Ebay Dispute Question - Should I expect a refund?
SDSportsFan
Posts: 5,136 ✭✭✭✭✭
I'm looking for opinions here.
I ordered an item on ebay last month. USPS tracking shows it was delivered to my apartment complex mail box on June 17th. The item cost less than $30.
Now for the problem:
The mail carrier did not properly secure the mail boxes after he delivered the mail. Later that day, someone broke in to the mail boxes, and stole items from multiple boxes, including my own. Multiple residents lost mail. I have received verbal confirmation from both my local post office, and my apartment manager, that the theft did occur.
I requested a refund from ebay, and they have denied my request, since the seller was able to show that USPS says the item was delivered.
Now, my question.....
Should I rightfully expect a refund in this case, or am I just SOL?
Steve
Comments
Your same situation happened to someone I know about two years ago...he did the something you did; contacted the post office & building manager...and sadly he was up the creek too! When he was telling me about this, I asked him where there any cameras around and working? He told me the cameras were positioned more towards the main entrance of his building and the front stairwell, and not near the mailbox drop-off's.
I would stay in contact with your postmaster and building tenants...
And put the word in the streets about this...
man that sucks for you, yes I would very upset myself...
that's my best that I can offer
If the mail carrier was at fault then it should be insured up to $100 free via USPS.
Why would you chose to go after the seller here?
WTF, how is it eBay's or the sellers fault that your purchase got jacked AFTER delivery? It's not their fault you live in a crime riddled ghetto!
When I talked with someone at my post office, they told me that due to the confirmed break in of the mail boxes, the seller would get a full refund when they requested one.
So, it's the same as any other USPS loss claim.....the buyer gets a refund from the seller, and the seller gets a refund from USPS.
Steve
Actually, I have lived in this apartment complex for 19 years, and this is the first time our mail boxes have been broken in to.
Steve
Not an ebay matter. A local criminal matter.
1948-76 Topps FB Sets
FB & BB HOF Player sets
1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
Seller should not be punished. Your item was delivered.
The only thing I can think of is, you might get covered by ebay's buyer protection program?
Was there a police report?
Good luck and be thankful that it wasn't a several hundred dollar item!
Hopefully it all works out. Ebay often likes to screw the seller. Just the other day a buyer with a Thailand address gave me a negative feedback on a brand new, never worn shirt. I did nothing wrong to deserve bad feedback, so I tried to get the NEG removed and ebay refused my request.
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ignore list -Basebal21
Has any seller actually collected from the USPS in this situation? I have never heard of this before.
Out of all of my ebay purchases and countless other package deliveries, I've only ever had one stolen by porch pirates. It was a roughly $400 purchase, but worth much more than that, especially to me.
It's been awhile, so I don't recall exact conversations, but at that time I was a member of the eBay Concierge Program, and was able to get ahold of someone with eBay immediately. They referred me to USPS, as the package was shown as delivered.
I took it up with USPS, and their internal investigation determined that the GPS positioning from the carrier scanning the package placed him in my driveway, so they concluded that the package was indeed delivered to the correct address.
I then called my credit card company that I had linked to my PayPal account, as they offer some protection against theft of purchases. They directed me that I should first file a police report, which I did.
When I then called the credit card company back with the police report, I was told that they do offer theft protection, but now I'd have to first file a claim with my homeowners insurance. I was hesitant to do that, as my deductible was $500, and the last thing I needed, even if I somehow got reimbursed the $400 from any of the parties, was for my homeowners insurance to go up significantly because of an attempted claim.
I believe I also contacted PayPal directly in there at some point, as well, to no avail.
I finally just accepted it and took the L.
Long story, short...SOL.
I was involved recently in a similar situation recently as the seller. Ebay sided with me because I provided proof of delivery to the right address. I was notified by ebay that the buyer filed a dispute with their credit card company and they sided with them. Bottom line I was covered under ebay's seller protection policy and ebay took the loss.
Does the tracking show that the item was "undelivered"? The seller can't open a USPS "insurance claim" for an item that is not lost or damaged (can disappearance be considered damage?) Also, was this a USPS Priority package, otherwise how do you know that the seller even purchased insurance? And if it was 1st class, it could be the eBay sold insurance, which will only look at the tracking or messages of damage.
It stinks, but it was delivered. Horrible luck that it was stolen but it was not the sellers fault.
It still sounds like you're trying to stick it to the seller through eBay even though the problem is completely on your end. Because you know USPS is going to deny the claim due to USPS having proof that they did their job. You say the boxes were not secured by USPS. But you also say they were broken in to. How do you know what happened? If they were broken in to, that doesn't seem like it would be USPS's fault. If USPS failed to secure them, there would be no sign that they were broken in to. They would have just been left open. Pretty hard to prove. If USPS paid people for making claims like this it would lead to a ton of fraud.
Some number of years ago I ordered some cards. They showed up as delivered in the tracking. Never showed up in my mail box. Cards I really wanted. I just went on with my life.
It's pretty much people making claims like yours who make it dangerous to sell on eBay.
I agree. It's not the seller's fault and it's not the fault of USPS if someone steals your mail. Probably better to think about getting a PO box if security is that bad at your location...or moving.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
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Do you have a cluster box and the carrier didn't properly lock it? If so then USPS fault and you should chase them for your loss. If mot and the box was broken into then there's nobody to blame except a thief. Maybe suggest a video cam to watch the area ib case it happens again.
It's not the seller's fault or ebay's fault leave them alone.
I would be very careful listening to what USPS had to say as fact about the matter.
"Someone stole your $30 card? Hold my Beer."
-CVS, Walgreens, etc, etc...
I would say good luck, but it is pointless. It's a loss. Have to move on.
you might want to get a PO box for your packages, well worth it
Update:
What do you know.....
Ebay reversed their decision, and refunded my money.
Steve
Since it was a small dollar amount...EBAY will probably make the seller whole at the end of this ordeal.
Gratz on your free card.
is it not the sellers responsibility to ensure safe delivery of your item, or to purchase insurance to recompense you if the item becomes lost?
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
please provide your eBay id so I can add you to my blocked list. Thanks.
Since Ebay reversed a decision, you also might want to purchase a lottery ticket
I guess it depends on the definition of "safe delivery". I think it's very possible to make a case that putting an item in your (locked) mailbox is constructive delivery.
I would agree, if it's a personally-owned mailbox at the person's residence. In my case, however, I live in an apartment complex, and the mailboxes are cluster boxes controlled by the post office. They are responsible for maintaining the locks on them, and properly securing them.
Steve
Not if it's stolen after delivery.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Exactly what Grote15 said. This is no different than a porch pirate. If sellers have to reimburse every time a porch pirate steals an item, there would be no sellers.
Exactly. This is no different than a porch pirate. If the sellers were responsible for every theft after delivery, there would be no sellers.
sorry duplicate post
sorry duplicate post
It was marked as delivered. What else is the seller, or eBay, supposed to do? It's not their fault the post office screwed up, or that it got stolen from, for lack of a better description, a "community mailbox".
Buyer got extremely lucky, and is not someone I would ever want to do business with. If the post office can screw up once, they can do it again. Get a p.o. box if you're going to be getting cards delivered through the mail like that.
So why did you go after the seller and eBay if it is the post office's fault?
sorry duplicate post
OP never "went after" the seller, simply asked if he should get a refund.
My original thought was "sorry about that, but no you shouldn't get a refund".
He was lucky to get the refund. The seller did his job. Nice of eBay to refund him.
I actually saw my mail being stolen once and chased the thieves, but they got away.