Package stolen by the post office/a third party?
Summary: aurlon39 recounts a buying experience on eBay where, after a dispute over a package not received, eBay refunded them. Later, the seller claimed to have sent the package, but it seemed to have been picked up by a third party. Suspicions of fraud against the seller arose, especially after the item reappeared on another site. Other participants explain that the seller can request the removal of the negative feedback if proof of shipment is valid, and that aurlon39 should not be concerned by any future disputes. aurlon39 remains perplexed by the circumstances and is looking for advice on what to do next.
Hello,
I have a rather strange situation and I would have liked to get some opinions on it.
I bought an item from a well-rated eBay seller (for a total of €38 including shipping), paid via PayPal directly after winning the auction. After 2 days with no news after the purchase, I asked him whether he had sent my package: he replied quickly in the affirmative, saying he had posted it the previous evening and would give me the tracking number that same evening because he was at work and didn’t have it with him.
Three days later: I asked him again for the tracking number because I still hadn’t received it (or the package, for that matter), no response.
Two days later I reported to eBay that the seller was no longer responding, that I had no tracking number, and had not received a package. I had to wait 3 days during which eBay contacted the seller on their side.
After this period with no news from the seller, eBay closed the dispute in my favor and refunded everything via PayPal. I left the seller a negative review.
I thought it was over, but 2 days after the dispute was closed, the seller sent me a message saying he had had a big problem, that he hadn’t been able to respond, and that the package had been delivered 6 days earlier to the post office in my town: he sent me a photo of the shipping receipt, everything matched what he said (drop-off date, my address even though there is an error in the apartment number). I finally discovered the tracking number and checked the post office website to see what it showed: and there it gets very strange:
The package was posted on the stated date, then arrived two days later (normal delay). The postman supposedly couldn’t deliver it because I was absent (on a Saturday). The tracking says that day I chose to have it delivered to a postal point (which I obviously didn’t do since I hadn’t received anything). On Monday the tracking says the package is waiting for me, and on Tuesday that it was picked up from the post office (still not by me).
So I don’t understand what’s going on and where the scam is:
The seller? The mail carrier? But how can someone pick up a package in my name and without my ID at a post office?
Then it’s strange that, as luck would have it, the seller couldn’t respond during all that time when weird things were happening with my package.
Oh, and also the negative rating I left for the seller after the dispute was closed disappeared, both from his profile and from mine, as if I had never posted anything (and I’m certain it was actually done because I had checked the seller’s profile again the next day to see whether he was trying anything shady and my rating was clearly visible). His rating is now back to 100% positive (whereas with mine it was down to like 96%).
Anyway, I’d like some opinions on this rather bizarre situation.
aurlon39
OP2 years agoI’m bumping my topic up,
While browsing **bleep** today, what a surprise to see the exact same pair of shoes as the one I had bought and never received. I check where the seller is from: same place (a village in 73), what a coincidence.
Since I had kept the photos from the eBay listing, I can compare them with the ones on **bleep**: same photo location (same rug), same defects on the shoebox. In short, it’s the same seller.
When I go back to his eBay account, there’s nothing left for sale. On **bleep** a few things for sale, including the shoes.
This person is trying to scam others on **bleep** (I still haven’t understood how he managed it with the Post Office). This time, no more PayPal payment possible, only bank transfer. I was lucky, but I’d like others not to get scammed by this person. Where can I report this? To the police? The only proof I have are the photos from the two sales sites.
(for info, on eBay the sale was because of a sizing error, I still have the screenshot, so he doesn’t have a series of identical shoes for sale).
koalagris
·2 years agoNothing to report since there was no loss/damage (= €38 refunded).
The package was returned to the sender because of the address error, and we can understand that after this issue (which cost him the shipping) he no longer wants to sell on the site and is therefore now offering his item elsewhere.
honestly, since June, don’t you think it would be time to move on?
persistence has its limits!
frelonverre
·3 years ago@aurlon39
I don't see what is bothering you, if your seller had sent you the tracking number this would only have been a minor incident
you opened a dispute and got your money back, the only one who lost out is your seller, he will be out of his item and the shipping costs for it, so the lesser evil is that he was able to get this negative removed
aurlon39
OP3 years agoTo be honest, I was telling myself it might be some kind of scam I hadn’t spotted, and I was thinking it might have already happened to qlq (not replying for days, including to eBay during the dispute, and then the package mysteriously gets lost, only to show up again right after with a plausible tracking number). Anyway...
nareio
·3 years agoHello.
Given the amount, it seems hard to believe that this is an organized scam...
As for me, I would rather look at the possibility of an error in the apartment number (the seller’s mistake, which explains his temporary silence: maybe it’ll work out....) ....resident absent that day, notice of delivery left (in the name of the holder of the address mailbox?? Papers not examined properly?) ,then what follows, with several hypotheses, we withdraw, we keep it (nice then!) or we withdraw, we realize it’s a mistake, we’re afraid of looking like a thief (oh no!), we throw it away...etc.(there are other possibilities: unknown neighbors, angry, unpleasant... /we don’t want to admit that we opened it out of curiosity /temptation in view of the contents/....etc.)
That would make a very nice movie plot......
Best regards.
*miss-tigri*
·3 years agoHello
If the seller was able to provide eBay with proof of shipment of the package, they can request removal of the feedback ..
https://www.ebay.fr/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-performance-policy/seller-performance-defect-removal-policy?id=4352
For the rest, you were refunded, that's the main thing ..If the package is lost, it will be returned to the sender, who can claim a refund from the post office if they file a complaint.
aurlon39
OP3 years agoHello,
Ah ok about the evaluation. I was wondering on my own whether we could remove it since there’s the benefit of the doubt for the seller. Surprised to see it had already been done.
Can the seller open a dispute against me afterward? Because if the package is actually lost (I’d rather say stolen, but I don’t understand how since an ID card was required to pick it up), it’s neither his fault nor mine. But now there is a tracking number that seems correct.
*miss-tigri*
·3 years agoThe seller can't dispute this against you ..He is the one responsible for getting the package delivered until it is received, and it's up to him to start a procedure with the postal service.
aurlon39
OP3 years agoThank you very much for your responses.
Anonymous User
·3 years agoHello, what do you want the seller to do? For him, your package has been delivered; if the post office doesn't do its job properly, it’s enough for someone to show the delivery notice from the postman, which may have been stolen from your mailbox, and he gives them the package. Indeed, and normally you need an ID card. Regards
aurlon39
OP3 years agoHello,
I've always been asked for ID at the post office (delivery drivers are another story...), so I was surprised to have handed my parcel over to who knows who.
Anonymous User
·3 years agoyou leave negative feedback for your seller, for a mistake that the post office made I hope you don’t have to deal with someone hot-tempered
aurlon39
OP3 years agoHello, if you read my first message carefully, I had left the negative review right after the dispute, when the seller had not been responding for days and gave no updates despite my requests. It was two days after the dispute ended that he finally provided a tracking number (and when I wanted to go and change my rating, I realized it was no longer there).
Anonymous User
·3 years agoactually change my note, tell me how