eBay Won't Step In

[squiddykat]

A seller ripped me off, an item said it arrived but it didn't, and the seller is being suspiciously unhelpful, such as saying mundane information that has already been established and not being much help. The eBay Step In button won't show for the item not received, I was told that as long as the seller keeps responding, it won't show and the seller is probably just keeps responding to stall.

I contacted eBay support. The agent acted like more of a bot with no comprehension and just told me to contact the seller. They are in good standing and they are sure the seller will work something out.

Sometime after, I noticed that I ordered the wrong item and asked if they could send the correct item, I believe they are the same price, or the replacement a little bit cheaper. They refused to even do that, but tell me that the item arrived on x date. They are impossible to deal with.

[kensgiftshop]

If tracking shows it was delivered, there's nothing Ebay or the seller will do.

Contact the carrier and find out where it was delivered and if it was addressed to you.

[soh.maryl]

Sorry this happened to you; however, if there is tracking showing delivery, your seller is pretty much off the hook.

You need to contact the carrier who marked it as delivered and find out more about the delivery.  They usually won't/can't tell you the exact address, but they can tell you whether it was yours.  

[squiddykat]

Thank you for your responses. I tried to get Canada Post to look into it but they say since it's been more than three days, they can't do anything.

[mudshark61369]

@squiddykat,

In your last reply you wrote:

"I tried to get Canada Post to look into it but they say since it's been more than three days, they can't do anything."

You may have been the victim of a fake tracking number scan. A seller sends an empty small package or envelope to someplace in your postal code.

What you have to understands is that due to shipping agencies privacy policies ebay cannot access anything more than the tracking information. If it shows Delivered, they decide in favor of the seller. What we have to do here in the U.S. in these situations, may work for you with Canada Post. Who should have the info you need available, their phone operators may not have it, but it has to be available someplace in case of a misdelivery by a postal employee.

You need go to your local  post office.  Bring a copy of your order details page which shows your address and the tracking number with you. If you bought using a phone or tablet, you can bring that to show the clerk the order details.

  You want to ask the clerk to check the shipping  label address against yours, and also to check the Package type/size weight info to see if was is appropriate for what you should have received.  If the info does not match up, you ask the clerk to write a note on Company (CP) stationary saying in general that the shipping label's address was not yours, and if applicable that the package type/size/weight was not right for what you should have received. Do not ask for specific address or package info, they cannot give it out.  Have the clerk print their name then sign and date the note.

If you filed an item not received dispute that was closed in favor of the seller, the message you received telling you that, should have an appeal button in it. You have 30 days from the date the message was sent to use it.  You can write out what happened and what you found out, and add a CLEAR photo or a scan of the note to an Appeal or message.  That should be enough to overturn the initial ruling.  If that does not work you can try contacting ebay through one of their social media sites, Facebook or Instagram (links below.  If you go that route you will need to have the seller's username and the ebay item number handy. write out what happened and add the scan or photo to the message. then you sign it with your ebay username and real one.  a Rep should get back to you within a few days.

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness

Use the blue send a message button on that page

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

   In the future I strongly suggest that you check the feedback profile pages of each seller you intend to buy from, before bidding on or buying their items.  You can access a seller's feedback profile page from near the bottom of listing pages. Use the See All Feedback  button below where their name is in a large font.  On the profile page if the seller has received neutral or negative feedback, click on the numbers of them to read only those comments. Never go by a feedback percentage alone. Some people who have been scammed but did not file a dispute may have left feedback saying they never received their items.

[teth_1615]

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@squiddykat wrote:

A seller ripped me off, an item said it arrived but it didn't, and the seller is being suspiciously unhelpful, such as saying mundane information that has already been established and not being much help. 

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You may have been the victim of a real tracking number scam. That's the only way that scam would work, because a fake tracking number won't report any tracking at all.

You should contact Canada Post again, and unless their records evaporate after 3 days, they can tell you if it's your address on the real tracking number, or if that's not your address but we can't show it to you.

If so @squiddykat get that in writing on will-survive-past-3-days paper, to use to get your refund -- after you lose your Item Not Received case because the real tracking number shows Delivered -- either first from eBay, then second a dispute at PayPal, otherwise third a chargeback at your card issuer.

Don't do now the item you really want: Get your refund first, then buy that other item later.

[soh.maryl]

That's probably not true.  Assuming that Canada Post has pretty much the same delivery methods as USPS, they DO have a record of where the package was delivered.  Persist until you get cooperation.  

[mudshark61369]

@teth_1615,

"You may have been the victim of a real tracking number scam. That's the only way that scam would work, because a fake tracking number won't report any tracking at all". 

"Fake Tracking Number"  is a general term used on these boards to describe a couple of ways scammers try to get money from the unsuspecting on this site. The most common version is to send an envelope or small empty package to an address someplace in a buyer's zip code, so that it gets a Delivered scan.

Some sellers send a "thank you gift" to a buyer uploading that tracking number to the listing. Often it arrives with a note saying Thank you for buying from us, your item is on its way, hoping the buyer will wait too long after the last estimated delivery date, to file an ebay Item Not Received (INR) dispute.

There are variations of the two scams above as well.

Less often a scammer will post a tracking number for a label purchased, and sometimes has a delivered scan that happened even before the item was bought. 

We consider all of those to be "Fake Tracking Number scams.