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After 1,000+ Packages Mailed, 2 Have Gone Missing


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Hi everyone,

I have been selling on The Bay for over 10 years and have sent thousands and thousands of packages all over the world. I've sent over 1,000 packages of 45s all over in the last 2 years.

All of a sudden, I have had two parcels gone missing. One was 5-6 45s to Portugal with a total with P&P of about $50. The other was to a packstation box in Germany for about $20 for one 45. Both buyers have filed a dispute, which means I've got $70 frozen. This might not sound like a lot, but I sell records to provide extra income to our family, so it's a lot for us.

Our postal system in the US doesn't offer any kind of tracking for first class mail international, so most people don't want to pay for Express mail to track, which I completely understand. Since there is no tracking, there is no way for me to prove I sent them, so I'm out the records and the seller gets their money. Ugh.

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If you send a 45 to a german "Packstation" it will be returned, as just parcels will be accepted no letters and 45s are usually send as a letter. Tell the german guy, that it is his fault, he should have provided a "real" postal adress and he would have got his 45 already. I had this problem as well with a "packstation"-adress

hope this helps

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Hi everyone,

I have been selling on The Bay for over 10 years and have sent thousands and thousands of packages all over the world. I've sent over 1,000 packages of 45s all over in the last 2 years.

All of a sudden, I have had two parcels gone missing. One was 5-6 45s to Portugal with a total with P&P of about $50. The other was to a packstation box in Germany for about $20 for one 45. Both buyers have filed a dispute, which means I've got $70 frozen. This might not sound like a lot, but I sell records to provide extra income to our family, so it's a lot for us.

Our postal system in the US doesn't offer any kind of tracking for first class mail international, so most people don't want to pay for Express mail to track, which I completely understand. Since there is no tracking, there is no way for me to prove I sent them, so I'm out the records and the seller gets their money. Ugh.

Lucky you I had a parcel of 7 lps go missing to Australia - she left 14 negatives ( including 7 not received ) as though it was my fault one package went astray ? She then claimed via paypal and accused me of never sending - Offered her tracking insurance which she neglected to purchase . The whole paypal dispute claim is a f * joke - ALWAYS FAVOURS the buyer, and seller left seriously out of pocket. Im still waiting royal mails claims response ......sleep3.gif

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Guest Dave Turner

I send books all over the world and perhaps have a loss rate of circa 1/1500

No matter how well one packages, clearly and correctly addresses there is always gonna be the odd one go adrift somewhere.

Note that with Europe the postcode goes before the town/city name which isn't always as it appears when folks enter their address into a website such as Ebay, Paypal or whatever. For example Ebay may show address as --

Pedro Smello

12 Record Way

Lisbon 12345

Portugal

when it should be written on the package

Pedro Smello

12 Record Way

12345 LISBON

PORTUGAL

For all I know you probably know this. Small point but anything that can help a package not getting lost is worth noting.

A couple of handy websites worth bookmarking if ever in doubt

https://www.upu.int/p...countries.shtml

https://www.columbia....mit/postal.html

Edited by Dave Turner
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The only thing to do is to refund the buyer and stand the loss, I sent a guy a record a couple of years ago not via an Ebay sale but a private sale Manchester to Cambridge the record was sent sign for mail and insured for £32.00 the record was worth £40.00 so I lost about £10.00 with postage after the Post Office covered the claim, if selling through Ebay and something goes missing then the odds are very much in the favour of the buyer so the only thing you can do to avoid negative feedback etc. is to take the loss and refund, if nothing else you keep your good reputation as a seller.

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

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Portugal...

An Ebay bidder from Portugal bid on 13 LP items of mine (very heavy package obviously) and when invoiced refused to pay the postage cost. He refused to cancel his order as an option and also refused my offer to contibute something towards postage at my own cost as a good will gesture. I advise in the listings not to pay until the invoice is sent so the correct postage is paid but he paid immediately. This guy refused to pay unless I gave him UK postage rates!

I went through the Ebay Resolution process but the bidder refused to compromise or pay. I stopped the transaction and relisted - still unpaid. The guy then left 13 negative feedbacks!

I then spoke to the Ebay Support and there answer was tuff shit or to quote them "When a listing ends successfully on eBay, the buyer and the seller will be able to leave feedback for each other even if the transaction is not completed."

