Received ‘item’ but I was an envelope with an invoice inside, no item.

[frogwah]

I’m not sure what my recourse is to this problem. I ordered an item from a seller in France, very good feedback. Item was marked as shipped, tracking number provided.

Got notification that item arrived today – went to collect it from parcel locker and all that was in there was an envelope with a printed eBay receipt.

The item, which is a solid piece that would fit in your hand, was not inside and there was no evidence of anything having ever been put in the envelope – it was simply a standard A5 envelope.

The item is marked as delivered in the eBay system and I cannot seem to be able to raise a case to say my item has not arrived. Has anyone got experience with a similar issue?

I can’t return the item because there is nothing to return. I have not yet heard back from the seller, and possibly will in the coming days, but would be interested to know how others may have dealt with something similar.

thank you!

[jellybirddesigns]

Do NOT open a case for "Item not Delivered", as you will lose it since the seller sent with tracking.

You can probably open an "Item Not as Described Case", and since the seller is in France, they cannot issue you with a postage label and would just have to refund. Others will advise what message, if any, to attach to the case.

You do not have to communicate with the seller.

[papermoon.lady]

Was the envelope totally sealed? Could the item have slipped out if there was a tiny unsealed corner? Was it a normal paper envelope or a tough envelope? If the envelope looked flat and empty, the person who put it in your parcel locker might remember, but you would be lucky if they did.

Unfortunately if it has been marked as delivered I am not sure what your options are. Ebay and PP are highly unlikely to help because when an item is marked as delivered they usually side with the seller. 

Hopefully somebody here will have other ideas.

Edit: Maybe you can try what JBD suggested.

[*sons_and_daughters*]

Open an item not as described dispute through ebays money back guarantee. Despite what has been posted, just because a seller is overseas, doesn't mean you don't have to send it back. In most cases, if it's not as described, you have to send it back, unless the seller says otherwise. What it means is, the seller can't send a return postage label. You can't get an automatic refund because the seller is overseas. It doesn't work that way. Sometimes, it's in the lap of the gods, and you send back at your own expense, hoping the seller is honest and refunds the return postage. Most of the time, that won't happen. You might be refunded the purchase price, and initial postage costs, but you will probably be out the return postage cost, as it can't be enforced.

If an ebay dispute fails, you can try Paypal. Just make sure you sign up for free returns before you open a dispute. 

[*sons_and_daughters*]

---

@jellybirddesigns wrote:

Do NOT open a case for "Item not Delivered", as you will lose it since the seller sent with tracking.

You can probably open an "Item Not as Described Case", and since the seller is in France, they cannot issue you with a postage label and would just have to refund. Others will advise what message, if any, to attach to the case.

You do not have to communicate with the seller.

---

That is not the case at all, yet you keep saying it. Plenty of overseas sellers would insist on a return for refund. Sure, they can't send a postage label, but they can promise a full refund on return, and it's not a case of being forced to refund due to being outside of Australia. We both know that a certain amount of sellers would say too bad, so sad, you aren't getting the return postage cost back, but there are plenty who happily refund the return postage costs.

It's not a given that an overseas seller can only refund because they can't send a postage label. False information.

[jellybirddesigns]

There is no way I would send an item back on a "promise of a refund"!

If the seller is scamming the buyer, they are definitely not going to refund anything and then the buyer is out of pocket for both the item and then return tracked postage. 

This forum is littered with stories of how buyers were promised refunds if they sent items back at their own expense and then got nothing for their troubles (especially if they were discouraged from opening a case). I have actually seen it for myself at the Post Office where a women was told to send an item back overseas and it cost her about $70 in tracked postage, with zero guarantee of a refund. Not only that, certain sellers deliberately give the wrong delivery information, so the poor buyer sends it off and then the seller claims it was never received. 

The OP should not be out of pocket in any way and the only thing they should be doing is opening a case for not as described. Ebay will advise on the next steps once the case is opened.