topic Re: Only envelopes go missing now... in Selling

Only envelopes go missing now...

howzat_guy* — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 04:10:39 GMT

Well,, on one of my ID's I sell CD's and DVD's, not big earners but good bread and butter sales. These seem to be the only things that go astray. Parcels seem to always get there but not items sent with stamps(no tracking), one in 10 vanish. Dishonest buyers or light-fingered posties or both? One recently filed a claim 2 days after payment and Ebay refunded after 16 calendar days. Annoying.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

jfmgray — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 04:16:58 GMT

The vast majority of my items are shipped as large letters without tracking and I have only had one go missing in the last 6 months. Not a problem from my end - in fact vastly improved over recent years.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

harley_babes_hoard — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 04:18:57 GMT

Can you not factor $3.50 into your price for registered post?

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

lane-ends — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 04:35:38 GMT

3.50x every item shipped would add up to more than the value of the lost items..That is the nature of insurance. Insurance is not worth it except for valuable items where it is a minimal component.

I have posted over 10,000 items..10,000 x 3.5=$35,000. How on earth could i justify that to cover the odd loss.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

harley_babes_hoard — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 06:04:56 GMT

well obviously Lane it is not for all but if you are losing one in ten letters then you have a problem and I can almost be certain it's not a PO problem.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

collect247 — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 06:07:16 GMT

You don't need to justify that as you're not the one that pays for the postage the buyer does.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

character_parties_aus — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 06:10:22 GMT

I send a lot of letters and I dont have these issues. I used to though. I found that when I switched from hand writing envelopes to printing labels on them almost nothing goes missing now. A label machine costs next to nothing about $100. Worth a look. The issue may not be what you think!

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

davewil1964 — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 06:14:19 GMT

@collect247 wrote:
You don't need to justify that as you're not the one that pays for the postage the buyer does.

And if you add $3.50 to the cost you could well price yourself out of the market. The other option is to reduce your profit by $3.50 which could easily see you selling at a loss. I imagine CDs and DVDs are like books - prices tend to be set by what the competition is charging.

One in 10 is high, though. I work on one in a thousand, as that has been my experience.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

springyzone — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 08:12:17 GMT

I've found Aust Post to be pretty reliable on the whole.

Just today i received an item sent in a large envelope (no tracking), hand written address with correct street/suburb/postcode but then it listed the wrong state, Qld instead of Vic.

It still got to me within about 3 or 4 days from interstate.

If correctly addressed envelopes are regularly going missing, that sounds suss to me. The occasional one maybe, but never one in ten.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

pruetrading — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 08:19:39 GMT

Slightly off track but..
I've just got my first refund request for large envelope not arriving. Its a day over the estimated arrival date.

I've said I'm happy to refund if it doesn't arrive, but have asked if they are happy to wait another day or so. Can anyone tell me if I now have an automatic defect because I didn't refund instantly?

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

lyndal1838 — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 08:23:45 GMT

You have a defect just because the buyer was inconsiderate and opened a dispute instead of just asking where it was.

Even if you did refund immediately the defect is still there.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

jfmgray — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 08:41:04 GMT

I dont think that is quite correct from my experiences. For an Australian buyer, you get a defect once the dispute is lodged but if the matter is resolved and the request closed by the buyer then the defect is removed. The eBay message will have a date by which to respond so it is critical that you close the dispute before that date by either the buyer cloising it (ie the item arrives) or by you refunding BEFORE the close off date. After the close off date, a buyer can escallate and eBay will always find in favour of the buyer unless you have tracking or a message from the buyer confirming that the item has arrived. I always message the buyer to see if they are prepared to wait but if the buyer does not confirm that the item has arrived by the close off date, I will refund to avoid a permanent defect against my account. Also I think you get a second defect if the dispute is closed in the buyers favour.

If however the lost item request is lodged by an overseas buyer, they stick even if the item turns up the next day or you refund

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

jfmgray — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 08:42:20 GMT

oh if you do resolve or refunbd before the due date, the defect removal takes a few days to occur. If it is still there after a few days, contact eBay Customer Support

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

pruetrading — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 09:54:50 GMT

thanks Lyndal... what a system.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

pruetrading — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 09:58:01 GMT

jfmgray, thanks so much for all that info. I'll refund before close off date and see what happens!

