Need some help with an E-Bay Situation

[Broncobilly83]

Now, I did not want to post this in the Good/Bad Sellers thread since this is a very unique situation.

This situation involves a very highly rated seller, always on the green list in the sellers thread. I purchased 2 pins via their BIN selection, and paid instantly. This was on April 23rd. They are in FL, and I am here in MD, so I waited until May 2nd to contact them, as no shipping change was ever given and no tracking/package was forthcoming.

They give me a number not even on file with USPS, so they offered to send replacements, but one of the two was sold out (even though they still had it listed as active at 2x what I paid for it), so after a day of thinking, I agreed to change it out with a new pin they got on hand.

Now it is May 14th, and for a new package that shipped out on like the 4-5th of this month, it shows that it was "Missent" as of the 8th and nothing updated since then. So I contact the seller, and pointed out that I needed to file a Paypal claim soon if this is not resolved and they got very, very upset with me.

Here is a copy of the conversation since yesterday. Am I wrong for feeling like all I am is money to him, and should I actually file a Paypal dispute.

Dear them (latest e-mail to them),

When I want to know where a package is, I go to the post office that shipped it with the number, and say "This package I shipped seems to be misplaced, lost, whatever". Can you start a trace on it. I ship Transformers worldwide myself, and if I had a buyer asking where his package was and tracking showed nothing, I would take the initiative to show the buyer that his purchase meant something to me outside of just money and not pass the buck to a "lazy, disorganized company".

As for how I feel, I feel like a rube, since I bought and paid instantly on 4/23, and here we are on 5/14 and I am still trying to get what I paid for when packages from CA and AL shipped at the beginning of this week ALREADY arrived to me in MD, yet two packages from FL to MD are gone with the wind.

I do not want to file a dispute since I am trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, and not mess with your other operations, but I will if I have to

Bill

-me


Dear me,

YOUR ATTITUDE tells me a lot. And I would appreciate it if you stopped asking me how you should feel. That is your responsibility. It seems that you make a habit of putting things on people that you should be doing yourself. The post office says "contact the seller" because they're too lazy to do their own job. How in the world would I be able to locate your package??? I'm not the post office. That's just common sense. I'm just an honest seller who depends on a lazy, disorganized company to do what their supposed to do. And when they don't, I get blamed for it by people like you. Stop harassing me. If you want to file a Paypal dispute, do it.

- them


Sent Date: May-14-10 06:21:59 PDT

Dear them,

Your attitude tells me a lot. I am not accusing you of anything, and had you actually responded to the first e-mail I sent a couple of days ago, I was looking to buy more from you if you had it in stock. I am not "holding you responsible" but unfortunately, if you go to USPS, they tell you to "Contact the Shipper" which is you. And based on what you said, it is 2 screw ups on USPS's part, since the first package never appeared in the system. What are the odds that both screw ups occur on my package? And before you go accusing me of being a thief, keep in mind, I paid you in a timely fashion, almost instantly, and it is now almost 4 weeks later and a package from FL to MD still has not made it here, TWICE. How do you think I am supposed to feel, it is all right for you to keep my money without me getting the pins?

Bill

- me

Sent Date: May-14-10 06:16:19 PDT

Dear me,

I don't know how you are supposed to look at anything. And as far as fooling you, I haven't done anything of the sort, nor do I care for the accusation. The fact is, you're holding me responsible for a screw up on the post office's behalf, and calling me a liar. If you file a dispute against me through Paypal and get a refund, that will make you a thief. I sent your purchases. Why don't you try harassing the right people for a change, like the post office.
Have a nice weekend.

- them

Dear them,

I believe the phrase "Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me" comes to mind. The first package, which you purchase e-postage, has no record of ever existing, including being purchased, and now the second one is "Missent" You told me that this happens maybe 4-5 times a year with as many packages as you ship, and now both packages you sent me are having problems. How am I supposed to look at that?

Bill

- me

Sent Date: May-13-10 18:36:16 PDT

Dear me,

This is a copy of what is listed on USPS.com when I type in the tracking number:
Your item was misrouted. The error has been corrected and every effort is being made to deliver it as soon as possible. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.
It means that it was sent to the wrong sorting center, but is being re-routed to the proper destination. Do you see what I mean when I say these things happen from time to time? I don't control the postal system. Once I ship your package, it is out of my control. I would appreciate it if you would stop holding me responsible for the mistakes of a government business.

- them

Sent Date: May-13-10 18:27:06 PDT

Dear them,

I hope you can understand my frustration. The first package shows nothing with the tracking number and now this one is "Missent". What does that even mean?

Bill

- me

Sent Date: May-13-10 18:04:49 PDT

Dear me,

I sent your purchase the day after you requested the Star Wars substitute. Here is the tracking number:9101150134711161605421. I can't tell you anymore than what it is saying.

- them

Sent Date: May-13-10 17:48:23 PDT

Dear them,

Please let me know what is going on, as if I do not hear from you soon, I will have to file a Paypal claim. I have sent two other e-mails and have not heard back on either one!

