I mailed a package (from Calif.) with a small $10 item to a customer on Oct. 1.
It reached NJ on Oct. 4th and then after 4 days of tracking updates ("in transit, arriving on time"),
it disappeared from the tracking manifest after Oct. 8 ("in transit, arriving late").
The customer was very patient about it, but after his second inquiry, I opened a missing mail search
with USPS on Oct. 30th. They started the search (it's on the tracking manifest) and that was it, no followups on the tracking page or via email.
When I contacted eBay and spoke to an agent a few days ago, they advised me to refund the customer and file the claim with USPS.
When I tried to initiate a claim for refund with the post office, my claim wouldn't proceed because
the tracking number was deemed "invalid". Contacting them to discuss? Good luck.
I tried contacting eBay again to discuss this with an actual agent again, and the only responses I've gotten
are long robotic emails, telling me to file a claim with USPS and that "...they are definitely at fault."
What an incredible waste of time for $10, plus my shipping costs and I suppose I'll just write it off as a loss.
There was a time that eBay helped it's sellers, but I guess that ship sailed.
lady_madonna
