eBay

mr_lincoln · ‎15-03-2025

I am a US Seller and eBay Mentor on the US Community platform. It has been a few years since I posted here on the UK Community but decided to ask some questions of the UK Community in hopes of gaining some insights into possible solutions to a growing issue in the US.

I have no doubt the same scam exists in the UK as the US. Sellers will scam a Buyer by shipping an item to a different address and when the Buyer files an official eBay claim that they did not receive their package they lose the claim when the Seller uploads a valid tracking number.

At present, we have some convoluted ways that Buyers can eventually obtain a refund and/or prove to eBay that the package was actually delivered to a different address. They involve but are not limited to working with the carrier, obtaining a GPS location of the actual delivery, transfer of documents from carrier to Buyer then on to eBay, etc. It is a lot of work.

I realize that there is no "one size fits all" solution but there may be some processes that could help cutdown on the scam.

I welcome any solutions that may exist in the UK Selling & Buying process or ideas that could be considered.

Regards,

Mr. L

ccla3379 · ‎15-03-2025

Hi Mr L,

I don't know the integration which the US eBay have available with their shippers but in the UK couriers like Evri will confirm delivery but also provide a click-through onto their website which prompts for the destination postcode in order to get the full tracking proof - i.e. if the postcode didn't match then it would fail.

Royal Mail provides a map of the delivery location as well as the GPS co-ordinates on their click-through so if the address was more than a few yards away it would show up.

From eBay's side I can understand that this is not the most common case but they ought to be able to cope with a buyer challenging their INR case closure - and they also ought to pick-up if a seller tried this more than once.

My experience of shipping issues are more to do with the courier/postie not leaving the item at the right address despite using a label auto generated from the system. But stuff happens - they have a lot on their plate and are only getting pennies to deliver packages.

mr_lincoln · ‎16-03-2025

@ccla3379 wrote:
Hi Mr L,

I don't know the integration which the US eBay have available with their shippers but in the UK couriers like Evri will confirm delivery but also provide a click-through onto their website which prompts for the destination postcode in order to get the full tracking proof - i.e. if the postcode didn't match then it would fail.
Royal Mail provides a map of the delivery location as well as the GPS co-ordinates on their click-through so if the address was more than a few yards away it would show up.

From eBay's side I can understand that this is not the most common case but they ought to be able to cope with a buyer challenging their INR case closure - and they also ought to pick-up if a seller tried this more than once.

My experience of shipping issues are more to do with the courier/postie not leaving the item at the right address despite using a label auto generated from the system. But stuff happens - they have a lot on their plate and are only getting pennies to deliver packages.

Thank you for the reply. I like the idea of the map feature. The other point you made is one some of my fellow Mentors have mentioned, that would be to challenge the Seller's INR case closure rate or frequency. We also experience the occasional accidental, unintentional misdelivered package (human error usually from fill in route carriers) and stolen packages from Porch Pirates (we call them), the latter occurs more often during the year end holidays then during the rest of the year.