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.

[duffy4444]

     Over a week with no pickup and not a word from the buyer? Especially with a buyer that supposedly wants the item bad enough by "swooping in at the last minute to outbid everyone else"? This has a big red flag draped all over it, and might  very well be a well-known scam to get a forced buyer refund and then the buyer rushes to the PO to pick up the item during the standard PO delay before it is scheduled to get returned to you. Translation: You could lose the item AND your payment for it. Some may think this is a knee-jerk reaction on my part, but it is the reality I've occasionally faced over the 25 years I've been selling here. Others will agree, as peifenho posted earlier.

   I'm sorry, but common sense suggests that if a buyer really wants an item and has paid for it, they will find a way to have someone get to the PO, sign for it, and pick it up. I believe the chances of a possible scam are a lot larger than the buyer being in the hospital or dead. At this stage and with all that has gone on so far, you need the item back so you can relist it and sell it to a normal buyer who will follow thru.

   What I've done in the past is contact the post office that is holding it, and request they send the package back to me immediately (after confirming I was the one who sent it by repeating the return address). This was successful, but I don't know if the USPS still does that. But it's worth a shot.

   After receiving the item back, refund the buyer minus the postage and handling costs, and put the buyer on your BBL (Blocked Bidder List), so that he/she cannot pull this delaying tactic stunt on you again. You don't need to have this on your plate any longer than necessary. Nor do you need to take a chance again with a buyer who really wants an item, but drags their feet and increases your angst about a possible scam.

    BTW, don't trust any word from an eBay Customer Service rep on the phone. They are not real eBay employees, and may not even be US-based. They are contract help that will read off a script, or say anything just to get you off the phone. Them "shrugging it off" with you is good evidence of this.

   Do your best to get the item back and keep eBay out of this, as it may not be necessary to run the risk of opening a can of worms over something you can handle yourself.

Cheers, Duffy

[reallynicestamps]

If you mistrust people in general, I would suspect that the buyer intended to claim INR if there was no SignatureConfirmation.

He'd get the item and be refunded. Tracking and Signature Confirmation are Seller Protections.

Since he has to sign, he won't pick up.

He'll get a shock though.

EBay does not require the seller to refund on Undeliverable shipments.

Not a penny.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

As an ethical seller, you would probably refund his payment voluntarily though, less your shipping costs and any fees, AFTER you get the shipment back.

Remind the buyer if he complains about this, that USPS does not consider 'return to sender ' a priority and the return delivery could take weeks.

[fab_finds4u]

eBay requires signature delivery to be added to items that cost $750 or more.

[Anonymous]

Well, I don't see anything good coming out of it, what ever the reason, it's a waste of time. I called the USPS and they're going to start the return process. The local postmaster is supposed to give me a call to confirm. I might be able to get some more insight from the postmaster as it's a small town and I'd assume everyone knows everyone else, so seems like a fair last ditch option. Thanks for the insights everyone!

[pburn]

"eBay requires signature delivery to be added to items that cost $750 or more."

Just a slight clarification:

eBay requires signature confirmation for any transaction that totals $750 or more (which would include shipping and sales tax, if applicable) in order to receive seller protection.

[slippinjimmy]

Nobody has mentioned this but we are in the middle of Spring Break!

At least 75 MILLION people are on holiday this week, many are gone for the entire week.

[soh.maryl]

To the OP, that "humble home" remark seemed to imply that the seller was questioning whether or not the buyer could afford to make the purchase, which seems a little odd.

He apparently paid for his purchase; otherwise, OP, the seller, wouldn't have sent it, right?

How could this be a scam, exactly? Buyer apparently paid, item still waiting at the USPS for him to pick it up.  So far, seems like seller has money and PO has item, buyer has nothing as of now.  

[soh.maryl]

What "both parties"?

[Anonymous]

The buyer is different than the recipient, but share the same last name. 

