eBay

frasic · ‎04-11-2017

I'm asking for help on a recent purchase. On Feb 2nd, I ordered a figure from China. Price seemed to good to be true but purchased it anyways. The buyer had some negative feedback but minimal at that time. Fast forward to a few months later, I didn't receive the figure, tried to reach out to seller but no response, I then opened a claim to ebay, at that point, seller provided a tracking number to ebay (he never provided me any tracking number) that shows items was delivered.

I asked Ebay to step in, EBay's decision was to not reimburse although: Seller increasingly is getting negative feedback for fraudulent orders, has never respond to any of my request and hasn't proved to me or Ebay that the address the item was shipped to was in fact MY address (the buyer). I have called twice Ebay explaining my situation and they are putting the responsibility on the Buyer to prove that the seller or shipper provided the wrong address!

I've asked twice to talk to a manager or supervisor and Ebay appeal agent assured me I'd be called in 24 hours. First time, I didn't get a call, second request, I anticipate a call by end of day today.

Regardless, my issue is that I provided the right information as address was taken from my paypal account as always. Now weither the Seller or the Shipper did a mistake, it should be the SELLERS responsibility to prove since the buyer did not send the package and only has limited information to go with.

At a minimum, I would assume that the buyer must provided proof that the address provided to shipping company is the one the buyer provided. This can be done by the Seller providing an invoice or copy of the original tracking receipt that includes both the tracking number and buyers address.

For now, EBay's position is that it is up to the buyer to prove any of this. After checking with the shipping company the tracking says "Recipient not located at address provided. Item being returned to sender." So since I provided the right address (i.e. automatically through Paypal) this Seller provided the wrong address or the shipper did a mistake. Regardless, the SELLER needs to be responsible until the package is delivered. Ebay Agent told me "the seller can simply create a fake invoice".... And yes I agree, but lets make it harder for bad sellers.... It's the same as a car alarm. it won't stop all thief's but it will some. This and make the seller responsible for delivery to buyer will deter criminals.

And the kicker, since the package took more than 60 days to deliver, I can't put any negative feedback! So... this is a perfect situation for fraud to continue. How you say? simple,

You sell something bogus
You ship and make sure it takes over 60 days to deliver (so that a buyer will not input any rating)
You ensure that you deliver in the same city but mess up the civic number/name so it cannot be delivered
Make sure the item returns to buyer

The above is a recipe for Fraud to continue.

EBAY, now that you know of this, why not fix this and not keep as your position that we go by the Ebay policy put in place. Clearly the policy has a major gap.

femmefan1946 · ‎04-11-2017

You bought on Feb 2

The figure did not arrive

You opened an INR claim

The seller provided eBay with tracking that showed Delivery

You lost your Claim -- although the item was not in fact delivered to your address.

Unless the figure was very valuable, it is probably not economical for the seller to set up a fake address for you.

So the problem was probably in Canada.

Do you have a date for the supposed delivery?

Go to your local PO and ask if they have a record of the item being returned around that date or about a week later.

The civic address is less of a problem than the postal code. The first sort at the PO is by postal code. Most codes are only one postal walk, and a carrier quickly gets to know the names on her walk. Most carriers can read, it's almost a prerequisite for the job. And if the code is messed up there is a group at the terminal working on correcting and matching codes and addresses.

You are still covered by Paypal's Buyer Protection, but the proof of delivery will be the sticking point.

You need something that shows the item has been returned to the seller.

You may also be able to file with the credit card that you back your PP account with. Their customer service number is on the back of the card or on your monthly invoice. Be polite to the clerk who is looking after your refund.

BTW-- while Japanese and Korean anime firms often use Chinese manufacturers for their figures, any that are sold directly from China are counterfeit. So you were dealing with crooks from the start. Supporting the actual creators is a better choice.