Tracking number doesn't work and item still hasn't been marked as shipped.

[cluckachuck]

My item is supposed to be delivered to my door between November 20th (today) and Nov 30th. The order status has been marked as "shipping info received" for almost a week and a half and the tracking number I was given does not work with USPS. I contacted the seller and they informed me that there is nothing to worry about. 

Should I be worried? The seller has good feedback. 

[esclyons]

from the looks of the seller's items... i suspect they may be a drop shipper, from overseas. lots of feedback for tracking not working, and items not received... i wish you luck..

, when and if you receive your item, check to see if it was indeed mailed from illinois. If it wasn't you may want to report the seller..

[femmefan1946]

A tracking number is a SELLER Protection.

If a seller is faced with an Item Not Received Dispute, she can put the tracking number into the Dispute and if it shows delivery (not shipping, delivery) the seller wins the dispute.

Buyers have three different levels of protection.

The first is the above-mentioned Dispute.

EBay gave you a window for delivery.

Today (20th) was the first day you could expect it. There are ten more days before:

You go to the Resolution Centre at the bottom of this page and open an Item Not Received Dispute.

Because you have already been in touch with the seller, you can skip the Contact Seller suggestion.

If the seller cannot prove delivery you are refunded.

Your second level of Buyer Protection is Paypal.

PP gives you 180 days from payment to open a Dispute-- but they will make you wait until November 30th.

Your third level is the credit card I hope you used to back your PP account. The card has a chargeback mechanism which varies from card to card.

So don't worry about tracking.

If it was sent, it will arrive.

The Post Office is good at its job.

But you will have to wait until the end of the month.

and the tracking number I was given does not work with USPS.

Something of a concern.

When did you buy the item and what was the seller's 'handling period'. Most sellers try to get items in the mail within 48 hours, but some for various reasons allow themselves longer.

marked as "shipping info received" for almost a week and a half

This sounds as if the seller has printed your label, but has not actually handed it over to the USPS.

Which is foolish and one of the reasons that sellers get neutral or negative feedback.

If the seller is less than 100% FB, does it show a pattern of slow delivery?

[momcqueen]

Where is the item located? What do you consider 'good' feedback? Most of us sellers here know that anything under 99.6 is, well......

[cluckachuck]

98.5% positive feedback, 10,000 Postive, 150 negative. Item is located in US (Illinois I believe) and I live in Ontario.

[cluckachuck]

Starting to feel very foolish. I should have looked at their negative reviews. A LOT of people had the same issue as I did and never received the item, or had a fake tracking number.

What should I do to insure myself? The item was fairly expensive.

[momcqueen]

As a buyer, all you can do is hope for the best and check what you get or don't get against your Estimated Delivery Date. Luckily, for you that's Nov. 30, that's not long to wait. If you have noting by Dec. 1, open an Item Not Received Case and whatever you do, DO NOT CLOSE IT until you have your money back. (Never ever accept an offer to replace from a seller who is already skirting policy; it is often although not always merely a tactic designed to lull you into closing your case or waiting too long to escalate it.) When you have your refund in-hand, chose another ebay seller with better feedback. Located closer even but if the seller claims the item is in the USA, that's not your fault, you were led astray. Good luck.

[justbiddingpeopleup]

It will arrive. Generally it takes over 3 months for the item to arrive. However, ebay has a limit of 2 months or so to leave feedback. Most of those negative feedbacks will be from ebay users who left negative feedback about not receiving their item, and them several months later they received their item.