Question about lost ebay item...

bladefox

I bought a BGS 9.5 Tiger Woods Rc on ebay and haven't gotten after 9 days. I emailed the seller and said, "look at the listing, since I didn't purchase insurance". I checked and WTF?? S/H was $4 without insurance. Now if I known that I would have added $1.30, but I think he's at fault because I use the ebay checkout and in the adding off shipping, it's $4, BUT insurance IS NOT OFFERED in the checkout, even though it's LISTED IN the listing. I always buy insurance now, but Two things: 1) I think it was misleading because I THOUGHT the $4 INCLUDED insurance and I've mailed many BGS cards using bubble mail and it would come up to $3 w/insurance. Even if he used a small box, it would be about $2.50-$3. I still think the seller is jipping buyers of additional insurance. 2) If I was to use pay pal and wanted the insurance, I can't since it's not listed in the checkout. I paid via money order.
Now what should I do? At least how long should I wait until I post negative feedback? About 14 days after he sent it. Also I have the shipping number and only listed when it was mailed. Should I file a missing package report or something like that with the USPS? Also he gave me positive feedback; if I don't get my card and place a negative feedback, can he place retaliatory negative againest me, even though he gave me + feedback on the ebay listing. Any help would be appricated. Thanks.

knicks644

that sucks how much the tiger woods cost?

he cant give you a neg unless you put a auction up and he wins it

i would try to get your $ back before you give him a neg thats the last thing you do

bladefox

It was not much only $40 including S/H, but still I'm out that $40, Maybe I should wait until Mon or Tues. and hope that it would appear in the mail, anybody else?

Here's his e-mail:
erik

i'm sorry that you have not recieved your card yet but like i stated in
my
description in my auction I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST OR STOLEN MAIL
IF
INSURANCE IS NOT PURCHASED...and in your case it was NOT PURCHASED!!.
I
still have the money order as i have not cashed it yet...and it shows a
total amount of $40.06......$36.06 for the final auction price and
$4.00 for
the shipping and handling. AS I STATED IN MY AUCTION IT WOULD COST AN
ADDITIONAL $1.30 extra for the first $50 and $1.00 for every $100.00
thereafter. If insurance was bought on the card I should have recieved
a
money order for at least $41.36 (AN ADDITIONAL $1.30 extra for the
first
$50). PLEASE REVISIT MY AUCTION FORTHIS ITEM AND READ FOR
YOURSELF....Item
number: 2750833827. In the future, i highly recommend you buying
insurance
on any items purchased as things like this tend to happen more often
than
you think.

Comment on the last sentence: Really? Does that mean that we have to distrust the US mail, like we have to us extra money on UPS? I mean, does that mean we have to fly to that person's house and spend gobs of money just to get a card? I mean we can't track every piece of mail and once it's in the hands of the PO, we have no control over it! I wonder if there's a way I can file a complaint that a package is lost, after all if it has a tracking number, than someone ought to know or find out, if it's lost where it is, and if someone claim or stole it, I can file charges againest that person or what agent.

apoidea

He's got 30 days to get it to you.

NickM

I'm not sure it was lost. I have purchased cards that took well over a week to go cross-country after they were mailed out (and even some that took 6 or 7 days to go less than 200 miles). It may still arrive. However, I am rather worried by the tone of the seller's response. It would not surprise me at all if HIS auctions seem to have a high rate of post office losses if you don't purchase insurance.

Nick

knicks644

yeah whats his ebay id

bladefox

Knicks644 his ebay id is masterle01 . Actually, I'll wait until Thursday, which will be two weeks since it was mailed. I'm thinking of also contacting the USPS.com website, and see what I can do if it doesn't arrive til then, since the status says it was mailed but hasn't arrived at my house yet. Usually if I'm not home, I always receive a brown notice to pick it up at the nearest PO.
NickM, I checked his status, and he's only been signed up on ebay for only a year (actually July 02) and has only has 27 feedbacks w/no negs. However, I believe because of his inexperience judging by the tone of his e-mail (I'm been on ebay for over 3 years with 61 +'s no negs ) that I'll wait until the end of the week.

