eBay, etc. General Question/Answer Thread

[marissa214]

Not entirely ebay related but does anyone know if a usps mail hold will also hold a FedEx smart post package since usps is the final handler?
I purchased a bag on ebay with estimated delivery 4.11 and guaranteed delivery 4.12 (apparently that's a thing I didn't know about where if seller opts in and package isn't delivered by that date I can return for full refund or receive a $5 ebay voucher). Anyway seller shipped right away but used FedEx smart post. FedEx shows scheduled delivery 4.16. I have a vacation hold starting 4.16 as I'll be in Vegas (and apparently not using this bag ) and I can't reschedule via FedEx and can't track via usps until its in their hands. Not sure which service to call to make sure package does not sit outside my house until I get home from vacation...

Every time I’ve had a package whose final handler is USPS and I’ve had a mail hold, it does get held. (I travel a lot and get my mail held often.) You may get an odd message in your eBay tracking. I’ve gotten “notice left” and “delivery attempted” and “held at recipient’s request” but for all those it was just held at the post office.

Hope that helps and that it works out for you!

 

[QuelleFromage]

Hello, I have a question regarding my ebay transaction ... I hope somebody can help/enlighten me. I bought a BIN item last Mar 29th and paid right away with my Paypal acct. This morning seller messaged me saying she's cancelling the transaction because of a family emergency and that she's out of state and don't know when she's coming back. She did apologize but what puzzles me is that why wait until today Apr 4th (beyond the 3-day shipping period) to cancel the sale? I asked her that question and I was told that she did print the label and the package is ready to ship but she left to another state. Then I got ebay notification that the seller refunded the transaction (still pending). I admit the amount is not that big because she listed the item for a low price but is this okay or acceptable practice in ebay? I also checked seller's other items and when I tried to do a BIN transaction, it didn't show that the seller is currently away. I've been buying from ebay since 2016 and this is the first time this thing happened to me. I want to let it pass and try to understand the seller's situation but I have to admit that I'm really pissed at the moment. If you were in my situation, what would you do?

Can't you give her the benefit of the doubt? I lost a family member recently and trust me, everything goes out of your head - certainly eBay sales. She refunded you...sure, there is a chance the family emergency was a lie, but why not accept her at face value (since she DID refund) and show compassion ?

 

[houseof999]

Hello, I have a question regarding my ebay transaction ... I hope somebody can help/enlighten me. I bought a BIN item last Mar 29th and paid right away with my Paypal acct. This morning seller messaged me saying she's cancelling the transaction because of a family emergency and that she's out of state and don't know when she's coming back. She did apologize but what puzzles me is that why wait until today Apr 4th (beyond the 3-day shipping period) to cancel the sale? I asked her that question and I was told that she did print the label and the package is ready to ship but she left to another state. Then I got ebay notification that the seller refunded the transaction (still pending). I admit the amount is not that big because she listed the item for a low price but is this okay or acceptable practice in ebay? I also checked seller's other items and when I tried to do a BIN transaction, it didn't show that the seller is currently away. I've been buying from ebay since 2016 and this is the first time this thing happened to me. I want to let it pass and try to understand the seller's situation but I have to admit that I'm really pissed at the moment. If you were in my situation, what would you do?

Just wanted to say I started selling on eBay since year and a half ago and I still don't know how to notify customers with "Seller away" notice. I do pretty much everything on the app and you can't do everything on the app that you can do on a PC. You already got refunded. I'd say let it go. Things happen and being upset about something you have no control over will not solve anything.

 

[JadaStormy]

I sold an item and shipped with signature confirmation. It was out for delivery yesterday morning and the tracking never updated. Now it says "awaiting delivery scan." From my experience with USPS, this probably means it was delivered and never scanned. This has only happened to me once before and the buyer was honest and left me positive feedback so I know they received it.

I believe the advice here is usually against contacting the buyer (let sleeping dogs lie), but should I contact USPS? If it was delivered already I know I'll never get a delivery scan online, but perhaps inquiring could make something happen?

 

[whateve]

Just wanted to say I started selling on eBay since year and a half ago and I still don't know how to notify customers with "Seller away" notice. I do pretty much everything on the app and you can't do everything on the app that you can do on a PC. You already got refunded. I'd say let it go. Things happen and being upset about something you have no control over will not solve anything.

You can't do it unless you have a store. If you go away, your only option is to end your listings.

 

[Bales25]

Just wanted to say I started selling on eBay since year and a half ago and I still don't know how to notify customers with "Seller away" notice. I do pretty much everything on the app and you can't do everything on the app that you can do on a PC. You already got refunded. I'd say let it go. Things happen and being upset about something you have no control over will not solve anything.

I don't think you can put an away message on your listings unless you have a store. Unless that is a recent update that I'm not aware of. Which really does stink for those that have a true emergency as you could be making sales and not even checking depending on the situation.

 

[whateve]

I sold an item and shipped with signature confirmation. It was out for delivery yesterday morning and the tracking never updated. Now it says "awaiting delivery scan." From my experience with USPS, this probably means it was delivered and never scanned. This has only happened to me once before and the buyer was honest and left me positive feedback so I know they received it.

I believe the advice here is usually against contacting the buyer (let sleeping dogs lie), but should I contact USPS? If it was delivered already I know I'll never get a delivery scan online, but perhaps inquiring could make something happen?

You can contact USPS. You should be able to talk to someone at the post office where the recipient lives. They might be able to give more information, or if there was a mistake, fix it. After a week if you don't get any results, open a missing mail claim with the post office.

