eBay

egarchow89 · ‎05-02-2020

I had a buyer buy $800 worth of items from me. I shipped on the 19th of April, insured for the full value. Buyer was going to need to sign for the item.

Last tracking info:

April 24, 2020, 7:10 am
Out for Delivery

April 24, 2020
In Transit to Next Facility

April 25, 2020, 1:10 am
Awaiting Delivery Scan
The delivery status of your item has not been updated as of April 25, 2020, 1:10 am. We apologize that it may arrive later than expected.

I have tried to contact the buyer a few times, since this looked to me like it was waiting at the post office, since when I buy items that need to be signed for, that's where they end up after a delivery attempt. I messaged him twice, and emailed him with no response. This morning he opens a claim against me about the item.

This is the largest order I have ever filled, and I had never had the buyer buy from me before, and he has only 6 feedback. I was concerned right away but what can you do.

What do I do at this point? I am not even sure if he will see my response in the resolution center, he hasn't acknowledged my messages or email. Iv'e never seen "Awaiting Delivery Scan" before. I want to ask the buyer to be patient but I get the feeling they might get pushy real quick. I bought the label as part of a bulk shipping purchase, so I don't even know if I can find the receipt for this specific item (although I have the order page and tracking info), so I want to make sure I am ready to file a claim. But apparently I have to wait 45 days if it's lost. I just feel like I am going to get screwed on this one. Buyer forces a refund, then the package arrives before I can make a claim, and I am out $800.
Any tips would be most welcome.

turquoisetulips · ‎05-02-2020

Sorry this is happening .. Have you tried calling the post office to possibly get a better explanation ? Sometimes they can be pretty helpful . As far as your buyer goes,, I'd just keep trying to contact him and explain that slower deliveries are the norm right now due to the pandemic . Hopefully he will find a bit more patience . Tulips

egarchow89 · ‎05-02-2020

Thanks for the reply. I'm not even sure which post office to call. I have the buyer's address, but how do I find the specific PO? They live in a rather densely populated area of California.
"Apr 24, 2020 5:46am
Arrived at Unit
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93111"

"Apr 24, 2020 7:10am
Out for Delivery
GOLETA, CA 93117"

atikovi · ‎05-02-2020

Maybe post this in https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping-Returns/bd-p/shipping-returns-db as they have more experiance with the topic there.

reda3615 · ‎05-02-2020

You can determine which post office serves an address:

https://m.usps.com/m/POLocatorAction

That post office is closed today, but you should call them on Monday. Based on you buyer's behavior, your buyer already received the delivery. You shouldn't have stirred things up: If it was not delivered, they would have let you know.

Anonymous · ‎05-02-2020

If you go to the USPS website and enter your tracking number

you are able to set it up to get text or email updates.

This will sometimes shake the package loose.

egarchow89 · ‎05-02-2020

So you're saying I basically alerted the buyer to the fact that USPS screwed up, and didn't even get a signature for an $800 insured item, and now they are going to take advantage of the situation and keep the cards and get their money back. I am looking into a package intercept if I do have to refund (not that it will likely get me the package back), but I don't know if that voids my insurance. I just thought that would help if the plan for the "buyer" was to force a refund and then go to the PO and sign for it. The USPS page on mail intercept is pretty useless, contradicting itself on insurance in the last section: https://faq.usps.com/s/article/USPS-Package-Intercept-The-Basics

adkhighker · ‎05-02-2020

@reda3615 wrote:
You can determine which post office serves an address:
https://m.usps.com/m/POLocatorAction

That post office is closed today, but you should call them on Monday. Based on you buyer's behavior, your buyer already received the delivery. You shouldn't have stirred things up: If it was not delivered, they would have let you know.

I don't think that is the case at all. If the buyer had received their item, they would have to had signed for it, and according to the tracking info that the OP supplied there is no indication that any signature has taken place.

I think the OP will be fine. The buyer probably opened a request for INR because the item was late, but when the case is opened I believe that eBay gives it a full week before they can actually step in and take action when they see that a package is in transit. As long as the OP sends messages to the buyer through the case details in resolution, explaining to the buyer that the USPS tried to deliver, I think it will all work out okay. Most likely the buyer will get the package sometime in the next few days. One other thing the OP can do to set their mind at ease is to check with their own PO and ask the postmaster to look into it.

egarchow89 · ‎05-08-2020

A friend of mine who also sells cards said this guy filed a false claim against him about a year ago. At this point, I don't have much hope that eBay or USPS are going to come through in any useful way for me. I'll be forced to refund, the buyer will go pick up the item, USPS will deny my claim, and the "buyer" keeps $800 worth of cards for free. I mean, the buyer's PO won't pick up the phone after 10 tries. I just want to know if the package is there and there is no way to get through.

turquoisetulips · ‎05-08-2020

but how do I find the specific PO? OP

Just call your local post office and they will give you the correct phone number ..Tulips

egarchow89 · ‎05-08-2020

Thanks! I called my local PO and they confirmed the first number I had was correct, but they also had an "internal number" for me.

I am just going to keep calling everyone I can and document everything I can. I have heard from 3 other sellers whom this buyer has attempted to defraud.