What a bag of shite but there you go - shit happens - best put it down to experience.

I mainly buy on Ebay (80/20) but I do think that Ebay has gone too far in making selling a pain for the seller with no redress against disreputable and dishonest buyers.

Regards..

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Portugal...

An Ebay bidder from Portugal bid on 13 LP items of mine (very heavy package obviously) and when invoiced refused to pay the postage cost. He refused to cancel his order as an option and also refused my offer to contibute something towards postage at my own cost as a good will gesture. I advise in the listings not to pay until the invoice is sent so the correct postage is paid but he paid immediately. This guy refused to pay unless I gave him UK postage rates!

I went through the Ebay Resolution process but the bidder refused to compromise or pay. I stopped the transaction and relisted - still unpaid. The guy then left 13 negative feedbacks!

I then spoke to the Ebay Support and there answer was tuff shit or to quote them "When a listing ends successfully on eBay, the buyer and the seller will be able to leave feedback for each other even if the transaction is not completed."

What a bag of shite but there you go - shit happens - best put it down to experience.

I mainly buy on Ebay (80/20) but I do think that Ebay has gone too far in making selling a pain for the seller with no redress against disreputable and dishonest buyers.

Regards..

How much was you P&P ?

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Back in Aug I sold a soul pack, (70 singles) I mailed it recorded delivery / signed for.

The buyer from Rishton, Blackburn filed a claim against me saying the package was not delivered.

She swore blind the parcel had not been delivered but I had a feeling they were lying through their teeth.

They threatened me with Police and Solicitors etc via emails if I did not refund the money immediately.

I wasted loads of time filling in the form to claim from the post office and responding to the multiple paypal emails.

The post office eventually confirmed the package had been delivered and even provided a copy of the signature, however in the meantime my paypal funds were frozen until the whole fraudulent scam was exposed. Paypal did sort out the claim in my favor but the hassle of it all really fecked me off.

What pee's me off is that they are still buying / selling on ebay, they should have been booted off! I wonder how many other people they have tried to rob with this scam!

regards

paul

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Back in Aug I sold a soul pack, (70 singles) I mailed it recorded delivery / signed for.

The buyer from Rishton, Blackburn filed a claim against me saying the package was not delivered.

She swore blind the parcel had not been delivered but I had a feeling they were lying through their teeth.

They threatened me with Police and Solicitors etc via emails if I did not refund the money immediately.

I wasted loads of time filling in the form to claim from the post office and responding to the multiple paypal emails.

The post office eventually confirmed the package had been delivered and even provided a copy of the signature, however in the meantime my paypal funds were frozen until the whole fraudulent scam was exposed. Paypal did sort out the claim in my favor but the hassle of it all really fecked me off.

What pee's me off is that they are still buying / selling on ebay, they should have been booted off! I wonder how many other people they have tried to rob with this scam!

regards

paul

name and shame..... paul good night or whatthumbsup.gif

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I posted off a 45 to Isreal on 08/09/09 he still has not recieved it ive just checked with the trackin number and all it says

it has been passed to the overseas postal service for delivery in Isreal sayin it cost £8--75 postage its pretty poor..

terrible..i lay awake at night, worrying about stuff getting delivered,..hope it arrives

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There really are some absolute cocks in this world e.g. ...

I had a very rare (maybe 3 known copies) record sent, unbelievably (on my part and the guy's who sent it) to my old address - I assumed (you'd check wouldn't you if you were me and parting with 1k+ wanker.gif ) that he had my new address since I had moved about 4 years previously.

Turns out the bloke at my old place had SIGNED for and OPENED the parcel and, to cheer me up still further, despite putting two notes through his door (stating it was an old 45, here's my number etc etc) and going round there several times - suited and booted from work i.e. I don't think I looked like a dealerf / bailiff etc - I had to get my old next door neighbour to get it off him for me.

Twice, the fella actually looked through the window, smiled and then didn't answer the door. (Think I actually turned purple the second time and then proceeded to knock, erm, fairly vigorously to be fair). Whether he thought it was a sinister 'package' of some description and was merely being 'public spirited' I still don't know to this day but I just found the whole thing totally unbelievable. I was on the cusp of going in through his front window if it had continued but thankfully he was persuaded to hand it over, albeit by my old neighbour who advised that it would be for the best all round.

