Buyer escalated for refund COVID19 delays

[leopoldandluna]

Im dealing with a buyer in the USA who made a purchase 3 weeks ago, and opened a dispute as goods had not been received. Last Auspost scan was international departure on April 1st., and then radio silence.
Despite MANY attempts to reassure the buyer that the global postal system has been impacted by COVID19, hes pushing to escalate this Tuesday.
If ebay indulge him with a refund, and then he receives the goods when post starts moving through the system, what course do we as a seller have to ensure we are paid?
This person has done nothing to investigate at his end, and despite me sending screen caps and links from ebay, USPS and Auspost websites explaining the delays, doesn't seem to grasp the need for a little patience during this crisis.
Would appreciate any advice. Thanks.

[kopenhagen5]

Dealing with numbskulls are part of online transactions.

Contact eBay via chat and show tracking info.

Fortunately eBay are aware there is a virus and seem to be delaying closing cases as we have seen complaints here of extensions being given several times on individual cases.

[businessdog]

Yes I am in the same boat.

Shipped a couple of high price items out from Australia to some USA buyers mid March and the parcels are still here in Australia Disrtribution Center waiting to be loaded ever since.

Got a couple of open "Item Not Received" disputes to deal with at the moment.

[kopenhagen5]

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@businessdog wrote:

Yes I am in the same boat.

Shipped a couple of high price items out from Australia to some USA buyers mid March and the parcels are still here in Australia Disrtribution Center waiting to be loaded ever since.

Got a couple of open "Item Not Received" disputes to deal with at the moment.

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If yours haven't left Aus and there are cases opened then call the carrier and see if you can get them diverted back to you.

Then you can refund and still get the items back.

Otherwise once the refunds are made by eBay (most cases) you rely on the honesty of the buyer to repay once they turn up and many are not honest unfortunately.

[chameleon54]

Its one of the hazards of doing business on the internet and ebay unfortunately. Sellers need to have fat enough profit margins to deal with unexpected events and be willing to just " write it off ' occasionally. And yes I,m getting regular " wheres my item " complaints at the moment and have recently ceased all international shipments.