Item not received item but show being delivered

[kimmikat61]

Hello, I recently bought some CDs and they were shipped via USPS. The tracker said "DELIVERED FRONT DOOR/PORCH" and indicated the time, but no item came as I was outside working and would've saw the letter carrier drop it off. Before I lodge a ticket with eBay, is there any thing special I need to do?  I know once the item is turned over to the delivery service, anything could happen to the items.

Thanks.

[modulok!]

Why don't you contact your post office and inquire about your package's current status?  They might have better information than Ebay.

[green-night]

Before I lodge a ticket with eBay, is there any thing special I need to do?

What kind of ticket are you planning on lodging? 

[sam9876]

 Hey, I was going to ask that exact same question!

[mam98031]

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@kimmikat61 wrote:

Hello, I recently bought some CDs and they were shipped via USPS. The tracker said "DELIVERED FRONT DOOR/PORCH" and indicated the time, but no item came as I was outside working and would've saw the letter carrier drop it off. Before I lodge a ticket with eBay, is there any thing special I need to do?  I know once the item is turned over to the delivery service, anything could happen to the items.

Thanks.

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You can file an INR [item not received] case with Ebay, but you won't win.  This is the only type of claim that Ebay actually backs their sellers on.  The tracking shows delivered, so the seller will win the claim.

Now with that said, contact your seller via email for some assistance.  Tell them the problem.  Most sellers will do what they can to help you as they do want you to get the stuff you paid for.

Also contact your local PO.  The sooner they ask the carrier if they accidentally left it on the neighbors doorstep instead, the better.  Do it while everyone's memory is fresh.

Good luck, I hope  you are able to locate your package.

[kimmikat61]

Thanks

I'll shoot a PM to the seller an explan what happened and go from there. It's not his/her fault since the stuff got lost.  I blame the PO on this and will go down to see what's going on.

As for "lodging" I meant sending an INO or an message to the seller.

[lja440]

Unless it was a large lot of CD's or you have a tiny mailbox I wonder about the delivered to the porch scan. 

Here is what you should do. 

Don't message the seller yet. It really wont be anything they can do and in this case you will not win an INR. About all they can supply would be a physical description of the package.

Phone your delivering PO (not the 1-800 number). Tell them that the scan shows delivered to the porch but you were home and outside. Nothing was delivered to your address. Ask them to check with the carrier and to check the GPS location of the scan. You think it was miss delivered and you need the package recovered from wherever it is.

[kimmikat61]

Thanks for the info, I'll try that instead. I decided against an INR.

[mam98031]

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@lja440 wrote:

Unless it was a large lot of CD's or you have a tiny mailbox I wonder about the delivered to the porch scan. 

Here is what you should do. 

Don't message the seller yet. It really wont be anything they can do and in this case you will not win an INR. About all they can supply would be a physical description of the package.

Phone your delivering PO (not the 1-800 number). Tell them that the scan shows delivered to the porch but you were home and outside. Nothing was delivered to your address. Ask them to check with the carrier and to check the GPS location of the scan. You think it was miss delivered and you need the package recovered from wherever it is.

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I disagree about emailing the seller.  The seller can help and the seller should help.  Certainly the buyer can do it on their own, but it does not hurt to let the seller know.  Over the years I've help many buyer recover their packages.  I've called the PO for my buyers from time to time.  I encourage my buyer to contact their local PO.  And so forth.  It is the sellers JOB to offer good customer service.  And therefore ALL sellers should be willing to help their customers with a problem such as this.  Granted there are limited things a seller can do.  But one of the most important things the seller can do is support their buyer and help where they can.

[kimmikat61]

Wow, getting confused. So I should give the seller a heads up about this? I'm going to the PO in a couple days and want to be ready with deal with them.

[mam98031]

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@kimmikat61 wrote:
Wow, getting confused. So I should give the seller a heads up about this? I'm going to the PO in a couple days and want to be ready with deal with them.

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There is no need to get confused.  A poster has suggested that you do not contact your sellers and I disagree.  But I said CONTACT, not open a claim or anything.  And I don't understand why anyone would advise you not to contact your seller.

As a seller I firmly believe in helping my customers whenever I can.  I've had buyers in your position before and I do what I can to help.  Granted it isn't really more than you can do, but I do try. 

For me, when a buyer contacts me with this type of problem, I encourage them to call their local PO as soon as possible.  While memories are fresh.  Have the Postmaster / manager talk with your specific carrier and see if they remember the package.  It may surprise you how often they actually do have some type of memory of it.  

As for me as a seller, I go to the USPS website and file a trace on the package.  Sometimes that helps and sometimes it doesn't, but I do try to assist.  All I am saying is that you can choose to do this on your own if you wish, but as a seller, I do not mind at all, in fact I encourage it, for my buyers to contact me whenever an issue arrises and I will do my best to help.

[dsaldridge99]

In my city, many times the item is marked delivered on the USPS site, but doesn't actually get to my mailbox for a couple of days. It depends on how your mail handler does things. It was explained to me that as soon as it goes on the truck, it is marked delivered online, but it may not actually get delivered that day. Give it a couple of days and see what happens, then call you local PO, or put in a complaint online. I had a hard time getting anyone at my local PO to answer the phone, so I put in an inquiry online and the box was delivered the next day. Seems that if a mail carrier isn't able to finish his route for some reason, or is way behind, they will take things back to the post office to go out the next day. It's crazy, but that's the government. All I can say is, my mail carrier must NEVER be able to finish their route on time, because I never get packages delivered the day they say they are.

[centexcompsvcs]

How  about doing both.  Contact your seller and let them know that the item went "missing" and that you plan to  go to the Post Office and make an inquiry.

This is not the first time that a package  has been mis-scanned as "delivered".  postal carriers are human, and mistakes happen.  Hopefully,  they will be able to locate your package.

[kimmikat61]

Thanks for the advice.  I'll drop a note to the seller and see what happens from there. The seller been around for nearly 20 years and I'm sure he/she delt with this stuff before and may have info to help me deal with the PO.

I have sold in the past, but hadn't since mid 00s and took a break from eBay.

[mam98031]

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@kimmikat61 wrote:

Thanks for the advice.  I'll drop a note to the seller and see what happens from there. The seller been around for nearly 20 years and I'm sure he/she delt with this stuff before and may have info to help me deal with the PO.

I have sold in the past, but hadn't since mid 00s and took a break from eBay.

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Yes, I too have been around that long myself.  I am always willing to do whatever I can to assist my customers before, during and after the sale.  Good luck.  Please keep us updated on your progress.