Need Some Guidance

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by BobC

Eric,

I didn't say he should be thankful his card/money was stolen, I said he should be thankful it wasn't an even more valuable card, worth maybe thousands, instead of just a few hundred dollars. That is a HUGE difference.

And as for not having lost anything, if the authenticator says his package arrived empty, with no card in it, the money he was supposed to get for the sale will most definitely be taken back and given to the buyer, and there is now no card to return to the seller. So, whichever way you want to look at, the seller has most definitely lost something, either the $300 he sold the card for, or the card itself. And having the tracking number doesn't really mean anything if the seller can't also prove he actually put the card in the package he sent. Continuing to harangue Ebay about this may not be the best course either. One of the reasons Ebay set this authentication program up was to protect themselves against bad sellers trying to send empty packages to buyers, and then claiming the buyer lied about not receiving the card(s). Ebay was not directly involved in the mailing/receipt of these transactions before their authentication program, and so had no real way to determine who was actually telling the truth. Now though, since the package was sent and received by Ebay's authentication agent, supposedly they have the agent's evidence/testimony that the card was not included in the package sent by the seller, and can much more easily and readily deny the seller's claim.

Hopefully, as brought up by others, the seller's inquiry may lead to an investigation, either with the authenticator, and/or the postal service, and one of them can maybe investigate and find out that there may have been some theft involved after all. But that is not a guarantee at all that he is going to ever get his card back, or that someone will reimburse him for what he had sold it for. So, if nothing else, best case scenario is he is at least out the use of the money he was supposed to have received from selling this card, and now has to endure the worry and stress of whether or not he'll ever get the money or the card back, so he can try re-selling it again. Plus, he's also out the time and effort he has to put forth to pursue this entire issue. Worst case, he's out the money and the card. In any case, he has most definitely lost something though.

But I do agree that the original message he got saying the card was not as described should give him some hope that this is possibly just some screw-up or misplacement on the authenticator's behalf. Saying an item is not as described is way different than saying we didn't get it at all. But the additional fact that he was told on the phone by an actual person that this package was missing the card, does not bode well for his argument, and recovery of the card or the money he sold it for.

Sorry, we have differing opinions. I'll leave it at that, though.