eBay

jcarman00 · ‎04-29-2020

So I bought an item on 4/22, and the seller shipped it on 4/24. According to the info on the listing, the seller is located in Rockport, IN, but the package was accepted in Owensboro, KY - about 10 miles away. Not strange, really, but according to the tracking, the package hadn't moved at all since the initial acceptance scan, and there was a guaranteed delivery by 4/27. That day came and went - the package didn't arrive, nor was there any new activity on the tracking page. I went ahead and claimed the $5 shipping voucher from eBay due to it missing the deadline because why not, and just decided to wait and see what happens. 4/28 goes by - still nothing.

This morning, 4/29, was different - checked the tracking page, and saw that it was scanned in at the post office in Rockport, followed by this message:

April 29, 2020, 8:13 am
Forwarded
ROCKPORT, IN
Your item was forwarded to a different address at 8:13 am on April 29, 2020 in ROCKPORT, IN. This was because of forwarding instructions or because the address or ZIP Code on the label was incorrect.

That's interesting for a couple of reasons - 1) I haven't instructed the USPS to forward my mail, nor do I even have a forwarding address, and 2) if the seller printed the shipping label directly from ebay/PayPal, there shouldn't be any errors in my address. I order stuff all the time and have never had this issue before.

I fully expect delays nowadays due to the ongoing pandemic, so waiting longer for a package to arrive doesn't bother me - just wondering if anyone has ever seen this before in a situation where the buyer hasn't requested mail forwarding and has entered (and hasn't tampered with) their correct address info on ebay/paypal. I'm not really smelling a scam (we're talking about a $20 transaction here), but I've opened a case with the seller and am awaiting a response. I don't feel like requesting a refund is warranted if it's just a mistake by the USPS and the package will show up in a few days, but I've had two packages from Amazon (using USPS) get lost in transit in as many weeks so I'm just covering my bases here.

hurryagain · ‎04-29-2020

@jcarman00

I could be that your seller did not purchase their label from eBay and did it the old fashioned way and manually entered your tracking number and maybe indeed got your zip code wrong.

Try contacting your seller to find out what's going on.

Good luck.

ise710 · ‎04-29-2020

Postage wrong at Owensboro KY, and couldn't be back-charged APV Automated Postage Verification, so it was RTS Returned To Sender, hence the forward to Rockport IN.

This way, USPS can keep the used-up postage, so they can sell new postage again.

jcarman00 · ‎04-29-2020

Hmm. That makes sense, and would probably explain why it sat there for five days before being routed back to the seller's town. I'm still waiting on a response from them, but I'd say your assessment is right on the money. Thanks for the insight!