eBay

rustictrollop · ‎11-23-2017

Hope someone here can help with this. My stress level is through the roof. I sent out a Buyer's items on Nov. 14/17, with guaranteed 4-7 day delivery. I checked the address on eBay & PayPal...they matched. I've been following the tracking progress, as the Buyer wanted her package by the 25th of Nov. It was going to Winston Salem, NC, and arrived in Greensboro NC on Nov. 19th. For some reason the tracking shows that the package was re-routed to a "new address" and ended up in Walnut Cove, NC, then was sent back to Greensboro. I have no idea what is going on!! I sent a message via eBay to the Buyer to alert her and to contact me, hoping she could shed some light on the "new address" info. She contacted me and it appears she is now **bleep** off...rightfully so. I have NO IDEA what I am supposed to do now, as the package is bouncing back and forth between two postal stations, which makes no sense, and not being delivered to the Buyer. Here is the tracking info off the USPS site:

November 23, 2017, 9:43 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
GREENSBORO NC DISTRIBUTION CENTER
Your item arrived at our USPS facility in GREENSBORO NC DISTRIBUTION CENTER on November 23, 2017 at 9:43 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

November 23, 2017, 5:19 pm
Departed USPS Regional Facility
GREENSBORO NC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER

November 23, 2017, 9:16 am
In Transit to Destination

November 22, 2017, 9:42 am
Forwarded
WALNUT COVE, NC

November 21, 2017, 6:55 am
Arrived at Unit
WALNUT COVE, NC 27052

November 20, 2017, 9:22 am
In Transit to Destination

November 19, 2017, 8:22 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility
GREENSBORO NC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER

November 19, 2017, 9:35 am
In Transit to Destination

November 18, 2017, 9:35 am
In Transit to Destination

November 17, 2017, 9:35 am
In Transit to Destination

November 16, 2017, 9:35 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
CHICAGO IL INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER

So basically, the package is in the right state, but not getting to the right address. The post office I use always checks the delivery addresses while processing the packages to make sure they are legit. I now have to deal with an increasing upset Buyer, and a package that is in limbo. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you!!

rustictrollop · ‎11-23-2017

In my original post, the postal information provided was taken directly from the USPS site. The following is taken from the CPC tracking site:

2017/11/22

09:41

27052, USA

Item redirected to recipient's new address

No idea what this means....

yolanda562 · ‎11-23-2017

Say a prayer, it will arrive eventually! If not, you can file a claim!

If the package arrives late, it is not your fault!

rustictrollop · ‎11-23-2017

I'm not a religious person, but I have been praying. Unfortunately the Buyer needs the items for the 25th and ordinarily she would have had them by now if not for this weird shipping glitch. I feel a big fat neg. coming on if that package isn't delivered tomorrow. Doesn't seem to matter that it's not my fault. I've never had something ship "late", not even during the Florida hurricanes. I hate feeling so helpless!

lookng2015 · ‎11-23-2017

It appears that usps thinks they have a forwarding notice for the buyer's address.

"If a product doesn't sell, raise the price" - Reese Palley
"If it sold FAST, it was priced too low" - also Reese Palley

rustictrollop · ‎11-23-2017

"It appears that usps thinks they have a forwarding notice for the buyer's address."

Not sure what that means?

lookng2015 · ‎11-23-2017

Your buyer has either moved and put in a forwarding address at the PO or the PO thinks they have.

Have you ASKED the buyer if they've moved to a new address?

"If a product doesn't sell, raise the price" - Reese Palley
"If it sold FAST, it was priced too low" - also Reese Palley

oleander1993 · ‎11-23-2017

I know this is frustrating. I sent a package to a Louisiana city. It went to Baton Rouge and then somehow was routed to Memphis. Crazy. If you do get a neg, try calling eBay if the buyer feedback attacks you for it arriving late. The USPS tracking should show eBay you are not at fault and maybe eBay would remove it. I had an item bound for Boston get delayed and routed through Arizona....and the buyer never said a peep. Some things you can't control and hopefully your stress will be alleviated. I wish you well.

rustictrollop · ‎11-23-2017

I sent the Buyer a copy of the same information I posted here, and asked her to explain the "new address", because I was wondering exactly the same thing. You would think if there was an address change, she would have told me. As said the addresses on eBay and PayPal were the same.

rustictrollop · ‎11-23-2017

Thank you! I do have the original message from her where she stated that she "was hoping" to receive the items by the 25th. Now apparently she "needs" them for the 25th.

yolanda562 · ‎11-23-2017

You still have 2 days left, I think USPS can deliver it by 25th!

I am confident! I had many close calls, but at the end, the packages all arrived. I refunded buyers many times, but at the end, they had to mail the packages back to me 'cause they had no faith in USPS, they forced me to refund them. They told me that the packages were probably lost, blah, blah, blah.....

Good luck and relax!

omgitlightsup · ‎11-23-2017

Just an FYI... USPS does not guarantee that a package will arrive within any time frame.

What they guarantee is that you will get the shipping you paid for. Meaning that if you paid for 4-7 day delivery, and it arrives in 8 days.. you can request a refund for your postage.

eBay gives buyers the impression that delivery times are guaranteed, and they take it out on sellers if that is not the case. The post office will not help you remove defects on your eBay account.

You may want to revise your terms to account for this during the holiday season. Everybody "needs" their item to some extent.

jokabofe · ‎11-23-2017

It sounds crazy, I know... but if you click on the button on the USPS page to get text updates for the package, it will sometimes get it out of the loop it's going on. Don't ask me how, don't ask me why, but someone told me that secret and I didn't believe it... until I tried it on several packages that were stuck in customs in foreign countries and some that were getting bounced around like yours, and for some odd reason requesting text updates gives USPS a kick in the pants and they seem to fix whatever the issue is. I won't guarantee that it will work for you in this situation but you have nothing to lose by trying, and I swear that it's worked for me.

Good luck

rustictrollop · ‎11-23-2017

I usually err on the side of caution when giving a shipping time to Buyers, regardless of what the postal service states. When I contact them immediately after the sale, I add on a day to the shipping and make sure they understand it's "business days". Usually items arrive in half the time. When I looked on the map to see this Buyer's location, I realized that both the postal outlets that her package is going back and forth to, aren't that far from her actual delivery location. So close, yet not delivered...5 days after arriving into her area. That's beyond ridiculous IMO. And unfortunately, she is understandably upset and will take it out on me.

Going in to the Christmas rush and crush however, all bets are off. Good point. I will be sure that Buyers know that.