Advice on missing package

[GregMitch34]

Well, it's finally happened. A card sold via eBay, sent to someone halfway across the U.S., has gone missing. Was mailed first-class 12 days ago and shipping tracks it to the major mail center not far from my home--where tracking stops. I filed for a USPS probe a few days ago and they are due to update me today but no change in tracking so far. It was a Pay Pal purchase. No insurance beyond the $50 I guess you get with tracking. Any advice on 1) what happens when USPS tells me they are coming up empty--and how long to wait until it's clear it's gone 2) getting any compensation via PayPal or eBay.

I've kept the buyer fully informed on all this.

Thanks for anything!

[insccollectibles]

Hey Greg,


This happened to me last month. I sent a card across country that made it to a distribution center close to his house in California. Than no update for a week in a half. The card ended up in New Jersey at a distribution center than was resent to the buyer in California. No explanation but the card ended up making its way. I've also had the distribution center and the mailman forget to scan the card but it still arrived to the buyer. Of course this depends on the ethics of the buyer and I was lucky they were honest.

[bnorth]

I have had this happen a lot. If you sent first class with tracking you have 0 insurance unless you paid extra for it. In reality there is nothing that can be done other than hope it turns up. Ebay and paypal will not help you out, but ebay might make you refund the buyer. This is my experience.

I have never lost a package, some just take a long time to get there. I sent Leon $ for a t-shirt and it took 28 or 29 days to get there but it finaly did. For me the big thing is communication with the person who is supposed to get the package. Hope it shows up for you.

[npa589]

1) I usually wait 3 weeks, staying in contact with the buyer the whole time assuring them that they'll be refunded if it doesn't show up. It's annoying, yes, but of the 3 parties who are most responsible for the loss of the package, the seller is always 2nd place, albeit a distant 2nd. When I've refunded buyers, I tell them "If it does eventually make it to you somehow, you can then re-send payment then."

2) Unless something has changed, you will receive no compensation from PayPal/eBay.

Hope it shows up!

[KCRfan1]

Greg, it sounds like you are doing all you reasonably can with the situation. I hope the buyer is being reasonable as well. The USPS is pretty good, and with the volume of mail they handle mistakes are few and far between. The buyer, while anxious to receive their purchase, needs to be patient and give some more time for the package to arrive. I trust you will be patient too. I had a purchase take 10 days from NJ to arrive to me in KC. The card arrived to me after spending a few days in the Houston postal system. Mail may get misdirected, but it usually ends up where it needs to go. I would think that 30 days is more than fair for a package to arrive. Since you are the seller, I hope the buyer gets his purchase. Otherwise, I expect Ebay to refund the buyer.

[steve B]

The tracking of course depends on the package actually getting scanned.

I had an item I bought that somehow missed scanning for nearly its entire trip through USPS. Tracking showed the label as having been printed, then.....Nothing. And nothing showed for a couple weeks. I asked the seller if it had actually shipped since I've had stuff get missed at the bottom of a box or under something else on the desk.

USPS didn't help by changing the expected delivery date to whatever the date would be the next day. (Neat way to be 99.9% on time, simply adjust the expected delivery date )

Then one day it was scanned as "out for delivery" and arrived with that days mail.

Steve B

[pawpawdiv9]

if send by USPS priority mail--- you get $50 insurance included and with tracking as well.

the only thing i lost, was my submission to Beckett. It made it to my atlanta center and it stopped...didnt make it to Texas (if i remember thats where Beckett is)...this was several years ago...and i no longer use Beckett and use SGC these days...

One thing i did do, was get insurance, in which i filed my claim and got my money,
I learned (anything over 100, to ship priority mail (small box) or whatever.
anything less could always go in bubble mailer (pending any issues of cards bending) -- in which i use the priorty boxes.

Note: if buying insurance, its makes them sign for the package (signature confirmation)

[ibuysportsephemera]

I have had this happen from time to time. As weird as it sounds, if you sign up for the email alerts on the package, sometimes it shows up within a day or two.

Jeff