Item not received and sell responsibility

[bronwynsgold]

I would like a little advice and information please. A buyer stated they did not receive item ...I immediately panicked and sent another item. On reflection I think I should not have done this. (BY the way there was no tracking as a small item ) 

Should this happen to me again is it possible to refund the buyer for the item less the postage - this action would have been a less expensive option for me in retrospect. Is this allowed? The item was free postage but we all know postage is included in the cost.

Just as an aside I have very little problems with buyers - but recently an item was returned to sender, this is me. I contacted the buyer and confirmed address and so on - all correct.  So just a quirkly happening.  I told the buyer I would post again in the morning and the buyer threatened me with negative feedback if I did not express post.

Well I do not take kindly to threats so I resent the parcel with registered post so there had to be a signature and then I blocked the buyer so they cannot buy from me again.  Interestlingly enough the buyer did not leave feedback 

[digital*ghost · Accepted solution]

I think the best way to approach these situations is to look at it as broadly as possible, and for a moment forget everything from your perspective as a seller to think about what you would want and/or expect from a seller if you purchased an item and it never arrived. (My motto is, be the kind of seller you'd love to buy from).

Most people would either expect, or appreciate, a replacement or a full refund, and the reality is it (full refund) will be provided to them if they don't accept a lesser offer from the seller, via the dispute options provided on ebay or with with PayPal (if you can't show proof of delivery or postage, depending on where the dispute is raised).

Even though we all know a seller's costs (be it for stock, fees or postage) are generally accounted for in an item's total, if you tell someone something is free, charging it via withholding it from a refund isn't going to sit very well (you can retain a portoin of the sale price as a "restocking fee", but those are only applied when a buyer changes their mind and returns the item for a refund or exchange. I know it's pretty much "what's in a name?", but sometimes the answer is "quite a lot" in terms of impressions).

I've had packages inexplicably returned to me as well, the addresses have been 100% correct and there doesn't seem to be any explanation for it, so I treat it the same as I would if Aus Post had lost the package, and provide a refund or offer to resend, if the buyer prefers me to resend, I send via whichever service the buyer paid for, or registered if it was originally an untracked large letter (I would only upgrade the shipping service if I contributed in some way to the issue, eg if I made a mistake in addressing the package, or had promised them delivery by a certain date - which I never actually do even when they choose express). 

Every time someone threatens me with negative feedback, I just tell them that they are welcome to do so if that's what they feel is appropriate, I don't offer them any more than I normally would, though in some cases it leads to fewer options being provided, as I still do take offense to such tactics so will be less likely to go above and beyond for someone who thinks that's a good way to approach me. My response explains my position very politely, but in short I pretty much just say "that has no power with me", and it really doesn't. 😉 ). 

[black*poppy]

Bit off topic but just to share... I have a good story about Australia post today.... Hold the presses!....... Had a returned satchel that was addressed correctly (was generated thru eBay labels) but the postie must have been having a bad day. The buyer even sent me a screenshot of official mail she'd received addressed the same. So AP added a new tracking number and off it went again. Very happy, nice patient customer too.

[digital*ghost]

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@black*poppy wrote:
Bit off topic but just to share... I have a good story about Australia post today.... Hold the presses!....... Had a returned satchel that was addressed correctly (was generated thru eBay labels) but the postie must have been having a bad day. The buyer even sent me a screenshot of official mail she'd received addressed the same. So AP added a new tracking number and off it went again. Very happy, nice patient customer too.

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Half your luck (please, lol).  Last week, I sent an express package to an address the buyer gave, to a shop located in a large shopping centre. The address given to me was the business name, level, area (was an outlet of a well-known chain in the food court), plus the shopping centre name and street address. I couldn't see anything wrong with that address, so off it went.

Next thing I know the buyer sent me a message saying it's been returned to sender because the address was "unknown". They confirmed they've received mail using the exact address before, so I called Aus Post - their rep insisted the package couldn't be delivered because it didn't have the shop number...

I asked them how there could not be enough information on the label to deliver, and they didn't even bother answering my question, they just kept saying "you can't just put [business name; food court], but as far as I'm concerned, if I told someone to go to "Shop B52, Imaginary Shopping Centre", then told someone else to go to "Food Planet, in the food court of Imaginary Shopping Centre", I can almost guarantee the second person would know exactly where to go, while the person with just the shop number would likely take a little longer to find it.

Blasted package still hasn't been received back yet, either. I'll be even more ticked if they try to charge me for the return. 

[davewil1964]

'Try' being the operative word, I hope

[designers*n*more]

Australia Post just don't use common sense,nor read for that matter.

i had my daughter's school photos, which were sent in a stiff cardboard envelope, stamped with "photos do not bend" so what does the idiot postman do?  Forces the envelope to be bent circular and sticks it in the newspaper holder, half sticking out in the rain because he couldn't push it all the way in. Needless to say my photos were not only ruined from being bent, but wet as well!

i rang AP to complain, and jerk there told me it should have been sent in unfoldable envelope.  **bleep**...It had to be really forced to bend it., but the idiot at AP then said, well it was non bendable then was it!  What a total jerk!!

[*tippy*toes*]

If you're on Facebook, complain on their page. You generally get a pretty good result doing that because they don't like being publicly shamed.

[englishrosegardens]

digi, is there a chance that there's a bank of letterboxes somewhere in the complex that the businesses pick up their mail from and that the postie only delivers to there, not to the actual businesses themselves? Just asking...

It doesn't explain how the previous parcels got delivered and not this one, but perhaps it was a different postie who went above and beyond.

[springyzone]

 would like a little advice and information please. A buyer stated they did not receive item ...I immediately panicked and sent another item. On reflection I think I should not have done this. (BY the way there was no tracking as a small item ) 

Should this happen to me again is it possible to refund the buyer for the item less the postage - this action would have been a less expensive option for me in retrospect. Is this allowed? The item was free postage but we all know postage is included in the cost.

--------------------------

It is possible you struck a dishonest buyer, one who realised the item was not tracked so you were vulnerable. Most people are honest but there's the occasional scammer.

But... (& this is from a buyer's perspective), things have changed a lot on ebay over the last decade. Once upon a time you could have suited yourself how you dealt with a buyer or how much you refunded, but not any more.

These days, if I messaged you about a missing item & you offered a partial refund only, I would probably just open an official item not received claim because then I would get the lot back. I'd be mad not to.

I realise that that means you as a seller would be out of pocket but that's how it works if you have no proof you even posted the thing.

Probably best to build a slight bit of leeway into your overall prices to cover the occasional item lost in the post.

As for the buyer who expected a replacement sent express post etc, plain rude & arrogant. The pendulum has swung on ebay but the trouble is some buyers now have too great a sense of entitlement.

You did the right thing there to post registered and block them.

[helenm777]

I get a few items reguarly that are small items therefore not sent with tracking, when I receive a message stating they have not received Item I always just Refund Full amount to the buyer.

I always leave Positve Feedback when the buyer pays, so always add Feedback advising "Buyer advised Item not Received, Requested Refund". I then always Block the Buyer.

I also check myself on the customers previous feedback, to see if any other sellers have left the same..

On 2 occasions customers had advised an item was not received, I then refunded and they left feedback that they received the Item and loved it!

Must have forgotten they had stated he did not receive!, I then added the feedback as per above so other Sellers would be aware, if he tried the same thing again.  

You have to expect of few of these, but it is always interesting that it is always on untracked small packages, on mine anyway. I have never been advised of an Item not being received that had tracking or Reg Post.

I also check myself on a customers feedback, to see if any other sellers have left the same feedback.