Ebay item not received

[Yukduck]

I bought an item from an E-bay seller (not expensive - under £10 incl postage).
The seller wisely sent it tracked and to be signed for.
I never received the item. I chased the seller via e-mail.
The seller responded by sending me the tracking number that showed that the package was delivered and signed for BUT not by me or anyone we know.
I opened an item not received case with Ebay and they have found against me as the seller produced this evidence.
I am understandably miffed as I have lost my money and have no item.
The seller has been quite difficult and accused me of lying but truly I have no idea who has signed for the item. Our postman is as puzzled as we are and does not deliver in our road at the time the package was said to have been delivered by Royal Mail.
Now that Ebay have found against us, what can we do?
I thought the onus was on the seller to fulfil the contract to supply the goods to the buyer.

Dh thinks the seller may have rubbish handwriting and the parcel has gone to some random address or house number in our street and no one we would know or could guess at.

Contact royal mail for advice, perhaps there is a dodgy mail person along the line (it has happened on occasion). There isn't much the seller can do - and they appear to have proof of delivery.

Yes, I have had to accept (not happily) that someone else has signed for and taken my item. Ebay have really told me to go away as proof has been given by the seller. Our postman is as puzzled as we are and is our regular postman.
I do feel sympathy with the seller, as they tracked the item and did all they had to do, and they are probably irritated by my chasing them and opening an item not received dispute, but tbh they have been rude and only superficially helpful.
It is more irritating than costly and I wondered what others do when this happens.

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Not really anything you can do here I'm afraid. Does the tracking say it was delivered from your local depot?

Forget talking to your postman, you need to complain to Royal Mail and let them look into it.
They will know which postman delivered the item.

personal.help.royalmail.com/app/contact

Actually I think it's the seller who would need to complain to the Royal Mail and so the OP would need to get the seller on her side so that they're willing to help.

Thanks for your replies. There is little or no chance of getting the seller on side. The seller was hostile to any suggestions I had not had the item. The seller left feedback that I was a liar and a con artist.

Ebay subsequently removed that feedback as it was untrue.

personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4838/~/it-says-delivered-but-my-(customers)-item-hasnt-arrived

There is no need for the seller to be like that - very rude. I think lots of people sign quickly for parcels without double checking first so maybe it went to wrong address but if that were the case you would think a neighbour would pop it round? I have heard of cases where post person signs it and then leaves in a safe place (silly but has happened) however if you see and chat to postie they would tell you this. Contact RM and let us know if you get any joy.

Thank you, that was helpful Robin and I have sent the link to the Ebay customer services dept who were trying to sort things out between me and the seller before the seller got nasty.

Did you look at the tracking online? it should show the signature that was used when delivered.

There's no point in the OP contacting Royal Mail, they will only deal with who sent the parcel, as that is who they have a contract with.

I had something like this as a seller. I sent the item tracked and it was signed for. The buyer found it at the sorting office.

ask eBay to remove that feedback and I do hope you neg the seller - they sound dreadful.

I had written evidence from Parcelforce that an item had been misdelivered and eBay still found against me. Fortunately I managed to claim back on my credit card. I was unable to leave negative feedback about the seller, either - eBay removed it.

smiling if you lose a case with a seller, you can't leave negative feedback. eBay will removed it.

I think there is a point in contacting RM and the seller is unlikely to do it. They may be able to give some advice.

But definitely examine the signature on tracking details - it might be a clue.