What do you do in this situation as a seller on eBay? "Item not Received"

[Y4NK335]

Lets say a card sells on 1/1, is shipped the following business day, and according to the delivery confirmation, was delivered by 1/7.

On 1/17, the buyer sends a message that the item that they paid for was not received.

As the seller, I follow up with the tracking information and the suggestion to check with the neighbors and post office, because it states it was delivered on 1/7.

The buyers follow up is simply, I do not know where it is, I do not know what more I can say.

The buyer has strong feedback and no signs of fraud, from what I can tell on the surface.

Do I offer a refund, come to a settlement, or not worry because my job was done and it states it was delivered? Should I just reiterate to check with neighbors and the PO/mail carrier?

Just wondering what others have done in a similar situation.

 

[All The Hype]

I had a similar situation come up, I shipped next day and it got there about 4 days after the buyer paid, according to tracking. He said he never received the item. I told him about what you told your buyer, but ultimately I could not bring myself to offer a refund when the confirmation clearly stated delivered. He opened a case, I provided the DC and won.

He left me a negative feedback (I was pretty much expecting it, it's probably what I would have done if I really didn't receive an item), and I called eBay to ask if they would remove it. Even though all my messages were prompt and professional, and I had shipped the day after payment and it arrived (according to tracking) 4 days after sale, they did not remove the feedback, stating he violated no feedback rules, and that eBay "does not have a common sense policy." Take what you want from that quote, but I pretty much lost all faith in them at that point in time.

We both had 100% positive feedback going into the transaction. I'm not sure if he ever got the card or not, but since I did my job and the tracking showed it was delivered, I have to believe I did the right thing. It's a sticky situation because it's impossible to tell whether the buyer is blatantly lying or if USPS messed up. Hope it works out for you.

 

[JEBJJA]

A couple years ago I won a Willie Mays Finest Auto. Paid $85 for it. It was shipped was DC to me. I never received it. I couldn't do anything as a buyer except take a loss because the seller showed proof of DC to Paypal. You did your job. Sorry they didn't receive it. It happens and it's a rare case that a seller will win every time.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Bottom line - what is your feedback worth to you? If you have a ton of positives and one negative won't affect you, let it go. If you don't want that negative, try to come to a settlement.

Good luck.

 

[homerun28aa]

For every guy that actually doesn't receive the package when the DC shows it was delivered there are probably 80 guys that do receive it and say they don't. The USPS would have been replaced long ago if they had made as many internal errors as some people on eBay claim

 

[daveyou]

how much did it sell for? above or below $250?

im fairly certain that under $250, dc provided as delivered would be sufficient for your protection..However, if auction ended higher than $250 and sig conf was not used, different story..

dave


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[thefasterblade]

A couple years ago I won a Willie Mays Finest Auto. Paid $85 for it. It was shipped was DC to me. I never received it. I couldn't do anything as a buyer except take a loss because the seller showed proof of DC to Paypal. You did your job. Sorry they didn't receive it. It happens and it's a rare case that a seller will win every time.

I actually don't think he did his job. At this point with eBay, unless you're willing to offer a refund in situations like this, you have to ship packages with insurance. This way you're protected in these circumstances. Buyers can say anything to Paypal at this point- "No item in package" "Wrong item shipped" and they will be refunded. Need to cover your bases.

 

[nyc3]

how much did it sell for? above or below $250?

im fairly certain that under $250, dc provided as delivered would be sufficient for your protection..However, if auction ended higher than $250 and sig conf was not used, different story..

dave


Sent from my iPhone using FCB Gangnam Style mobile app

ding ding ding we have a winner!

If over 250 you are SOL if under all he can do is neg you.

 

[Y4NK335]

It was under $250 and luckily not a huge transaction.I do have 100% feedback and would like to keep it that way if possible, I will reiterate my points one more time about following up with the PO/neighbors because I am not entirely sure that it was donebefore deciding on what to do.

 

[All The Hype]

I actually don't think he did his job. At this point with eBay, unless you're willing to offer a refund in situations like this, you have to ship packages with insurance. This way you're protected in these circumstances. Buyers can say anything to Paypal at this point- "No item in package" "Wrong item shipped" and they will be refunded. Need to cover your bases.

Insurance still wouldn't cover this. Let's assume the buyer really didn't get the package. USPS still marked it as delivered, so according to their records, they delivered the package (even if it was not delivered). If tracking shows it was delivered, you will never get money out of an insurance claim.

That's what makes it tough, as there's really nothing else the seller could have done.

 

[A_Pharis]

Yeah, insurance does squat in this case.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Ironically, the buyer would WIN an "item not as described" case if he claimed an empty mailer, but would lose an "Item not received" case.

 

[Exposfan]

Tell him to check with his Post office. Maybe its sitting there waiting for him to pick it up.

 

[craftysouthpaw]

This exact same scenario happened with me a couple of years ago on a $60 sale. We both had 100% feedback and the correspondence was civil so I decided to believe him in order to preserve the 100%. He said he would accept a 50% refund and I accepted. He might have ended up with the card for half price but it was worth it to me at that sale price.

 

[mredsox89]

Unfortunately this has become one of the costs of doing business. It really doesn't happen very often, but when it does, there is unfortunately very little a seller can do

 

[markakis8]

I was on this end as a buyer about a month ago. I think my neighbors in my apartment decided to get sticky fingers while I was out of town b/c the replacement postal worker just left my packages outside my door when I wasn't home.

Both packages were scanned as delivered. I could've raised an issue with both sellers, but why? It wasn't their fault. They did everything they were supposed to do. I just ate it. $60 worth of cards. Probably $200 worth of sales.

 

[notjomommasclint]

He can't file item not as described. He already said he didn't get it via eBay email. Force him to file on you. Why doubt the system in place. Worst thing is you lose the money anyway and get a feedback ding.

I'd literally take my chances with the value eBay puts on dc..


Sent from my motorolla startac.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I would not offer a refund and take the negative. One negative isn't the end of the world unless you only have a handful of feedbacks

 

[nyc3]

He can't file item not as described. He already said he didn't get it via eBay email. Force him to file on you. Why doubt the system in place. Worst thing is you lose the money anyway and get a feedback ding.

And the buyer if smart can say he got the package since the message was sent and it was then empty. Guess what happens then?

 

[notjomommasclint]

And the buyer if smart can say he got the package since the message was sent and it was then empty. Guess what happens then?

You stand your ground. Present the email and the dc information and stand your ground. You stand a good chance at losing.. But what have you really lost? You're exactly where you're considering being right now.


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