I recently sold an LV bag on eBay. The sale went well until the USPS got their hands on the package. I did everything right. I shipped with signature requirement and insured the package for the cost of the handbag. I followed the tracking from Florida to Texas. Everything was moving along fine and on the anticipated day of delivery a message with those three magical words (both from a seller's and buyer's perspective): Out for Delivery. Then.....Delivery Status Not Updated. I called the post office (that alone was an hour investment of my time). I was told that sometimes it is a scanner error. They gave me the local post office number. I called and was told that the package was delivered. I said the tracking does not reflect that and explained my concern was a dishonest buyer could say it was not received. The post office acknowledged this and said they would send the carrier back out to the residence and get the signature. They also said the carrier delivered three packages to this buyer that day and acknowledged he forgot to get the signature for my package. Ugh! They said they are required to get back to me within 48 hours as to resolution. In the meantime, I sent a message to the buyer confirming her receipt. No immediate response. My blood pressure is slowly creeping up. I called ebay. They said that should the buyer claim item not received they would carefully review the facts and not automatically rule in buyer's favor and if they did I would have to file a claim with the USPS (can you imagine that hassle?). I finally got a response from the buyer saying yes she had received it and loved it. Good enough for me! Btw, never did get that 48 hour follow up call from the USPS and tracking still says Delivery Status Not Updated. So, if you want to drive your blood pressure up, sell an expensive handbag on eBay and ship USPS. That will do it.
Avoid Unreliable USPS
- Thread starter Nana61256
- Start date
You're lucky you got an honest buyer.
It's a small consolation but you are eligible for a reimbursement of the cost of s.c. since they clearly didn't perform the service for which you'd paid.
For the record, had the buyer claimed non-receipt, my guess is that the package would have "magically" been found by the post office. You would have been able to file an insurance claim and would win so you can be sure that they'd do everything in their power to avoid paying that claim, including fighting you on it. But without tracking and delivery proof, they'd have been on the hook.
It's a small consolation but you are eligible for a reimbursement of the cost of s.c. since they clearly didn't perform the service for which you'd paid.
For the record, had the buyer claimed non-receipt, my guess is that the package would have "magically" been found by the post office. You would have been able to file an insurance claim and would win so you can be sure that they'd do everything in their power to avoid paying that claim, including fighting you on it. But without tracking and delivery proof, they'd have been on the hook.
I've had problems with USPS getting a signature before. Other than that, they are great and they are the cheapest. If I ship something that requires a signature, I'll use UPS. If I ship something that isn't required to have a signature, i.e. below $750, I won't get a signature. I can't see any reason to ever get a signature if it isn't required by ebay or Paypal. You can still file an insurance claim. If USPS says it was delivered even if the buyer says they didn't get it, you are covered by seller protection.