Buyer asking refund - left country. What would YOU do??

[markaus12]

I sold an item on Buy it Now on a Thursday night 22 May at 5:45pm while I was feeding my kids. Buyer paid straight away by Paypal.

At 6:30 I received a message from the buyer sating "please post immediately I need it before Wednesday".

I dropped it in the postbox within 5 mins, hoping that the postie hadn't emptied the box yet.

I sent a message to the buyer saying that I already missed the 6pm pick up but that it would hopefully arrive before Wednesday anyway but reminded him that I was at the mercy of Australia Post.

On the Monday I received a message from the buyer asking where his item was as others that he ordered on the same day had already arrived.

I sent message saying that item was posted after 6pm on Thursday night and that I hope it arrived in time for his deadline but if it didn't make his deadline, that I would be happy to refund him if he wanted to return it. 

This morning I received a message from the buyer saying " item didn't arrive before I left back to my own country. please make refund urgently".

Now, my offer of a refund was to have the item returned.  I didn't do anything wrong here and I was really trying to accommodate this demanding buyer and my messages were always friendly and professional. 

Obviously, I am expecting negative feedback if I don't do the refund - a refund for an item that I'll most probably never see again. 

So my question :  What would YOU have done in this situation? Swallow the negative and keep the $12 or refund?

[curraone]

how about "please arrange for the person who is collecting your mail in Australia to return the item unopened - marked return to sender - and as soon as I receive it back I will refund"

[clarry100]

It's not your fault they ordered too late to meet their own deadlines.

I would stick to my guns and re-iterate that you will grant the refund upon return of the item. I assume the buyer would be eventually returning to Australia so they will receive the item upon their return.

I assume you mailed by standard mail (untracked) as you dropped it into a red box, so no PayPal protection there.

You may end up with a NEG but I think its easily explained by a comment on the FB.

[lizzyamelia]

If they had a deadline they should have requested Express Post.

Would also have made sense for the buyer to have advised they were only visitors and leaving the country permanently - I personally would have cancelled the sale and refunded rather than had this kind of hassels.

Why do people assume we have an efficient mail service in Australia when we don't.

[i-love-my-sheep]

People like that annoy me. They remind me of those morons that buy something on the Thursday before Mother's Day, then leave a negative because it didn't arrive in time to give to their mother on the Sunday. Buyer  being on opposite side of the country to the seller. I've seen a few negatives on people's FB for that kind of thing. 

If it was me, I'd keep the $12 and wear the negative, unless the item is returned. I wouldn't refund without a return because how do you know for sure they have in fact left the country? Why are they buying stuff a few days out from leaving? Smells a bit if you ask me.

I hope it all works out OK for you.

[belin_yo0x0]

I don't think u should refund. This will just give people who are scamming sellers the incentive to keep this bad behaviour up. If they neg u ask ebay to remove it or reply to the next that they bought it Thursday and expected it Monday.

[Anonymous]

He's scamming you and don't worry about the threat of a little negative feedback it dissappears after awhile and no one takes notice of one bad feedback anyway. Report him to ebay, not that they ever do anything. You can see if they got it through tracking. His fault