The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Hello!

Here is a nice story: About 1.5 months ago, I did find one of my best bargains (To be true, THE best ever). An ebay item. I haven´t got it yet though. I have now managed to find out what has happened to it since the package was sent with tracking number, . Guess what? Someone has picked it up in Australia on the 15th of January! YES! What a good way to start the weekend. Any word of advice appreciated. Yes, I have contacted the seller but haven´t got any answer from him yet. I only see two possibilities, either has the seller mixed up two packages or if USPS have done something wrong. I have checked the sellers feedback to see if he has sold anything to Australia but at least he hasn´t got any feedback from Australia. I know that this is my private problem but it is always fun to read other peoples opinions so I decided to post my little issue here. An unusual problem, eh? Is it 20000km to Australia or something? //Chris

So, from what I understand, UPS? released a package to someone other than you? Why didnt they ask for a name? How did that "person" know? Had to be an accident and not something sinister. Did you ask for the record on who picked it up. Dont they have to sign?

airfuelEddie wrote:So, from what I understand, UPS? released a package to someone other than you? Why didnt they ask for a name? How did that "person" know? Had to be an accident and not something sinister. Did you ask for the record on who picked it up. Dont they have to sign?

I don´tknow. The hole situation is new to me. Too late to draw any conclusions, I guess. This is what the computer says:

Status: Delivered Abroad. Your item was delivered in AUSTRALIA at 3:41 PM on January 15, 2007.

How do you interpret that? Is it now in a postal office in Australia? Picked up by someone?

Christer, it sounds as it was delivered at 3:41 pm. but what makes you think it was "picked" up? Have you called them. I would think it logical that the delivery company or post office would keep it until someone arrived with I.D. and gave it to them.

Contact UPS and talk to them. If the package was addressed to you it cannot possibly have been delivered to anywhere in Australia.

So the either the tracking number was wrong or the seller gave you the wrong number.

I would guess about 7 weeks (give or take a week) to get a parcel from Austrailia via surface mail. UPS should have been a lot faster. Like days?

Why did you not track the parcel before now?

Yeah, let us know, hope it works out for you! Good to hear from you Dave.

dave-r wrote:Contact UPS and talk to them. If the package was addressed to you it cannot possibly have been delivered to anywhere in Australia.

So the either the tracking number was wrong or the seller gave you the wrong number.

I would guess about 7 weeks (give or take a week) to get a parcel from Austrailia via surface mail. UPS should have been a lot faster. Like days?

Why did you not track the parcel before now?

Hopefully, it has been a mix-up somewhere somehow. I hope it will be sorted out.

Almost 100% of the sent packages have recieved have arrived safe and sound. It all has worked out ridicously well if you ask me. Touch wood.

It wasn´t sent UPS, it was sent USPS instead (due to cost). It was sent the 22th of december and it seems to have arrived in Australia on the 15th of January. It seems like an ordinary delivery time to me. (Take in account that Christmas and New year is during that period.)

I have not done anything because it is so hard to tell when a package will arrive due to customs control etc. If it gets stuck in customs, I estimate that it will take 1-2 week more than if it came direct to me. When about 40 days have gone from the date of purchase, I use to begin to get a little anxious. I have to fill a claim (paypal issue) within 45 days from the purchase if I want my money back. That is why I use to wait a little more than 40 days before I take any actions.

Thanks for your help.

airfuelEddie wrote:Christer, it sounds as it was delivered at 3:41 pm. but what makes you think it was "picked" up? Have you called them. I would think it logical that the delivery company or post office would keep it until someone arrived with I.D. and gave it to them.

No, I haven´t called them yet. I thought I would wait for the seller to reply first.

I only know how the "delivery confirmation" works here in Sweden. You just sign a paper, then the post office scan the code on the package (giving the delivered status?) and then you get it. You don´t have to I.D. yourself or anything. The signature is all that´s needed. I assume that all they check is that there is the same name on the package as on the signature. Quite idiotic if I may say so. I have heard about plans to change this way of working, but these plans have not become reality yet (as far as I know).

UPS will only deliver to the address they are told to deliver to.

airfuelEddie wrote: Good to hear from you Dave.

If I get caught using the computer I will be in trouble with the wife. i am suppost to be having COMPLETE rest.

gday i have received quite a few packages now (not your though chris) & have only had to sign for a few of them i think it depends on the sender weather or not they require a signiture
cheers ian

Be sneaky, Dave..... I hear keeping in touch with friends is great medicine.

JackT wrote:Be sneaky, Dave..... I hear keeping in touch with friends is great medicine.

Eventually, Diana might be worried that upsetting topics will come up.
Remeber the topic "Why was Dave so rude to the boy in the 1978 Challenger"!
(Sorry, I just couldn´t stop myself )

christer wrote:Remeber the topic "Why was Dave so rude to the boy in the 1978 Challenger"!

Because if he had "restored" it it would have cost him a lot of money for no increase in the value of the car.

Well that is my official excuse....

