Beware, Ebay buyer protection is not effective!

[darkenergy2kz]

Hello,

Recently, I purchased some trading cards on ebay for a buyer that says they are located in Calgary. I figured since he live so close to me, I would just pay for it with Paypal because I thought I was safe with the eBay protection program. WRONG!

When I did not get the product for over 3 weeks, i begin to launch an issue with eBay. The seller was unresponsive until eBay decided to contact him. He gave eBay a tracking number that was address to Calgary. However, Canada Post only states which city it was going to and that is it. He won the case and I had to launch an appeal.

Now I have given Canada Post 2 calls to ask where the item was going. Unless I was the sender, they will not provide me with the address of where it was shipped to. I also asked them to give me some sort of documentation saying it wasn't sent to my address but Canada Post does not do that. They told me it wasn't to my home address and it was from a big electronics company. Canada Post told me that if I can get a customer service representative to call from eBay, they can confirm it was shipped to another address. I even provided the case number I started with Canada post along with their customer service number so eBay can just call them to confirm.

Fast forward to now, this is the email I got from eBay:

Thank you for contacting eBay customer service. I understand that would be upsetting not receiving the item you purchased. I would be happy to help you with this.

First off, I apologize for the delay in receiving this response. We've been experiencing a higher volume of emails from our members, we appreciate your patience.

After reviewing the details of the case ID XXXXXXXXX, it looks like the tracking information shows that the item was delivered to your address. When a seller is able to show that an item was delivered, we're not able to provide the buyer a refund. We also can't approve an appeal of a case decision when tracking shows an item has been delivered, we tried to create an exception for you by having the case on hold but we did not receive any documents from you. Please understand that we have to use tracking information as proof of delivery.

I understand your frustration. It's possible that the shipping carrier didn't deliver the item, or may have delivered it to the wrong address. At this point, I recommend you contact the shipping carrier to see if there's more information on where the package is to work on obtaining it.

To summarize, we can't provide a refund because tracking shows the item was delivered. You may want to follow up with the shipping carrier.

We appreciate your understanding.

Sincerely,
XXXXX
eBay Customer Service

So May this be a fair warning, eBay is not as safe as you think it is.

[femmefan1946]

You purchased cards from an Alberta seller.

He shipped using a Delivery Confirmed service.

Canada Post records show the purchase as being delivered.

You have not received the cards.

Go to the local Postal Outlet and ask if the parcel is waiting for you. It may be on a shelf.

Go to the local Post Office and report the problem. The postmaster may have other reports of similar problems. Perhaps it is an internal problem, or perhaps a thief is targetting your neighbourhood. He will want to know in either case.

Ask your family/housemates if they have seen the parcel. It may have been delivered, put down where it couldn't possibly get overlooked and..... Murphy's Law kicked in.

Canada Post only states which city it was going to and that is it.

Well, no.

If the item was tracked it was tracked to the address on the package. It is possible it was mis-addressed, or delivered to the wrong mailbox, but the tracking does show the address.

They told me it wasn't to my home address and it was from a big electronics company. 

Which means the number the seller supplied was incorrect. It could be an error on his part, or it could be a fantasy number he made up.

This would be grounds for an appeal. PHONE and ask eBay about this. Pee first, have a beverage and a good book handy. You will spend a lot of time on Hold.

OR

Forget eBay and Canada Post.

Go to the credit card you really paid with. (Paypal is just a useful mediator.) Phone the 1-800 customer service number and ask about a chargeback. The clerk will need dates, transaction numbers, payments, and currency information to process your refund.

[suebelly]

Just had the same thing happen, except that I received a refund for two of the items in my order but not for a third because the seller supposedly provided proof one of the three items that were shipped together was delivered and eBay believed them.

Not only did I not receive any of the items from that order but I was unable to track the package once it passed the US border into Canada so I have no idea how the seller could have provided tracking info showing that it was delivered when no tracking info available.

Also, how  is it possible to receive only one of three items that were sent in the same package?? I'm beginning to think Ebay is allowing sellers to provide fraudulent tracking info.

I've been a long time buyer from this particular seller so I'm not sure why they would think that after spending thousands of dollars over the past decade buying from them that I would suddenly decide to lie about a $25 item.

I appealed eBay's decisions three days ago based on the above info, but still haven't heard anything back on my appeal.

Unfortunately, I now have a second order from the same seller that is overdue, and I'm left wondering what is going on and if it it doesn't show up, will I be able to get a refund of the money I paid.

I'm really frustrated that this could happen, it seems to be a new trend and I think it may create a swift decline in Ebay buyers. I know after more than a decade of shopping on eBay, this incident has really left me concerned about the lack of protection eBay is providing to buyers. I'm already looking elsewhere for my online shopping. 

