This is why I hate eBay--INR case closed in my favor, BUT

[SA]

They gave a courtesy refund to my buyer.
For $209.99

WHY EBAY?  WHY?

[labbypaws]

I would have had Insurance on it. USPS gets a non-scan signature or is supposed to get one.

[SA]

It was scanned as delivered. She admitted that tracking showed delivered, but she hasn't seen it. It was a "courtesy" refund.  I don't think insurance would have done an ounce of good.

[Deleted]

Utterly ridiculous!

I just don't get it. I can see there being a dollar amount under which it's not worth Ebay's time to hassle with it and they'll give a first time courtesy discount, but that amount is WAY TOO HIGH! $25, yes. Hundreds, NO!

[Deleted]

Labby, they don't get a signature unless you pay for signature confirmation, do they?

[Deleted]

This was the 3x Lilly top, right? That's crazy. She probably regretted spending so much once the frenzy was over.

Have you checked to see what else she bought?

[kritter]

I agree with ahrn.

Once she saw the prices dropping on her top, she realized she bought in a frenzy and now regretted it.

Lying was her strategy.

[jellybeanscloset412]

Yes definitely buyer remorse.
 Ebay on the other hand is just crazy. Why have all of these policies in place in they are going to just do what they want? They bust my bananas with a defect / star system over a 10 or 20.00 sale and then refund someone 200.00?

[val2525]

Because it's Monday, and I don't like Mondays, I'd call her post office and see what the carrier has to say about the delivery. It would be interesting to see if perhaps they actually gave it to someone in the house personally (at the door). If the carrier did, I'd send an email to Ina with all the details. You know, to show how eBay is throwing away money and not researching anything. Make ebay look stupid (not that ebay needs help to do that).

Because I'm bitchy like that on Mondays.

[val2525]

Hey Liz, go post on Ina's topic today:

www.ecommercebytes.com/C/letters/blog.pl?/pl/2015/5/1431292182.html

[labbypaws]

If an item has $200 or more insurance, they get a signature. Not the kind for PayPal but they are supposed to get a signature.

[SA]

Yes, it was the 3X LP4T top. The buyer purchased 5 or 6 other LP4T items. All the same size. All different items. And she dropped a pretty penny for each of them. She purchased no identical items to mine for cheaper.

I did not have insurance on it. I don't insure anything unless it's breakable or over $250. This was cutting it close, but still didn't see a need to.

If I get time today, I'll write on Ina's page.

[labbypaws]

If she would have contacted you first, I would have called her PO and asked for her carrier. See if he or she remembered delivering the package.

I use a special tape so usually the carriers remember mine. It makes it easy to spot if I have to do a recall or try to locate a package in transit that has gone wayward.

I hate scammers and usually spend a bit of time trying to find wayward packages. Not like I have to but I hate seeing someone get away with theft.

[Deleted]

I would actually think about being a little creepy and try to find her on Facebook to see if she posts any pictures wearing the shirt.

[somany]

I had a $50 item a couple of months ago that they paid out on for INR that showed delivered. It was delivered to a university so it's possible the university mailroom put it in a wrong box, but I still don't like the trend as we pay for it in the end with higher FVF's, etc.

My breakpoint for being "self-insured" is $25. Anything that I list for more than $25, I ship (and charge for) a PFRE. Occasionally I charge for First Class and pay the difference but want the insurance provided by Priority.

[SA]

May 12, 2015 19:57:28 GMT @velvetcloset said:

I would actually think about being a little creepy and try to find her on Facebook to see if she posts any pictures wearing the shirt.

HA!  I've already checked there and Twitter using their eBay ID, email address and name.  Nothing.

I got a message from a different buyer today that prompted me to open my messages, and I missed one from eBay.  

IT.IS.SO.WEIRD.

So, the buyer did a return request for INR on 6 May.
I responded with the tracking number on 7 May.
I get a message from eBay on 8 May stating:

"Hi shopping*addiction,

Your case was placed on hold temporarily. We will get back to you with an update by May 13, 2015.

eBay Customer Support Comments:
We have asked for more information from your customer to confirm the condition of the item received. If any additional information is needed from you we will request it through an email."

I'm thinking WTF?  To confirm the condition of the item received?

I was going to call on the 9th but life has just been too hectic and I figured they'd eventually see that it was for INR and that I provided tracking.

I checked my messages today and I see I received this on 8 May, shortly after the temporary hold was placed:

"Dear Elizabeth,

Thanks for your email in regard to Item# 271844382518 that you sold. After reviewing your case, I understand that your buyer reported that they have not yet received the item and you've provided tracking which shows that the item was delivered. I know it is very frustrating to have a case filed against you especially when you shipped the package with a valid tracking number. Please be assured that I am here to help you get this resolved as quickly as possible.

We are placing the claim on a temporary hold for 5 days while we gather additional information from the buyer in order to quickly resolve the case. Once the hold expires, we will make an appropriate decision based on the information we have.

