Why would a buyer not pickup an item from the USPS?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I’m a bit confused by an item someone bought, it cost enough that eBay required a signature, the buyer paid right away, even swooping in at the last minute to outbid everyone else, but going on over a week hasn’t singed for delivery at the address nor has picked it up at the post office.

The one odd thing is that the items the buyer is also selling look like they’re at a more humble home than the one it was shipped to. Not a word from the buyer either and they’ve done 100s of transactions all with good feedback.

Talking to support they kind of shrugged, and said the funds would be released next month and they’d send a reminder.

It looks like the USPS is just going to send me back the item in another week. 

Anyone know what could be happening? I’m not sure how it could be a scam, but it’s concerning when there’s anomalies.

[a_c_green]

If it never leaves the possession of the USPS, I don't think it's likely to be a scam. You don't need to refund anything until you receive it back. If you feel like phoning the buyer to remind them about the package, you should find your buyer's phone number listed in the Order Details for the transaction.

[dhbookds]

I would (if you haven't already)..........send a "heads up"........your item is at the PO awaiting pickup!.......  Sometimes the little PO slips are lost..........

[Anonymous]

So maybe they changed their mind on the item and are just passively returning it you think? I’ll try to give them a call.

[heckofagame]

Maybe the buyer is in jail or died. Things happen. 

[luckythewinner]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Anyone know what could be happening? 

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The buyer doesn't know it's waiting? 

The buyer works and cannot get to the post office? 

The buyer is in the hospital? 

The buyer has picked it up and the PO just didn't scan it? 

You've called support, and analyzed his listings in order to make judgements about the "humbleness" of his home.

But have you simply contacted the buyer to see what is going on?

[fab_finds4u]

Not picking it up is refusing delivery. He loses MBG when delivery is refused. 

[soh.maryl]

"passively returning it"? What does that mean?

Do you always check on the buyer's status ("humble home")?

The buyer made that purchase 12 days ago.  Have you not tried to call them? 

[m60driver]

Do not call.  Just send a friendly reminder to pic up the item at the PO and possible alert them to Ebay regulations that will allow you to deduct the shipping from the return if they do not pick it up.

[peifenho]

BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT BUYERS NOT PICKING UP FROM USPS!!! This happened to me and it's a nightmare! My buyer refused to pick it up, intentionally waited long enough and went on telling eBay it's never shipped and he didn't get it. Since he didn't pick it up, the tracking shows "in-transit" so eBay fell for his trick and gave him refund because it's "over the delivery estimate period." After securing the refund he signed for the package! He got both money and my merchandise! And eBay charged me for the refund, even after I showed that he's got the package. I have been appealing for a long time but eBay appeals team never looked into my documents carefully and rejected my appeals with reasons that are not legit. I'm still fighting for it. If you know your item has been sitting in USPS, act fast and call to the office to request a record, in case the buyer pulls this kind of scam.

[keziak]

doesn't the package get a scan at the destination P.O., and the carrier leaves a slip?

I agree about (a) maybe didn't get a slip or (b) can't get to the P.O. due to work/commute. In our jobs we can go to the P.O. any time we want, not so for many workers.

[Anonymous]

>If you know your item has been sitting in USPS, act fast and call to the office to request a record, in case the buyer pulls this kind of scam.

Like call the USPS to get an official record? As opposed to what's on the tracking website?

[lakefor94]

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@m60driver wrote:

Do not call.  Just send a friendly reminder to pic up the item at the PO and possible alert them to Ebay regulations that will allow you to deduct the shipping from the return if they do not pick it up.

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I always call and get things ironed out right away.  If they don't answer I leave a voice mail and then text them and send a eBay message.  No fooling around.

Has always worked out. No problems. 

Buyers appreciate the effort.

Had an AMZ buyer leave a complimentary feedback for the courtesy of the phone call. He was impressed. 

[sextons-sweet-deals]

please explain this comment:

The one odd thing is that the items the buyer is also selling look like they’re at a more humble home than the one it was shipped to.

Did the buyer ask you to ship to a different address? If so, that is a no-no. You ship to the address eBay gives you. Did you Google map the address eBay gave you?

Not sure what eBay rules are requiring signature as you stated. I thought sellers did that for there own protection.

Overall, it does sound like a possible scammer. I don't think they expected you to ship with signature required. If they don't pick-up, the item will be shipped back to you. 

[Anonymous]

> please explain this comment:

> The one odd thing is that the items the buyer is also selling look like they’re at a more humble home than the one it was shipped to.

There's a significant enough discrepancy that's pretty clear there's multiple addresses involved, and an economic difference. So was thinking maybe the buyer had it delivered to another address, so he could pick it up off a porch, but didn't expect a signature to be involved as you mentioned.

> Did the buyer ask you to ship to a different address? If so, that is a no-no. You ship to the address eBay gives you. Did you Google map the address eBay gave you?

No, it's to the address eBay has. Yes, looking for clues as to whether it could be fraudulent, I checked the address and did some sleuthing. I think they may just have multiple homes and it's otherwise irrelevant now though. It looks like a husband bought it and sent it to his wife.

So I dunno, hence my post here as to where a loop hole in the system could be. Hopefully nothing bad happened to them, both parties haven't responded to messages/txts.