eBay

mec19808 · ‎03-27-2023

For the past 6 months or so, every week or two my USPS Informed Delivery email shows outbound packages from my address, and the date they are expected to be delivered. These are labelled "eBay Powered by Pitney Bowes." When I check the tracking numbers on the USPS site it shows the labels originated from my ZIP code, but they were physically shipped either from Maryland or from a post office in my city, but not near where I live.

I don't have an eBay shipping account and have not sold anything on eBay in at least 15 years (when I did sell a few things it was when I lived elsewhere). I'm not the one shipping these packages. Whoever is selling these items, whatever they are, has set up their seller's account using my address.

It is possible this is the previous owners of my home, and they have just never updated the address on their account. But I don't know that for sure and eBay refuses to give me any sort of help. I have made several attempts. They won't tell me the eBay store name that is using my address (so that I can message them through their store) and they won't notify the eBay seller that they must update their address. (It seems like they could just apply a pop-up to the account that tells them they must do so.)

I was told that if something they sell gets returned and shows up at my home, then I should just mark it "return to sender" and drop it back at the post office. Then when it bounces back to the person who bought it and was trying to return it, that will probably lead to the seller realizing the problem with the address. And if there is ever any issue with something being sold on eBay illegally or fraudulently, by an account using my address, then my contacts with eBay Help will serve as evidence that I was not the one doing the selling and I had reported the misuse of my address. So it will get sorted out without repercussions to me. Seriously? I mean, what the heck?

So in theory an eBay seller can just set up a shipping account with whatever address they want and there is nothing proactive the actual occupant at that address can do? Is there really nothing that can be done via eBay?

I have never met the person I bought my house from, he sent his agent to the closing, but I suppose I could track him down, maybe find him on social media or ask for help from the listing realtor, who probably has, or can get, his current address. But I don't even know for sure if he, or one of his adult kids, is the one using my address, so it just seems weird to do that.

Is this a common issue? Any suggestions?

mec19808 · ‎03-27-2023

I have Informed Delivery, a service that is connected to my postal address. Nearly every day I get an email that shows scans of the actual pieces of mail I can expect to get in my mailbox that day or in upcoming days.

Somebody else has "eBay powered by Pitney Bowes," a USPS eBay seller shipping account that was set up with my address. I get notified of these shipments because the post office connects this eBay shipping account to my physical address, which is registered with my Informed Delivery.

dirk12955 · ‎03-27-2023

For the OP: Time for the postal inspector....

dirk12955 · ‎03-27-2023

Mec1908 Your address for the return address. BUT mailed from a different city? Who do you know that

lives in that different city?

mec19808 · ‎03-27-2023

Somebody else has an eBay account that uses my address as the return address affiliated with their eBay Pitney Bowes mailing label service.

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/ebay-labels-services/ebay-domestic-shipping-services

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/shipping-on-ebay/ebay-labels

mec19808 · ‎03-27-2023

The emails are from USPS Informed Delivery. I signed up for it years ago when I lived at another address, and retained it when I moved to my current address. It shows me images of what will be coming in my mail that day.

Evidently it also notifies me when something has been shipped from an eBay Pitney Bowes account set up with my address.

supercharger-parts · ‎03-27-2023

My USPS Informed Delivery email also includes packages that are sent from my address. I did not purchase the postage thru USPS, granted my carrier scanned them at my house during the pick up, but they are listed, I would assume, because they are associated with my address. My email address that I get the Informed Delivery email is not associated with any of the shipping labels. So it is very possible, to me, that it's the address that is triggering the inclusion on OP's email, not their email address.

dirk12955 · ‎03-27-2023

Question for the OP:

The packages are actually getting mailed from different city. Do you know anybody in that city?

ms.rodriguez* · ‎03-27-2023

Does it actually say your home address? Could it be that the person gave the post office the wrong email address and the post office thinks it's your mailing the packages. Could it be that the other person has a similar address and the post office is sending you the emails instead of the other person. For example, they live at 15 Elm St. and you live 15 Elm Pl? Is there another street in near you with the same name?

mec19808 · ‎03-27-2023

@dirk12955 wrote:
Question for the OP:

The packages are actually getting mailed from different city. Do you know anybody in that city?

No, I don't. It is about 100 miles from here. I'm in northern Delaware, and a lot of them are mailed from Salisbury, Maryland.

ms.rodriguez* · ‎03-27-2023

Have you thought about contacting Ebay via Facebook? I am sure that they will be able to ID this seller if he is using your address. My concern about this is an angry buyer showing up in your home. I would definitely contact Facebook . Everyone is supposed to have the correct address.

dirk12955 · ‎03-27-2023

I don't believe the OP has the sellers ID that is using his (The OPs) mailing address

The OP needs to contact the USPS postal inspectors office.

redmodelt · ‎03-27-2023

We get that informed delivery is showing the packages. Time for a more hands on approach. Starting with an in-person trip to the Post Office with the facts and talking to the Post Master to get the ball rolling.

No one here can do anymore then offer advice, which is what has been done so far. Choosing to act on that advice is now up to you, IE getting the USPS Postal Inspectors office involved.

I hope you get this sorted out and please let us know what happens.

djvp53 · ‎03-27-2023

This is probably more irksome than worrisome. That is, it's probably a mistake that someone is using your home address for their "ship from" address on eBay rather than some serious attempt at defrauding you or anyone else. I agree with talking with the postal inspector because it could be mail fraud or it could have the effect of mispricing postage from the actual shipping location, which in some cases might be less than the amount owed on the shipment. You could also contact eBay and note specifically that whoever is using your address is likely violating eBay's policy on properly identifying the location of goods sold (assuming they also have the wrong address as the location of their items). Perhaps once this issue is pointed out to eBay, they will try a bit harder to rectify the situation. You could note specifically that neither you nor anyone else in your house has sold goods through eBay or shipped anything from there to an eBay customer in the last however many months or years. Thus, if they know someone purported to ship and item from your house, they did so improperly. Good luck!

albertabrightalberta · ‎03-27-2023

@mec19808 wrote:
@dirk12955 wrote:
Question for the OP:

The packages are actually getting mailed from different city. Do you know anybody in that city?
No, I don't. It is about 100 miles from here. I'm in northern Delaware, and a lot of them are mailed from Salisbury, Maryland.

Both the Maryland and Delaware locations are the same postal zone so my guess is that it's someone who knows you. Do you have children (adult or not) or relatives who use ebay? Or is there someone in your home who works and Salisbury, MD?

albertabrightalberta
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