Really speaking I should have reported him to the police for signing for then opening something which he knew wasn't addressed to him but was just relieved to get the record in the end. Name em, shame em then ... ... a dish best served cold they say don't they? Well, while I understand the analogy, not necessarily ...

Once sufficient time had elapsed, a 'colleague' and I hatched and subsequently implemented a fiendish plan whereby a number of salad leaves were placed inside a shoe box to form a 'bed', upon which was laid a Richard III of significant proportions (I think there may even have been a hint of sliced egg / tomato garnish; if you're gonna do a job(bie) do it properly). Said box was then wrapped, addressed and hand delivered in the wee small hours.

Tell you what, I'm all for tact and diplomacy a la Henry Kissinger but, in the final analysis, he'll think long and hard before he opens anyone elses kin parcel.

Just another option for you to consider ... good.gif

Edited by PhilT
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Tell you what, I'm all for tact and diplomacy a la Henry Kissinger but, in the final analysis, he'll think long and hard before he opens anyone elses kin parcel.

Just another option for you to consider ... good.gif

You PhilT bastard... laugh.giflaugh.giflaugh.gif

And can I give you a couple of names and addresses of people I'd like you to deliver to?

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You PhilT bastard... laugh.giflaugh.giflaugh.gif

And can I give you a couple of names and addresses of people I'd like you to deliver to?

It was a one-off, honestly! (I'm laughing now thinking about the discussion we had when the idea was first raised - I really do need to get out more)

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Once sufficient time had elapsed, a 'colleague' and I hatched and subsequently implemented a fiendish plan whereby a number of salad leaves were placed inside a shoe box to form a 'bed', upon which was laid a Richard III of significant proportions (I think there may even have been a hint of sliced egg / tomato garnish; if you're gonna do a job(bie) do it properly). Said box was then wrapped, addressed and hand delivered in the wee small hours.

Tell you what, I'm all for tact and diplomacy a la Henry Kissinger but, in the final analysis, he'll think long and hard before he opens anyone elses kin parcel.

Just another option for you to consider ... good.gif

Got an awful image of you squatting with your pants round your ankles, and your mate crouched behind you, holding the shoe box at arms left, with one hell of a grimace on his face, shouting 'left a bit, right a bit.....pinch it off, pinch it off...FFS pinch it off off NOW!' :lol:

Not pretty....not pretty at all.... :lol:

Edited by Mace
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Got an awful image of you squatting with your pants round your ankles, and your mate crouched behind you, holding the shoe box at arms left, with one hell of a grimace on his face, shouting 'left a bit, right a bit.....pinch it off, pinch it off...FFS pinch it off off NOW!' laugh.gif

Not pretty....not pretty at all.... unsure.gif

laugh.gif

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Portugal...

An Ebay bidder from Portugal bid on 13 LP items of mine (very heavy package obviously) and when invoiced refused to pay the postage cost. He refused to cancel his order as an option and also refused my offer to contibute something towards postage at my own cost as a good will gesture. I advise in the listings not to pay until the invoice is sent so the correct postage is paid but he paid immediately. This guy refused to pay unless I gave him UK postage rates!

With every respect but I somehow think you got your Ebay listing wrong in the beginning. When sellers put something for sale on Ebay they can clearly state the postage rates for each and every region, e.g. UK/Europe/Rest of World in the "Shipping and Payments" part. So from wherever buyers might be they get the correct postage quoted in their invoices don't they?

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Guest Fatius Bumius

Sending by a signed for method isn't all it's cracked up to be, parcels are only tracked in the UK unless the receiving countries postal system can be bothered to add to their system. Still worth adding though for sales when you accept Pay Pal :-)

This is from Royal Mails website:

Airsure

Are all Airsure items electronically tracked when they are delivered? We track all Airsure items until they leave the UK. When they reach the destination country the item is handed over to that country's postal service as a priority item. However, because different countries have different delivery standards we cannot guarantee that the destination country's postal service will track your Airsure item all the way to delivery in every instance or always be able to provide a confirmation of delivery.

