Tom, I shared your comments on eBay with a friend who sells a lot via eBay. Here's what he said. Me, I know nothing..........Peter
"...I went to usps.com and shipped an imaginary package to an imaginary friend. With Priority Mail, delivery confirmation is free. Delivery confirmation is a proof of delivery to the specific address. The recipient does not have to go to the post office to pick up the item. I know that Ebay sellers to me use this method and my mailman leaves the packages in my mailbox no problem. If something needs to be signed for, yes, then I have to go to the PO and it is a pain in the ***.
Look under Priority Mail. There is delivery confirmation for $0.00 and signature confirmation for $1.75.
Most ship using Priority Mail and stamps. The return receipt they ask for is indeed something that the recipient has to sign for. This is the electronic age. You ship using usps.com and print a label from your computer. Then you get free tracking and delivery confirmation. Well, not free tracking.
For really valuable stuff, I'd send UPS or Fedex Ground, which provides complete tracking and delivery confirmation.
The folks on the list need to be VERY specific as to what they mean by "delivery confirmation." "
============================================ Peter Brueggeman La Jolla California USA pbrueggeman(AT)ucsd.edu
Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 05:21:57 -0600 From: "Tom Hayes" <hayesbikes(AT)gmail.com> Subject: [CR]Ebay scam
A new one on me for getting beat on selling something on Ebay: the person pays you with "instant payment" through Paypal, although it is paid through instant withdrawal from a checking account. You, as the receiver of the money, do not know that; you only receive a notice that you have an instant payment, but you do not have the source of the instant payment. (This is not the echeck.) Two weeks later, after you have sent the item, exchanged positive feedback, the buyer initiates a reversal of the payment. The bank cancels the payment to Paypal and Paypal charges it back to you. According to Paypal, the only way the "guarantee" applies is if I have delivery confirmation or insurance number. They will not accept the number from Priority Mail and a receipt showing that you sent it to the specific zip code. I guess the lesson learned is that all items should be sent with delivery confirmation, which which seems like such a shame if you consider the one person beating you and then you have to treat all as if they too fit the cheating category. On the good side, however, is that delivery confirmation does offer an inexpensive way of enforcing Paypal's "guarantee."
I have filed a dispute with Ebay, though my luck with them doing much has never been good.
Cheers.
Tom Hayes
Chagrin Falls, Ohio USA