Advice from sellers needed - INR

D

dingbat

Member
Aug 11, 2009
47
3
#1
I could use some advice from sellers. I bought an item from a seller in Europe (BIN) for about $500 US and paid immediately through paypal. I followed the tracking and it cleared US customs and then... lost. No further information. I informed the seller 22 days after I purchased the item, 18 days after she shipped, that the package hadn't arrived and that I couldn't launch an investigation from my end. She launched an investigation from her end two days later and told me it would take 14 days to resolve. 20 days later I filed a claim with E-bay because it was 44 days after purchase. The seller tells me that the postal service on her end says they left a slip for me informing me that the package was available for pickup. I live in a building with 24 hour doorman/concierge service, so there are never slips left, but just in case I went to the post office and checked with the tracking number. They never had the package and never sent it out for delivery.

So, after that long story, what is reasonable to expect in terms of the filing of a refund? I felt like the seller dragged her feet in terms of follow-up and I've never transacted with her before, so I didn't feel comfortable letting the time to file pass. I won't leave her negative feedback because she did ship and it's not her fault that the USPS is incompetent, but at this point I think she should give me a refund regardless of the bureaucracy at her end.

What would you sellers do?
 
#2
If I were the seller, I'd be very reluctant to refund direct to a buyer in such a case. Isn't that what the "item not received" claim process is for?

Regardless of what your local post office said, drop your item number into USPS Track and Confirm and follow the prompts to get it to email you and the seller the entire tracking history. That way, both of you have independent 3rd party evidence of what happened and where it got to.

http://www.usps.com/shipping/trackandconfirm.htm?from=home&page=0035trackandconfirm
 
#3
Thank you for your response. I should have mentioned that we have both been tracking on line. The USPS site says that the package cleared customs over a month ago and no further information is available. I called the USPS "help" line and they suggested checking at the local post office, so I did that as well. It seems well and truly lost on this end, but her end is insisting it is here despite what the tracking on the USPS site says.

I suppose you are right about the claim process through e-bay. She has no reason to believe I'm not lying about not receiving it any more than I can prove that I don't have it despite what the postal service on her end asserts (though I don't know how they know it was delivered when the people supposedly doing the delivering deny having delivered it!).
 
#4
dingbat said:
Thank you for your response. I should have mentioned that we have both been tracking on line. The USPS site says that the package cleared customs over a month ago and no further information is available. I called the USPS "help" line and they suggested checking at the local post office, so I did that as well. It seems well and truly lost on this end, but her end is insisting it is here despite what the tracking on the USPS site says.

I suppose you are right about the claim process through e-bay. She has no reason to believe I'm not lying about not receiving it any more than I can prove that I don't have it despite what the postal service on her end asserts (though I don't know how they know it was delivered when the people supposedly doing the delivering deny having delivered it!).
Click to expand...

Your target is USPS, not the seller. If it was received from her country by the USPS, then that's USPS's problem, not the sellers at all. USPS need to provide evidence to you about where your $500 investment is. Contact eBay and PayPal again.
 
#7
I understand that the seller shipped, but what do you mean that my case is with USPS? They won't allow me to pursue an investigation from my end because I am not the sender. Are you suggesting I escalate the case to be resolved by customer service with e-bay? I definitely don't want to be out $500 for an item I never got, but recognize that it's not the seller's fault.

I really appreciate your perspective.
 
#8
shinymagpie said:
Your target is USPS, not the seller. If it was received from her country by the USPS, then that's USPS's problem, not the sellers at all. USPS need to provide evidence to you about where your $500 investment is. Contact eBay and PayPal again.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Your seller fulfilled her obligation; at this point, your seller needs to file an insurance claim and refund your money.
 
#9
She's saying that her postal service won't declare the item lost and pay the insurance because they claim the USPS delivered, though the USPS site (and staff) state they didn't.
 
#10
dingbat said:
She's saying that her postal service won't declare the item lost and pay the insurance because they claim the USPS delivered, though the USPS site (and staff) state they didn't.
Click to expand...

Sorry this does not make sense.

The USPS and various other countries use data matching. The data entered by one agency matches up electronically with the data from the other country. Each country chooses the data elements that they want to display on their user interface. But if the data from one site says that the item was delivered, the other site should mirror it. Have you tracked using both sites?

It is still USPSs problem, but USPS will require the other site to participate in resolving it.

If the tracking numbers being entered are identical, but the answer displayed is different on each site, then that would be a huge issue which both systems would be wanting to fix within seconds... Yours would not be the only item affected.
 
#11
USPS has no data past Sept 10th. I don't know what the Seller's site has, only what she has told me through e-bay messages about her postal service saying the package was delivered.

Current USPS site posting:


Label/Receipt Number: XXXXXXXXXXX
Class: Priority Mail International Parcels
Service(s): International Parcels
Status: Inbound Out of Customs

Your item cleared United States Customs at 8:36 am on September 10, 2010. No further information is available for this item.
 
#12
What country is she in? Go to THEIR postal service and enter the exact same tracking number you have been for USPS and that way you will see for yourself the information being displayed. The tracking number is the same. If language is an issue, use google translate or ask on here.
 
#13
dingbat said:
USPS has no data past Sept 10th. I don't know what the Seller's site has, only what she has told me through e-bay messages about her postal service saying the package was delivered.

Current USPS site posting:


Label/Receipt Number: XXXXXXXXXXX
Class: Priority Mail International Parcels
Service(s): International Parcels
Status: Inbound Out of Customs

Your item cleared United States Customs at 8:36 am on September 10, 2010. No further information is available for this item.
Click to expand...

What a mess! Here's the link I use. Japan Post has a page for data tracking for lots of countries. Hope this helps. Your seller's site should be on this. http://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/ems/delivery/link_en.html

Good luck with it. I hope they find it soon for you.:smile:
 
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