EBay forced me to give a full refund while the parcel is still in transit (international)

[001swapcards]

Hello, I was shocked when I received a message from ebay saying I did not provide proof of delivery and they are favouring the buyer (exact words from their comment!). I provided the tracking number on eBay and Australia post website shows the parcel is still on its way.

What can I do? Do I just lost the items and money and end of story?

Any advice would be appreciated, please!

[davewil1964]

Did you upload the tracking to the dispute?

eBay's bots don't talk to each other.

Another point is that if the item is not showing as delivered, eBay will refund if after the last estimated delivery date. You probably should have just refunded. eBay almost always side with buyers, so all you've done is given yourself a non-resolved dispute strike, and you don't get many of them before your account can be restricted.

[ramcycle2010]

It is a shock when you know you've done everything you could to get it to the buyer, and for whatever reason, ebay have not supported you.

As davewil suggested, uploading the tracking to the dispute would have helped if you had not done that.

I don't agree with refunding if you are not at fault, and it rarely gets to the point where ebay force me to refund. I always fight it by having a conversation with the buyer and ebay, and doing whatever I can think of to help locate the parcel.

Sometimes you can track the item in the destination country by googling that country's postal service tracking. You can then share those details with the buyer, or at least let them know you are following it up for them.

Also open a missing item enquiry with Australia Post, and share those details through the dispute.

Don't give up, at least put your case to ebay. Ask them about the extended delivery times that exist at the moment, and what else you could possibly have done to prevent this. 

Good luck!

[justkidzbiz]

Once tracking shows as delivered, you can appeal eBay's "jumping the gun" decision.  I would also query why eBay post delivery times are not in sync with Australia Post delivery times and point out that Australia Post delivery times are "an estimate" only.

Also po8nt out with the global pandemic international post is taking a lot longer to reach destinations.

[digital*ghost]

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@001swapcards wrote:
Hello, I was shocked when I received a message from ebay saying I did not provide proof of delivery 

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If any of the below applies, get in touch with them via live chat and ask them why they are using policies not currently in place to decide the outcome of cases:

Announced 29th September, all bolded sections are as they appear in eBay's original announcement:

This year, COVID-19 has changed the way both sellers and carriers fulfil and deliver eBay orders, so it’s never been more important to ensure your orders are tracked.

As announced in the recent Spring Seller Update, the below changes will apply from October 1 until at least January 2021. These temporary changes are applicable to all transactions on ebay.com.au:

Sellers who use a postage tracked service AND upload valid tracking
For items valued up to $15, we’ll automatically resolve the request on your behalf and refund the buyer. We’ll absorb the cost of the refund and you won’t receive a defect, provided that the order:
Was sent using an eBay-integrated carrier
Has at least one valid tracking event (i.e. an acceptance scan)

For items valued over $15, you should still respond to the request and ensure that the tracking number for the order is correct. However, if we're asked to step in and help, we’ll automatically resolve the claim. If we determine the buyer should receive a refund, we'll absorb the cost and you won’t receive a defect, provided that the order:
Was sent using an eBay-integrated carrier
Has at least one valid tracking event (e.g. an acceptance scan)
Was sent within your stated handling time  

Sellers who use an untracked postage service or do not upload valid tracking
If a buyer opens an ‘Item not received’ request, we will resolve the request and refund them after 3 business days, unless the request is closed. We will do this without requiring the buyer to ask eBay to step in and help.
We’ve also updated our list of eBay-integrated carriers. Hong Kong Post, UBI and La Poste are no longer available for overseas sellers sending items to Australia. USPS is also no longer available for Australian-based sellers sending an item overseas.

Link: https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/eBay-Announcements/bg-p/eBayAnnouncements

[asphigher]

Thanks for all the tips, I really appreciated.

Ebay made decision to favour the buyer as they assumed the parcel has lost during transit, even I provided tracking number on Australia Post (which shown "on its way" and i attached a copy of the receipt of lodgement. I took action to appeal the case but I don't think I have much luck in this situation. They don't even refund any commission/fees. I received a negative feedback & ebay dont remove it as they said it is fair for buyer to express their experience.

I contacted Australia post and they just said due to uncertain circumstances, nothing they/I can do but just wait for the parcel to be delivered (could take up to 3 months).

I guess I am in a lost-lost situation....

But thank you so much for all the advice and tips. I am drifting away from ebay now. No point to be a seller on eBay.

[gumleaf_goodies]

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@asphigher wrote:

But thank you so much for all the advice and tips. I am drifting away from ebay now. No point to be a seller on eBay.

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Might I respectfully suggest that there is still a point in selling on ebay but NOT to international buyers (for obvious reasons). At least if your buyers are Australian there is a far better chance of sorting  out messes like this in your favour.

[twyngwyn]

what country did you send to?

[ramcycle2010]

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@twyngwyn wrote:
what country did you send to?

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I was wondering that myself ...

[ramcycle2010]

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@asphigher wrote:

I contacted Australia post and they just said due to uncertain circumstances, nothing they/I can do but just wait for the parcel to be delivered (could take up to 3 months).




I've only ever had one international parcel take 3 months (to Hawaii, of all places), and that was at the start of the pandemic. I had a good relationship with the buyer, kept her updated, which perhaps prevented her from opening a case.