albertabrightalberta
Tracking would show the zip code of the last location of the package. (If you post the zip, I'll look up the direct number to the post office that services that zip.)
Go to usps.com and click on "find USPS locations." Search for "post office" and within 1 mile. It should give you an address/location.
Then click on the city name and it'll expand to give phone numbers. Do NOT call the ask USPS number. Call the number under it which is the location's direct number.
You may have to call several times. Usually calling at 5-6 am is the best time to get an answer.
Give them the tracking number, tell them that it was the last location and request that they look at their records to find it.
Stay on top of them but if you don't get a reply, file a find missing mail request. I've found that filing this form usually shakes the package loose from wherever it's been hiding.
In the meantime, if the buyer has opened a claim, you must respond. Whether ebay will consider the delivery attempt as delivery is anyone's guess.
Update: the item has not been returned to me as of yet and it’s now been over 6 weeks since delivery was attempted. I called the buyer’s post office last week and they thought I was the buyer and told me that they haven’t forgotten about me and are still looking. This makes me believe that the buyer truly is trying to find the package and not scamming me. She has not filed an item not received notice with EBay yet. But she did message me today and told me she still had heard nothing from her PO so I told her to let EBay know. I also filed a lost package request with USPS online on June 12 and have had no communication from them about it whatsoever. I would like to file for the insurance that I bought through USPS but that is where it says that I must have refunded the buyer first. In an ideal world I want to have the money from USPS before I refund the buyer but I’ve heard horror stories that it can take up to a year. What a mess!
This is the proverbial "rock and a hard place" situation. In most cases your timeline limit for filing an insurance claim with USPS is 60 days after the USPS projected delivery date. There are a couple of exceptions shown in the chart at the bottom.
I am going to assume you shipped this priority mail. Unless you purchased additional insurance at the time you shipped it the maximum claim you can file with USPS is for $100 and this does not include the shipping cost which you have to go after in a separate claim. Either you or the buyer can open the insurance claim with USPS. In the case of a lost package it doesn't really matter who opens it unlike a damaged shipment in which case it is easier to work with the buyer to have them open the case.
Your buyer has not done anything and you should NOT unilaterally refund. While their window for filing the eBay INR has passed the 30 days they can always open a chargeback with their CC company. As others suggested contact the postmaster at the buyers local PO and see if you can get a status on the package. If they are still holding it see if they can begin the return process and ship the item back. Something has to move in this log jam before you can do anything about a claim with USPS but your timeline for filing the claim is getting pretty slim.
@dbfolks166mt wrote: ... . I called the buyer’s post office last week and they thought I was the buyer and told me that they haven’t forgotten about me and are still looking. ...
.... In most cases your timeline limit for filing an insurance claim with USPS is 60 days after the USPS projected delivery date. .... As others suggested contact the postmaster at the buyers local PO and see if you can get a status on the package. ....
The OP's update says that they HAVE contacted the buyer's PO. It's a large item, so the PO's assertion that they're still looking for it is nonsense. Also, the USPS insurance chart clearly says that the deadline is 60 days "from the date of mailing," so that deadline is very close.
@jerseyboymusic wrote:
Reading through your posts, this is why it is SO IMPORTANT to give the full story in the first post.
There WAS a delivery attempt. That changes things. As far as Ebay is concerned, it's on the buyer, not you.
Your initial post made it sound like the item was delayed. But if there was a delivery attempt on an item that expensive, USPS and Ebay require a signature confirmation. If the buyer never signed for the sewing machine, I think you are covered by Ebay.
Explain all this to the buyer... you need to wait until you get it back, inspect it, then issue the refund.
^^^^ This!
When a buyer doesn't pick up an item after an attempted delivery, ebay will consider the item to be delivered and will rule in favor of the seller should an INR be filed.
Since it has been more than 30 days since the expected/estimated delivery, the buyer would lose protection anyway.
What I'd do in this kind of situation is to way to see if the item is returned to you (the seller) and if so, at that time, issue a refund to the buyer for the item price, deducted any of your costs that you've paid. You aren't obligated to do so but IMO, it's the honorable thing to do.
