eBay

i*m-still-here · ‎10-19-2013

I bought an item for $600 and it didn't arrive. It was shipped with tracking of sorts and showed as being lost at the border.

Very Odd.

The seller made me wait 45 days for a refund but about a weak ago she refunded and I completed the insurance form.

She must have received her refund a few days ago.

I just saw that the item is listed again under a different seller's name.

This 100% guaranteed the same item.

No doubt.

Man............ what a scam.

I called shipsurance but it's Saturday and still early in California.

I wonder if they can recover their money?

marnotom! · ‎10-22-2013

@i*m-still-here wrote:

The seller did not buy online shipping.
She mailed from the PO.

First Class International items with postage purchased from the post office and mailed from there likely won't get full tracking, which may be why the tracking dead-ends the way that it does. Registering an international shipment isn't a substitute for tracking.

Under the "international" tab on this page:

Registered Mail provides additional protection and security in dispatch and conveyance within the United States. Limited indemnity is included. Individual country prohibitions and restrictions apply.

Why was registered mail used, anyway? Assuming a mailing weight of a kilo, it would have cost only twelve bucks more to send the item by Express...

i*m-still-here · ‎10-22-2013

It was the seller's choice of mailing method and the way she declared had nothing to with me either.

The tracking is VERY detailed.

It was scanned three times and the final two scans are missing.

There should have been 5 scans and there are three and so what's wrong with that?

I would have shipped exactly the same way.

Nothing wrong with that at all.

marnotom! · ‎10-22-2013

It's great that the tracking is detailed, but as the quoted description of International Registered Mail states, the mailing method itself only provides security within the United States. In other words, once the item leaves the country, it's anybody's guess as to how securely it's handled.

And is that tracking detailed enough that the item would be returned to the sender if there was only a barcode to go by?

If your seller had sent that item unregistered through the post office, there's every possibility that the tracking would have ended where it did anyway. I'm not sure that it's "missing" two scans. I think it's more a case that the item was mailed in such a way that it wasn't set up to receive scans outside of the United States.

i*m-still-here · ‎10-22-2013

marmotom.........

According to everyone I've discussed this with at customs and the CPO it was lost in Montreal and should have been scanned on the way out of the building and upon delivery.

No one is debating that.

Also, you're the one who pointed out that it should have been returned to the States if there was a problem and not put into a Canadian CPO auction.

You were right about that.

You don't need detailed tracking to return it to the US.

marnotom! · ‎10-22-2013

@i*m-still-here wrote:

Also, you're the one who pointed out that it should have been returned to the States if there was a problem and not put into a Canadian CPO auction.
You were right about that.
You don't need detailed tracking to return it to the US.

You never said anything about the postal auction being a Canadian one. You just said the new seller claimed that he bought it from a postal auction.

And, no, one doesn't need detailed tracking information to return the item to the United States, but you do need the seller's address in order for it to be returned to the seller, don't you?

pierrelebel · ‎10-22-2013

If Marcellus were to read every post in this thread from the beginning and read them again, he would exclaim:

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"

i*m-still-here · ‎10-22-2013

I've mentioned an auction many times.

The first time I mentioned it was post number 10............

Then as I communicated more with the seller he told me he bought it at a postal auction.

Post 12 I said I didn't know what kind of auction.

Post 21 the seller told me it was a postal auction.

I was getting more information as I posted.

Perhaps I shouldn't have responded to all your questions because they were misleading.

i*m-still-here · ‎10-22-2013

marmotom.......... why would you think I meant an American postal auction? I stated many times that the item was never returned to the States???

i*m-still-here · ‎10-22-2013

Hun......... I found my missing item listed in an eBay auction 52 days after it was mailed to me from me the States.

The first few posts are me explaining the situation, and the rest is me answering marnotom's questions and trying to figure out how it got there.

marnotom! · ‎10-22-2013

The second seller just told you that they bought the item at a postal auction.

How do you know for sure that the item was never returned to the United States? If it was returned to the United States for disposal (auction), there would likely be no reason to track it. That postal auction could very well have been located in the United States.