Bill

- me

 

[PhantomVirus]

File a dispute - if it shows up you can always reverse it.

While I am not particularly thrilled with either parties tone in the emails - it makes sense that you look to begin the process. Your frustration is coming through, I get it and don't blame you for it.

If they shipped it with tracking or delivery confirmation then they SHOULD be able to trace it.

I have yet to have as bad an experience as you are describing - however I am waiting on some pins from Belgium that seem to have gone missing......

 

[plutotek]

I agree, file the dispute. Your emails to the company were far more restrained than mine would have been after the first response.

 

[Broncobilly83]

The good news is they finally arrived this morning. Talk about a small envelope for 2 carded pins though. No wonder they were missent, or lost, or whatever!

 

[Luv2Roam]

From my pin trading experiences with Del Conf, DC is pretty much a joke and waste of money.
IF the USPS can give a date and time of delivery, what they are guaranteeing was that it was delivered SOMEWHERE. Without true package tracking, which of course is much more expensive, there is no true tracking.

A few times in a trade I have had the recipient claim not to receive their packet from me. In both cases delivery was confirmed with DC.

The first person then miraculously found their package in their home.

With the second person, the post office said the intended recipient has to contact their post office and follow up on where it could be located and where it was delivered. Of course good luck in thinking your post office carrier is going to recall your package out of the many they deliver. You will basically get a shrug of he shoulders and a blank look.

All the recipient can do is file a form, and probably never hear any more.

I know as one time I was the person who did not receive a pin trade, although DC shows it delivered.

That is what DC gets you. Which is why I stopped paying extra for such a non-guaranteed service. I don't think they even offer to reimburse the DC cost if the package is not delivered as intended.

When my post office clerk asks if I want DC I ask what that guarantees. Again basically a blank look. And I ask if DC guarantees the packaged is delivered, just not to where. The answer has always been Yes.
For true tracking you have to buy the tracking where each person handling the package signs off. Another alternative would be to insure.
Then hope you don't have to go to filling out the paperwork and waiting. Have had to do that too on an Ebay sale. Then the buyer is once again at the mercy of how and when the seller handles the paperwork. Since they bought the service, they are responsible.

 

[Broncobilly83]

From my pin trading experiences with Del Conf, DC is pretty much a joke and waste of money.
IF the USPS can give a date and time of delivery, what they are guaranteeing was that it was delivered SOMEWHERE. Without true package tracking, which of course is much more expensive, there is no true tracking.

That is what DC gets you. Which is why I stopped paying extra for such a non-guaranteed service. I don't think they even offer to reimburse the DC cost if the package is not delivered as intended.

Very true, but a couple of things in general to add to this

1) If you purchase online postage, DC is usually included for free or at a discounted cost.

2) The longer items stay within the USPS system, the better chance of a mishap, which is why I was disappointed these were shipped First Class, since they said the replacements would go Priority Flat Rate!

3) Also, I noticed if you ask nicely, a lot of USPS offices will scan your packages as accepted upon drop off, so it shows it entering the system and those usually show updates every morning of who scanned them last.

 

[Luv2Roam]

And scanning shows you mailed it. And that is it. My receipt can show I mailed to someone in that zip code and city. That is about as much proof really.
Just saying DC is not what people think it is. I think it is overused and a gyp. And people don't usually find that out until they need to prove delivery.
I have saved a lot of money over the years not buying DC. (Don't mail enough to do anything direct from home. And I live in a small town with an automated center.)
Really the only time I use DC is when I want to track the package's progression. Not really for the other person's benefit, as it would not mean squat if the USPS showed the package was delivered. It could be delivered anywhere besides the address it was mailed to.

 

[robinb]

I don't know ... it sounds like the seller thought they sent out the pins and didn't. You and the seller came to an agreement on the pins on 5/3 and the pins were sent within two days on 5/5. A week later you contacted the seller in what I considered a confrontational manner asking about the status of the pins. Even First Class mail can take more than a week to get somewhere and the tracking clearly showed that it was mis-routed.

I guess that I would have probably sent an email at the 1 week mark (esp if the seller did not provide me with a tracking number) but I think that both of you are responsible for the confrontational tone of conversation. The seller was put on instant defense when you threatened filing a dispute with PayPal ... and who could really blame him?

 

[Broncobilly83]

I don't know ... it sounds like the seller thought they sent out the pins and didn't. You and the seller came to an agreement on the pins on 5/3 and the pins were sent within two days on 5/5. A week later you contacted the seller in what I considered a confrontational manner asking about the status of the pins. Even First Class mail can take more than a week to get somewhere and the tracking clearly showed that it was mis-routed.

I guess that I would have probably sent an email at the 1 week mark (esp if the seller did not provide me with a tracking number) but I think that both of you are responsible for the confrontational tone of conversation. The seller was put on instant defense when you threatened filing a dispute with PayPal ... and who could really blame him?

You are correct, but I guess I already was on the defense as it were since the purchase was originally on 4/23 and by 5/3 I had nothing, not even a tracking number.