Should the seller offer a refund if the carrier loses a package?

[Anonymous]

I bought something off etsy, and the seller gave me an unusually long tracking number. It works though. So I woke up this morning and checked the tracking, and it said failed delivery due to incomplete address. I went to the usps post office. The lady went in the back and looked for it, but came back and said the package is probably with the driver, so to keep an eye out for the driver. So I catch the driver, and she told me the other driver should have delivered it. She called him, and he said he did. Shortly after that, the tracking said it was delivered to a parcel, but I live in a house, so there is no parcel. I go back to the post office. They ask for my tracking number, and say it's bad, so they have me ask the seller for a good tracking number. He said the tracking number he sent me was correct. I'm guessing usps fucked up. Should I ask the seller for a refund? Should I give it a couple days to see if its delivered to my house?

[Effably]

In many places of the world tracking numbers are not private.

This means anyone can theoretically access them.

This means there is a business now in selling tracking numbers. Do I want a tracking number from China to L. A weighing 4.3 pounds? Done. It is genuine, goes to about the right place and then obviously is never delivered.

The problem, as seen by amazon/temu/alike ends up being on the recipient lying or the final delivery going wrong. Not the seller.

Worst case for scammer? Refund it. Lose time invested and maybe 0.1$ for the tracking info.
Best case? You give up somewhere along the way and they keep the whole payment.

It is a fairly common scam right now and the best way to avoid it is to deal with established, and good trackrecord, sellers.

[strateguy632]

No way! The carrier is responsible and also insurance.

[TrueConfection]

Yes! Unless the seller can use the tracking number to show proof of delivery, then the seller is obligated to give you a refund. If the package is lost, the shipper will reimburse the seller for the value he declared the package to be worth (usually $100 unless stated otherwise). You, on the other hand, will not get reimbursed by the shipper because you are the recipient and not the sender.

[Asker]

Dang, I forgot to mention that he did send a screenshot of the tracking saying delivered. Guess I'm fucked.

[TrueConfection]

Is it legitimate? Show that to the post office. UPS tends to start with 1Z…, the USPS tends to be pretty long and starts with 9…. DHL and FedEx are different. If it was shipped international post, then the shipper would most likely have delivered it to the post office and the post office would have issued their own tracking number. Check the screen shot of where it was delivered.

[Asker]

Doesn't start with any of those digits, but in the screenshot he sent me, it does show my town, and zip code, and that it was in a parcel locker at the post office, so looks pretty legit.

[slatyb]

No, that's usually between you and the carrier.

[In_Trance]

No, that's a freight claim