eBay

bdriscoll · ‎04-28-2025

I sold a cell phone 2 weeks ago on ebay. I am located in Canada and buyer is Miami. When he purchased he requested I use a specific carrier of which I declined and told him because I am in a small town in Canada that is not an option, that I will ship with Canada Post who then hands it off to USPS at customs. That I also had to use XpressPost because it included a signature verification (price was $1k). His first few messages to me were in Spanish and so I had to use google translate and eventually he began to communicate in English albeit not well. He seemed to ok with the shipping method so we pushed on and I shipped that same day (April 9th). I bought the shipping label from my local Canada Post and not through ebay labels to ensure I got signature included.

April 22nd rolls around and he asked why the item had not arrived yet. I checked the tracking on ebay and it was not displaying correctly so I checked with USPS and it showed as delivered on April 15th and signed for upon delivery. One week prior to him contacting me. I updated the tracking info on ebay (tracking was number was showing as incorrect) and ebays tracking then displayed correctly the same info as USPS, that it was successfully delivered and signed for on the 15th.

My hunch was that the buyer may have been using ebay to check tracking and because ebay wasn't showing correctly he perhaps was trying to get a free phone out of me. Anyway took a screenshot of USPS showing all the tracking info including that it was signed for and messaged that to him and also said politely that once I ship the item my obligation insofar as shipping goes has more or less been met and that he should inquire with his local USPS office for further assistance. I also gave him the spiel that perhaps someone else signed for him and to ask family members, neighbours etc... He then sends a very strange response back:

"The guide you placed for follow-up is not the same as the one you are investigating."

That clearly was not meant for me and was sent to my by accident. I answered that I did not understand the statement and he responds that his neighbours and family for sure did not sign for it. Then the messaging stops.

Fast forward to today (April 28) and he has opened an "Item Not Received" claim. I have not yet messaged him because I am unsure how to proceed further. Ebay is not much help when I call as it seems they follow a scripted flow chart to get me off the phone as soon as possible so here I am to ask you all how I should proceed. I wouldn't normally be so careful but it is $1k that I could possibly lose.

Note: a final anomaly is that the USPS tracking shows it was signed when received by myself. It says my name signed for it upon receipt. However I am in Canada and the buyer in Miami so it's impossible.

dinomitesales · ‎04-29-2025

The address you sent it to in Miami was almost certainly a freight-forwarder (you can probably confirm that by Googling the address), and the actual buyer was in another country. I suspect the buyer simply hasn't received the phone yet in his home country, despite it being shown as delivered/signed for in the USA.

If tracking shows delivered and signed for you should easily win any INR claim. Just make sure you re-enter the tracking number INTO the case details (even though it's already tied to the transaction). There should be an option to provide tracking details in the case itself.

bdriscoll · ‎04-29-2025

Thank you for the reply!

I googled the address earlier and it is a non-descript looking unit in an industrial park. Now that you. mentioned it is a freight forwarder I looked into it a bit more and the address is for a company called "Xxxxxxx Cargo". (I x'd out the first word for privacy).

The company description is as follows: "Xxxxxxx Cargo is a cargo shipping company based in Xxxxxx, FL, offering a range of services including the transportation of goods and products. With a focus on efficiency and reliability, they provide tracking options for customers to easily monitor their orders. Xxxxxxx Cargo is known for their prompt and professional service, ensuring that shipments are delivered in a timely manner."

So it seems you are correct it is some sort of shipping forwarder. Which is why he probably did not say much of anything when I asked him to check with his neighbours if they might have signed for it. I also suggested he contact local police for suspected theft/fraud and the local USPS office. He probably doesn't speak any english, the "neighbours" are just other non-descriptive businesses and it would also explain his strange message to me that was obviously intended for the cargo comapny.

Now it all makes sense but do you think this will be an open and shut case in my favour? I have replied to him since the original post here basically reiterating that I cannot do much on my end and that seeing it has been signed for that he will need to do leg work on his end etc...Althoug I don't see an option to input anything into case details. However he just filed the claim and I still have a couple of days to respond before ebay steps in. I wonder if that is when that option will beocme avaiable? When I do check the "update tracking info" it says I cannot update or change the number once the item has been delivered and the optionn is greyed out.

ilikehockeyjerseys · ‎04-29-2025

Contact the AskEbay account on Twitter or Facebook via Direct Message. If you don't have a Twitter account, you can make a sockpuppet account. You don't have to use your real name, be active on Twitter, etc. eBay has a process to link it to your eBay account. That customer service is run by actual eBay employees, and it is generally accepted by members of this forum that you will get a better experience.

When you contact them, consider that they have no background on the situation. For something like your situation, I find it usually helps to write it out before you contact them. I would write a clear and concise summary of what happened, and be very clear about what you're asking them to do for you. Which I assume is close the case since you have valid tracking.

You should also include the order number, buy username, item title, and INR request number.

If I recall, you need to add the tracking information into the INR case by the deadline, but I would contact the AskeBay account for help since this seems to be a bit nuanced. I would also point out that the buyer used a freight forwarder.