Items not received

[roseblack]

Hi, I have a couple of eBay stores and I am finding more and more buyers are reporting that items I posted have not been received (INR). These items are always items sent without tracking i.e. large letters. (I am sure this issue has been raised before but I am fairly new to this discussion group and have not been able to find much by searching the threads.)

I try to compete with my competitors who offer free postage and are also selling the same items as me at reduced recommended retail prices, but with the eBay fees and increased cost of replacing or refunding buyers "claiming to have not received their items" I am seriously considering dumping eBay altogether. Now before anyone says send registered post, I don't think this is a viable option because a roll of labels still makes the cost $3.10 per item cutting down my profit to bare bones if I use this option and not worth it. My items are an average sale of $10-$25 and while this is not a large amount it adds up when you are receiving in excess of 5 or 6 INR's per month. What really burns is that some who claim INR and receive a refund also leave low star ratings & or neutral or negative feedback. Why should I have to wear a double whammy (refund & neg.) when it is either Auspost or a dishonest buyer who is at fault. On my off eBay online store my terms & conditions state that unless the customer selects Registered Post there will be no compensation available for lost or damaged items and I have had only one item reported missing in the mail in 12 months and I sell many times more items than I do on my eBay sites.

eBay has the Resloution Centre now (since PayPal split) and I would like to make a suggestion to other sellers who are as frustrated with dishonest buyers as I am (there is no way that many items go missing in the mail). Here is my suggestion - when a buyer reports that an item has not been received initially ask them the usual questions - check address, search around house, ask family members, check with post office and wait a few more days in case of postal delays. If after a few more days the buyer contacts you again to advise item has not arrived ask them to open a case in the Resolution Centre. This then becomes a record of the number of times a buyer claims INR and can be used by eBay to gather evidence of dishonest buyers or even dishonest posties if that is what is happening. If you then settle the case by refunding or replacing the item you do not receive any defects. I would also ask that sellers add follow up feedback to the buyers feedback stating that the buyer made an INR claim and was refunded. This will serve as an alert to other sellers. It wouldn't work the first time a buyer purchased from a seller but if the seller checks the buyers feedback after a case is settled they can see how many such comments the buyer has received and decide whether to add the buyer to their Blocked Bidders list.

If sellers started doing this it would perhaps become a deterrent to the dishonest buyer. We cannot leave neg feedback but we can leave a true record of what happend on feedback (use Reply to Feedback, even if positive feedback received) e.g. "Item lost in post - buyer refunded". While this is not a perfect answer to this problem, eBay seems incapable or doesn't care enough to do anything about the "you can get free stuff on eBay" scam that is becoming rampant, then we as sellers can at least alert each other to potential loss from the dishonest scum perpetrating this fraud. I would love to hear your thoughts.

[digital*ghost]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

I don't think AP is losing any more items than usual.

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Perhaps temporarily misplacing, or holding up, more parcels, though.

I posted an express package a few days ago, both locations in the national network, but it's disappeared without a trace. I mentioned it in passing at the PO today, and the staff member told me there is a lot of packages in the network at the moment, and when I got home from the PO to call and lodge a proper inquiry, the recorded message pretty much said the same thing, and to expect up to 3 day-delays and so forth. (Didn't even end up getting through to someone, so had to lodge online).

The last two days I've had more inquiries re: late items than in the last 3 months, and I honestly don't believe there's been that much of a dramtic increase in buyers trying to get freebies (but it is costing me a fortune - I've already refunded or sent replacements for quite a bit of stock, including the missing express one as the buyer needed it before the end of the week 😞 ). 

I know this is often to be expected in the lead up to Christmas, but at the same time, massively increased volume should be expected (and catered appropriately for) by AP, too. 

[amber-eyed-girl]

I have had parcels sitting at the starting point since the 9th, and parcels reaching my delivery centre only to be bounced to W.A.

It is a shambles right now.

[digital*ghost]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:

Digi, I know your post was two weeks ago...but with regards to preferring buyers not use the request system:

I just went to "ask a question" on a listing where my purchases have disappeared into a black hole.

I was attempting to contact the seller directly, as a first approach.

The "ask a question" defaulted me into the resolutions/request centre, if I wanted to ask a question about items not received.

If that is now the current normal, then a buyer will be opening cases if an item is slow even if trying not to.

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Looks like we posted in the same thread at almost the exact same time 

I think the prompt to open a request has pretty much been the most intuitive option for buyers ever since they introduced the system, so even though I would prefer to work outside of it, I generally understand the buyer is just trying to get a problem resolved (I've even told buyers via message that I won't go so far as to ask them not to use the system, but nor will I encourage them to use it, and just let them know that I can offer them many more options if it's not used - when it no longer causes a defect, and - fingers crossed - we here in Oz get the option to send a replacement rather than just refund, then the issues I have with the system will disappear. 🙂 )

[amber-eyed-girl]

The options I was given were:

request a refund or request the items (tick one of those two boxes)

doesn't request the items allow a seller to send a replacement?

[digital*ghost]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:

The options I was given were:

request a refund or request the items (tick one of those two boxes)

doesn't request the items allow a seller to send a replacement?

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No, sadly.

When I have received INR requests, no matter what the buyer selects, it just shows me the same options.

Send the buyer a message

Provide tracking (or something to that effect)

Offer a partial refund

Send a full refund

Buyer and seller can manually work out things and get replacements sent out, but there's no official option to send replacements, or upload a new tracking number to the case for the second package etc and then also relies on the buyer manually closing the case. I won't take any chances when it comes to requests, not when I only have 0.3% leeway for cases closed without seller resolution. 

Most of the requests I get come through as the buyer requesting a postage status update, which might be an additional option if the package didn't have tracking, but have had a couple where the buyer wanted the items (just going by the wording of the notifications I get) unless we are actually getting the replacement option and it was just left out of the announcement, those 4 options are all I've ever had. 

[amber-eyed-girl]

Ahhhh. OK.

then there really needs to be a specific replacement option. Shame that eBay wanted to talk over changes like this, then disappeared without even a word.

[digital*ghost]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:

Ahhhh. OK.

then there really needs to be a specific replacement option. Shame that eBay wanted to talk over changes like this, then disappeared without even a word.

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That's why I'm so annoyed with eBay at the moment (  - because it's better than being consistently  with eBay ), because the recent updates to the request system in the US includes a replacement option, but the updates here just allow sellers to set up rules to automatically issue refunds when a buyer opens a request, and the reality is most buyers want a replacement, so I'm left with the option of high risk to my seller standing, or letting the buyer down by refunding when a replacement would be preferred by us both. 

[amber-eyed-girl]

What happens where there is tracking, but it falls into an AP black hole?

"shipping information received" then nothing.

[digital*ghost]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:

What happens where there is tracking, but it falls into an AP black hole?

"shipping information received" then nothing.

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I've never had a request on an item where tracking was uploaded,  so I don't know too much about what options are provided to the seller if there is, but just going by what other sellers have said, they have the same options I get, including the tracking one since some carriers aren't linked directly with eBay for them to check automatically. 

Shipping information received is just the status when a label has been created, though, so a seller would lose even a PayPal claim in that instance, since there's no proof of lodgement or delivery, and (despite the debate about it in the early days of the MBG), eBay will look for delivery rather than postage when determining the result of a case, so even if there is a lodgement scan, proof of delivery will still be requested (a seller may be able to argue the point, and not always necessarily be liable for any refund given, but they will usually have to fight for it). 

[amber-eyed-girl]

Thank you 🙂 that is what I understood (creation)