somehow) disappear the original one?
And it gets weirder.
On eBay's popup window for this new tracking number, it says the label was just created this morning at 11:26 AM, and has no scans yet.
But when I click the tracking number, USPS shows it with history going back to "awaiting item" from UPS Worldwide Forwarding on Saturday the 30th .....to ..... delivered today, April 2nd, at 12:13 PM.
So then I thought maybe I had another whole 6-pack of tape in my mailbox .... went out there, but nope, not there. I did receive other packages today, but according to Informed Delivery they arrived at 1:41 PM not 12:13. Also this tracking number never auto-loaded to my Informed Delivery, so I am certain it was never affiliated with my address at all.
However ...... it DOES show it was delivered to my zip code. Now, if you're thinking they sent an empty envelope or whatever to a different address in my zip code, as some way to get the neg removed or whatever (and I'm not even sure what difference that would make) ..... how could they have known I was going to neg them Saturday, the day BEFORE I got the package? In fact Saturday is just when this tracking number got on USPS' radar; it appears the item was already in transit before that. So maybe they recycled another customer's tracking number? -How big a coincidence would that be, that they'd have an active one for someone else living in my zip code? And why go to the trouble of finding it and using it to replace the one I had on my order, when my neg wasn't even ABOUT not receiving my item?
Oh one last thing, if it's useful somehow: I didn't notice this before, but this item is the ONLY item in their store, and the only item in their Sold history, since creating the account last November, in Israel (didn't notice that before either).
dare-2046
·2 years agoThe first tracking number is actually a USPS IMb barcode used to sort and track letters. Some tracking websites can show results of its scans along the way but it's not a tracking number and never shows delivered. It was just used as a placeholder to satisfy the metrics, and probably an old barcode from a random letter.
The second tracking number will always be uploaded by the dropshipper as there's no public tracking for the dropshipped item, to refute item not received should you make a claim. The tracking websites collect all the tracking numbers many of us voluntarily provide, arranges them by city/state and zip code, to sell one of those with your zip code to your dropshipper.
I bought 3M Command Strips* and received it dropshipped in a padded envelope from Amazon. The second tracking number my seller on eBay uploaded was for a UPS shipment of five 25 pound boxes, inappropriate but shows delivery to my city/state and that's good enough for eBay.
*I knowingly buy from Amazon dropshippers offering free shipping when my purchase won't meet the e.g. $35 free shipping minimum, and I'm not smart enough to pay $179.88 for Prime membership to get free shipping.
gurlcat
OP2 years ago😧Well I'll be danged. Sounds like SOMEONE knows what they're talking about, and I WASN'T obsessing on a nothingburger!
So do you believe this seller IS a straight-up dropshipper, not an eBay-approved FBA seller? What I don't understand is how FBA sellers GET approved to list and sell on eBay. Is there something they have to register about it before they proceed to list items, or do they just do it and the question of their legitimacy doesn't even come up until/unless someone reports them, then eBay dismisses the report? Is it just the fact that they upload "a tracking number" that keeps the bots from noticing them? -Why/how does eBay not recognize that those long IMB barcodes aren't proper package tracking numbers?? Like how does it "satisfy the metrics"? Could any seller do that, just type in any quantity of random numbers?
LOL sorry for all the questions. It appears you actually understand what I was asking in my OP and know exactly what is going on. So now I'm curious about how the heck this works. Also, in your last *sentence, were you saying you purposely put some hurt on dropshippers? If so I love it.
janet9988
·2 years ago@gurlcat
Do some reading of these posts.
Seems like the same thing as Blucare Express and Aquiline.
Basically the seller is using a 3rd party service so you can't actually see where the item ships from.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=aquiline&sort_by=-topicPostDate&collapse_discussion=true
gurlcat
OP2 years agoThank you. Just from skimming a few of those posts they look very interesting and I'll read more of them when I have some time. But I also just tried plugging that long '000...' number into both Aquiline and Blucare and they both said it wasn't a legit number. I don't understand how EBAY accepted it!
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoWeird can be weird...I had a buyer from Israel.
Buyer gave me positive feedback immediately after buying item.
Buyer is doing "freight forward" from Massachusetts....per the "letter and numbers" after his name I assume.
Plus I googled the address.
Not a problem...however, I checked into buyer's feedback: buyer bought 19 items in one day and gave 19 positive feedbacks to 19 different sellers with the same feedback on March 31st.
