Stolen return label?

[supergenius75]

Hi folks. This is my first time posting here. Received a faulty product from a seller in China with 867 items sold and 90% positive feedback. Initiated a return on Sep 25. On Sep 27, seller offered a $12 partial refund on my $250 purchase. I didn't respond. Later that same day, the seller accepted the return at 7:46pm. That's when things got shady. I just logged in today to discover that on Sep 28 at 5am the return label was created, and the item was "PICK UP BY SHIP PTNR USPS AWAITS ITEM" at 7:45am in my home city, roughly 2 hours 45 min after eBay says the label was created. I never received the label, and never shipped the return, and I still have the item in my possession. When I check USPS tracking info, it says that the item is in possession of shipping partner "TALENT FORTUNE". A quick internet search shows that it's a scam company with Chinese ownership, and its business license is suspended (there's a R*ddit thread from 1 month ago where an Et*y buyer is getting scammed). But because eBay thinks that the return has shipped but hasn't yet arrived, I don't have the option of asking eBay to intervene on the transaction. Should I report the seller for terms violation? I can't think of any legitimate scenario that would explain this weird shipping situation. Do I have to wait for the fake shipment to "arrive" at its destination in China? Any advice would be appreciated!

[shipscript]

I'm not visualizing the scam at play. It would not be in the best interest of the seller to have a buyer return show "delivered" while still in the hands of the buyer.  A ruse could show the item lost in the shipping system without any insurance, and returns that are lost in shipping are the responsibility of the the buyer - thus no refund from the seller and the buyer is forced to keep the item.

I read the internet accounts of this "shipping partner", and for the most part, they handle the transport leg from China to a USPS sorting hub. So to run that in reverse, one would think you would ship domestically via USPS to that shipping partner, which would handle the international leg. 

I would definitely recommend contacting Customer Service to point out the discrepancy in the logistics. Be sure to carefully examine the details of the situation in order to clearly explain the situation to the agent.

Use the "Contact us" button at the bottom of this help page.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-items-not-received-refunds-buyers/return-item-refund?id=404... 

Type "agent" into the chat that opens. To prevent going in circles, you may have to select none of the items that the bot shows you. After no items match your concern, you should be able to type "agent" into the slot and see contact options.

If your agent seems uncertain, ask for a supervisor (the agent will have to make a call into a supervisor and sit in a queue). Or, if the advice seems tenuous, thank the agent and start again from the help page.

[supergenius75]

Wow - thank you for the super detailed response! Appreciate you taking the time to navigate through my convoluted post. I was thinking how clever it is to provide a label at 5am, and then to have your "shipping partner" mark the package as "picked up" at 7:45am before any post office in the country opens. Thereby making it logistically impossible for the buyer to ever have the label scanned. I found three different phone numbers for eBay, and managed to make it past the automated screening once, but then got disconnected while listening to the hold music. The phone agents have always been super helpful in the past. Happy to get some advice on how to legitimately reach them!

[shipscript]

You're welcome. 

Be wary of direct-dialing eBay. There are many fake "call eBay" scam numbers on google that are snagging unsuspecting eBay members. There are also many scams that have registered frequently misdialed phone numbers, which are quite common due to the arrangement of keys on number-pad vs phone-pad. Those scams start off with asking for a credit card or personal info. Having eBay call you back is the legitimate and safest contact method.

[supergenius75]

Thanks again for the advice. I followed your instructions and was able to reach an agent by phone. She postulated that perhaps the seller somehow accidentally sent the same return label to more than one customer. (I didn't bother trying to explain the potential ruse that you suggested might be in play) She said that since the USPS tracking indicates that the package is still in the possession of the shipping partner (TALENT FORTUNE INC), I should be able to take the package directly to USPS and have them scan it and ship it. Then once USPS indicates that the package was delivered, I'll receive a refund. I told her that I'm unable to ship it, because I don't have the label. Since the package is marked as shipped, I'm not able to access the label on the return status page. She was then able to email me a copy of the label. I asked her what would happen at the post office if their system indicates the package is already picked up by a partner? Would they refuse to accept the package? She said that they should take the package since it hasn't yet been scanned directly by USPS (though she didn't sound very confident judging by the tone of her response). I've packaged up the return. Any further advice before I attempt to drop it off at the post office? Thanks again for your super helpful responses!

[shipscript]

Is the return label for a US destination or is it addressed to China? What level of service is the label? There is a problem with some USPS services where tracking ends when the item enters the Chinese postal system and there may be no further tracking. Without a "delivered" scan, the seller is not required to refund. Priority International should scan end-to-end, while first class international does not track once it is handed over to ChinaPost (but will track into Hong Kong).

https://www.usps.com/international/mail-shipping-services.htm

You may need to ask customer service for additional help if there is no delivery scan. 

[supergenius75]

Great question. The label has a southern California address (see image URL below). The item definitely originally shipped from China - took almost 4 weeks to be delivered. Not sure why return label is for a local address, but I guess it doesn't matter. Let me know how you think I should proceed... really appreciate your responsiveness! Very cool.

https://imgur.com/pN7V0vt

Searching on Google Maps, it looks like a non-descript building in an office park.

https://imgur.com/p2BWpl3

Googling the address shows that there are several businesses housed within this building.

Searching the person who is named on the return label shows that he is the CEO of one of the businesses housed there (LED Lighting Solutions), though the name of the business is not listed on the shipping label. None of the businesses have a office number or suite number - so perhaps they're all just different names for the same business.

[shipscript]

This is good news. You'll be shipping domestically, so tracking will show delivered and your refund can be completed, as long as your name and address is on the return portion of the label. If not, I would echo your original concern about a stolen or shared return label.

[supergenius75]

Yes, my name and address is listed on the return portion of the label. Just wanted to circle back and let you know that I was able to have the package scanned at the Post Office, and got both a printed and email receipt - no issues with the package being listed as in the possession of a shipping partner. They didn't let me add any insurance since the label was created online. Fingers crossed that the return & refund goes through without any issues. I suppose the seller could still try to claim that I shipped them something other than the original item? Let's hope not, and let's hope that is was just some kind of weird anomaly. Anyway, thank you again for your help! If you hadn't explained in detail how to actually reach an agent, I never would've been able to get a copy of the shipping label (which I still suspect is what the seller was hoping for). A lot of hassle just to get $250 back, but I'd do it all again on principle.

[supergenius75]

Ebay says that the returned item was successfully delivered to the seller's address by USPS, and that my refund should be issued by October 12. If refund not issued by then, then I can ask eBay to step in. Thanks again! Will circle back to you if things get weird again, but for now it looks like things are progressing in a normal fashion.

[shipscript]

Thanks for the update!