I assume this was a high value item since you used signature confirmation. IMO, you should never use signature confirmation unless it is required due to being over the threshold required by paypal/ebay. Under $750, all you need for proof of delivery is delivery confirmation. When the post office forgets to get the signature, you would lose an INR case if the buyer chose to open one. I sold an iphone once and they didn't get the signature. I was very lucky the buyer was honest.

 

[JadaStormy]

You can contact USPS. You should be able to talk to someone at the post office where the recipient lives. They might be able to give more information, or if there was a mistake, fix it. After a week if you don't get any results, open a missing mail claim with the post office.

I assume this was a high value item since you used signature confirmation. IMO, you should never use signature confirmation unless it is required due to being over the threshold required by paypal/ebay. Under $750, all you need for proof of delivery is delivery confirmation. When the post office forgets to get the signature, you would lose an INR case if the buyer chose to open one. I sold an iphone once and they didn't get the signature. I was very lucky the buyer was honest.

Thanks. It was under $750. I require signature on all my items for "peace of mind" even though I know it isn't required. I figure $3 to at least know who got the package is worth it. And with only one mishap it seemed worth the gamble, but now I'm at two.

I will contact the Post Office and pray my buyer is honest.

 

[BeenBurned]

You can't do it unless you have a store. If you go away, your only option is to end your listings.

Another option is to extend your handling time. When I went away, I changed it (bulk edit) to 3 business days (from 1) and it gave me the cushion I needed for an 8 day vacation. Since weekends aren't considered business days, it gave me more than enough time to be away, respond to messages and ship when I returned. All was done without any late shipping dings.

If it's an extended vacation, this might not work.

 

[BeenBurned]

Thanks. It was under $750. I require signature on all my items for "peace of mind" even though I know it isn't required. I figure $3 to at least know who got the package is worth it. And with only one mishap it seemed worth the gamble, but now I'm at two.

I will contact the Post Office and pray my buyer is honest.

The problem with your "peace of mind" s.c. is that it could backfire and work against you. If it's not needed, you're risking a lazy mail carrier not collecting it and if they don't get s.c. on an item for which it's been purchased, there's also not going to be "delivered" tracking.

See @whateve's post above yours.

 

[holiday123]

Another option is to extend your handling time. When I went away, I changed it (bulk edit) to 3 business days (from 1) and it gave me the cushion I needed for an 8 day vacation. Since weekends aren't considered business days, it gave me more than enough time to be away, respond to messages and ship when I returned. All was done without any late shipping dings.

If it's an extended vacation, this might not work.

I do this too. Extend the handling time and put an out of office reply on my messages. As my vacation goes on, I shorten the handling time to sync with my return home.

 

[JadaStormy]

The problem with your "peace of mind" s.c. is that it could backfire and work against you. If it's not needed, you're risking a lazy mail carrier not collecting it and if they don't get s.c. on an item for which it's been purchased, there's also not going to be "delivered" tracking.

See @whateve's post above yours.

I did read it and replied. I put Peace of mind in quotes to point out the irony as it backfired for the second time.

In my mind it's still possible for a determined scammer to say they didn't get an item that was marked as delivered. S.c. I feel in some ways deters scammers. I put in all my listings that its required. Also it prevents packages from being left on doorsteps and stolen.

Oh well. Just sucks to be out over $300. Hoping for an honest buyer.

 

[whateve]

I did read it and replied. I put Peace of mind in quotes to point out the irony as it backfired for the second time.

In my mind it's still possible for a determined scammer to say they didn't get an item that was marked as delivered. S.c. I feel in some ways deters scammers. I put in all my listings that its required. Also it prevents packages from being left on doorsteps and stolen.

Oh well. Just sucks to be out over $300. Hoping for an honest buyer.

The other problem with signature confirmation is that it annoys buyers. I've only used it a few times because I hardly ever sell anything expensive enough. I had one buyer, a tpfer, who was never home to sign, even when she arranged a delivery time, so the package came back to me. I had another complain that she had to stay home from work since she forgot to change the address to her work.

If you really want to require signature, I suggest you use UPS. I've never had a problem with UPS not getting the signature.

off topic: While UPS is usually pretty good, I just found a package on my porch that was addressed to my neighbor. I didn't look at it close enough to see if it was smart post, meaning USPS was the delivery agent.

 

[JadaStormy]

The other problem with signature confirmation is that it annoys buyers. I've only used it a few times because I hardly ever sell anything expensive enough. I had one buyer, a tpfer, who was never home to sign, even when she arranged a delivery time, so the package came back to me. I had another complain that she had to stay home from work since she forgot to change the address to her work.

If you really want to require signature, I suggest you use UPS. I've never had a problem with UPS not getting the signature.

off topic: While UPS is usually pretty good, I just found a package on my porch that was addressed to my neighbor. I didn't look at it close enough to see if it was smart post, meaning USPS was the delivery agent.

True. This is why I post in my listing I require s.c. so they know in advance. I only get annoyed as a buyer when the seller doesn't tell me in advance.

I realized this is actually my third incident! On the other one I never heard from the buyer. I'm definitely convinced that s.c. is not worth it! Usps is the fastest for me shipping wise, and I like my buyers to get their items quickly.

I remember someone had a buyer claim inr and then they posted it for sale a year later.

 

[BeenBurned]

I remember someone had a buyer claim inr and then they posted it for sale a year later.

I think it was my post you're thinking of. In this post from 2011, I told about a buyer who did that to me. As I explained in that post, I knew the buyer was lying and that it would be a matter of time before she would try to sell my item.