Bobstar

As a buyer/seller on ebay, it is not uncommon to find sellers who offer insurance in the listing & not on the checkout.
That is why ebay recommends you read the listings & communicate
with the seller by email to clarify those issues.
That is the way my ebay account is setup & have never had a problem & have almost 100 positives with no negs. Don't really think the seller deserves a neg in this case as it sounds as tho he did what he was suppose to do. File a tracer with the USPS & give it a bit more time; it just might show up. Those small packets we all send out end up going 3rd class mail alot. Best of luck!

Rainman

"Now if I known that I would have added $1.30, but I think he's at fault because I use the ebay checkout and in the adding off shipping, it's $4, BUT insurance IS NOT OFFERED in the checkout, even though it's LISTED IN the listing. I always buy insurance now, but Two things: 1) I think it was misleading because I THOUGHT the $4 INCLUDED insurance and I've mailed many BGS cards using bubble mail and it would come up to $3 w/insurance. Even if he used a small box, it would be about $2.50-$3. I still think the seller is jipping buyers of additional insurance."

Old advice which is ALWAYS true- NEVER- NEVER- NEVER assume ANYTHING- NEVER. Assumptions can be both costly and deadly. As for whether it showed up in EBay's checkout, it's not relevant and not something the seller could control. I've had buyers tell me insurance didn't show up in checkout yet they have paid it if they wanted it, either by adding it to the shipping in PayPal (even though PayPal does have a separate section for insurance) or by adding it to their money order. Sellers are free to charge what they want for shipping- regardless of whether it costs less to ship. Example: Most sellers I know charge $2 (most charge $3-4) to mail a single RAW card...we all know that the actual postage for that card in a bubble envelope is $.49. Bottom line: If I want insurance, I pay for it- and tell the seller to insure it.

"2) If I was to use pay pal and wanted the insurance, I can't since it's not listed in the checkout. I paid via money order."

See #1- PayPal has an option for "insurance" and you can add it in- even if it isnt in EBay's checkout. You also could've added the $1.30 for insurance to the "shipping" portion of PayPal.

"Now what should I do? At least how long should I wait until I post negative feedback? About 14 days after he sent it. Also I have the shipping number and only listed when it was mailed. Should I file a missing package report or something like that with the USPS? Also he gave me positive feedback; if I don't get my card and place a negative feedback, can he place retaliatory negative againest me, even though he gave me + feedback "

I don't know why you should leave a negative feedback; it seems the seller did what he was supposed to in shipping the package. Also how can you have a "shipping number"? You only get that if the seller insured the item, paid for delivery confirmation or sent it via Express/Priority. No, he can't leave you retalitory feedback, but if you leave him a negative, he can add a "follow up" to his positive feedback indicating "buyer left retalitory feedback; didn't buy insurance; claims item was lost."

Lessons to be learned: NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING- ANYTHING! ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS PAY FOR INSURANCE IF YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT THE ITEM BEING LOST.

bladefox

Okay, Rainman, I got your point on never assume anything, when buying online ...(except Naxcom )
>>Also how can you have a "shipping number"? You only get that if the seller insured the item, paid for delivery confirmation or sent it via Express/Priority. <<
Rainman, I don't know! This is the e-mail he sent me when I he sent it:
>>sent card off today..here is the tracking
#...USPS.....03022940000239863641<<

Bobstar, how do you file a tracer on this package? I think I did by sending my e-mail address via the USPS's website. Do I have to file any more forms at the PO? If so, which are the names of the forms, since I plan to go to the post office to send some cards to PSA. Thanks, for all the advise so far, I'll update this as often.

Rainman

the tracking # does check out and i know on some of my shipments lately, shipping's taken longer than normal (up to 2 1/2 weeks for a card to get from Calif. to NY). however, w/the exception of 1 package that got manhandled/misdelivered by the post office recently, i've not had any problems- and have advised all recent buyers that shipping seems to be taking longer than normal. so far, all buyers have been understanding and i've had no problems in them getting items. beware: some sellers will give you a "delivery confirm"/tracking #" when in fact it belongs to someone else. i found this out when a seller tried to screw me...thankfully i had purchased insurance and paid via paypal.