Seller has refunded my payment and then sent goods as well

[julianne046]

I purchased a top (under $30) on 2/3/2016 from an Australian seller.  Paid on the same day via paypal and the seller marked item as shipped on 3/3/2016 but no tracking number provided.  As item had not arrived by 21/3/2016 I contacted seller, advising that item had not arrived and could they confirm when item was actually sent.  Seller has not replied to me directly but on 22/3 payal advised that seller had refunded my payment.  So I just assumed that's the end of that, and for whatever reason the seller decided not to send item.  Today however the item has arrived by express post.  When I check the tracking number on the satchel (via Aust Post tracking) it shows as shipped by the seller only yesterday 22/3.  I am a little confused why seller would refund my payment and then send the item to me after refunding.  I would appreciate your thoughts, particularly from other sellers, who may enlighten me as to why the seller may have done this.  Would the seller be now expecting me to make another payment??  The seller has never contacted me directly to explain what has happened here.  Your thoughts would be appreciated.

[maranock]

The seller probably made a postage mistake and when you enquired after your item they refunded as good customer service. You can now choose to pay the seller (using Paypal) or keep the top without telling the seller it has arrived - not very nice. I would also give them the benefit of the doubt and give positive feedback if I were you.

[michellebartley]

Well if you have now received it you now owe the seller amount owing for the item.
Regardless of receiving a refund.
I dont know about the intricatcies involved in the posting etc. Cant help sorry.

[davidc4430]

seems the seller has the whole concept of selling too hard to grasp. you advertise, a buyer buys, a buyer pays, seller posts. very diffucult to figure out isnt it? whats the sellers feedback like just out of curiosity?

[julianne046]

Thank you for your reply. Yes I do agree, however I would have expected some contact directly from the seller given the amount of time that has elapsed.

[julianne046]

Thanks for reply. The seller is a very high volume seller with feedback of 99% however there are several negative and neutrals regarding long delays in shipping or not being shipped at all.

[amber-eyed-girl]

If the item is all fine, just send them a new payment. With a note for what it's for.

A large business could have separate people handling stock, shipping and customer service.

[*tippy*toes*]

I sold an item about 2 weeks ago, the buyer paid straight away. When I went to package it later that day for posting, I realised I'd made a dreadful mistake. I had another almost identical item that I'd previously sold and when I listed this item, I just used the same listing. BUT, I forgot to change the measurements. It was only a few mm and a couple of grams difference (smaller), but it would have been enough for a negative had the buyer decided to weigh it or measure it.

I still sent the item, but also issued a refund minus the postage cost ($1.50) and sent the buyer a message explaining that I had still sent it, but this is why I refunded them. I didn't hear from the buyer at all, but got a positive feedback of "received" and 5 stars for everything. That was good enough for me!

I didn't have to go to that length, I could have just sent and hoped for the best, but as I'd made the error, it was my way of making up for it. Maybe your seller felt bad for whatever the reason was that it was delayed in being posted so refunded as a gesture of goodwill. I'd contact them and let them know it has arrived, and offer to resend the payment. They may very well say not to worry about it, but I'd still ask. 

[digital*ghost]

A seller once did that with me, but there had been some communication - I won an item for a low-ish price, the seller didn't send it, didn't answer original enquiries, then sent me a gift payment for the price I paid, then refunded the PayPal payment, then sent the item express...

They were very new to eBay and I thought they must have been so flustered to have done all that. I refunded their gift and resent my original payment, as they were obviously genuinely trying to make things right, and all I wanted was the item. 

It's possible your seller was selling on behalf of someone else and didn't know what was going on, so just refunded, (that could explain - though not excuse - the lack of communication, i.e. no idea what to say). Then when they got on to the other person, they decided to send it on. 

[englishrosegardens]

It may be a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing if they're a high volume seller.  I've heard that some of the really big sellers who have low markups don't communicate unless ABSOLUTELY necessary because they feel it's not a good use of their time.  I may not necessarily agree with this but I can fully understand why they do it (or don't, as the case may be).  In other words, it may be more efficient for them to fully refund and still send the item than to spend time answering questions - time that could be spent fulfilling other orders and making profit.