If I send refund to buyer, then they receive item, can I get my money back?

[negan]

I sent two items on the same day, one to New Zealand, the other to Canada.

I just got notified that the buyer of the item in Canada opened a case against me for item not received.

The item did not include tracking, therefore is untraceable, and because I never had this issue before, I threw away the receipt, so have no proof of posting the item.

I sent the item on 14/03/17, so it has been about 5 weeks, which I would be concerned about as a buyer.

I went to Australia Post and they said it can take up to 6 weeks to an item to be delivered and Canada doesn't have the best postal service reputation. The buyer and I both noted on Aus Post website, economy post says 11 days, so 6 weeks was not assuring at all.

I am thinking to offer a refund to the buyer, however if the item shows up, they may not tell me and therefore they will have the item for free and may not pay me if I send them another invoice. I may have no choice but to refund them anyway but I do believe the item is still on it's way so it would essentially be stealing if they got the item and the refund.

Just wondering if there's any other option for me with this case?

[collect247]

As you have no proof of postage you have no choice but to refund the buyer.

If the buyer does eventually receive it and are honest then they will return your money.

Ebay will rule in favour of the buyer in this situation this is just my opinion as I have been through it all before.

All the best anyway.

[lyndal1838]

With no proof of posting at all you have no choice at all....you have to refund the buyer.

Postage to and from Canada is very slow but I would guess that your buyer has received the parcel, seen that there is no tracking and decided to get it for free.  There is nothing you can do and if the buyer has to escalate the dispute you will receive a defect as well.

Why did you post anything with no tracking?

[jellybirddesigns]

Canada does not have the best postal system and there are often delays, so it could still be in transit.

If the item was valued over CAD$20, the buyer will have had to pay duties/customs etc. It's possible that they have received the item and are now trying to get some of their money back.

Or it just genuinely went missing.

What was the value of the item?

[bluebudgies]

For the last 10 years I've heard about delays through Canada's customs.
11 days is just a pipe dream.

[negan]

$25 AUD + $15.85 AUD shipping

[negan]

They did not pay for tracking so therefore if I did add tracking, it would have been an my expense. Might have to make that the only option in the future.

[clarry100]

It's a mistake to expect your buyer to pay extra for tracking.
Why would they? They have all the protection they need via the eBay MBG.
It's the seller who needs the protection tracking affords, not the buyer.

[lyndal1838]

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@bluebudgies wrote:
For the last 10 years I've heard about delays through Canada's customs.
11 days is just a pipe dream.

---

My OH is Canadian and we have been dealing with the Canadian Postal system for 35+ years.

It has always been the same....slow and expensive.   We used to allow at least 6 weeks for a birthday gift to arrive and invariably were in trouble for it being late.

[negan]

Yes that's true, I will have to add tracking as the only option from now on.

Didn't think about it before because this is the first time i've had an issue with buyer not receiving an item.