I sold a helmet to a person in FL via Ebay. We exchanged a few emails about the helmet and shipping costs. He won the helmet on Sunday night. I waited until Weds for payment. Weds came and went with no payment so I sent emails Thurs and Fri politely asking for payment. Finally, Sat morning there was still no payment so I sent an email demanding payment or I was going to relist the helmet. By Saturday afternoon I received payment.

Monday moring I sent the helmet via USPS Parcel Post. I also took out insurance on the package. A few days later the buyer sent an email asking for tracking info. I sent him an email back letting him know the package was sent and he should see it with 8-10 days. He sent another email asking again for tracking number. I emailed back and informed him there was no tracking info. A few days later he opens a claim with Paypal saying he never received the package.

I called the PO and they told me I mailed the package on 10/21 and the package was delivered AND SIGNED FOR on 10/26. I called Paypal and informed them that I didn't have tracking numbers but insurance on the package and that the package was indeed delivered and signed for on 10/26.

As of now, Paypal is not accepting the insurance signature as proof of delivery and has ruled in the buyer's favor.

Now I am out of a helmet AND they want me to reimburse them the $130 THEY reimbursed the seller.

Long story short, if you ship something to someone you do not know.....GET TRACKING!

I am still fighting.

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

Yup, always ALWAYS have some sort of tracking info that can be viewed online. Ebay/PayPal 101. If you use PayPal shipping they automatically add delivery confirmation when you print the label (and it's free if you ship via Priority Mail). For larger stuff, I find UPS is often cheaper (or as cheap), and the first $100 of insurance is free.

__________________
1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)

That sucks! Ebay sucks, I've been beat for about the same amount money via paypal. I'd send him a box from a parts retailer, full of putrid dog $hit.



.

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04 VW TDI Passat 80,000mi
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I had a simular but different story to that. Long story short, USPS can and does track packages with insurance or at least those that are signed for. I would go down to your local PO and see if they can track the numbers. They shouldn't hand you a tracking list, but might confrim that it has been shipped. You might file a claim with them. Also, state mail fraud. Since you put insurance on it, and the receiver says they didn't recieve the package, then you should file a claim with the Post Office. I would note this with E-Bay and PayPal. I'd probably be very clear with E-Bay, PayPal and the Purchaser about this. Also, maybe note any actions against you, will be handle legally.
Now my story, and I have a few E-Bay ones. Some my fault. I was helping sell some stuff to a friend/coworker. There were some lathe parts and Dodge/Cummins injectors. The lathe parts sold for more than he thought and was happy. No problems there. The Injectors sold a bit cheap. I usally offer insurance. The buyer didn't request insurance or a tracking number. My take, but not probably E-Bays or PayPals, is its the buyer's choice and loss if package doesn't arrive. Anyways, about a moth latter, someone sends me an e-mail saying the injectors haven't arrived. He does hint that he is probably out of luck and I scammed him. I will note that the persons name is different than the E-Bay Buyers. I did send an E-mail back saying I would do what I could from my end. I was going on vacation so I let the person who sent the parts handle it. Not much went on with that. I did send the tracking numbers for the insured mail, but that is no good for us, only Post Office use. I did call the guy. The receptionist only spoke spanish. I finally got her to transfer the call. The guy's phone mail was full. I called back, and requested an english speaking person. They didn't know who I was talking about. I did know at that point,that the package was in that city. Delivery was atempted once. Since the person who it was sent to was on the road, the other person really couldn't pick it up at the PO. I finally had the seller place a claim. Then the PO found the package and delivered it. Part of the problem was that the package was insured for over $200. So a signiture was required. The Mailman tried to deliver it, but when asked for such-n-such person, probably got an answer of, 'No person here'. Translation, we never heard of him.
So I would go down to the Local PO, or fill out a claim on line. That should get some wheels turning and such. Make a copy of the e-mail sent by the buyer, PayPal and E-Bay.
One time a package I sent didn't get delivered the first time. It was a flyreel spool, and going to Alaska. I did go down to FedEx and I remember like $16 or such to ship. That would gobble up my profits. They recomended USPS. It doesn't cost anymore to ship to HI or Alaska than other states by Priority mail. Anyways, I wrote the wrong address. It was something like Mountainview rd and I wrote Mountaintop ln or something like that. The package was sent back. I did e-mail the buyer and resent it. So every one was happy. I was out $5 or though.
ANother time, I had a Mercedes part being send to me. I didn't request tracking or insurance. It was an overflow coolant resivour for a W123, used with hardware. There was a substitute driver that day. They delivered the mail to the foreclosed house next door. I found my other mail, in that mailbox. The PO did post notices on the windows of that house. I did search for the package, but didn't find it. Had to explain to the PO several times, that I did look. Not a huge loss, and they could have swiped some aluminum Jeep wheels, if they really needed some money.
Tom