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

wendshees-rocks — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 11:37:53 GMT

@pruetrading wrote:
Slightly off track but..
I've just got my first refund request for large envelope not arriving. Its a day over the estimated arrival date.

I've said I'm happy to refund if it doesn't arrive, but have asked if they are happy to wait another day or so. Can anyone tell me if I now have an automatic defect because I didn't refund instantly?

I've had a handful of buyers contact me over the last year or so to say their item hasn't arrived. Thankfully, none of them opened a dispute, they were kind enough to send a message. I asked if they would mind waiting another week, because Aust Post can be rather slow at times and if it still hadn't arrived in a week, I'd be more than happy to refund in full.

The first half a doz sent a message a few days later to say that it arrived. Another didn't send a message or leave feedback, or open a dispute, so I can only assume that it arrived. The latest one waited a month before contacting me. I asked if she would mind waiting another week as she was in a pretty remote area. She was happy to so that. She sent a message about 3 weeks later to say it didn't arrive. I happily gave her a refund. Her feedback was impeccable, I had no reason to think she was pulling a swifty. If she was, she would have opened a dispute.

Only other one I had was more recently. He too just sent a message. His item should have arrived in maximum 3 days. He sent a message after 10. He offered to wait a few more days, but he ended up with a refund. Again, his feedback was impeccable, so had no reason to suspect he was putting one over me.

They're the only 2 I've ever lost in over 1,000 transactions. Both were large letter untracked. I consider myself lucky that my buyers were good enough to just sent a message rather than opt for the dispute.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

clarry100 — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 11:42:39 GMT

1 in 10 large letters going astray is super extreme. I'd suggest you might need to enlist the help of AP to figure out what the problem is there.
We use large letter untracked for 99.9% of our stuff and our reported loss rate would be somewhere near 1 in 1000.
We ask the buyer to validate their address and check at their local PO before sending out a replacement item.
Then we add a simple followup comment to the feedback we left for them that says something like
<UID > Replacement item sent for item reported lost in post <date>
We include their user ID so that other sellers can see their name too otherwise EBay scramble the name. That way if they are repeat offenders everyone can easily see it on their feedback history.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

heihachi_73 — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 11:57:19 GMT

I tend to have the opposite effect here - I sell games and DVDs yet all of my items are sent as large letter* and never go missing, yet if I dare buy something on eBay, odds on it will magically not turn up, even with Parcel Post! The most annoying part of this is when the tracking page says "delivered" with the location on the page being a different suburb (e.g. a post office/mail centre), and when you go there they say they don't even have anything of yours, or even tell you to check your local post office, which of course doesn't have it either - obviously the parcel must have magically turned into dust just like the rest.

[*] I offer standard postage (large letter) as well as Registered Post (signature), Parcel Post (tracking), and Parcel Post with signature (I haven't bothered with Express Post yet). Of course, everyone chooses the cheapest option. The only time I do not offer standard postage is when items don't fit in the letter gauge - such as video tapes, game cartridges and consoles/accessories. All items are posted in a padded envelope/bubble mailer unless they are too big.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

phorum_junkie* — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 12:25:13 GMT

I in 10 definitely seems extreme and I have not heard on the boards of any seller complaining that many have gone astray. I don't send a great deal large letter but in heaven knows how many years I have only had 2 go missing.

Even if it were 1 in 10 then you need to add the cost of one refund - (profit + 2.6%Paypal fee) divided by 10 to each item to near enough cover the cost of those refunds, if the one in ten is an exaggeration then obviously you would divide by a larger number.

I have always added a few cents to all my items to cover the cost of an occasional unreimbursed refund.

Re: Only envelopes go missing now...

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 14:14:23 GMT

i too sell DVDs and post via large letter (padded bubble envelope)

Loss rate is extremely low. I too lose about 1 in every 1000. If you are losing 1 in 10 theres definitely something fishy going on