Refusal to pay for items received

[dougandtrish20]

On 28th Sept I sold (at auction) a group of 12 Australian sixpences. This was one of many sales I made on the same day and by mistake I sent the coins prior to receiving payment. I immediately contacted the buyer and asked that he pay asap. Even after many emails he has refused to pay. Tracking indicated he received the coins on 6th Oct. Ebay say they can't do anything because I didn't report the non-payment with 32 days (a time limit I was unaware of) I reported the incident to the buyer's local police station in Bendigo but was informed it was a civil matter which should be resolved via ebay.

[kopenhagen5]

Unfortunately you didn't follow the procedures.

Chalk it up as lesson learnt and move on.

[love_of_cars]

I can understand the pressure felt to get things into the mail ASAP due to all the delays and negative comeback on sellers lately, but never, ever send anything until payment comes in.  Even if it is a PayPal e-cheque, don't send until it clears.  Too many people out there now who do things without properly thinking first or know how to play the system to get free stuff.

[gutterpunkz05]

The only thing ebay could have done, had you reported non payment earlier, would have been to give the buyer a non payment strike.

They could not force the buyer to return the item or to make payment, as the item should not have been shipped in the first place.

[jellybirddesigns]

I had this happen to me many years ago. Sent an item in error without receiving payment and I was super fortunate that the buyer actually did pay me as soon as I contacted her (this was in the days when you could still leave negs for buyers).

Having dodged a bullet, I made sure that all my items going forward were BIN with Immediate Payment, so that I would never have to worry about missing a payment or chasing buyers again.

Still sucks when a buyer actually refuses to pay up when you've made a genuine error and certainly shows the character of the buyer.

Perhaps you could look to sue in small claims court and if viable, you could mention it to the buyer that this is your intention. I think that anyone getting a notice of intention to sue is going to find it hard to justify to a judge how they can keep an item and not pay you for it over a simple error. Might be worth looking into? 

[davewil1964]

I had it happen as a buyer.

Early days, when I used to transfer money into Paypal before paying (quicker normally than an eCheque). Seller sent the goods the day after I 'bought'. When I asked if they wanted payment, they said 'yes' so I did.

[designers*n*more]

Send the buyer a guilt and shame email

dear xxxxx

thank you for not paying for the item that I sent to you in error and good faith before receiving payment. Despite numerous requests asking for payment of the item you have received I hope you feel very proud of yourself and your dishonest behaviour. Your dishonesty just shows the type of person that you are.  I hope that one day someone can do the same for you. Have a wonderful day.

it may not do any good but you have nothing to lose 🙂

[dougandtrish20]

Many thanks to everyone who responded. There's some very good advice there and it was all very. much appreciated.