Paypal disputes

[video game addict]

Won an auction, on Sunday OCT 2

 

On OCT 15, which was Friday evening, 11 shipping days later I emailed to ask where my package was. No response.

 

I sent another on the 17th, Sunday night, a couple days later, and after a full 2 weeks had passed since close of auction, & receipt of payment.

 

I got a reply on the 18th Monday, they told me item shipped around the 5th or 6th. It was suppose to have shipped priority.

 

This past Thursday the 21th I decided to file a complaint thru Paypal. Still not having received the games, I looked at the transaction details on Paypal, and saw there was a DC number which is listed as:

 

"electronically notified by the shipper or shipping partner on October 03, 2004 to expect your package for mailing."

 

 

So it looks as though they created a DC number but never sent it out.

 

But it was done through Paypal. And I received the email from Paypal :

 

Your purchase will be shipped by PayPal Shipping with U.S. Postal Service®!

 

So I'm guessing to go through that, it has already been paid for too right? The shipping I mean? I'm wondering what happens if they miscalculate the weight & it costs more than what was paid for how is this handled, do they return to sender?

 

 

It was never received on my end, the tracking number doesn't work, and in the past week they've had a few problems there are two Negs in the last week one for no receipt of goods, another just for long wait & not as described. But many more positves. So I saw Negs I saw a bad tracking number, I had an email telling me my priority package had been mailed out 2+ weeks ago, and I decided to file a complaint.

 

Now the fun stuff, this complaint has locked up the sellers account. But what good does it do? Would I receive my money back if they really shipped & used Paypal on top of that, but it never arrived? Are they liable? Maybe they packaged poorly & it was damaged, or label fell off somehow, during shipping? Or like I said maybe returned, or just sitting somewhere because not enough postage was used? Who knows what...

 

I'm just pissed I sent someone $80 for an item that hasn't arrived, and there's not much to help or find it.

 

So how does Paypal work in case like this? Will they side for the Seller since he paid for shipping (I would have to assume) & shipped to my confirmed address & used tracking? Or would they side for the buyer, since the goods never arrived & they can check into the tracking number & see no signs it ever left the sellers house?

 

Maybe it really is lost in the mail?

 

Do you receive a receipt if you used Paypal to ship, what proof do you have that you actually carried to the post office?

 

I have spoke with the seller over this & he seems very adamant that I drop the dispute & he is saying he would refund the money to me if I drop. I would think(I don't really know) that having the dispute open right now, on his end there would still be a way to refund even with the locked Paypal account? That he could go to the dispute itself & have the option of refunding the payment? Am I wrong in believing this?

 

He said he can't do anytihng until I cancel it. But if I cancel I guess I have little recourse, should he suddenly change his mind on a refund after the fact.

 

What should I do?

[kheffington]

First, do not cancel the complaint as it is the only hope you have to recover the money, unless of course your item arrives.

 

The postage was paid, but that does not mean that he actually mailed the item and I do not think that paypal will accept it as delivery proof which is what they require.

 

He would still need to take the package to the post office and hand it to a postal employee. It has been my experience that they always weight the package and scan in the delivery confirmation number. The post office then prints out a receipt and hands it to me. This appears to be the standard routine.

 

In general, not always, the delivery confirmation information on the USPS site does not list the item other than to say that they have been informed to expect it. This changes when the item has been delivered.

 

I would ask them if they have a receipt for the item when it was delivered to the post office.

[kheffington]

By the tracking number does not work on the USPS site, do you mean it can not find the number?

 

If so, I think that would mean that they never mailed the item. The number should be usable and valid at USPS if it was delivered to the Post Office.

 

When you purchase postage thru paypal, you can still cancel the purchase within 48 hours if you do not mail the item. Do not know if you would be able to see if they requested a refund on postage though.

[video game addict]

No just that it comes up as accepted for mailing:

 

9101 1288 8230 0089 0102 41

 

http://www.usps.com/shipping/trackandconfirm.htm

 

 

But the guy acted like he would give me a refund if I could take down the complaint. But my main question I have now is if he could close it himself by issuing a refund. Or maybe he's really shut out until Paypal makes a decision?

 

I think he shipped it, or at least paid Paypal & printed the shipping label.

 

And he assures me he hand carried it to the PO, along with 8 other packages.

 

And does have decent feedback 97.8% with over 200 positive, although he's left less than 50 total for other people.

 

He kind of struck me as a prick over the phone, but that's to be expected since I've caused his paypal account to freeze But he thinks I would be wasting my time in filing it anyway since he paid for shipping through them & it had tracking.

 

He told me he's had 4 lost or damaged claims through the post office just in the last couple months, and he's had 9 returned packages, by not putting enough postage on them or something. And also that this is not the first time the DC numbers have messed up for him, that it's done that several times as well all from a seller with less than 6 months experience under belt & aprox 200 auctions. I think he was tring to blow smoke up my ass. I had told him in previous email I've done well over 2000 transactions over past 5+ years & had around two lost packages in that time. I actually told him zero lost packages within the US, but I was mistaken, I forgot about one that happened earlier this year or late last year, but I did have 1 lost package within the US in the last year or so of ebaying. But only 3 now with over 2000 successful, his track record is no where near as good.

