item not received by buyer

[undeadwhisper]

Hi all,  been using Ebay for awhile now- with no problems up till now.

 I recently sold an item and sent it via AU Registered post a few days later after the sale- anyhow,

thought all was good until I saw that I had a neg feedback by said buyer. No messages or correspondence had been passed to me through eBay before the neg was left.   So, not knowing how this would go (buyer paid with Paypal- which I listed as the only payment method for smooth transactions) I logged into Paypal to see where I the seller would stand if they opened a dispute with them- turns out they had already opened a dispute and I was un aware of until then.

Anyhow, paypal wanted to know if there was tracking information (which there was ofcourse being registered) and now it's in the buyers hands to respond.    

On the phone to the post office- re- item not recieved 

Basically, the post office has told me that the item was delivered, but is ' UNKNOWN AT ADDRESS' they said that they tried to 

deliver it- but for some reason no one has signed for it or it has not been picked up at the local post office on the buyers end. They said that the item will eventually make it's way back to me- but what happens next?    

Can eBay remove the neg feedback?  Is Paypal likely to refund them even though this is out of my hands?  

Thanks- so frustrating that I get more feedback score set back like that because the buyer did not contact me first-or check the tracking number which I provided to them when I sent the item off.

anyone been through something similar- and how did it end?  or any advise?

Thanks

[extra-keen]

Firstly have a look at the address provided by ebay and then check if it is the same as the address provided by paypal when payment made. (Items should always be sent to the paypal supplied address if they are different).

If there is any doubt about the address, and I would do this anyway, try and contact the buyer and ask for the correct address. You can tell them the item was not able to be delivered so it appears that the incorrect address may have been supplied. Ask them what they would like you to do as it appears the item has been returned to sender by the PO.

Be very polite. As far as the buyer is concerned, they don't have their item - so for the moment pretend they haven't given negative feedback.

When all is sorted out (and hopefully that will be to both parties satisfaction), you may be able to ask for a revision of your feedback - it is certainly worth a try. It is unlikely that ebay will change or remove the feedback.

Good communication is almost always the key to the culmination of a satisfactory transaction, especially when something has gone wrong.

[undeadwhisper]

Hi, and thanks for your reply.  I have checked, and it is the same address on both eBay and Paypal.    The PO said it was not an unknown address, but rather 'unknown AT address'.        The buyer knows that the item is still being held by THEIR local PO..... so I don't know why they won't pick it up.

should I ask?

[foxette-in-sox]

Have you tried phoning the buyer ?

And if you received no email from Paypal re a dispute,you need to find out why for your own peace of mind if nothing else.

[green-gifts-mkd]

'Unknown at Address' usually means that different residents now live at that address and that they would not sign for a package that is not addressed to anyone in the current household.

This exact thing has happened to me, except that my buyer didn't jump to leaving a negative in the first instance. My buyer did contact me first, rather irrately. I messaged back the delivery address provided in the PayPal transaction and she replied, "Nope. You got it wrong." Then I took a screen shot of the PayPal transaction an explained that I 'have to' send it to the address she provided, and that it was her responsibility to check it upon payment (I always mention this in any correspondence with buyers, i.e. "Please make sure your delivery address is correct as you make payment". I usually get this chance because they message me first about their requirements, quantity etc. before buying and paying).

She finally acknowledged her part in it. As it turned out, she had moved two months prior to buying from me. She hadn't been on eBay in a while and just went through the motions of paying without checking her delivery address. So, we waited a couple of weeks for the personalised item to get back to me, as there was still quite a lot of time before her wedding.

But, guess what? Australia Post lost the item as it was being tracked back to me (Return to Sender). Her wedding date was now looming and she started a PayPal dispute. She lost the dispute for not providing the correct shipping address.

She still wanted the item. It was a smallish order so I REMADE it. Can you believe it? This cost me another hour of time and materials due to her mistake. However, I asked her pay for the postage to resend it to her, which she agreed to.

This time it got to her (right before her wedding). She never left any feedback--presumably too busy due to wedding preps, honeymoon etc.

So, you need to find out first if your buyer's PayPal transaction address was their correct address.

Btw, the item finally did make its way back to me, 4 months later! As it was personalised, it was useless, and went straight in the bin.

