Need help with possibly lost package? Please read.

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turk.919

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Background: About a month ago (April 10th) I bought something from a buddy and didn't realize my payday was farther off then I thought. I decided to post up nice 2 knives I had for sale cheap to get cash quick as the buddy was getting a little impatient.

April 14th: A guy texts me asking about the knives, I was asking $400 in total for both but wanted them gone (ASAP) to get my buddy paid back. I got him from $250 to $300+shipping for whatever extra he wanted (Tracking, priority, Insurance, etc) and told him I wanted PP gift to make sure he didn't screw me over (Not a forum member)

Had lots of conversation from the 14th to 16th, he would reply to me within 30 minutes of me texting him.

April 16th, sent him an invoice as he requested, noted it was for $300 and shipping as he wanted.

April 17th morning, PP comes through. $291 in total. I am not familiar with PP but I believe that I paid the fees apparently. I was a little irritated, normally to me $9 isn't a big deal at all, but when I stated I wanted $300 for the knives (Already gave him $100 off) I wanted $300. He did not pay any extra for any shipping extras.

I told him I would transfer the money to my acct and ship the knives, I also mentioned that the funds were $9 short. He replied with his address and asks me to ship one of the knives to the maker to have some work done, then direct the package to him. (And ship the box to the knife to him and not the maker)

He mentions on the 17th later that night that he would PP me $25 out of the blue.

April 23rd, The money went to my account and I asked if he had been serious about sending other money multiple times with no response. I didn't care if he sent it or not, I just wanted to know what he was going to do (Man of his word or not I guess?)

April 25th, Said to heck with it and tossed them in a USPS priority box and sent them his way. I had somewhat the amount I wanted and was tired of dealing with it. I used nothing on the package because I was agitated and he said nothing about shipping preferences.

March 1st, sent a text asking if they showed up. No response.

Went on vacation and got a text at 11:18 last night (14th) saying the knives hadn't shown. I asked is the address was right and just got"Yes" and then "Not here" as a response.

Got home today at 6 in the afternoon and started looking for the receipt for the package. Called the friend who owns the shipping store and they said there isn't much they can do even with the item number.

Should I just refund this guys money or ??? :confused:

Please ask if I need to clarify anything.

Thanks, Troy.
 
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The package may still show up. I just got a knife that had been delivered to the wrong address, and it took a week and a lot of calling the post office to sort it out.
 
I did not, normally I get tracking and DC but I was irritated enough at the time that I just wanted to get the knives to him and get the deal over with. I would think after this time it would show up. It could have gotten stolen or he said it didn't show for all I know. They are going to look for it at the PO and ask higher up. Never had any trouble before with all the deals I have done.
 
$300 and no insurance or DC?
Hate to say, but you may be out a couple of knives and some cash unless you can drive to every sorting center between you and the destination.
 
Depending on how long ago you sent the knives, it could just be normal delays.
It once took a money order about a two weeks to get from me to another member. Normally they ship within a few days. Crazy postal services.
Wait a few days, then investigate
 
I mean, I really don't care if I have to pay him back, its not going to hurt my feelings of I do. It may have been a lapse of judgement but normally I just use DC and tracking but that is at the request of the buyer or out of my pocket. I told him if he wanted it he could pay for it and waited 8 days with no response from him. Like I said If he wanted extra shipping he needed to tell me and pay for it, he also did not finish paying me the total $300, so I made even less. I used one of the flat rate (I believe they are priority as well, the white boxes they sell) boxes to ship, there was no tracking on it. Here you have to pay extra.
 
turk.919 said:
April 25th, Said to heck with it and tossed them in a USPS priority box and sent them his way. I had somewhat the amount I wanted and was tired of dealing with it. I used nothing on the package because I was agitated and he said nothing about shipping preferences.

March 1st, sent a text asking if they showed up. No response.

Went on vacation and got a text at 11:18 last night (14th) saying the knives hadn't shown. I asked is the address was right and just got"Yes" and then "Not here" as a response.

Got home today at 6 in the afternoon and started looking for the receipt for the package. Called the friend who owns the shipping store and they said there isn't much they can do even with the item number.

Should I just refund this guys money or ??? :confused:

Please ask if I need to clarify anything.

Thanks, Troy.
Click to expand...
I'm assuming you sent him the text on May 1st? Parcels can rarely get misdirected but the delay would likely be a day or two.It's also rarely that a parcel could be miss-delivered.Another big possibility is the buyer received it but you have no proof.I really hate to say this Troy but Delivery Conformation and insurance actually protects the seller and not the buyer.If he claims he never received it the only thing you can do is refund his money.
 
Skyhorse, you caught me as I was typing the below statement. I may just have to refund him.

Going to do one more clarification post tonight to maybe help with understanding.

I wanted $400 shipped for my knives. I sold them to him for $300 plus extra for anything beyond flat rate shipping. If he told me he wanted insurance or whatever I wanted him to pay for it, this is NOT an unreasonable request. I ended up getting $291 in total and no comments about shipping. If he is not going to be decent enough to reply to me after 8 days, then I just sent the knives without extras that I had to pay more for. It upset me that he would reply almost instantly before he shorted me, then no response at all after until yesterday. And the response I got wasn't even about money, it was about him not getting the knives even though he knew he shorted me. For all I know he has the knives and could be trying to get money back through PP. I don't know how that all works.



In other notes:

Whenever I sell something on here or make a trade, I have the price for the item and a price for shipping with DC and tracking, or for trades the person and I will have a mutual agreement as to what to use on the shipping.
 
You got screwed. He deliberately used regular paypal so he can claim he never recieved the knives and then paypal will give him his money back.

I wouldnt be surprised if thats whats gonna happen.
 
Is there anything I could do to protect myself from that? Or does PP take percentages if the gift function is used?
 
I dont think there is anything you can do especially since you didnt get tracking or insurance. But I could be wrong and I hope I am wrong about the guy, but the way he didnt respond to you about the shipping just smells fishy to me.
 
He may have received them and seeing you didn`t have any way of tracking or proof of delivery now knows he can claim they never came .If he paid regular paypal not gift he will get his/your money and possibly you knives as well. I am truly sorry to hear about your issue .You should always try your best to protect yorself from the unknowable.
 
Dang Troy with all due respect and I really do feel bad for you,by mailing it with no way to track it or prove delivery if the buyer claims he never got it you're screwed.Hell he could be lying but you can't prove he got it.The seller is protecting himself by shipping with at least delivery conformation.Even when you purchase insurance only the mailer can file a claim if it got damaged or was never received.
 
turk.919 said:
Is there anything I could do to protect myself from that? Or does PP take percentages if the gift function is used?
Click to expand...

Get tracking and insurance on all your packages unless you are willing to replace them should they get lost.

Seriously. They're there for the shipper, not the receiver.
 
I'd agree you probably got screwed. By having no tracking, he can just claim he never got it even if he does, because he didn't pay gift (since you got fees taken out, we know this to be true). Even though by only paying you $300, he basically confirmed he wanted no extra shipping services, the extra shipping services weren't for him, they were for you. As others stated, tracking protects the seller. If a seller told me I'd have to pay extra shipping services, I'd tell him it doesn't matter to me if he includes it or not, because if the item doesn't arrive, I'd just issue a chargeback. Always track your packages. Hope he gets the knives, and you keep your $291.
 
Troy I'm no expert but having been a mail man for over 35 years that retired at the end of 2008,I can truly say that the odds are he got it and knows you can't prove it.Hell I could be wrong but that's my guess.
 
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