[marnotom!]

---

@suebelly wrote:

Not only did I not receive any of the items from that order but I was unable to track the package once it passed the US border into Canada so I have no idea how the seller could have provided tracking info showing that it was delivered when no tracking info available.

---

Were the items sent directly to you by mail?  If so, did you check both postal services' websites (USPS and Canada Post)?

[dmil8030]

Hello 'darkenergy2kz', 

<< I purchased some trading cards on ebay for a buyer that says they are located in Calgary.>>

Do you mean you purchased trading cards from a seller who is located in Calgary?  Yes? 

<<. . . over 3 weeks, i begin to launch an issue with eBay. The seller was unresponsive until eBay decided to contact him.>>

Did you yourself make any attempt to contact the seller or did go straight to the claims process?

When you initially purchased the cards, were you given a tracking number at that time?  

Were the cards valuable enough to warrant a tracked shipment?

In your paypal transactions as well as in the paypal receipt sent to your regular email, you should see the seller's

address.  Is it a large business or is it an ordinary private dwelling?  Exactly how 'close to you' is it?  

Your own address, -- is it a house, an apartment, a condo?

Where is your mail usually delivered, -- through a mail slot in your door, a mailbox on the wall of the house, an apartment

cubicle box, a community box down the block?  

Follow femmefan's advice, -  First ask anyone in your household if they may have knowledge of the items.  

Ask your neighbours if they may have received it by mistake.  If the package was incorrectly labelled the recipient 

may not know what to do with it.

Next try you local postal outlet because that is where parcels are held for you if you need to sign for them and so on.  

This place may be in a Shopper's or some other retail shop.  

Be sure to take a copy of the receipt including your address and the shipper's address.  

Take with you a government issue ID, such as driver's license or something with your address & photo on it.

Then, if that is no use, try the actual Post Office.  Take your papers there and of course, any alleged 'tracking number'

you may have been given.  Whatever the problem with the delivery/tracking thing, Canada Post needs to know that 

something in the system failed.

<<Canada Post ... told me it wasn't to my home address and it was from a big electronics company. >>

That's 2 things, right?  Are you saying Canada Post confirmed that the package was not delivered to your home address?

And further, that the package was mailed from a "big electronics company"?

Hmmm,  does the "big electronics company" have the same address as the seller in your paypal receipt?

<<Canada Post told me that if I can get a customer service representative to call from eBay, they can confirm it was

shipped to another address.>>

So basically Canada Post admits it was sent to a different address from the one from which you, the buyer, paid as 

evidenced on your paypal receipt.  Is that what you are saying?  

Because if that is so, then clearly they should not need word from ebay, -- proof of your current address (as shown on 

both your government issue ID and the paypal receipt for the items) ought to be sufficient to ascertain you, the purchaser, 

did not receive your items.  

What am I missing?

[dmil8030]

Hello 'suebelly', 

<<... refund for two of the items in my order but not for a third because the seller supposedly provided proof one of the three ... was delivered >>

This sounds as if the seller only sent one item but refunded the other two.   A seller can either show delivery or not.

Were you provided a tracking number when you paid?  

<<Not only did I not receive any of the items. . . I was unable to track the package once it passed the US border into Canada>>

That sounds like you were given a number of some sort.   Try this, -- carefully cut & paste the number into the postal 

website.  I find that clicking on numbers in the Purchase History or an email rarely works as well as doing it directly.

To track an item once it crosses the border into Canada:

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/track/personal/findByTrackNumber?execution=e1s1

For the American USPS tracking site:
https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input

[pjcdn2005]

If the seller entered the tracking info on ebay and that's how you are checking the tracking, you will probably see the info given by the USPS and it's common for that information not to be updated once it leaves the country. If you go directly to Canadapost.ca you can check the tracking number there.  Of course if it shows as delivered, I'm not sure what to suggest. The reason that you may have been refunded for 2 of the items is that the seller may have uploaded tracking on ebay for one item only so when ebay looked at the tracking, they saw that the one item had been delivered.   Have you talked to ebay on the phone? You might want to do that instead of waiting for the appeal.

[maximus7001]

Each side of every block of every street in Canada has it's own postal code. It is a very accurate system of codes. Is the postal code for that tracking number's delivery the same as your postal code? Did you look?

USA zip codes have 99999 combinations because they are all numbers so they will never be specific like our postal codes. Adding 4 digits was a useless attempt at trying to fix the root problem.

26 x 10 x 26 x 10 x 26 x 10 = 17576000 is the number of possible postal codes in Canada.

[pierrelebel]

An extended ZIP+4 code, introduced in 1983, includes the five digits of the ZIP code, a hyphen, and four additional digits that determine a more specific location within a given ZIP code.