Buyer claims item not received

[ameliardcottage]

In the past week I have had 2 buyers claim an item is not received and requesting a refund. In one case, it was 2 business days after it was posted and going to outback NSW. In the other case they opened a Refund Claim after 4 business days.

The items I am selling are low cost and mostly posted standard mail with an option for buyer to upgrade to registered mail for an additional cost. Needless to say, no one has opted to pay more.

My question to eBay is:

If in my item description and returns policy I state clearly that I don't take responsibility for items sent standard mail and lost or damaged by AP and offer alternatives, am I covering my self.

I have put this question to Ebay support, and also what happens if the case is found in favour of the buyer and the refund is deducted from my PayPal account then the next day the item arrives? Is the buyer going to contact me and say the item has finally arrived can I pay now! I don’t think so. Human nature would have most buyer’s jumping up and do crowning with delight for having got what they wanted and not having to pay for it.

The person I spoke to said yes, covered, no claim can be made by the buyer, but on further questioning of his reply, was escalated to a higher level person who kept saying go to the courier and ask them for proof of delivery. It shows how little knowledge they have of how AP works.

After a frustrating, time consuming and at times heated conversation I was finally able to get this person to understand there is no tracking on standard post in Australia.

So the outcome of a couple of wasted hours is HE DOES NOT KNOW IF I AM COVER. Again, the inquiry is escalated and I am now waiting for a reply from someone higher up in the food chain. I asked then to phone, as I do not want to go round and round the garden with ambiguous answers and back and forward emails.

Still waiting!

My apologies for the long-winded diatribe, I think I’ve got it off my chest. Look forward to any comments or others facing the same difficulty.

[2106greencat]

Sorry OP - you can really put whatever you want in your postal conditions, but the fact is if an item is missing and you can not prove postage to paypal if the buyer opens INR dispute, then you will have to refund the buyer, in full including the original postage.

In fact, paypal refunds to the buyer from your account.

You must post in a manner that is safe for you, (provable) click and send etc, or be prepared to wear the losses as they occur.

[treasuress.4207]

I feel your pain.

I too post many small items by regular post (books for example which only need stamps)

It's all very well for people to say ' just insist on trackable shipping being paid'  but it's not that simple.

If we insisted a minimum of $7 be paid on  any book.... wno would buy them?

[2106greencat]

It is a tough call, I used to use the CS satchels, but some items are going to fit in really small bags.

I guess it is 6 of one half a dozen of the other, your post would cost a lot less than mine, you may lose the odd parcel (loss of revenue), costs me more to safeguard against lost parcels (loss of revenue).

I actually had a Postage Paid stamp, and used this rather than stamps, for some reason it make the parcel look more business like and people are less likely to think it was just stuffed into a post box.

[cherry*135]

Items that can be sent as large letters ($3.50 for a large prepaid envelope) to then add registered or signature on delivery ($3-$3.50?) on top of the postage does make smaller, lower value items uneconomical to send. That cost $7.00 is nearly the same as a prepaid satchel (up to 500gms). Buyers wouldn't pay that for lower value items.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

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@ameliardcottage wrote:

In the past week I have had 2 buyers claim an item is not received and requesting a refund. In one case, it was 2 business days after it was posted and going to outback NSW. In the other case they opened a Refund Claim after 4 business days.

The items I am selling are low cost and mostly posted standard mail with an option for buyer to upgrade to registered mail for an additional cost. Needless to say, no one has opted to pay more.

My question to eBay is:

If in my item description and returns policy I state clearly that I don't take responsibility for items sent standard mail and lost or damaged by AP and offer alternatives, am I covering my self.

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When you give your buyers the option of upgrading their postage options to include registration/signature/tracking you are actually giving them the opportunity to pay more for postage so that you have PayPal seller protection.  They have PayPal buyer protection when the cheapest postage is chosen so it does not surprise me one bit that none of your buyers chose to pay more.

[2106greencat]

That is the point I was trying to make am,

You either run the risk of refunding for a few lost items (costing you money) or you pay extra postage to safeguard yourself on all items (costing you more money).

I guess you just need to do the figures and see if one way or the other is going to be more profitable.

I beleive most buyers are honest, but there are no doubt some who see a postpak arrive with stamps only and think hhmmm, bet this isn't trackable and do the dirty, or a parcel is lifted from a doorstep........but in my experience in the 2 years I sold for, I think I only had 3 tiny claims for lost items that I had to refund for.

OP - you mention this has happenned in the last week or so twice ? How often before that ?

[ameliardcottage]

I agree, who in their right mind would pay 8.25 postage on a 5 or 6 dollar item. I have been thinking that if I take the items to the post office and have them stamped I can then take pics to prove posted. Just more time wasting having to stand in line at the post office when they can just be put in the post box. I wonder how much a franking machine is.

[i-love-my-sheep]

Is the outback NSW buyer a low feedback buyer? It's a bit steep thinking it's going to arrive from Vic to remote NSW in 2 days. With both buyers, does their feedback left for others suggest this is a regular thing for them?

I'm in Central West NSW and it can take 3 days to get to remote outback NSW. If the buyer is low feedback, they've probably looked at the earliest date that eBay gives and have fixated on that.

Isn't there a minimum time until a buyer can open a case for INR? I think 2 days after posting is a bit rough. I'd be adding both to my Blocked Buyer List, you don't need these hassles from impatient buyers. If they wanted it quickly, they should have asked to have it sent express. 

[ameliardcottage]

I'm thinking the cases may increase now that the new rules have come into play. Yes, most buyers are ethical, but having worked in sales out side of ebay I have seen and been suprised by the number of people who will take advantage of a situation if they can get away with it.

Within eBay in the past year I have had 3 items go missing and it each case the buyer supplied the wrong delivery address. In only one case was the package returned and was they sent to the correct address.