Ebay/USPS tracking: have you ever had this happen?

I've been a regular customer on eBay since 1999. I buy a lot there. I have NEVER had this happen!

I bought an item earlier this week.  The tracking shows that it was delivered...to the seller's town in Ohio. I live in SE PA. He had my correct address. I emailed him twice last night, and pointed this out. He keeps saying that's "I think it's ok" and "I think that means I shipped it out."

I think what may have happened is that he messed up the first time, and it was returned to his mailbox. However, he hasn't initiated another tracking transaction to prove it's being re-shipped. I just decided to ask for a refund. If someone is this disorganized, I don't want to deal with them! Also, if he's re-shipping, he's lying to me. I don't deal with those sellers, either.

Maybe it's a USPS issue. I ordered something from Amazon late last year. The USPS tracking showed that it was delivered to a different town.... 3 months before I contacted Amazon and they just sent me another item. I tracked that item and everything was correct and showed up on time. Then the other order arrived  I'm not sure why Amazon used a tracking number that, according to the USPS, was used 3 months before

Someone sent me somethng not long after that and it was supposed to arrive in January 2016 according to USPS. It actually arrived in Decemeber 2016 and the USPS tracking showed that it was delivered in January 2016. Guess USPS has some secret way of  devleiring packages in the future and somehow transporting the package back in time to the present

A few years ago, I ordered some color change sapphires from a seller in the UK.  She had my correct address and the items were delivered by the USPS. However, they weren't delivered to my house.  I called the postal service and the person I spoke with matched the tracking number with the time the postal carrier was in my neighborhood.  I think likely the sapphires (never recovered) went to a neighbor.  I had no way of proving this, but given the fact that our postal carrier is really bad (we've complained numerous times to the postal service) I think it was her fault rather than the eBay seller's.  We get the next door neighbor's mail a lot, but we give it back and have encouraged her to contact the post office and complain.  In this case, the seller was innocent.    

I have had a recent dispute with a dishonest eBay seller, and that was a whole different ballgame.  The cheaters are out there, of course, as well as those who simply don't know what they're doing.  They (eBay) would have refunded my money under their guarantee, except it was a warranty issue and had been over 30 days.  They did file open an investigation or whatever against the seller, because they agreed that what the seller did was wrong.  They were very helpful and told me to call PayPal.  PayPal couldn't give me a refund because it had been over 180 days (I got quite the education) but their representative told me what to say to my credit card company, who refunded my money just like that.  The seller even called me at home late at night (yikes!) after eBay had started proceedings against him.  Sorry for the long story, but just wanted you to know there are plenty of actions you can take if the seller refuses to give you a refund.

I'd contact eBay and initiate a complaint.  And PayPal if you paid that method.

Hi, I sympathize with your situation; it's frustrating to order something and not have it arrive in a timely fashion.  There are many innocent factors (out of the seller's hands) that could account for the delay in the package.  I would not assume the seller is dishonest just yet.  Before submitting a complaint to Ebay/Paypal, there's a few things you might consider.

You didn't mention how long it's been since the item shipped.  Has there been sufficient time for the package to arrive at your location?  I've had many packages shipped thru USPS and UPS that show as delivered when the package has not arrived (less so with FedEx).  If there has been sufficient time for the package to arrive,  ask the seller to request USPS track the package.  It has to be done by the shipper. 

You didn't mention how you paid for the item.  If you used PayPal and the seller used Ebay's shipping tool to generate the shipping label, the system knows your address.  It automatically creates the label with the proper address.  

Check the seller's sales ratings.  If he maintains a high rating (something above 99%); it's unlikely he's deliberately ripping your off.  Changes to Ebay's feedback system put all of the power in the buyer's hands.  Reputable sellers work very hard to maintain a good rating.  If you haven't done so, check his ratings and read thru some of the comments for sales transactions.

Regarding a refund, I think it's premature for the seller to offer a refund.  Issuing a refund while the item is in transit is quite risky for the seller.  The package needs to be located or determined to be "lost."  

I wish you the best of luck.  Try to stay positive.  These things happen.   Most of the time it's due to mistake or accident, not a seller scam.