Delivered but "Stolen"

kirbyrj

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What's the general consensus on this?

Recently shipped out a Vega 56 video card to a user who is on this forum, but didn't have enough posts to send PM's so I was contacted via Gmail. He had some minimal Heatware (positive but old feedback) that matched the city. He paid, I shipped via USPS Priority Mail, it was delivered at 4:13 PM today, but I was contacted within 45 minutes of the delivery time saying the package did not arrive and is presumed stolen. He was home all day, and no attempt was made to actually deliver the package to a person at the residence. Just put on his front stairs.

How do we handle these situations around here? I don't really feel like eating that loss and I'm sure neither does he (assuming I'm not getting scammed). I told him to contact the post office and file a police report at minimum.
 
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I would have him get a police report. I had packages stolen and had no problem doing one. If he refuses then I would be pretty suspicious of his stolen story.
 
I would assume the sender purchased insurance, no?

Also, just an FYI, my local USPS always says its delivered a day early and they never even put it on the truck for delivery yet. They purposely do this in order to seem like they're not behind in shipment schedules. I would give it at least 24 hours before any real panic. Chances are, it's still at the USPS center.
 
I would assume the sender purchased insurance, no?

Also, just an FYI, my local USPS always says its delivered a day early and they never even put it on the truck for delivery yet. They purposely do this in order to seem like they're not behind in shipment schedules. I would give it at least 24 hours before any real panic. Chances are, it's still at the USPS center.

That doesn't happen around here. It is scanned and put in the mailbox as delivered. Not only that, the scan has a GPS location in case there are issues.

What good is insurance if the package was "delivered" ? I can see if it was damaged or never delivered, but why would they pay out on the basis of a delivered package?
 
45 minutes is too soon, the scam has begun.

Package theft does happen though, you always have to ask for signature when shipping something of value.
 
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45 minutes is too soon, the scam has begun.

Package theft does happen though, you always have to ask for signature when shipping something of value.

Quite frankly, signature required where I live is a pain in the ass. The post office never even makes an attempt to deliver it. I have to go down there and figure out which post office actually has it, and I get it two or three days after the expected delivery date.

I mean a scam at this point can really only be playing off my good nature. I shipped through PayPal and they will see that it was delivered. It was a goods and services transaction also not a friends and family one.
 
What's the general consensus on this?

Recently shipped out a Vega 56 video card to a user who is on this forum, but didn't have enough posts to send PM's so I was contacted via Gmail. He had some minimal Heatware (positive but old feedback) that matched the city. He paid, I shipped via USPS Priority Mail, it was delivered at 4:13 PM today, but I was contacted within 45 minutes of the delivery time saying the package did not arrive and is presumed stolen. He was home all day, and no attempt was made to actually deliver the package to a person at the residence. Just put on his front stairs.

How do we handle these situations around here? I don't really feel like eating that loss and I'm sure neither does he (assuming I'm not getting scammed). I told him to contact the post office and file a police report at minimum.

Whenever I make a sale, I offer the customer the option to purchase insurance for an extra cost of a few dollars. If they refuse and the package is lost/damaged in transit, that responsibility then falls on them and I have proof to PayPal that insurance was offered but declined. USPS by default also has I think $100 in insurance so you could always try that but I don't think they cover stolen packages unless you had the signature option selected (which is what I also offer). In this case, if you didn't offer either of those as options and he didn't request them, ultimately the fault is both of yours and I'd say you should probably refund him half the cost if he can prove he didn't receive it. Sadly, he can simply lie to you and say it was stolen when in fact he did receive it and is scamming you. Have him check with his neighbors, sometimes USPS leaves it with them or it could still be with them despite saying delivered. If it is lost, then as others have said, have him file a police report.
 
