Item Arrived with Postage Due

[bunnygirl223]

Here's the story. I won an item from a new seller (he had only 1 feedback at the time), and paid the shipping cost of $33.95. I could also tell he was very inexperienced, because he contacted me with an awkward but well-intentioned message saying he would ship it out the next day. The next day, he contacted me again saying that "UPS was closed" (even though he was shipping it via USPS and told me he had arranged for pick up) so he'd do it the next day. Ok fine - he shipped it out then.

It arrived to me yesterday with $40.14 postage due. He shipped it out via "Regional Box A", no doubt trying to cheat the post office (and his buyer) and pay a lower rate. It was noticed and now I'm being charged the full Priority Mail rate. Yeah, I'm not paying that. I contacted the seller, who is suddenly absent.

The postman brought the package to my door to let me take photos, and said he would bring it back to the post office to deal with it Monday. My question is, if I refuse the package, will I be forfeiting my Buyer Protection? My initial thought was that he would be screwing himself because it would go back, he'd have to pay the $40.14, AND give me a full refund...but now I'm not so sure. Any advice?

[7606dennis · Accepted solution]

Actually, refusing delivery of an item arriving postage due does not mean that you lose your buyer protection.  It is one of the few reasons that eBay considers a justified reason to refuse a delivery.

[nobody*s_perfect]

You're right: If you refuse the package, then it will be returned to your seller and he'll have to pay the Postage Due in order to ransom the package. If you explain that to him, he might be willing to send you the money to pay for the postage. He might have been cheating, but since he's so inexperienced, he might have purchased the wrong postage by mistake, or maybe he didn't realize that the "Regional A" option shown to him on the label-purchase page could only be used with specific boxes.

As mentioned in the other post, the buyer protection policy (which eBay calls the Money Back Guarantee) says that if a package arrives with Postage Due (well, they call it COD) then you do not forfeit your protection if you refuse it and can provide proof (such as your photos) that there was postage due.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

[bunnygirl223]

Thank you both for your insight.

I contacted the seller right away to explain the situation, but he has not responded (it has been roughly 48 hours). The problem is that the item itself was only $15.50. So, I can see why he isn't exactly willing to cover the difference.

Once I refuse the package (or just let it be sent back), would I be correct to open an "Item Not Received" case and select "Refund"? And, would I still be able to provide the appropriate feedback?

[kako_5344]

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@bunnygirl223 wrote:

Once I refuse the package (or just let it be sent back),

would I be correct to open an "Item Not Received" case and select "Refund"?

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Check your Order Details page @bunnygirl223!

If eBay already says "Status: Delivered" you won't find More action > I don't get any

on your Purchase History page anymore to open an "Item Not Received" case.

And if so, your "new" seller may know this, hence has ghosted you.

[bunnygirl223]

Well at the moment, I haven't done anything with the package. It's still at the post office, and the tracking says "Delivery Attempted: Action Needed".

Are you saying I need to open that INR case now, then?

[kako_5344]

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@bunnygirl223 wrote:

the package [is] still at the post office

and the tracking says "Delivery Attempted: Action Needed".

Are you saying I need to open that INR case now, then?

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No, and it doesn't matter what the tracking says.

Instead, please keep at least 2 eyes on your Order Details page: If it changes to "Status: Delivered" come back for help.

[bunnygirl223]

The USPS tracking is tied to the eBay order status. The status is "In Transit", not "Delivered". I honestly can't tell if you're trying to help, or discourage me from taking any action.

[nevermore_antiques_and_books]

I would contact eBay and ask for assistance.  There is a link on the help page where you can request a call from them during business hours.  Request the call and explain your situation to CS, this way they will have a record that it arrived postage due and they can tell you how to proceed.

[bunnygirl223]

Just following up on this, I followed your advice.

I gave the seller three days to resolve and heard nothing, so I refused the package. As soon as I opened the "Item Not Received" case, all of a sudden the seller appeared and strung me along by promising a refund. On the day I was able to let eBay "step in", I called eBay (using the "have eBay call me" thing) and explained the situation. When the package arrived back to him, I received the standard "your item has arrived!" message, so the last thing I wanted was a bot to look at the tracking and think that I had the item. Customer Service was great and closed the case in my favor, and I got my refund.

During that back-and-forth between the seller and I on the INR case, he confirmed all of my suspicions. He admitted to committing mail fraud by purposely shipping the package via the incorrect method; admitted to overcharging me for shipping to pocket the extra funds, as he paid $8.21 and charged me $33.95. He also violated eBay policy twice by insisting we continue the transaction outside of eBay, and even taunted me for taking a risk and purchasing from a stranger, which is literally what eBay is for.

I think at some point he threatened negative feedback (no one told him yet, LOL). I'm not 100% sure about this one since his messages are pretty difficult to decipher.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your help. Issue resolved, I have my money back, which is good because he already relisted the item before the case was even closed.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure the seller got several defects on his account or eBay may even bounce him for so many violations.

eBay will not disclose the actions they take against him.

Glad it all worked out for you.

[eoi]

As a seller I see that many of my competitors offer low prices I can not compete with and then ship the items postage due.

I think that buyers besides filing a claim with Ebay, should also file a report with their State AG/Consumer affairs dept against both seller and ebay and also file a criminal compliant with US Postal Inspectors. Ebay appears to be aware if this and refuses to take action, so buyers and legit sellers should pressure for a criminal investigation into Ebay for mail fraud as they are profiting from this.

it its not an honest mistake when a seller has over 50 neg feedback complaining about this, and clearly ebay is ignoring it, since we know they can easily create algorithms to flag "postage due" in feedback.

[kh-ornesh]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.