SELLER PROTECTION

[wandarrah]

ANY BODY HAD THIS ISSUE. PLEASE ADVISE

EXTREMLY IMPORTANT AND NEEDS eBay ATTENTION WHICH I AM SURE IT WILL BE IGNORED UNFORTENATLY. THIS WILL FORCE SELLERS TO NOT SELL ON eBay.
I do not think it is fair the way sellers are protected on eBay (VERY VERY UNFAIR). eBay is on the buyers side 100% against sellers. I have sold many items and i have been very loyal to eBay since 2000, lately there have been buyers who insist on paying the minimum postage without tracking despite advising them that tracking is safer, i also have clear posting requirements on my eBay listing, i try to help them but then they claim the item did not arrive (they do not prove that ) but unfortunately eBay take there side and i am forced to refund. This is happening more frequently now and I am not sure what to do except cancelling normal postage with not tracking which means selling will never be as good as with tracking more expensive. Please help me and advise what is your recommendation so myself and other sellers are safe.

[sandypebbles]

Yelling at other members is not going to achieve a thing

eBay staff do very rarely read the member to member forum

You are right, if you do not provide tracking, you are not covered if the buyer says the item did not arrive

Nobody here can help you nor advise you as you already know what sending without tracking means

How do you expect a buyer to prove something did not arrive?

Nobody except the buyer knows if they are lying or not

Nobody knows if the item got lost in the post, stolen by an employee, stolen by a passerby from the letter box etc etc

It is not up to other members to make other sellers protect themselves as best they can

But you certainly do not get to make up your own 'rules' in the item description, yelling and typing in red is pointless and you cannot enforce such demands

'proof stamped witness from the post office'  not accepted as proof of anything by eBay

In fact I would say posting such rants on your listings makes it far more likely buyer who are dodgy will most certain claim not arrived

I am also surprised eBay did not sanction your account for posting your own terms with are way outside eBay policy 

[wandarrah]

Hi

Thanks for your kind advise. So how do we protect the sellers when a buyer insists on normal postage , then claims his item did not arrive. Please recommend a solution. I have to refund 4 buyers in the last 6 weeks , i even i had a buyer sent me an email accepting full responsibility but still eBay refunded him. I think the only solution i see is that to cancel the normal postage and just do tracking even for low priced purchase. 

Any suggestions please.

[sandypebbles]

There is no solution 

eBay policy states if a seller cannot prove delivery (by using tracking) the seller is not covered if a buyer opens a not received dispute

As far as eBay are concerned, it is up to the seller to prove the item was delivered to the buyer's address

There's no 'way around' it

The email of the buyer accepting full responsibility, again, meaningless, it is not a 'thing' a seller can use get out of proving delivery that eBay are ever going to accept 

Nobody can advise you about something that does not exist 

[wandarrah]

Many thanks. I guess the solution is not to send without tracking.

[curraone]

It is true that you have no protection if you send without tracking.   In your case I think you sell stamps - so I understand your frustration for such a light item.    However, I suggest that you do change your listings to protect yourself -  you can buy Aust Post Small prepaid envelopes for $5.21 each -  most of your buyers will pay it because they appreciate tracking - not such a big jump from $3.   Or keep your postage at $3 and add $2.21 to the selling price for each item.

https://auspost.com.au/sending/letters-australia/letter-tracking

[springyzone]

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@wandarrah wrote:

ANY BODY HAD THIS ISSUE. PLEASE ADVISE

EXTREMLY IMPORTANT AND NEEDS eBay ATTENTION WHICH I AM SURE IT WILL BE IGNORED UNFORTENATLY. THIS WILL FORCE SELLERS TO NOT SELL ON eBay.
I do not think it is fair the way sellers are protected on eBay (VERY VERY UNFAIR). eBay is on the buyers side 100% against sellers. I have sold many items and i have been very loyal to eBay since 2000, lately there have been buyers who insist on paying the minimum postage without tracking despite advising them that tracking is safer, i also have clear posting requirements on my eBay listing, i try to help them but then they claim the item did not arrive (they do not prove that ) but unfortunately eBay take there side and i am forced to refund. This is happening more frequently now and I am not sure what to do except cancelling normal postage with not tracking which means selling will never be as good as with tracking more expensive. Please help me and advise what is your recommendation so myself and other sellers are safe.

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It doesn't matter how long you've been on ebay. I have been on just as long but I still have to work within the rules as they are now. Your trouble is you're still living back in about 2003, when buyers could not do a thing about items not arriving, so sometimes they opted for registered mail.

I read the ad for a completed listing of yours. Absolutely dreadful. Instead of a focus on describing an item, it is all negative and threatening comments, it puts a buyer's back up before you start.

I would not buy from you or if I did, I'd completely disregard your drivel and just jump into an official ebay claim if I hit a problem. I would not elect to pay more for postage than what was listed in the ad. Why would I?

I certainly would not contact you first to discuss anything because you obviously don't know how ebay works.

If you're going to sell things, you need to set the postage. You, not the buyer.

Don't go setting a low general postage then threatening buyers that they have to choose a higher paying postage.

Buyers want a straight forward, uncomplicated buying experience. None of your ifs and buts and made up waffle.

Don't go telling customers that if something isn't going via registered postage, they can't make a claim if an item goes missing. You may be able to bluff newbies but you are not being honest or accurate. Of course they can make a claim.

You are in control of your ad and the postage you fix and it needs to be up front in the ad.

So if I were you, I'd be making the decision to send items with tracking in most cases. Yes, it might be slightly dearer but then you're covered and no need for all the ranting in the ad.

For items you might prefer to send untracked, you're going to have to accept you are leaving yourself open for claims. I don't care what evidence you present that an item was posted. That is not proof of it arriving and arrival is what matters.

What you could do is slightly pad the price of each and every item sold as untracked and that way, the occasional claim for item not received will be covered.

But stop advertising 'normal' mail then telling buyers it is 100% their responsibility if anything goes wrong. I found that extremely annoying and it is just not true.

[wandarrah]

That sounds fair. My main issue is with the international posting, domestic is no issue. Australia post International postage with tracking ($22.50) and without ($4 to $6) is quite expensive and on top of that eBay takes nearly 15% of the postage too. I have not tried eBay posting parcels yet. I honestly think, the best way is just do not send internationally without tracking, this will reduce selling low cost items unless they buy few to make it worth the tracking

[springyzone]

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@wandarrah wrote:

Hi

Thanks for your kind advise. So how do we protect the sellers when a buyer insists on normal postage , then claims his item did not arrive. Please recommend a solution. I have to refund 4 buyers in the last 6 weeks , i even i had a buyer sent me an email accepting full responsibility but still eBay refunded him. I think the only solution i see is that to cancel the normal postage and just do tracking even for low priced purchase. 

Any suggestions please.

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You solved it yourself in your last sentences.

This is by way of a PS

Did you ever stop to think that all the ranting in your ads might just be drawing attention to the fact some items are untracked?

You're possibly giving people ideas because most regular ebay users know quite well they can claim if an item does not arrive, no matter what you say.

If you just put up a normal ad where you select the postage level you feel comfortable at, you might have fewer problems.

[wandarrah]

I think you are correct