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

A little update. Not any good news though. THE SELLER IS NOT A REGISTRED EBAY MEMBER ANY MORE! (Sigh! ) The truth is that I took a chance when I bought this item because the seller had a hefty zero feedback. During his 2-3 months of ebay activity,he managed to get a 59 feedback score/98.4%. Not bad for a beginner. The ending went as quick as a cut with the razor-blade though. Guess if I was surprised when my own feedback rating all of a sudden had dropped one unit. (Immediately after the buy he gave me a positive feedback) I hardly could believe my eyes because I was quite confident that feedbacks can´t be deleted. Apparently ebay can.

The swedish post office told me that the package either has been sent to Sweden or back to the US. Nothing else to do than to sit and wait in other words. Oh boy, am I going to be glad when I get the package?

It is partly a sad day for me.
The good news first: I will go to a Motorshow today. Probably most new cars but anyway a nice happening.
The bad news: Today I realized that the Non-registred-ebayer now is working under a new nick-name. It feels like he is trying to sell the same mirror another time. At least it looks like identical packages to me. Sometimes it is easy to keep yourself from laughing. I will try to do my best to stop his fraudual activity. Any word of advise?

Yep. That is the same package alright.

I can't think what you can do but tell ebay before he gets money out of someone else.

Buy it a second time ! This will give you all the information you need.
Maybe use another ebay name, just in case, so he will not end the auction early, if he sees your (old) ebay ID and knows who you are.

If this is the same guy and the same item, file a complaint with ebay and notify the FBI Internet Fraud Unit about this. This is a serious crime in the US and they will investigate this.

Did you pay via Paypal ? If yes, request your money back ! They usually refund your money.

Offer to send him a cheque and get his address.

Thanks guys! I will try to do my best to solve this issue. I will let you know how it works out. //Chris

What a mess! I mailed him/them that I would do my best to stop his/their fraudiual activity. These are the excuses I got:

Excuse #1 (today 16.01): Christer, Even though I am not registered under eBay anymore, I Have filed a claim with the USPS for insurance. I am not going to leave anyone in the lurch. I took the information you provided and I am handling the claim and the funds will come back to me. I can either send you back the money you sent, or I can send you another mirror. I have two more of these assemblies that I got from a Chrysler dealership. I get most of my NOS items by visiting obscure dealerships around the US . I got into problems with eBay because my wife, now my ex-wife ruined my credit and all my credit cards and bank accounts had to be closed. I have a friend of mine selling some things of mine to keep things going. I dont want any trouble down the road.

Let me know if you want a refund, or if you want another mirror. I assure you that the I did mail you the first one and that I have all the paperwork to prove that. I will gladly mail you another one and I will track and insure again. I would not believe that lighting strikes the same place twice. Please call me anytime day or night.

Jeff XXX-XXX-XXXX

Excuse #2 (today 16.07): No, my name is Cole, I work with Jeffrey. I am taking care of some items for him. He has had some serious finanacial difficulties with his wife. I am sure that if you contact him he will work everything out with you. We have a system here in the United States that is not too fair to men in divorce and I know he is under a great deal of stress lately. Best Regards -Cole.

Excuse 3# (today 17.25)Christer,
My co-worker Cole just contacted me and let me know that you had indicated to him via email that you were worried about some type of fraud. I will only try to assure you that that is not the case. I am going thru hell on my end, but as I stated in an earlier email, I dont leave people in the lurch. My problems are not yours, and I will do everything on my end to resolve this with you. Again, I will give you a refund, or ship you another mirror. The two others I have are identical to the one you purchased. Please dont make trouble for Cole he is new to eBay and trying to help me out until I can resolve things with my eBay account.

Thanks again,
Jeff
XXX-XXX-XXXX

Well, my conclusion is that they don´t want me to interfere with their business. I have mailed them the two pic´s and it will be very intresting to hear their explanation. It is not a very easy situation for me. It is very hard to tell for sure if they are honest or not. The fact that he once has become a non-registred-ebayer makes me very suspicious though. Maybe he wants to be honest but doesn´t have the financial means?

...and excuse #4 (today 21.00): Chris,

I gave the same photos to list for the part number on the box, but thats it. The other does not have a box or the mounting studs. Also, I have positive proof I sent a package by the USPS to Sweden that ended up in
Australia. I dont have a scanner or I would scan the USPS computer printed label with your name, address, the tracking number we both have, and stamp from post office showing it in their care. If you have a fax machine number I will fax it to you. I am sure your post office would have a way of explaining its authenticity and that the lost package truely is the fault of the post office. Also, I am resolving my issue with eBay. You will see that I am honorable and making sure that all transactions are completed. Please let me know what you want me to do - send the
mirror or the funds. I will do either. I will also send you a copy of the insurance claim I have filed with the post office. Again my number is XXX-XXX-XXXX. I do not want any confrontation, I would hope that speaking to me directly you would believe my intention to make this right.

Most Sincerely,

Jeffery


//feels like the guy is trying to talk me down... Sad that it is only words I have got so far....To be honest I don´t think I will get anything more than words.

The guy is in the USA? You never said. I thought he was in Australia?

Find out his address by pretending to be someone else. Give a false address like mine so he dose not know who you are. Offer him more than what you paid last time but convince him to end the auction and wait for your cheque.
Get the address somehow.

