Outsourced call center to the rescue! The saga of Joe vs the deadbeat Ebay seller.

This whole story began when I decided that I wanted to buy Rockband 2. Being a cheapskate I found a bunch of used sets on Ebay for a pretty good price. I purposefully avoided the obvious wholesalers thinking that if I bought from a person instead there was a better chance of getting the game in better condition. I found a seller that had no selling feedback and low buying feedback (a red flag I know) but when I asked him about the condition of his game he immediately responded which is rare with scam sellers. The feedback he did have also checked out as legit and not "purchased" feedback. This is where my troubles began. On May 15th I won the auction and immediately tried to send payment. When using the Paypal button to checkout I got an error message stating that there was a problem with the user's account and to arrange payment through another means. In my experience this is always a bad thing and whenever there is a problem with a user's Paypal account it means investigation, fraud, delinquency or something else bad. I immediately sent the seller a message through the Ebay messaging system and then called Ebay directly to find out how to proceed and how to make sure I was protected. The Ebay agent was very helpful and suggested I contact the seller for an alternate Paypal address to send payment to and then to note in the payment details I was paying for an auction. I was a little wary of this but she guaranteed Ebay could track the payment and would link it to the auction as if I used the checkout button (which as fishy as it sounds turned out to be true). The seller quickly responded with an alternate account, I sent payment, and he responded asking for an address to ship to. I assumed this meant he was shipping the next day and all would be well.

About a week later I hadn't heard from the seller and was expecting a tracking number. The auction clearly states that I was paying for UPS Ground shipping with insurance so I assumed I would be getting a tracking number. No response. I again sent a message asking for a tracking number and notifying the seller I would be moving soon and I had given him plenty of time to ship the game to me before that would happen but at the very least if I had the UPS tracking number I could have them hold it for pickup or I could have them change the end address if needed. Again, no response. Finally I get a message from the seller on May 27th (2 weeks after payment) that he was having account problems and would ship ASAP. He hadn't even shipped it yet!! At this point I was getting very worried I was being ripped off but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and sent him my new address to ship to. I figured by the time it got to me I would have been moved in already and again with a UPS tracking number I could deal with them and make sure I got the package ok. I again received no response and filed a dispute claim with Paypal on June 4th.

Another week goes by and no response from the seller and no updates to the case. Things were looking good and I figured Paypal would end up ruling in my favor. I sent another message to the seller through Ebay's messaging system telling him to not even worry about trying to ship the game at this point (it had been almost a month since payment) and to just refund my money so we both could move on). I had already found the game through another seller at this point because I was tired of waiting and figured he was never going to send anyway. I had also called Paypal and they agreed with me that the buyer should just refund the money and it was ok that I had bought the game elsewhere at this point. They just needed to wait the allotted time before they could issue my refund. I guess asking for my money back were the magic words because almost immediately after the seller ships the package and notifies Paypal of this (June 10th). I start to get anxious. I don't want two copies of the game and I just wanted my money back. I immediately call Paypal and ask them what I should do. They again said it was ok and I should get a refund. All I needed to do was refuse the package and have it returned to the seller. Once that happens they can immediately refund my money. This is where the fun begins.

I realize that the seller did not ship the item via UPS and instead sent it USPS with a delivery confirmation. Even worse he shipped it to my old address and I had already moved to my new house. So I call 1-800-ASK-USPS and tried to get assistance on how to proceed. For those that aren't aware the USPS apparently cannot intercept and refuse packages mid delivery. From what I understand UPS and Fedex both can. I also find out delivery confirmation is not really a tracking method (more on that later) and I would have to wait for them to deliver the package before I could return it to the seller. I figured I'd still be ok so I waited for the package to arrive and checked the delivery status multiple times a day to see where the package was. On June 18th I see a status change and the package was scanned "Undeliverable as Addressed." I was unsure what to do again so I called the USPS and was told this meant the same as the package being refused and it would be returned to sender. They reiterated that delivery confirmation was not a tracking service and that it would most likely not be updated until it arrived back at the seller's post office. I asked the agent again if she was sure it was being returned and she assured me it was. I then called Paypal and told them what I was just told and asked if "Undeliverable as Addressed" status would be good enough for a refund. They said it wasn't but when it is marked as returned to the original post office I would get my refund then. I thought I was finally done.

