Package has been missing for six months

[fitzg-ian]

Long, LONG story short.

I ordered an item in June, but told the seller not to send it until the end of the month of June as I would be away for a week. He didn't and sent it too soon. It was listed as delivered the week I was away, and seven days later when I got back it wasn't there. Canada Post said it was "delivered" and should show off eventually. Royal Mail (it came from the UK) said the same. I waited a month and it never showed. I tried to put in a missing item request with eBay and PayPal, and both came to no avail, partly because the seller got mad that I froze his PayPal account in the process. So I had to cancel it as he got hostile. Either way, eBay still said it was delivered and the only option I had was to alert the police that the item had been stolen. But I don't know if that was the case.

Anywho, lots of back and frothing and it kind of became, it'll get to you or returned to sender someday. Six months later, I'm still out the package and the $200 bucks I paid.

Any advice? Need more info? I'm getting over this but I'm still bitter, for obvious reasons. Any help would be great. And please no finger pointing or blame shaming. I take full responsibility for any fault that was my own.

[avenueshopswapsell]

Was there insurance on the package?  

[dmil8030]

Hello 'fitg-ian' 

<<I . . .  told the seller not to send it until the end of the month of June as I would be away for a week.>>

As you now know, it is always best to wait until you are ready to receive before making a purchase.  Some sellers can 

get it right and follow that type of instruction perfectly, but sadly this appears not to be one of them.  

<< It was listed as delivered the week I was away, and seven days later when I got back it wasn't there. Canada Post

said it was "delivered" >>

Did you check with your local postal outlet to see if it was there?  Did you make any other inquiries?

You were provided a tracking number, yes?  This is how you know it was listed as "delivered", is that right?

<<put in a missing item request with eBay and PayPal, and both came to no avail, >>

Usually when an Item Not Received claim is launched, if a seller can show online proof of delivery a buyer will not 

win a claim.  But when you say, 

<<the seller got mad that I froze his PayPal account in the process. So I had to cancel it as he got hostile.>>

If ever you are serious enough to open a claim, being firm in the belief that you are entitled to due restitution, why in

blazes would you elect to cancel your own claim because someone on the other side of the world doesn't like it?

More to the point is that of course he was annoyed, -- he mailed the item and could prove delivery.

<< the only option I had was to alert the police that the item had been stolen. >>

Well, if the parcel was left on your doorstep it may indeed have been lifted.  But that is not the seller's fault.

Perhaps the postee should have left a claim check card  for you to retrieve the parcel, as for that you would need 

government issue ID, and best of all they would hold the parcel for 2 weeks (more if you call them).

Did the tracking number indicate if the parcel had been returned to the seller?  Obviously if the item was swiped from 

your doorstep it will not be returned to anyone.  Did you contact Canada Post about this?  (Not your local postal outlet 

in a pharmacy, - the actual Post Office).  You might try to file your complaint with them if they left an unattended parcel

where it was in plain sight of the neighbourhood.  

Have you asked your neighbour's if any of them received the parcel?  Perhaps it was delivered to the wrong door?

No matter.  If you paid with a credit card you can always try to call the 1-800 number Customer Service number on the 

back of the card and inquire if they can be of assistance.  After all this time I doubt if they will do anything, particularly 

since it was you who chose to purchase items prior to leaving.  

<< I take full responsibility for any fault that was my own.>>

That's good, as it will help you to make wiser decisions in future.  Never buy anything, no matter how irresistible, unless 

you can be absolutely sure you will be available to take delivery.  And when there is a problem, do not wait so long to 

seek resolution.  

I wish you all the best. 

[maximus7001]

Did you check the tracking number yourself? Does it say delivered to you with your postal code shown? Did you try it on both Canada post and royal mail websites?

Too late now anyways since you canceled the claim. Why would you do that?

Had you not canceled the claim you would have your $ back unless tracking actually shows delivered to YOU with your postal code, not just somewhere in Canada. If it went to your neighbor or anyone else on your side of the block then you are SOL.

[fitzg-ian]

Thanks for all the responses. I tried all the options months ago, and no one had a magic other option I had never considered/heard of before. All in all, I put too much trust in the seller; in the case of cancelling the initial search, the seller got hostile that his account had been frozen and I did what he told me to do. I'm an idiot.

[gilliankehler]

Did you try a chargeback on your credit card?
I got duped once, too. When you don't understand how the system works, some sellers take advantage of that. I've been lied to with false tracking info provided in emails to prevent me from opening claims until the deadline passes. I've been lied to directly by sellers in actual claims that eBay bots don't read and decide in the seller's favour. It's a crazy world out here on the internet!
To be fair, there are a LOT of bad buyers on eBay who are constantly trying to get their stuff for free, and I'm sure at some point it becomes tough for some sellers to keep being the good guy. 😞
That's the unfortunate risk we take shopping online, especially when we make special requests that sellers are not obligated to cater to, such as holding packages. If this ever happens again I would suggest putting a sign up on your front door and mailbox saying "Do not safedrop" and hopefully the courier will see that, and bring the parcel back to the post office and leave a Delivery Notification for you to pick it up.
Unfortunately all we can do is learn from our mistakes, count our losses and move on.