Christer, you should have his address. Ebay sends emails with all the contact information shortly after the auction.

Do you know someone you can trust in the US ? If yes, tell the ebay seller to send another mirror to your friend in the US. Shipping takes only 2 or 4 days inside the US. So you will know after a few days, if he did send the second mirror or not.

dave-r wrote:The guy is in the USA? You never said. I thought he was in Australia?

Yes, he live in the US.

dave-r wrote:Find out his address by pretending to be someone else. Get the address somehow.

Why not simply ask him? If he is honest then I shoud get it straight away. If he is a bad guy then he doesn´t give it to me. Right?

JJ wrote:Ebay sends emails with all the contact information shortly after the auction.

I think it is up to seller if he wants to include it or not. This information is usually not needed since I always use paypal.

JJ wrote:Do you know someone you can trust in the US ? If yes, tell the ebay seller to send another mirror to your friend in the US. Shipping takes only 2 or 4 days inside the US. So you will know after a few days, if he did send the second mirror or not.

Sounds like a good idea. It is a possibility if one of the well-known guys on this board can do that for me. If that is the case then just PM me.

Below is what I just mailed him. I hope I did the right thing. Fingers crossed that I will get my mirror.
Thanks for your help guys!

Hi again!

This is how I see it:
There is no question about that the box in your present auction is identical to the box in the december auction. Now, I have thoroughly examined the pic´s in both of these auctions and found the same type of scratches and marks on the underside of the base on both mirrors. My conclusion is that you are trying to sell the same mirror once again.

This is what I want you to do: End the present auction early (due to an error in the listing or something) and send the mirror to me. I have already paid for it and it is mine. I would prefer if you got some kind of senders reciept from the post office. You can then scan it or take a pic of it and send it to me (or send a copy of it in an envelope).

This is my last offer as I see it. I strongly suspect that there is something bogus with the package that was sent to Australia. Did you recieve it in return and now see a chance to earn a couple of bucks by selling the same mirror once again?

I strongly recommend that you do as I have suggested within 24 hours.
(Alternatively do a refund using Paypal.)

PS. I also would like you to send me your fully name and adress, thanks! DS.

Best regards
Christer Nilsson

Guess what he answered? Take a look below. I have no idea about what is going on and I will not belive that I really will get my mirror before I hold it in my hands. Yes, I have got his adress by now.

No problem Chris, I do have another mirror besides the one on the auction, but no boxes. The box in the picture is from the one I sold you. I used it for the assembly number only. I will get the mirror out tommorrow. Don't worry about your bid on the one listed, I'm sure it will go past that. I will send the next one Fed Ex most likely. They are worldwide and have a better track record for getting international packages where they belong. Like I said, I have the claim filed with USPS and I would not have left you hanging anyway. The way I see it, I am responsible for an item until I have proof that it was delivered to the ship to address. I have unfortunately had two other items within the US never make to the destination, window cranks and bumper guards. The customer did not insure those items and I refunded those customers money. I even had a speaker get to a customer damaged and uninsured, I refunded his money as well. I was hoping that your mirror would
eventually show up to you, I shipped some wheel covers to Switzerland and they took 45 days to get there. Customs sometimes holds these packages. Also, international packages that do not make the destination for whatever reason do not get returned to the US once they are out of country because the customs form allows it to leave, but not to return. I was hoping that if the mirror did not end up in your hands, it would come back to me. No such luck, even the window cranks and bumper guards WITHIN the US never made it back to me. Anyway, I will get another mirror out tommorrow, and send you all the tracking and shipping info that I have for it. Thanks again, and sorry for the confusion. Also, your mirror coming does not have any scratches, it really is NOS. Once it finally arrives, you will be pleased.

Jeffery

Good luck with this Christer. Still sounds a little fishy to me. I hope everything works out. I bought my chrome outside mirrors from PG classics. Even though they are repops I am very pleased with them.
If you need any assistance from someone in the US, just let me know.
Bob

jh27n0b wrote:Good luck with this Christer. Still sounds a little fishy to me. I hope everything works out. I bought my chrome outside mirrors from PG classics. Even though they are repops I am very pleased with them.
If you need any assistance from someone in the US, just let me know.
Bob

Thanks for the offer! I will keep that in mind if times gets tough! I still don´t trust this guy. I think it is wrong to use the same pic in two different auctions for instance.

jh27n0b wrote:Good luck with this Christer. Still sounds a little fishy to me. I hope everything works out. I bought my chrome outside mirrors from PG classics. Even though they are repops I am very pleased with them.
If you need any assistance from someone in the US, just let me know.
Bob

Good luck Christer, Hope you get your mirror/money/compensation. Bob, I looked at the re-pops from PG classic and Challenger re-pops from Metro-Parts, they "weighed" roughly the same which is a good impression and the chrome appeared clean and bright. Fit? I don't know but would be interested. Also Ben Snobar's shakerhood business as Northwest Performance has re-pop A,B,E body mirrors and bases in chrome and paintable. I have bought Shaker fasteners from him and the quality was as good or better than anything I had seen up to that time.