Are buyers buying from sellers to become a seller one day and got lots of feedbacks from previous sellers?...so buyers are not afraid to buy from these people? This could be any other by the way.
kathiec
·2 years agoDid you get what you ordered in the promised timeframe? Then everything else is immaterial. It's quite likely the seller uses the Fulfilled by Amazon program, which is perfectly legal on eBay. And it's also possible they don't use one of the backend programs that convert Amazon tracking to an eBay-readable form. That's why the tracking was unrecognizable. If your neg stated that it was because the seller was dropshipping, most likely eBay removed it because FBA isn't dropshipping and is perfectly legal on eBay.
Everything else you presented in your mini War and Peace is just noise.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoWhy the hostility? "mini War and Peace" -What have I ever done to you that you feel the need to mock my post because of length? Didn't anyone ever tell you what to do if you have nothing nice to say?
If the detail about the tracking is of no interest to you, fine. But the tracking number that is there now says the item was delivered TO-DAY, not Sunday. It is a fake tracking number, therefore I am simply trying to figure out why they switched it.
catjewels9876
·2 years agoHello,
When it comes to your negative feedback being removed, I believe ebay removes negative feedback left for a seller by another seller. I remember leaving a negative once for a seller and wondered where it went only to find out this policy.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoCan't imagine why anyone would have told you that but it's definitely not a policy. Sellers can't neg buyers, so maybe that's what you're thinking of.
I don't neg sellers very often; it takes a grave offense and I do consider drop-shipping to be one, but here's the last seller I negged and it was over 6 months ago. Granted he is no longer registered, but he was for a while after that negative, and it wasn't removed.
tinsoldierunderground
·2 years agoI got nothin'- just seems like there should be a Rod Serling narrative here somewhere.🕛ðŸ‘
gurlcat
OP2 years agoHa I am always saying "Did I stumble into the Twilight Zone or something?!"
an-57470
·2 years agoIn our area, USPS does deliver Amazon packages on Sundays.
harborauction
·2 years agoOK, let's see. You ordered an item from a seller is Israel (I know you didn't bother to look at seller's location), got your item in 4 days and negged the seller because you didn't like where it came from.
What if the seller actually shipped from Israel and your tape took 3 weeks to arrive. Would you have negged the seller because you didn't read the listing?
Sorry but it all seems petty & ridiculous to me but I'm way too relaxed to be on ebay I guess
All the fretting & fuss & investigation over the tracking numbers also seems sorta pointless to me
gurlcat
OP2 years agoYou're speculating about what I would do if the item took 4 weeks to arrive, but I'M the one being ridiculous? If you don't find a post worth thinking about, you know you don't HAVE to reply. Jeez has someone gone around peeing in a bunch of yalls Cheerios or something?
ten_o_nine
·2 years agoIf I were you, I would have opened the box, made sure item was what I ordered and threw the box in the trash, end of story. It seems too much investigative work for a tape that was received.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoI didn't ask what anyone else would do, nor would have done before this point. I am asking for explanations about discrepancies that don't make sense. What may seem like a pointless inquiry now may be very useful to understand future circumstances. That is what I have learned from being in this Community.
Unavailable member
·2 years ago@gurlcat
Regarding the change in tracking numbers they can be replaced. I printed a label, realized I put the wrong weight in printed a new label.
In the order details I was able to click edit for the previous label and clicked the x thus deleting that tracking number.
In the order details only the new tracking number shows.
Feedback removal...if the seller used the feedback removal tool and the AI or even a human thought it can be removed will remove it.
The tracking number is an obvious rouse. What that seller is thinking is anyone's guess.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoOkay thank you. I was going to say "But on an item that was already DELIVERED?" -but then I don't know if it was recorded as delivered according to eBay. I didn't look at it after Friday. I wish I knew if there's any way to find out if that long tracking number is real, like what carrier it was so I could see the tracking on their site.
dentalsales4u
·2 years agoIf the seller is in Israel, maybe they pay to store their items at an Amazon warehouse and Amazon ships it for them.
Did it come with a gift receipt? I think that's how you can tell it's an Amazon drop ship.
Just a guess on my part.
I don't get to wrapped up in Amazon shipments since a lot of sellers use Amazon's Warehouse to store and ship their products.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoIf there was any paper in the padded envelope I didn't pull it out and look at it, so I don't know. As I said, if they are legit as far as eBay's concerned, then what explains all this weird stuff with the tracking?