eBay order never arrived...

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  iseenya on 11/02/2014 - 14:03

  Did you pay for the item through Paypal?

  Has the seller advised a Tracking Number for the parcel?

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  scrimshaw on 11/02/2014 - 14:10

  You should have a tracking number. If the item was post via EMS, Hong Kong Post, Singapore Post / Malaysia post etc. you can usually just plug it into the tracking website and it'll give you a status of the delivery.

  The same applies even for ordinary parcels in Australia. This only applies for parcels, and not envelopes (these don't get tracking numbers).

  If the tracking number was not given, contact the seller and politely explain that you have not received the item past the estimated timeframe. If things go pear shaped, raise a Paypal dispute via Paypal.com.au.

  …and also remember chinese new year was not too long ago, so that will also impact international deliveries.

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  ozhunter on 11/02/2014 - 14:12

  Was it from overseas? Some can take 4 weeks or longer to arrive.

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  SilentDissident on 11/02/2014 - 14:15

  The item is being sent from regional Victoria. I am on the Gold Coast, QLD.

  I never got a tracking number. I bought some collectable DVDs, they could fit inside a postbox, without going into the post office, depending on how they were packed. So it may not have any tracking….

  I did pay with PayPal

  • 

    iseenya on 11/02/2014 - 14:39

    +3

    No tracking number = no proof the goods have been posted and no chance of any help from Australia Post. Open a dispute with Paypal immediately; you can always cancel it later, if by some miracle there is a happy ending.

    • 

      brentsbits on 12/02/2014 - 11:51

      This is actually not true. Section 77 of the Australia Post terms and conditions state that up to $50 compensation may be claimed for goods sent by REGULAR post.

      It doesn't have to be registered to be eligible for compensation.

      • 

        Ughhh on 12/02/2014 - 16:12

        But surely you need some kind of proof that you actually did send something, hence tracking or registered post.
        Otherwise anyone could go up and claim lost parcel.

      • 

        watty on 12/02/2014 - 17:35

        http://auspost.com.au/media/documents/AP-TCs.pdf

        "COMPENSATION SCHEME
        73 Amount of compensation
        73.1 Notwithstanding clauses 68 and 69, where an article has been lost or damaged in the
        course of carriage otherwise than by registered post, Australia Post may in its
        absolute discretion elect to replace or repair the article or pay to the claimant an
        amount equal to:
        73.1.1 the replacement value of the article;
        73.1.2 the cost of repair of the article; or
        73.1.3 up to the sum of $A50,
        WHICHEVER IS THE LESSER, together with a refund of postage paid on the carriage of
        the article which shall not include any fees paid in respect of the Extra Cover,
        registered post or cash-on-delivery services provided however that where the refund
        of postage relates to postage paid on a prepaid registered post envelope the refund
        shall be the amount paid for the envelope.. "

        http://www.pio.gov.au/docs/investigation-reports/aust_post_d…

        "Compensation may be payable by Australia Post if postal items are lost or damaged.
        For items other than those sent by registered post or cash on delivery, the maximum
        compensation payable under Australia Post’s terms and conditions is $50."

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  mini2 on 11/02/2014 - 14:23

  Hope you paid with PayPal and funded with a credit card. Chargeback time.

  • 

    SilentDissident on 11/02/2014 - 14:34

    was a direct debit (or what ever the terminology they use for transferring from a Bank account) through PayPal. Not a credit card

    • 

      iseenya on 11/02/2014 - 14:42

      +1

      That's fine, Paypal's Buyer Protection will cover you anyway.

  • 

    brentsbits on 12/02/2014 - 11:51

    Wait, so he thinks the seller is legit, that Australia Post is to blame yet you are still advocating a chargeback against the seller who has done nothing wrong?

    • 

      mini2 on 18/02/2014 - 13:49

      Yep I'm advocating a chargeback. The relationship is between the seller and Aussie Post, let the seller sort this mess out. Not that the OP have this rights anyway given debit cards don't seem to have this luxury (or so I've been told).

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  DEvok on 11/02/2014 - 14:27

  +1

  Things from china always takes 30-60days, rarely comes within a week or 2 from past experiences

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  [Deactivated] on 11/02/2014 - 15:09

  Without a tracking code, you cant go to Auspost.

  I would recommend you tell the seller you have not received the items, and if you have not received any news from him within X days you will open a dispute with Paypal.

  Note you have up to 45 days from the Paypal payment to start the dispute, otherwise you cannot open a dispute.

  Paypal disputes are pretty painless, just be prepared to wait ~2-3 weeks to get your money back. If the seller uses Paypal a lot he will bend over backwards to get you the stuff or refund your money back, as Paypal can close down his account, messing up his entire business.

  • 

    brentsbits on 12/02/2014 - 11:52

    Not true. Refer to section 77 of the Australia Post terms and conditions. Compensation can still be claimed.

