Item refunded due to non delivery but has been returned to me.

[sardonicus001]

I sold a CD to a buyer in Norway on 11th March and shipped it the same day. On 8th April he complained that it hadn't arrived and PayPal gave him a complete refund. I have checked and ascertained that I posted it to the address he gave me. The returned item bears a sticker stating that it has been returned unclaimed. The CD was only $13 however the postage was $32, meaning that whilst I have the CD I have lost $32 in postage. Can Discogs do anything about this or is it a matter for PayPal?

[springyzone]

The person or entity with the original $32 in their little hot hands is Australia Post.

There is no such thing as free postage.

Therefore someone has to be out of pocket for the $32 and as the buyer has been fully refunded, that person in this case is the seller.

 I think it is just one of the risks of selling on ebay and at least the OP got his item back. Some poor sellers end up out of pocket for both postage and item.

Personally, if I were still selling, I'd be inclined to put this one down to experience and to try to cut down my risks, maybe by limiting the sales of my cheaper items to Australia only or something like that. Where the postage cost is way out of proportion to the item cost, I'd classify that as higher risk.

[domino-710]

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@*sons_n_daughters* wrote:

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@domino-710 wrote:

Just LOL.

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Why is it LOL? He is absolutely correct. If AP had refunded the postage, then no one would be out of pocket, but they're not going to do that.

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Just LOL - again.

There are 4 pages of trying to explain he is correct.

[sugar249]

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@*sons_n_daughters* wrote:

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@domino-710 wrote:

Just LOL.

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He is absolutely correct. If AP had refunded the postage, then no one would be out of pocket, but they're not going to do that.

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And AP shouldnt be returning the postage,  they held up their side of the bargain, in fact they went over and above by returning the item.  They generally for OS sales are entitled to actually get the sender to pay for that.

[eol-products]

In the past return international postage came with a return postage charge to be able to claim the item at the post office. So the OP was lucky they had not been charged this like they used to in the past. This is one reason I tick dispose of the item if it can't be delivered on items of low value.

Also most regular sellers would get a 25% discount on international postage so the loss would be more bearable.

[siddieswans]

I always tick Return by Cheapest Option or whatever it says. Only a smallish sample - perhaps 6 times over the years but I have never been charged for return postage. Mind you sometimes it has taken QUITE a long time to be returned. 3 times I had no idea the parcel had not been delivered until it was returned to me. One of these 3 buyers was no longer an eBay member. One never replied to my several emails saying the parcel had been returned, and as they had never opened a case for non-delivery, I did not feel the need to refund them, though of course I would have done so  if required. The third buyer said "oh yes, he had meant to pick it up, but forgot; he still wanted the item, so he would be happy to pay for postage again if I could resend it." My take is, if you get the item back after you have refunded for non-delivery, at least you have salvaged something from the affair. Probably would depend on value of items you sell - I usually don't list anything for International sale that posts at over a kilo, and I have a huge list of places I don't sell to.

[papermoon.lady]

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@twyngwyn wrote:

If item is 'unclaimed' then surely the buyer is up for the cost of postage......what am I missing here?

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I think you are right. Unclaimed is basically passive refusal of a delivery, and the MBG does not apply to refusal of a delivery, but the buyer was refunded by PayPal, and maybe they have different rules, but I agree that it is unfair to the seller. Obviously the item should be refunded, but if a buyer does not pick an item up, it is not the seller's fault and the seller should not pay for postage.

I wonder if the tracking clearly said that the item was awaiting collection at the post office?

[domino-710]

That was 3 pages ago - think it's time to put this one to bed.

The OP stated the item was returned ' unclaimed ' - so of course it was waiting for claim - the when not ' claimed ' it was returned.

Time's up for eBay - PP has refunded - end of.