Surprise! I get home the next day and I see a crushed, torn, and completely mangled box at my house. Apparently someone at the post office hand wrote "Current Resident" and my new address on a piece of paper and taped it to the front of the package. Then they sent it to my new house. I was appalled. Not only was "Current Resident" completely unacceptable for a package worth over $100 that was supposedly being "tracked" but I was just told the night before by a USPS employee the package was being returned. Not to mention the box was sealed with at least 3 types of tape, was crushed, had old Fedex labels on it, and was torn in parts. When I picked up the package to take to the post office it was obvious no packing materials were used within and you could hear the metal and plastic pieces banging into each other. I never opened it so I don't know what was inside but I'm guessing mangled plastic mess. I went to my post office and when at the counter asked to have the package refused and returned to sender. They said they would do so but were wary given the damage of the package. I explained that it was how I received it and they said they would send it back but they weren't sure if status would get scanned as refused but should be scanned once it reached the originating address. Again this was worrisome so I called Paypal and the USPS one more time. The man at Paypal was sympathetic and though it ludicrous that I refused a package yet the post office wasn't sure if it would ever be marked as such but again assured me it would be alright and I would get my refund once it arrives at the seller's address. He also mentioned that if it somehow found its way back to my house I could file a complaint about the condition of the product and get refunded that way. The call with the USPS was not as comforting. The lady was rude and very unwilling to help. She repeatedly mentioned USPS policy that a delivery confirmation was not a tracking method and should not be used as such. She also mentioned that it can be wrong and often when things are returned they are not scanned as such. She would then fall back on the policy that it was not a tracking method and was not the USPS's problem if someone else thought it was. I even asked her in a court of law if delivery confirmation could be used and she mumbled something and quickly changed the subject. The post office was now closed so I could not go back and I didn't have the tracking number on my person anymore so she refused to assist me further until I could give her the number for the package.

I waited for the weekend to pass and the status still had not changed for the package so I again called the USPS help line and initiated some sort of trace on the package. The agent again noted that delivery confirmation is not a tracking system and should not be used as such but that they would locate the package and update the status. She also told me an agent would call me by the end of the next business day and notify me of the status change. The next business day came and went and no phone call or status update occurred. I again called Paypal to get further advice on how to proceed. Upon hearing that the USPS delivery confirmation was being used the Paypal agent quickly stated that she knew the USPS often doesn't scan things as refused or returned to sender and that it would probably stay marked as delivered. This infuriated me since I was doing everything the Paypal agents were telling me I needed to do and not once did any of them mention that they already knew the delivery confirmation status would be a problem. She then said other things which angered me even further. She claims that regardless what the auction states, the seller can use any shipping method they choose without penalty. This basically means you can pay someone for overnight UPS and the seller can ship it any way they want without penalty. She also said that even though USPS policy states delivery confirmation isn't a tracking method Paypal sees it as such so if I wanted a refund the USPS has to issue it. The last crazy thing she said was that at any time now the seller can call them and get the dispute closed in his favor just by pointing out the delivery confirmation says delivered. There was no way I could get judgement delayed until I dealt with USPS and there was no way they were going to deal with USPS or find out what was going on. As long as the Internet posted status said "Delivered" I was out of luck. Even if it got changed to refused later on I would not be able to reopen the claim but I could try to attempt an appeal. She said it was USPS at fault and that she sees them mess up in this manner all the time. So basically I have, at the direction of Paypal employees returned the game back to the seller and have next to no chance of getting my money back. They want me to get my money back from the USPS who are falling back on their policy that delivery confirmation is not a tracking system. At last resort I decided to give Ebay a call.

Success!! I know there are many who bash Ebay and Paypal support but let me tell you they are completely different experiences. I was also wary at first, I was being transferred to an outsourced, foreign call center that probably had no idea about the perils of the US postal system or anything about my account or policies. Instead I was greeted by a very friendly agent who knew exactly what to do. I really wish I could remember her name but she listened to me rant a bit and took a look at my account. She apologized for the trouble and then transferred me to a special case team for preferred clients. I guess this is Ebay's version of executive customer support. I was connected with Sayiid and he listened attentively to my entire story. He apologized and related how he hears these USPS horror stories all the time and could sympathize. He also took a look at my account and offered a solution. He understood that I no longer had the game in my possession but was unable to prove the true status of the package and that I was getting the runaround by both Paypal and the USPS. He immediately offered me a refund and said that I would no longer have to worry about it. He would close the claim, refund the money, and said I could forget about the whole situation. It didn't matter where the package ended up or who was at fault. I am pretty sure Ebay is just going to take the hit. Personally I would like to see the seller penalized for doing what he did but I am glad to be done with it all. For those out there wanting to get a cheap copy of Rockband 2 I would avoid Ebay seller masensmith78 as he will probably try to resell the game once he gets it back and make another quick $100 ripping someone else off. Plus even if he does ship that game is probably in horrible condition by now.

All in all I learned not to judge a call center based on their location or accents and once you have exhausted all your options with Paypal and the shipper you can always fall back on Ebay's own separate resolution department. Kudos to you Ebay, I will continue to be a happy user of your services. Too bad I have to use Paypal in order to do so.