Off-Topic Forum

I received an eBay message stating that a customer has filed a dispute outside of eBay for a payment made in April that the item (2012 Topps Chrome Purple Mike Trout PSA 9) wasn't received.  The item is shown as delivered on eBay.  USPS says they only keep tracking for up to 120 days.  Also, eBay asked me to show proof of delivery outside of their site.  I can't do that since USPS no longer has that information.  Has anyone else had to go through this or have a solution?

-Patrick

Ugh. I hate when this happens.

I'm sorry that I don't have a solution for you, I had a similar thing happen to me when I sold a person 3 copies of Topps 1986T Barry Bonds for like $50 or something. I don't remember the exact price. 

I ended up having to foot the bill on this, as I had basically the same thing happen (They filed the complaint 214 days later) when it showed up as delivered in August of 2018.

I just learned the hard way that you have to keep proof of delivery for every purchase, however small it may seem. These sort of people either A) Are scamming you out of a valuable card or B) Genuinely didn't get it. I'm leaning towards the scamming option because of the fact that they reported it missing more than 120 days later. An honest buyer usually reports it missing within a month or two.

Be careful

Have you tried reaching out to USPS directly to see if they have it filed in their archives somewhere?  99.9% of the time you are going to lose no matter what proof you provide because credit card companies always side with the buyer, however eBay should protect you (and would pay the claim) if you have the proper tracking information.

I've been on the opposite side of this. Last year I bought a set that was marked as delivered by USPS. The set was not delivered to my parcel box so I contacted my local PO. Wouldn't have been the st time it went to the wrong location. They couldn't find the item and the driver had no clue. After having no luck with the PO I contacted eBay and PayPal and filed claims. Both times the claim was denied because the items was marked as Delivered. I filed a claim with USPS which was denied because the claim was marked as Delivered. I filed a claim with the credit card which was denied because the claim was marked as Delivered. Each time they all stated to provide proof the items wasn't delivered. Like, how do you provide proof to that....

The seller was local and great actually. I got another set from him and he gave me a great deal of backlogged inserts he was just trying to get rid of. Sent him my wantlist and viola.....  

From their website:

Customers can restore archived information by calling Customer Service at 800-222-1811. (Postal Service personnel can also restore archived information by accessing the Intranet Web page at http://blue.usps.gov; click on My Work; then, under "Moving the Mail Tools," click on Track and Confirm.) Following a restoration request, all event information is restored, usually within 2 to 4 hours (although on rare occasions the restoration process may take up to 24 hours).

Thank you for all the information.  I contacted USPS and they said they can't help me.  When I look at the dispute number on eBay, the item says paid April 21st, shipped April 21st, and delivered April 26th.  I'm assuming eBay pulls that information directly from USPS so I hope I'm protected (wishful thinking).  The timing is odd because it is almost 6 months and Trout's cards are way down from when I sold.

Thank you, C2Cigars!  I will keep trying to contact them for a restoration request.

I guess moving forward I will have to screenshot all tracking and hold for 6 months.

Or you could make sure you get a receipt over the counter for everything. Especially if  it is a higher value item or is something that is a scam target.

Good luck with this. I haven't had much luck dealing with USPS. I almost always use UPS and when I get the tracking info I write on the receipt what it is and who it was to. Then I scan it in the computer. After that I wait to see feedback. If none has been given, I contact the buyer to make sure they got the item. I know that doesn't help you now, but maybe it will in the future.

Very unfortunate circumstance. I hope it works out for you, but from what I have read from others it sounds like you may unfortunately lose out on this one. Hopefully, it surprises everyone and works out for you though.

Exactly . If stuff isn't recieved within 30 days or so  an honest person would contact seller or put in a claim with yaBe as there's usually a time limit for chargebacks to credit/debit cards not wait 4 months for the same claim .