For that matter, how do you know for sure that the tracking number you were given was for your item?

i*m-still-here · ‎10-22-2013

marnotom .......... think about it.

Really?

pjcdn2005 · ‎10-23-2013

I find it difficult to believe that the item was put in a postal auction that quickly. I had an expedited USA parcel get lost a couple of years ago. They finally traced it to the 'lost parcel' place somewhere in eastern Canada. I'm sure if that parcel hadn't been claimed, they would have had to hold onto it for a few months before they could sell it.

What happened was when that parcel went through customs, while they were opening the box to check it, the shipping label got torn and most of it was unreadable. That was in my pre labelope days. That was also before my packing slip days. That is one of the reasons why I put in a packing slip so that if the label is unreadable, there is always an address inside the package.

i*m-still-here · ‎10-23-2013

Totally hard to believe and outrageous that's why I posted here.

The seller's theory is that they removed the item from the package at customs and somehow the item and package were separated and they couldn't match them up again.

marnotom had some ideas and I thought about each one but none fits.

They are supposed to keep items for 7 months.

Mine was on eBay in 52 days so they must have put it into the auction almost immediately.

I'm bidding on it now and there's a very good chance I'll win it again. I've decided to bid high and the auction is over in a few days.

If I win and have time on my hands maybe I'll see if anyone in the media is interested in my story.

Both sellers and I know it's the same item and if I have the two descriptions and the item it will by crystal clear to everyone else as well.

I'm pretty sure the ombudsman is going to cover for the PO, but if I have the item I hand there will be no denying it's the same piece.

However............ it's taken so much time already.......... even here explaining over and over............. not sure I want to keep on with it.

ut.babe · ‎10-23-2013

All I can say is that after all this you'd better be dang sure and tell us if you win it!!!!

The suspense is killing me!!!

pocomocomputing · ‎10-23-2013

Here is an interesting article on where lost or dead mail goes at Canada Post. It is from Sept 2011 so relatively recent.

http://www.thestar.com/business/2011/09/29/ever_lose_anything_in_the_mail_heres_where_it_all_ends_up...

Here is a very similar story (too similar?) of a Calgary man having an issue with a lost parcel being resold at auction this past year 2012.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-man-finds-his-lost-mailed-albums-on-ebay-1.1147751

http://www.marketnews.ca/content/index/page?pid=12716

i*m-still-here · ‎10-23-2013

My seller sent me that article about he guy in Calgary as well.

The difference is that my item was on eBay within 52 days of shipping and his took months.

What happened to keeping items for 7 months like the article says? (Not that it matters........... no one was looking for it even though we tried and tried and tried.)

It was shipped August 29th and the last scan was on September 3rd.

I was listed last Friday or Saturday ............. October 18-19th.

I'm going to put a nice bid on it but it has a lot of views.

I paid $600 last time but that was a steal.

I'll bet the new seller bought it for peanuts.

pierrelebel · ‎10-30-2013

So, a week later, what was the final price at auction? More than the original two months ago? Were you the high bidder?

pierrelebel · ‎11-04-2013

Two weeks later, bump for i*m-still-here

i*m-still-here · ‎11-06-2013

Thank you for asking. There was a death in the family and I haven't been here.

Yes, I was the high bidder and the item arrived about a week ago.

The piece is very different from my usual category, but even so I knew it was fantastic the moment I saw the listing.

I wasn't disappointed.

I'll give it some thought and perhaps post the item numbers.

Surprisingly enough it arrived undamaged.

i haven't heard back from the PO but with item in hand I guess I could pursue it with them.

However, the time involved is considerable and currently I'm dealing with my mother's estate and have my hands full with that.

nuvistors · ‎11-06-2013

@i*m-still-here wrote:
I've been in touch with the seller, and it turns out it was re-sold at a Postal Auction.

How can a tracked item get to a postal auction that fast?

Poor packaging.

The package was broken , the item was separated from the label , and the post office was unable to determine the intended recipient. Happens occasionally.