International Signed For

Your item is delivered to its destination by the registered postal service of that country. A signature will be taken at the delivery address (please note this will not necessarily be the addressee), which means the item is not left unattended or posted through a letterbox. If no-one is available to sign for the item then it will be retained by the postal administration. for a subsequent delivery attempt or collection by the addressee. But please note that we cannot routinely provide a copy of this signature. In the case of loss of an item we will request proof of posting from the other postal administration but this cannot always be provided.

Signature on receipt, online tracking within the UK. Compensation cover

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I posted off a 45 to Isreal on 08/09/09 he still has not recieved it ive just checked with the trackin number and all it says

it has been passed to the overseas postal service for delivery in Isreal sayin it cost £8--75 postage its pretty poor..

==================================================================================

45 been located in Israel thank god....

I spent ages on the phone earlier with Post Office / Royal Mail what a asshole i spoke with, total lack of respect for someone who uses their service

he said £8 -75p was,nt expensive to send a small package among other things he blurted out...

BRING BACK THE PONY EXPRESS.yes.gif

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==================================================================================

45 been located in Israel thank god....

I spent ages on the phone earlier with Post Office / Royal Mail what a asshole i spoke with, total lack of respect for someone who uses their service

he said £8 -75p was,nt expensive to send a small package among other things he blurted out...

BRING BACK THE PONY EXPRESS.:yes:

I just want to say a public thank you to Ian, Baz Atinkson & Stella at John Manships for their help in locating my awol packages.....

Ian's contained a very nice copy of Little Jimmy Scott.....thumbsup.gif

Cheers Guys - The beers will be on me !!!!

John

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Sending by a signed for method isn't all it's cracked up to be, parcels are only tracked in the UK unless the receiving countries postal system can be bothered to add to their system. Still worth adding though for sales when you accept Pay Pal :-)

This is from Royal Mails website:

Airsure

Are all Airsure items electronically tracked when they are delivered? We track all Airsure items until they leave the UK. When they reach the destination country the item is handed over to that country's postal service as a priority item. However, because different countries have different delivery standards we cannot guarantee that the destination country's postal service will track your Airsure item all the way to delivery in every instance or always be able to provide a confirmation of delivery.

International Signed For

Your item is delivered to its destination by the registered postal service of that country. A signature will be taken at the delivery address (please note this will not necessarily be the addressee), which means the item is not left unattended or posted through a letterbox. If no-one is available to sign for the item then it will be retained by the postal administration. for a subsequent delivery attempt or collection by the addressee. But please note that we cannot routinely provide a copy of this signature. In the case of loss of an item we will request proof of posting from the other postal administration but this cannot always be provided.

Signature on receipt, online tracking within the UK. Compensation cover

I found out last night that Royal Mail packages enter the Israeli postal tracking system upon arrival and can be tracked using the 13 digit royal mail number - Apparantly one of the only countries in the world where this happens !!!!!

John

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With every respect but I somehow think you got your Ebay listing wrong in the beginning. When sellers put something for sale on Ebay they can clearly state the postage rates for each and every region, e.g. UK/Europe/Rest of World in the "Shipping and Payments" part. So from wherever buyers might be they get the correct postage quoted in their invoices don't they?

Thing is Benji, it was a UK only listing i.e. the only option is the UK postage. If a buyer from Europe comes on to Ebay UK and sees the Ebay 'Contact Seller For Postage Rate' message then that's what the stupid twat should do. angry.gif

This guy has obviously decided to use this approach as a scam with negative feedback as a threat to any seller that won't play ball. Problem is that the seller is always getting the shitty end of the stick even when everything is listed coreectly and the process followed to the letter.

Like I say, put it down to experience.

Regards...

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Got an awful image of you squatting with your pants round your ankles, and your mate crouched behind you, holding the shoe box at arms left, with one hell of a grimace on his face, shouting 'left a bit, right a bit.....pinch it off, pinch it off...FFS pinch it off off NOW!' laugh.gif

Not pretty....not pretty at all.... unsure.gif

Mace, were you there ph34r.gif

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Hi All,

I went ahead and processed the refunds for both guys' parcels. I did ask them to refund the money if the parcels do show up. It's just not worth getting a negative. I wish the US Post Office provided some sort of tracking option for international parcels. There is nothing but a proof of mailing, which I would guess isn't enough proof to show shipment. Otherwise, the only other option is express mail, which starts at $28.

Cheers,

BMSF

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