Well they responded saying they were on a trip. So I'm cautiously optimistic since it seems plausible they'd go on trips often  based on the location. Maybe I'm overly suspicious, but there's so many stupid loop holes in companies processes it's hard to know what to believe with out experience. 

[Anonymous]

> To the OP, that "humble home" remark seemed to imply that the seller was questioning whether or not the buyer could afford to make the purchase, which seems a little odd.

> He apparently paid for his purchase; otherwise, OP, the seller, wouldn't have sent it, right?

More that there's a significant economic discrepancy in between two locations, so what would explain that? I think I know why now, but any deviation you have to wonder since criminals are very clever! 

> How could this be a scam, exactly? Buyer apparently paid, item still waiting at the USPS for him to pick it up.  So far, seems like seller has money and PO has item, buyer has nothing as of now.  

Stolen credit card, fraudulent bank transfer, gift card scam, I have no idea what method was used to pay for the item, and obviously every company has this problem. But who knows, that's the reason I thought I'd check to see if anyone had any ideas. 

[glgenterprise]

Did buyer indicate how long it would be before they would pick it up?

If it was the Swarovski binoculars, which is the only sold item on this account that would require a signature, I would be pretty tempted to recall the package. $2800 is a big hit to lose and with your limited feedback, you are a bit of a scammer target.

[slippinjimmy]

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@glgenterprise wrote:

Did buyer indicate how long it would be before they would pick it up?

If it was the Swarovski binoculars, which is the only sold item on this account that would require a signature, I would be pretty tempted to recall the package. $2800 is a big hit to lose and with your limited feedback, you are a bit of a scammer target.

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Why pay for a recall/intercept if USPS will return the package for free if it is not picked up in time?

Apparently the buyer has already told the OP that they are away and will pick it up when they return. (usps will hold for 14 days).

What happens if you do an intercept and the next day the buyer goes to the post office to pick it up?

When I get a pick-up notice from USPS it tells me the exact last day it will be available, I might not go to pick it up until that very last day and I expect it to be there, would not be happy if the seller had done an intercept.

[Anonymous]

They said Monday they'd be back.

Yeah, it's the binoculars, and yeah I get a lot of scam messages and don't know what all the angles are, so am just assuming anything that deviates from what I'd expect could be a scam. The buyer has a ton of positive feedback and hundreds of transactions. So I guess that should help weight it towards it's just they're on a trip?

[glgenterprise]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

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@glgenterprise wrote:

Did buyer indicate how long it would be before they would pick it up?

If it was the Swarovski binoculars, which is the only sold item on this account that would require a signature, I would be pretty tempted to recall the package. $2800 is a big hit to lose and with your limited feedback, you are a bit of a scammer target.

---

Why pay for a recall/intercept if USPS will return the package for free if it is not picked up in time?

Apparently the buyer has already told the OP that they are away and will pick it up when they return. (usps will hold for 14 days).

What happens if you do an intercept and the next day the buyer goes to the post office to pick it up?

When I get a pick-up notice from USPS it tells me the exact last day it will be available, I might not go to pick it up until that very last day and I expect it to be there, would not be happy if the seller had done an intercept.

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Because there are multiple posters who come on these boards and show why this can be a problem. Buyer opens an INR. Gets a refund. And 10 minutes later is at the post office collecting the item for which they have just received a refund. Seller now has no money and no item.

For a $50 or $100 item, it's worth the risk to let it get returned by USPS. For a $2800 pair of binoculars? It's worth being out the $15 intercept fee.

If the buyer waited long enough to pick up their item that it was going to fall under a INR refund and then showed up to p;ick it up, I'd apologize and send it back out. But again, for me it would depend on the value of the item and the buyer. I have a higher risk tolerance than many sellers, but my account has been around long enough and my items are not usual scammer items.

[glgenterprise]

If they are communicating with you, I'd probably wait it out, but Monday would be the last day I'd wait.

Bear in mind that buyers only get positive feedback, so it means much less than seller feedback.