Still no tracking info, after 4 working days

[runningsl0th]

I'm waiting on a package from Melbourne to Adelaide. I ordered (and paid for) Express Post because I wanted it urgently, but he 'accidentally' sent it Parcel Post.

It was marked as Sent last Wednesday, and it's now Tuesday, but there's still no tracking info. The auspost tracking page just says "No updates yet". I know some of those auspost parcels come with tracking numbers already on their labels. Could it be that he just entered the number into eBay and marked it as Sent, but hasn't actually bothered putting it in the postbox yet?

It's a bit of a worry, because I'm going overseas for a couple of months in a little over a week, and I don't know what happens if the parcel arrives while I'm away.

[*sparklz*]

For a start ask the seller to refund you the extra cost you paid for postage as you paid for a service that was not provided.

If the item has not arrived by the delivery date then open a dispute for item not received.

If the seller can not prove postage (and should have if scanned when lodged) then you will get a refund.

[letscleanupmycupboards]

But if the estimated delivery date is after you go away it wouldn't be fair on the seller to say it hasn't arrived since you won't know til you're back.

That said I've had articles delivered 3 weeks back still with no tracking uploaded. Not uncommon.

[*sparklz*]

You will need to have someone collect your mail so IF it arrives it is not returned to sender.

[runningsl0th]

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@*sparklz* wrote:

For a start ask the seller to refund you the extra cost you paid for postage as you paid for a service that was not provided.

If the item has not arrived by the delivery date then open a dispute for item not received.

If the seller can not prove postage (and should have if scanned when lodged) then you will get a refund.

---

 1) The item is marked as Sent with Express Post, and according to the eBay page, should have arrived yesterday. When I looked at the tracking info last Wednesday, saw that it in fact said Parcel post, I messaged him to ask what's up. He basically said "whoops! Sorry about that!" and that he would refund the entire postage cost (but hasn't done). 

2) You say I can lodge a dispute. Is that the same as asking for a refund? I thought I had to wait a period of time after the due date before doing that. If not, I can probably do that now, as according to eBay, the item should have arrived yesterday. 

[digital*ghost]

Are there any tracking events at all? Sellers can purchase shipping labels online, and if they do it will say something like "shipping information received by Australia Post", but that just means a label was created and it may not have been handed over to Aus Post (it still could be put in a street box, which would mean there's no lodgement scan so it could be a while before it gets scanned into the system - same goes if they used a pre-paid satchel, which do have tracking numbers).

I'm assuming eBay's ETA is based on the fact that express was selected, so normal parcel post could take anywhere from an additional 1-6 days for delivery if Aus Post do have it and it just hasn't been scanned yet. 

That being said, I'm personally a little bothered by the stated response from the seller and the promise to refund without doing so as yet, it's not exactly inspiring of confidence in other aspects of the transaction, given the current circumstances - if they had done a partial refund, you should have received an email, and the PayPal transaction will show partially refunded (if the purchase was funded by a credit card, then it will go straight back on to the card, so that might be worth checking if you haven't already). 

Lodging a dispute /  opening a request provide the seller with a few days to get the item to you or otherwise resolve the issue. On eBay I believe the seller has 5 days to do so before you are able to escalate. Not sure about PayPal, some can be escalated immediately, some can't, but I'm not sure what criteria is involved. 

Do you have anyone that can collect / accept your mail while you're away to let you know if it does arrive, and / or send it back (RTS) if you get a refund? (Alternatively, you can resend payment if you want to keep it, I wouldn't be paying for the postage, TBH, especially as they said they'd refund anyway). 

[*sparklz*]

If the estimated time for delivery has passed then to the right of the purchase is a drop down.

Select item not received and that will initiate a dispute.

It will show the time the seller has to respond and once that date has passed you can escalate to a claim if the seller has not refunded or the item has not arrived.

[*tippy*toes*]

It's possible the seller dropped it in the red box without a lodgement scan. Silly on his part if that's what happened. 

Sometimes sellers can have an oops moment, but it's how they respond to the oops that can make or break them. I very rarely get buyers select express. A couple of years ago someone did, but I didn't notice until I got home and went to upload the tracking number. I absolutely carped myself. Even though I still knew it would more than likely still arrive within 2 days, the same as express from here, I sent the buyer a message, apologised profusely and gave him a full refund.

It did arrive in 2 days, he repaid for the item, even though I insisted not to even think about it. If I had not done anything about it and just let it slide, his reaction could well have been completely the opposite.

I hope it's just a mix up with your seller and that the item is on its way. As far as I know you can open an eBay dispute the day after the last estimate date, so you should be right to go. I don't normally encourage opening a dispute without contacting the seller first and trying to work it out, but in this instance, I'd go ahead and open it.

[lane-ends]

My guess is he just packed it up with, and like, every other item he normally sends and dropped it in a street box as regular post by mistake. Depending on where it is going it may not have a tracking event until it reaches delivery center. Most likely nothing sinister in it at all. Very very few cases of sellers saying somethings been posted then deliberatley not posting as there is no point to doing that.

[letscleanupmycupboards]

How does one wait til after the estimated delivery date if, for example, the seller has not marked it as sent? Hence no ETA listed?