 

But this was in my email, I had explained why I was filing the complaint to him, that I was upset in not having these yet, that although he seems like a honest seller, I've got some concerns & the few recent negs to his account, even though it's mostly positive, makes me think they are not keeping track of their auctions or getting things out in a timely manner.

 

I don't know I'm still unsure which way to go. I think maybe he would truly give a refund of my money if I remove the complaint, but at same time if I don't, then he probably will be even more pissed if I let it ride & I know for certian then there would be no refund from his own goodwill. Only through Paypal if they decide in my favor. But even that could be a tossup, if he really paid, but that's why I brought it up here. I'm curious what others think.

 

Maybe I'm to blame for not getting it insured.

[itsralph]

 

He told me he's had 4 lost or damaged claims through the post office just in the last couple months, and he's had 9 returned packages, by not putting enough postage on them or something. And also that this is not the first time the DC numbers have messed up for him, that it's done that several times as well all from a seller with less than 6 months experience under belt & aprox 200 auctions.    I think he was tring to blow smoke up my ass.  

 

Then I would definately not drop the claim, either he is really stupid or is playing you, either way at this point it is his problem to resolve, not yours. If he says he will refund your money then he can do that as a resolution to your claim and they will then process the refund and unfreeze his account. If you drop the claim then you are saying it is resolved, and you are then SOL if it never arrives. BTW the tracking number is not really a tracking number, it is a delivery confirmation number, and it only show that the postage was paid and then that the delivery was made, nothing at all in between.

[Lost Monkey]

I think maybe he would truly give a refund of my money if I remove the complaint, but at same time if I don't, then he probably will be even more pissed if I let it ride & I know for certian then there would be no refund from his own goodwill.

 

He could remove the complaint himself RIGHT NOW by just resolving the complaint via giving you a refund.

 

I wouldn't remove the complaint.

[holygrailvideogames.com]

Do NOT drop the claim. If you drop it the only chance that you will get your money back would be if you file a complaint with your credit card company. If he really wants you to withdraw the complaint he can send you a Postal money order for the full amount and then you can withdraw the complaint.

 

Did you pay for insurance?

 

In his defense I will say that I have had some problems receiving packages shipped through stamps.com and through the click and ship program. I have had two packages that used these services take over 2 weeks to get to me that were sent priority mail (one took over 3 weeks and it did have my correct address on it). I don't know why this is but there have been other times I have had packages shipped through these two methods take a longer than normal time to get to me as well. I have thought about using both services to help speed up the time that it takes me to get packages ready but I haven't used them yet because of the delayed shipping that I have notices at times through these services.

[dvdguy]

As an Ebay seller myself, I have run into this problem from time to time. Once you pay for shipping through Stamps.com, it generates that message that the post office has been notified to expect the item for shipment.

 

Now when I take these items to the post office, they just take them from me. They are not scanned in. And this has come back to burn me several times. Items I've paid for and shipped will seemingly go into this limbo-land. 2-3 weeks go by and that message at USPS.com won't change. It's very frustrating as a seller because you've done everything you are supposed to do, but the buyer still thinks you're trying to rip them off. If it happens several times... bam... bye bye PayPal privledges. :-(

[dvdguy]

BTW the tracking number is not really a tracking number, it is a delivery confirmation number, and it only show that the postage was paid and then that the delivery was made, nothing at all in between.

 

That's not true. I often see Delivery Confirmation information showing each location the package is scanned at. It'll show that it was accepted at my post office, then scanned at the local hub, then scanned again at the buyer's local hub, and then again upon delivery.

[Philflound]

When my printer was working (power supply fried, I hope only this), I would print my own labels but NEVER EVER did I pay for postage. The clerks at the p.o. would sometimes give me a hard time telling me I can't do this. I said, if I couldn't do it, then how did I do it? It's their system.

 

Anyway, the reason I don't pay for shipping online is because of problems like this. If I drop it off at the post office, pay for shipping on the spot, make sure the weight is correct, then the minute they take the package, THEY are responsible for it, not me. I email the winning bidder their tracking number and wash my hands clean.

 

Keep the claim filed. You by yourself may not have frozen the paypal account. THe seller may have had others complaining too, so the joint effort of filing claims may have frozen it.

 

Phil

[itsralph]

BTW the tracking number is not really a tracking number, it is a delivery confirmation number, and it only show that the postage was paid and then that the delivery was made, nothing at all in between.

 

That's not true. I often see Delivery Confirmation information showing each location the package is scanned at. It'll show that it was accepted at my post office, then scanned at the local hub, then scanned again at the buyer's local hub, and then again upon delivery.

 

I have only seen that for Express and Global Express, not Priority Delivery Confirmation. That doesn't make me an expert of course, but here is from the USPS website:

 

Delivery status information includes information about the date and time of delivery or attempted delivery will be displayed.

 

It may(but is not required to) include the date and time of when it was picked up or accepted for shipment.  

It does not include tracking of the package enroute.

If there is no scan event information available for your mailing, you will receive a message similar to one of the following:  

"No information is available for this item. Please contact the sender."  

"There is no record of that item. If it was mailed recently, information may not yet be available. Please try again later."  

This does not mean that the item has not been mailed. It just means that it has not been scanned in as having been delivered.  

If you are the addressee, you should contact the sender for more information regarding when it was mailed.  

If you are the sender, you can check back at a later time (status information is usually updated every evening).