First mistake.

You did something right there. Can you claim insurance?

OTOH, how do you know he did receive the package? I have signed for a package and when I got it into the house, noticed it was for the neighbor.

I always use UPS or Fedex. If the buyer wants it cheaper, no problem, no guarantees of the item arriving.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Tracking for non Priority Mail via USPS costs what . . . $0.80?

But it is very spotty from what I have seen. I wouldn't rely on it one bit. Why do you think it is so cheap?

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Hasn't failed me yet, so it's worth the price of admission. Whenever I get confirmation of delivery, I make a point of e-mailing the buyer to confirm that it arrived.

The limitation for it comes when any item leaves US borders, so for international shipping you're likely out of luck unless it's with UPS, FedEX, etc.

That's unfortunately illegal. HOWEVER, you can legally accomplish the same thing by wrapping fruit in paper, then dropping some cockroaches into the package before you seal it. Dark+warmth+food+cockroaches+time= many more cockroaches.

When your friend opens the box, he will not be able to catch all of them before thy find a home in his home.

Be sure to include a note saying that you sent the fruit as a gift to make up for any inconvenience he may have suffered..... This keeps you safe.

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

Oh man... ^^That one is just epic.

__________________
Current cars:
2000 ML55 AMG, 174k miles
2003 C240 T-Modell, 202k miles
1995 S320, 207k Miles

Not to mention a violation of postal regulations, which I believe is still a federal offense.

If you have proof of delivery then that is the end of the story. If he got it then he got it. Do you have proof or don't you? If you do, have you provided it to Paypal and in what form?

If they claim it is lost then file a claim with USPS for loss. Let the Postal Inspector then argue with Paypal.

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

Unfortunately, PayPal doesn't see it that way. You need to buy Delivery Confirmation when using USPS, as the proof of delivery must be viewable online. I have seen cases where the buyer leaves positive feedback admitting delivery, then files an INR claim when they realize there was no delivery confirmation barcode on the package, and PayPal does nothing... their policy is that you must have something that can be viewed online that proves delivery. Unfortunately, buyers are figuring out how to work the system and get freebies. There is also a cost threshold (I think $250) where you must have signature confirmation, too. All this is very clear when you use PayPal shipping... another reason to take advantage of that service.

__________________
1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)

....and the insurance cost $2.35

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

As I said before, that sounds like mail fraud. So, he should file a claim with USPS, since he did insure it. If the persons signiture is on the package, then USPS has it or at least someone elses. I have heard stories were the package was delivered to another address. So, that is a possibliity. The OP needs to file a claim and let the chips fall.
Also, it used to be the sellers held all the cards or most on E-Bay. About a year or so ago, they flipped directions. Now the buyer has a lot of the power. The seller can't leave negative feedback anymore, or so I'm told.
I did place a claim on E-Bay for some lathe parts, or with PayPal. It was some lathe parts. I didn't recieve them. The person shut off their E-Bay account. I had to go through the process, and try and contact the seller. They had closed their account and I might have sent an e-mail to some address or not. I had to keep telling PayPal, they wouldn't respond or there was no E-Bay nor e-mail address to send it to. I did get my money back.
Tom