Re: looks like I got burnt on a mail order shipment
I was leary of Paypal at first, but I use it more often now. With paypal, you got to be careful about the addresses --sometimes it wants to put our physical address (which has no mailbox) and if we don't catch that, well... To compound matters, Ebay sends them an address too, right?
I always contact the seller directly and give him the address on my own in an email. This helps to mitigate mistakes.
I also only use credit cards for Ebay transactions, and only bid on items that the seller offers returns on and/or Paypal or Ebay itself underwrites the transaction. So if something arrives that wasn't as described, they try to work it out as a mediator and if that doesn't work, you are supposed to get your money back and the seller gets barred --but depending on circumstances, they can bar you too.
I recently made six or so purchases, some from Ebay, some on here using Paypal. The flip sight I got on here for $82 and the scope I got for $700 both arrived in a condition better than I expected, no complaints at all. All the Ebay transactions turned out well too. In fact, no problems with them yet.
But I also try to deal with folks with very good feedback on Ebay, and most folks on here are of a little higher calibre than on some of the other generic shooting sites it seems, and that 100 post limit before selling seems to help --but a feedback system would be nice for sellers on here too.
I'm assuming you tracked it through USPS's website, but did you call USPS with the tracking number? They can run a more advanced track if you haven't received it within so many working days... Which you definitely seem past. One time the VA sent my meds to the wrong address --they said they were delived to my PO, but they actually got sent to a PO 60 miles away and they couldn't figure out where it really went because something was wrong with the label. This actually has happened twice in 8 years. So it could be USPS.
It is why I always have my packages insured. If I don't get it, I expect my money back, and that is easier to pull off if the sender gets an insurance check from USPS to cover your losses in case it cannot be located.
And who knows, in 85 years or so your great grandkid might get one out of the blue and it be a minor nationwide, quirky feel-good story!
Bottom line I don't think you are screwed. You just need to get the ball rolling and call Paypal, Ebay and USPS and any other parties involved. Also, depending on what you ordered, it may not have been able to be shipped to an APO if it is ITAR or State Dept. regulated (they look at that as exporting to a foreign country). It was hell getting a plastic PVS-14 mount to a buddy in Mosul in '05 --had to be sent through his unit in the end.