Whenever I make a sale, I offer the customer the option to purchase insurance for an extra cost of a few dollars. If they refuse and the package is lost/damaged in transit, that responsibility then falls on them and I have proof to PayPal that insurance was offered but declined. USPS by default also has I think $100 in insurance so you could always try that but I don't think they cover stolen packages unless you had the signature option selected (which is what I also offer). In this case, if you didn't offer either of those as options and he didn't request them, ultimately the fault is both of yours and I'd say you should probably refund him half the cost if he can prove he didn't receive it. Sadly, he can simply lie to you and say it was stolen when in fact he did receive it and is scamming you. Have him check with his neighbors, sometimes USPS leaves it with them or it could still be with them despite saying delivered. If it is lost, then as others have said, have him file a police report.
Insurance covers the shipper, not the buyer. If the package is lost in shipping that's on the seller who bears the burden of delivering the package as promised.

The only one at fault here is the a-hat that stole the package. Unfortunately once the package was delivered it stopped being the seller's responsibility. That package becomes no different than any other piece of property stolen from the buyer's residence. Buyer is a victim of theft. Not the seller's issue.
 
Insurance covers the shipper, not the buyer. If the package is lost in shipping that's on the seller who bears the burden of delivering the package as promised.

The only one at fault here is the a-hat that stole the package. Unfortunately once the package was delivered it stopped being the seller's responsibility. That package becomes no different than any other piece of property stolen from the buyer's residence. Buyer is a victim of theft. Not the seller's issue.

Insurance covers the seller but in this case the reimbursement for a damaged or lost in transit package would go to the buyer via the seller so it's good to have. Signature confirmation is a must with packages worth more than $100.

However it is true that if the package was delivered to the correct address, it's no longer the sellers responsibility but like I said, if he never offered signature confirmation or insurance, then it was partially his fault.
 
I have the post office do this to me quite a bit, especially when there is a substitute delivery person or when it is raining.

Sometimes it even happens when somebody has been home all day. They just don't even try to do the delivery.

The tracking shows it as delivered, but they never actually delivered it. I am guessing this is because they have to have it marked as delivered when it is shipped via priority mail.

The package usually shows up the very next day.

I wouldn't fret too much unless it doesn't show up by tomorrow.

And sometimes when a signature is required, they don't even try to deliver it. They just stick a "not home" slip in the mailbox and I have to go to the post office to retrieve it.

It really depends on the delivery person. Our current one is pretty good, especially compared to some we have had in the past and pretty much all of the substitute drivers.

All that being said, I add signature required to the more expensive items I sell/ship.
 
This happens to me all the time with Amazon deliveries. I get a notice that shows delivered, but the package isn't delivered until the following day. I say wait 24hr.
 
Should have used signature confirmation. That said, you're pretty well protected as a seller if the package says delivered.

Would definitely have him file a police report before doing anything else. If he tries to file a claim with PayPal they will have him do the same thing anyway. If he's not willing to file a report there is no way he would win a PP case. The report may help with getting reimbursed from USPS also, though I'm not sure how they handle this.
 
If it shows delivered, the recipient should call the local post office to see if they can reach out to the mail carrier for explanation. If they deem it stolen then the recipient should contact the police. I never deal with 'strangers' on the internet because of bs like this. Never deal through email only.
 
I'd first like to ask who contacted you to advise the 'Package had been stolen' ? How would the Post Office even know this, especially in just 45 minutes.
 
I'd first like to ask who contacted you to advise the 'Package had been stolen' ? How would the Post Office even know this, especially in just 45 minutes.

The person to whom the package was addressed. He saw "delivered" and didn't see his package.
 
Says delivered so in my eyes your responsibility to get the item to the buyer is done. Have them wait another day and if nothing still shows up then tell them to work it out with USPS and/or the police.

If they don't want to file a police report and/or missing package claim then save that communication since it'll come in handy once the inevitable PayPal dispute will be opened.
 
Package theft does happen though, you always have to ask for signature when shipping something of value.

Get the direct signature. This way they can not pre-sign for it online and have it left at the door.
 
Firstly, always wait a day or two before getting your / their / his / her panties in a bunch. I don't know how many times, the online tracking was marked delivered but it didn't show up until a day or two later. It's likely, the driver just didn't want to circle to your house / neighborhood to deliver jsut the one package before going off shift / ending their day. They end up delivering it later when they have a couple more packages all in the same vicinity to save the trip.