[green-gifts-mkd]

Just wondering if AP told you that the item is being held at their PO?

The tracking note: Wed 06 Aug 2014 14:36 RTS- Unknown at address, means that the item is making its way back to you now. RTS means 'Return to Sender'. This is what happened in my case too, except that Australia Post lost the package on its way back to me. Well, they didn't 'lose' it--they MISPLACED it for 4 months...

[undeadwhisper]

no, haven't called the buyer as I don't have that information to do so otherwise I definately would have.    

When I rang the PO, I was told it got delivered to the address, but for some reason no one signed for it or went to the PO to collect- so it is deemed as ' unknown at address'  the lady on the phone said they usually hold a parcel for a certain amount of time before it would return back to the sender- she said that the delivery person would have left a card in the mail box stating a parcel was awaiting for collection. 

I have sent the buyer a nice and polite message on ebay asking why they didn't notify me of non delivery and  also asked for confirmation of their address- I'm not sure what is going on with them though as all their messages have been through the Paypal resolution centre and not through ebay so I have only been aware of them in the last 2 days---- how do I respond to the messages on Paypal (it says in the tutorial I can reply- but I haven't figured out how?)

Green-gift-cards--  I wonder too if they might have moved- and if not I don't know what's going on!

[cq_tech]

I'm thinking it's probably buyer's remorse and they've essentially changed their minds and no longer want the item, which is why they've refused to collect it from the PO. That would also explain why they didn't bother to contact you and elected to lodge a Paypal dispute instead.

You should have also received an email from Paypal to let you know that a dispute had been lodged against you, but if you log on to Paypal and navigate your way to the dispute console, you should be able to see the buyer's message to Paypal and can then respond to their claims. It goes without saying that you will need all of the appropriate documentation to prove that you posted the item and that the buyer failed to pick it up from the PO.

I'm presuming that the buyer will be claiming a full refund of all moneys paid, while you should be arguing that the buyer should only be refunded the item cost, and not the initial postage and registration charges, which would leave you out of pocket through no fault of your own.

[bettyboopsadaisy]

Hi,

This is all very familiar to me.

I went through a similar experience only a couple of weeks ago.

I won't retell the whole sorry tale again but suffice to say, thank goodness for tracking information that proves clearly that I, as the seller, was not at fault.

It did take over 3 weeks of wrangling on the phone and by email with both ebay and PayPal to get the justice that I was due and to get ebay to remove the defect on my seller performance for 'item not received'.

The seller is DEFINITELY guilty until proven innocent as far as ebay / paypal  are concerned and I must have rattled one ebay phone agent so much with my outrage and haranguing for fairness, that I 'cracked' her 'ebayspeak veneer' when I asked why they were so quick to give defects to sellers before the PayPal dispute was decided. I compared it to a judge handing down a sentence before the jury had delivered their verdict.

Her response was to say, that ebay was very much focused on retaining their buyers. UNBELIEVEABLE. The message I was getting was we aim to hang on to ANY SORT OF BUYER, regardless of the trading conduct, without any regard of the negative and unfair impact that it has on the seller.

AND it was a huge impact on me. I could easily have given up in the process of trying to put things right for myself. Even in the face of indisputeable evidence, both ebay and PayPal made things VERY DIFFICULT. I believe it was a major 'coup' (and an indication of my staying power) that I ended up achieving the result that I deserved.

Believe me, I wish you the best of luck and if the documentary evidence supports your claim, stick with it, if you can !!

[lalala-au]

I once orderd some tickets through ticketmaster or ticketek (it was a couple of years ago) I paid for the registered post option. when they didn't turn up I rang them they put me on hold and found out this from the post office  ' UNKNOWN AT ADDRESS'  they tried to deliver but no one there would sign and said I did not live there.

I asked when that was because I was ill at the time and home for 2 weeks and lived with my niece and a friend who both had day jobs. They told me the date and I asked are they still at the local post office or have they been sent back. The lady said she wasn't sure.

I knew that I was home alone on that day! So I rugged myself up took some panadol and tissues and went to the local post office. Sure enough my tickets where there, and we got a new postie within a week. I hope this did not happen in your case.

Good Luck!