Item I sold was returned as buyer didn't collect item for Auspost.

[beokate]

Hi everyone

On Thursday I recieved an item back that  I sold and posted on the 6th of May. There is writing on the parcel from the posties that the buyer was contacted and they were going to pick up the item but it was eventually returned back to me this week. 

I was hoping for some advice on what to do next as I have not received any communication from the buyer about this item and I never checked up further on the item as it's status was delivered on May 8th and I assumed all was well.

[davewil1964]

Refund less postage and all fees. Including eBay ones, as you won't get them back without a formal cancellation.

Or you could contact the buyer and ask if they want you to send it again. On receipt of the postage to send it back to them, of course. But there is no guarantee they will collect it next time, either.

[jellybirddesigns]

I think a PO will only hold stuff for a short amount of time - 10 days I believe, and then they return it.

Maybe something happened to the buyer and they couldn't get it for some reason for more than 10 days (emergency, for example).

I would send a message to say that you have the item back and that you will refund the price of the purchase (less postage) if you haven't heard from them by a certain date. As mentioned, if they contact you back and still want it, they will need to repay the postage portion - you should be able to send them a Paypal invoice for this separately

[jaffajulie1974]

I had a parcel returned a couple of months ago after Australia Post made 3 attempts to delivery it. Despite quite a few email to the buyer I never heard from her again. Nothing more can be done by sellers so we should just relist the items.

[brerrabbit585]

I'd send them a message saying you'll hold it for them until they re-pay the postage, then I'd put it in the cupboard and leave it there until they do pay the postage. If they open a case they'll lose because they didn't bother picking it up.

You're only legally required to hold someone else's goods for a certain amount of time and I'd hold it for that long and then dispose of it however you like. I currently have almost $1,000 worth of goods here that someone paid for last June. They're currently working 40 kms away (a 30-minute drive) but they haven't bothered to come and get it. It's inconveniencing me to have it taking up space but they don't seem to care about that. If they say they no longer want it there's no way I'd refund their money because I'm not legally obliged to do so and I did a lot of work to sell it and don't intend to do it all over again. I'm not obliged to give change of mind returns after 365 days.

[kitty-kat-kollection]

This happened to me too! I posted a $70 (plus postage) item to a buyer back in MARCH, and received it back here 2 weeks ago, saying it was unclaimed.

I checked the tracking and it was delivered to one post office where it sat for a week, then transferred to another one where it sat for...2 MONTHS, before finally being returned to me.

I found the transaction on ebay but there is no option to contact the buyer and they appear to not be on ebay anymore.

...strange...