While I was checking the case details, I can't help but notice that you have been a member of the eBay community since 2002. We greatly appreciate you doing business with us and we look forward for more successful transactions here in eBay.

To check the status of the case, visit the Resolution Center at the following address:
resolutioncenter.ebay.com/

For more information and tips for listing, please see the following links:
pages.ebay.com/help/sell/seller-tips.html

pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fraud-seller-tips.html

In summary, we need a little more time to make the final decision on the case so we'll be extending the duration of the case for 5 more days.

Thank you for choosing eBay. We appreciate your patience in getting this resolved."

Why place a 5 day hold to investigate?  INVESTIGATE WHAT?
Just checked my defect rate.  Thank goodness they actually did that part right!  It's not showing or counting against me.

[labbypaws]

I work at a college. I do not believe our mail room scans a package as delivered until the student stands in line and picks it up. Anything with DC or SC is handled that way. When the mailroom delivers packages to our office they handle it just like UPS or FedEx or USPS.

[val2525]

Liz, if you have the time, you (or DH even if he's still home recouperating) really should consider calling that buyer's post office and get the details. They're often pretty good about remembering stuff. Then you may have to CALL eBay.

I wonder if this buyer files a lot of INR cases?

[Shirley U Geste]

For a package that expensive I agree it would be worthwhile to call the buyers PO.

Wonder if this would classify as mail fraud?

[SA]

I might.
The buyer's address is a $1.8Mil home in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Surrounded by other million dollar homes. I guess it would depend on how long the mail carrier has worked there in order to remember the house.

ETA:  Honestly, this is the first time I have Zillow stalked a buyer.  I looked up their address on there to see what kind of neighborhood it was......how big an area/how many houses, etc.

[kritter]

Or how many packages that he delivers to that certain house. If he was delivering several Lilly dresses around that time, he mostly likely is not going to remember one from the other.

Also I have noticed that several times my regular mail guy doesn't bring the packages but they have a driver running around only delivering packages. I think that started happening with the UPS/USPS or Fedx/USPS collaboration

[Deleted]

"Dear Elizabeth,



Thanks for your email in regard to Item# 271844382518 that you sold. After reviewing your case, I understand that your buyer reported that they have not yet received the item and you've provided tracking which shows that the item was delivered. I know it is very frustrating to have a case filed against you especially when you shipped the package with a valid tracking number. Please be assured that I am here to help you get this resolved as quickly as possible.



We are placing the claim on a temporary hold for 5 days while we gather additional information from the buyer in order to quickly resolve the case. Once the hold expires, we will make an appropriate decision based on the information we have."

 Will they make her submit to a polygraph?! There should never have been a "case" with a black & white DC...

simply mind boggling! 

[bettyblackbent]

If an item has $200 or more insurance, they get a signature. Not the kind for PayPal but they are supposed to get a signature.

If you mean USPS insurance, the cutoff for a signature is $50.

[labbypaws]

Between 50 and 200 it is up to the carrier, or it used to be up to the carrier.

[bettyblackbent]

Educational! Thank you. My local PO always made me sign over 50 bucks when I had a PO Box, both in Sacto and San Francisco.

[val2525]

Wonder if it's different for PO box deliveries?

[Deleted]

We are placing the claim on a temporary hold for 5 days while we gather additional information from the buyer in order to quickly resolve the case. Once the hold expires, we will make an appropriate decision based on the information we have.

This is such BS. I don't understand what more information there is to gather other than what you provided - that tracking shows package was delivered. They didn't have any right or just cause to hold your money an additional 5 days. Even when we do exactly what they tell us to do we get screwed. I'm so sick of it.

If they want to throw money at buyers that's up to them, but your part in this was done.

[Deleted]

May 13, 2015 4:31:33 GMT SA said:

I might.
The buyer's address is a $1.8Mil home in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Surrounded by other million dollar homes. I guess it would depend on how long the mail carrier has worked there in order to remember the house.

ETA:  Honestly, this is the first time I have Zillow stalked a buyer.  I looked up their address on there to see what kind of neighborhood it was......how big an area/how many houses, etc.

How many bedrooms in the house?  Maybe they have servants and the butler did it.  Ha!

If it is obvious to CS that the buyer spends a lot of money on ebay buying expensive items... it might be the reason they paid the $200. if she made it a point to tell them how much she spends on their website too.

I insure and get Signature confirmation on any item over $100 after a couple of issues.  I had an expensive collectible delivered without a scan and it made me nervous.  The buyer was a dealer and wanted the item packed a certain way yada yada... so I packed it for a trip around the world and put it in several waterproof covers so it would survive a hurricane too. 

I finally reached the buyer via messages around 3 weeks later... just told her I wanted to confirm it arrived safely in her hands.  I did not mention there was no delivery scan.  Evidently it took her a while to reply as she was traveling and someone in her store took delivery of the package and she said it arrive in perfect condition.  But I was sweating bullets because there was no scan on delivery and they did not get a signature either.  It was a priority box...