eBay seller says item was delivered in USA but our address is in Australia?
Hi everyone,
We ordered a car part on eBay on the 13th of April. The estimated delivery date was between 29 April and 11 May, but we still haven’t received it.
We contacted the seller and received these responses:
“On delivery status it is mentioned: Delivered to Agent Delivered to Agent, Left with Individual GLENDALE HEIGHTS, IL 60139 April 20, 2026, 10:37am”
and
“Hello, Item was delivered with USPS tracking number on April 10”
The issue is that our delivery address is in Queensland, Australia, but the seller is referring to delivery in Illinois, USA.
When we type the tracking number into USPS tracking, it says:
“This tracking number may be invalid or not active yet. Please check with the sender.”
We’re confused about what this means. Could this be a freight forwarder/export hub situation, or does this sound suspicious? Has anyone experienced something similar before?
Thanks 🙂
bdmh-enterprises
·4 months agoThis was sent by eBay International Shipping. This would have been noted along with the cost when you purchased this item. You should be able to track it's progress beyond the delivery to the hub from your 'order details' page.
Since it is past the estimated delivery date you may as well file an 'item not received' claim. The seller will not be involved at this point. If the package appears to be moving eBay may extend the date, most likely though they will just refund you and you'll get to keep the item if it ever arrives and the seller keeps their money.
marnotom!
·4 months agoCheck the listing page again. The shipping method stated in the listing is likely "eBay International Shipping" which is a glorified international package forwarding service. If a buyer outside of the US purchases from a seller who's enrolled in the program, the seller will ship the item to a hub in suburban Chicago (Glendale Heights) where it is verified for international shipment before being forwarded to the destination country.
One of the problems with eIS is that there's a whole schwack of items that are ineligible for forwarding through the program but the AI that screens listings is still in its infancy, so some listings don't get screened for eligibility properly. Items end up going to the hub and screened there instead. Automobile parts, unfortunately, tend to dead-end at the hub if there's even the slightly chance that they may contain fuel residue. Sometimes buyers will be automatically notified and refunded if that should happen, and sometimes they won't be and the buyer has to do the legwork to get a refund.
eIS can be and is a bit on the slow side, so waiting a few more days for your item before requesting a refund can't hurt. The seller's only obligation is to ensure the item reaches the hub in Illinois. After that, the item is eIS's responsibility, so they'll be the party making the refund, not the seller. In the meantime, you might want to use that tracking number you received on a third-party tracking site, such as Parcelsapp. I like Parcelsapp because it's generally very good at tying together shipments involving multiple carriers, but there are others out there, as well. You may get additional information on your item that you're not getting through eBay or other sources.
Keep us posted (so to speak), and good luck!
soh.maryl
·4 months agoWas it a freight forwarder or eBay international shipping?