eBay

nationalpawnshop · ‎03-11-2019

We received an Item Not Received request for a refund this morning on an item that, according to USPS, was delivered. The buyer claims that his mailbox is a community mailbox in a business complex and he thinks that the mailman put it in the wrong mailbox. He says that he asked the other businesses about it but nobody knows anything.

USPS tracking says it was delivered; he says he didn't get it. What are we supposed to do about something like this?

castlemagicmemories · ‎03-11-2019

You enter the tracking that shows delivery into the case, then call Ebay and ask them to close it in your favor while you are on the phone. You're covered because you have proof of delivery.

Buyer needs to check with his PO to find out what GPS shows for where it was delivered. If misdelivered, they may try to retrieve the item to deliver it to your buyer.

Buyer needs to check with neighbors and family, in and outside the house, to find the item.

faithandbutterflies · ‎03-11-2019

Sometimes our local post office marks an item delivered when it really isn't. It will show up the next morning or afternoon. So if it hasn't been 24hrs ask to wait just in case this happened.

Another thing is to ask them to ask neighbors if they received the package.

a_c_green · ‎03-11-2019

@nationalpawnshop wrote:
USPS tracking says it was delivered; he says he didn't get it. What are we supposed to do about something like this?

First, you get the Item Not Received claim closed out in your favor by uploading the tracking number that shows a Delivered status to the buyer's City and ZIP. If you fail to respond with that before the deadline, eBay will simply refund the buyer in full. Get that done first.

Once you have that taken care of, you can send the buyer some suggestions on checking with his neighbors and with his carrier and/or post office. I would tell him to check with his carrier first, since mental recall will only last so long. As already noted above, the Delivered scan also includes GPS coordinates of where that occurred, so if he checks with his post office, they may be able to verify whether it was delivered to the right location.

goodluckselling · ‎03-11-2019

@nationalpawnshop wrote:
We received an Item Not Received request for a refund this morning on an item that, according to USPS, was delivered. The buyer claims that his mailbox is a community mailbox in a business complex and he thinks that the mailman put it in the wrong mailbox. He says that he asked the other businesses about it but nobody knows anything.

USPS tracking says it was delivered; he says he didn't get it. What are we supposed to do about something like this?

Since the buyer did not contact you before opening the request. Your responsibility is to handle the request in a timely manner which means doing as @castlemagicmemories Outlined.

If the buyer had contacted you first before the request is opened, then I would do as @faithandbutterflies Suggested.

Go ahead and upload the tracking, call eBay and have the request closed. Then tell the buyer with further communications that they can put a note in there mail box asking the post office deliver person about a package you did not get that shows delivered and would they look into it. Include the tracking number in your message. They can also call USPS and have a missing package investigation started.

Good Luck Selling!

the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth · ‎03-11-2019

The first thing the buyer should do is call or visit their local PO. If they wait until a missing item search can be filed it will be too late for the carrier to remember.

I had this exact thing happen over Christmas. My buyer went to two different POs but eventually found the carrier who realized he put it in the wrong mailbox in the apartment lobby. He was able to retrieve her package.

pburn · ‎03-11-2019

Great answer! Thank you for that!

goodluckselling · ‎03-11-2019

@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:
The first thing the buyer should do is call or visit their local PO. If they wait until a missing item search can be filed it will be too late for the carrier to remember.

I had this exact thing happen over Christmas. My buyer went to two different POs but eventually found the carrier who realized he put it in the wrong mailbox in the apartment lobby. He was able to retrieve her package.

Yes I understand but that is not what this buyer did. They opened a INR request which means the seller is now on the clock to resolve this issue. Whether the buyer knew what they were doing or did it by mistake, I do not know but it does not take away the sellers responsibility as it relates to this transaction.

Good Luck Selling!

lovefindingtreasures2 · ‎03-11-2019

Your buyers package was probably stolen. If tracking shows it was delivered, it is the buyers responsibility to provide a safe and secure place to receive packages.

You have done nothing wrong if package is stolen, lost, delivered somewhere else. Buyer can contact USPS if it's lost, if it was stolen, it is the buyers responsibility.

castlemagicmemories · ‎03-11-2019

@goodluckselling wrote:
@nationalpawnshop wrote:
We received an Item Not Received request for a refund this morning on an item that, according to USPS, was delivered. The buyer claims that his mailbox is a community mailbox in a business complex and he thinks that the mailman put it in the wrong mailbox. He says that he asked the other businesses about it but nobody knows anything.

USPS tracking says it was delivered; he says he didn't get it. What are we supposed to do about something like this?
Since the buyer did not contact you before opening the request. Your responsibility is to handle the request in a timely manner which means doing as @castlemagicmemories Outlined.

If the buyer had contacted you first before the request is opened, then I would do as @faithandbutterflies Suggested.

Go ahead and upload the tracking, call eBay and have the request closed. Then tell the buyer with further communications that they can put a note in there mail box asking the post office deliver person about a package you did not get that shows delivered and would they look into it. Include the tracking number in your message. They can also call USPS and have a missing package investigation started.

Good Luck Selling!

Great post, @goodluckselling just want to add that you can start a missing package claim online.

nationalpawnshop · ‎03-11-2019

OK, I've already responded to the request (no prior message was received from the buyer about this) by uploading the tracking number. The request came through an hour ago and I responded to it immediately. The item was sold/shipped (USPS 1st Class) on Friday March 1 and delivered Wednesday March 6.

the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth · ‎03-11-2019

You can start an online search but they won't do that until a period of time has elapsed. I can't remember what it is though

castlemagicmemories · ‎03-11-2019

I just had one but don't recall off the top of my head, but you are right, a certain amount of time must have elapsed as I remember I couldn't file one. I opened an INR and over a week later (and it was already three or four days late) the item was delivered, case closed.

https://about.usps.com/publications/pub122/pub122_v07_revision_092016_006.htm

nationalpawnshop · ‎03-11-2019

On top of this I've also got an item that I ordered that seems to be running late. The estimated delivery date was last Wednesday, March 6. The last tracking update was March 7 when it said "Your package will arrive later than expected, but is still on its way. It is currently in transit to the next facility." No updates since then. It was shipped via USPS Parcel Select and I know that it can take up to 8 business days so I'm holding off filing my own INR until Thursday of this week, which will be business day #9...

All in all I'm not very happy with the Post Office at the moment...

a_c_green · ‎03-11-2019

@nationalpawnshop wrote:
All in all I'm not very happy with the Post Office at the moment...

Second that. Just within the past 2-3 weeks, there seems to have been a black hole developed in the Chicago area, where tracking shows packages leaving our local PO just fine, but never showing up at the Origin Sort facility (typically Elk Grove Village, near O'Hare Airport).

In addition, by the USPS' own standards, when the package does finally show up on the radar at its Destination Sort facility near the buyer, it's already showing as a late delivery, one or two days later than originally promised (by them). (To be clear, this is the USPS calling their own delivery late; it is not eBay showing it as past their latest Estimated Date of Delivery, which fortunately has not happened yet.) Hopefully they will get their act together again soon.