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  morpheu on 11/02/2014 - 15:36

  +1

  i'm still amazed so many ebayer sellers accept Paypal but send using normal mail, PP guidelines clearly state items paid with PP should be sent by registered/insured mail for exactly this reason, in the event of a non receipt dispute the first thing ebay will ask is what is the tracking number? save the hassle for a measly $2.95…

  • 

    brentsbits on 12/02/2014 - 11:56

    +1

    This is the problem with Paypal and the exploit that buyers use. Paypal knows that registered post costs a fair bit extra, $3.50 can be a significant amount extra in a lot of cases, yet they still demand tracking numbers.

    This is a left over from it being a US company, tracking can be had a lot cheaper in the US.

    I personally, from a seller's perspective of course, think that the terms should be changed so that a tracking number is only required if a trackable option was offered AND the buyer paid for it, or it was included in the price.

    I don't see why buyers should be protected when a trackable option is offered at checkout but specifically declined.

    I know why it's declined. Why pay the $3.50 when you can just steal the money back from the seller when they have done nothing wring.

    • 

      morpheu on 12/02/2014 - 20:25

      +1

      brent, not going to argue with you on this as you do a lot more selling on ebay than i do, but what's the solution? do you tell buyers upfront that they have a choice between normal(untracked) where they accept responsibility or tracked where you are responsible or do you act like Paypal and pretend everyone gets tracked shipping no matter what? Tracked shipping is in Paypal's interest as it shifts the responsibility onto the carrier and not Paypal as the payment processor.
      As for dishonest buyers, it's nothing new, way before Paypal there were dishonest buyers, and after Paypal, there will still be dishonest buyers, if you start worrying about this you should stop mail order full stop, i mean regular stores have something similar in the form of shoplifting, it costs them money, they must accept it and deal with it the best they can

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  [Deactivated] on 11/02/2014 - 15:55

  +2

  I recently purchased an item from a local Ebay seller. Up to a certain value (about $50, I suppose - sometimes more), I'm content with non-tracked, non-signature-required postage. Life's a gamble. Hate collecting carded deliveries.

  Anyway, item 'marked as posted', but wasn't. Waited a fortnight then contacted. Given that the item was 'marked' very quickly, I politely enquired as to whether the seller had done so, but in reality forgot to actually 'post' the item. That was the situation.

  May be different in your case, but even if lost in the mail, seller may accommodate in order to protect their seller rating.

  Be polite and straightforward. Maintain all contact through Ebay messaging. Proceed to a Paypal dispute as a last resort.

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  OldBugger on 12/02/2014 - 12:38

  As Tas said.

  It's not up to the buyer to chase up Aus Post.

  You have a little time up your sleeve before you need to open the dispute - 45 days from purchase is the cut off time.

  Write to the seller through eBay mail system only (not private). EBay/Paypal will then be able to track the conversation.

  Keep it professional and simply state what has happened (item not received). On first contact I usually leave it as that, signing off with "For your review".

  If no response within a couple of days, or if you don't agree with what the seller stated, write again advising what you want (eg. refund) and state if no response or refund is made within three days you will have no choice but to proceed to PayPal Resolution Centre.

  I've had to do this with numerous sellers. Some were trying to pull a dodgy. Some were just slack. But I've only had to open one dispute as the rest have been resolved from the first contact. All ended well.

  • 

    obses2ion on 13/02/2014 - 13:41

    I've had to open so many disputes via Paypal for both international and domestic purchases. My most recent one was a case of the item never arriving, and the seller offering a refund - which still hadn't been done 3 weeks after they told me they would. As others have said, communicate via eBay or Paypal resolution centre so your conversation is tracked and they can see if the seller has made a reasonable effort to resolve the problem with you. The thought of going through the post office has never occurred to me, and especially if you don't have a tracking number then it can be difficult. 90% of the time, I've just gotten a refund through Paypal and left it at that.

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  exc3113nce on 13/02/2014 - 09:51

  From a sellers point of view - The clickandsend service is extremely helpful as it always includes tracking. Just contact the buyer and ask if he wants a signature on delivery or not (then include in price if not - majority of people don't like the sign of delivery.)

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  altomic on 13/02/2014 - 14:25

  I bought 2 items off ebay for $8 total recently. Seller was selling 10 of them and had sold 100+ of them previously. the seller marked it sent the same day of purchase. it was coming from NSW to QLD. 2 weeks wentpast and it hadn't arrived. I checked the sellers feedback and he recently had a half dozen negs for parcels not arriving. I immediately did a paypal dispute for item not received. He then cancelled the transaction and refunded my money. No explanation, no "it should be there give it a couple of days". So I gave a neg. it is unsatisfactory that the item had not arrived in 2 weeks, furthermore there are many negs stating that this (non arrival of items) was a common occurrence -I'm not going to wait around. I then noticed that he relisted the same items for $5 each. so I bought 2 more. he immediately cancelled the transaction stating that we could not agree on the transaction. I bought 2 more with my other ebay account and he cancelled that transaction as well.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 13/02/2014 - 15:35

    +4

    He/she obviously decided to increase the price because they were selling so well.

    To not honour your initial transaction, let alone the second, is unacceptable behaviour.

    Report the seller to Ebay, describing matters exactly as you just have.

    • 

      Soybeanus on 15/02/2014 - 20:49

      Ebay does actually act quickly with things like this if you explain the situation properly.