Second, if you offer insurance and they refuse, it's on them.

Third, if you send it signature required but they sign a release to "leave" the package, it's on them.

Last, if they haven't been around long enough to PM / officially buy / sell on [H] = no sale for me. This cuts out the first level of lazy scammers since they have to stick around long enough to get their post count up.
 
I'm surprised nobody said anything about dealing with a new person that "didn't have enough posts to send PM's so I was contacted via Gmail". Major red flags right there.

The only reason I went ahead with the transaction was because he had heatware and it matched the city where I was shipping the package.
 
100% agree with Crosshairs, is him responsibility now. You are "clean" even opposite PayPal. Just take care of initial conversations that are describing the situation, to not have the surprise (IF, I underline IF is a scam) to switch with a different story in a PayPal dispute (like not working, damaged etc)

And why "red flag" coz seller is new here? ALL of us we were new at one moment! Where is the innocence presumption? (in fact for both persons, it is possible that was stolen OR not delivered)
 
Check with his neighbors. I sold a card on here a few years back that was delivered and not at his home. He checked with the people in the apartment next to his and it was delivered there. Other than that, it was delivered and the buyer is sol as the insurance only covers damage. I ALWAYS require signature on people with little to no heat or over $50.
 
Signature is a waste and inconvenience and I generally only use it for packages over $200. I also only deal with people with good heat though so I'm never really worried about it. I just buy insurance if I'm worried about it. He should go down to the local USPS they can show him the delivery location. He just needs to bring the tracking number.
 
The only reason I went ahead with the transaction was because he had heatware and it matched the city where I was shipping the package.
Was his forum username tied to the Heatware account? If not, that's another red flag. I can search for Heatware users that are in the same city as me and use those too..

Example of my Heatware account:
D0FZeIL.png
 
And why "red flag" coz seller is new here? ALL of us we were new at one moment! Where is the innocence presumption? (in fact for both persons, it is possible that was stolen OR not delivered)

The buyer was new - not the seller.
 
it only takes like 100 posts to get pm ability i don't think i would sell to anyone under 100 posts... And if you had signature required you could tell him to file a claim on the insurance...
 
Yeah this isn't Amazon, missing packages are a problem between the buyer and the post office. If the buyer has issues with stolen packages they should have the package delivered somewhere else or hold for pickup.
 
Well, the good news is I haven't heard anything back from the buyer since the initial "panic" e-mail on the first day. Here's hoping he got the package afterall!
 
I too have had an item marked delivered when it was left at the wrong house. Sometimes you can get in touch with the actual delivery person. Sometimes they just suck.
I got a note on my door that I wasn't home and that I refused delivery, so the item was being returned to the shipper. When I called to ask how I could have refused delivery if I wasn't even home, they basically said tough luck. I was not even able to go downtown and pick it up, it was on it's way back. (frowny face)
Don't assume a scam just yet.
 
I once had a PSU shipped to NY from California and then come all the way back to Nevada before returning to Virginia.

Delivery people are dumb sometimes.
 
I try to save myself the hassle and get insurance on everything I send out. Protects me against scams, in some way. I sent an entire computer to someone a year ago, and they claimed it was damaged in shipping and wouldn't boot. I tried assisting, but they refused to send pictures of any damage. I offered to start a claim with the shipper, but would require photos and a description of how it looked. I made it very clear right away that I had the insurance, but the person stopped contacting me. I was happy to help if it was legitimately damaged.
 
Agree with Crosshairs.

Once package is on a buyer's doorstep, it's not the seller's problem. Sellers on these forums are not Amazon.com like someone you buy off Craigslist is not Walmart.

As a buyer and seller on these forums, if I'm buying something super valuable (like an expensive GPU), I make sure the address I choose is a secure location (in my case, my work office). If you're buying an $800 second hand GPU and it gets picked up by a thief, then that's a very expensive lesson.
 
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