Sold item returned to me, buyer seems to have moved, what now?

[number-1]

So yeah, my item came back to me today, and on the parcel is a 'return to sender sticker' marked 'left address' which i assume means they moved!

I have contacted the buyer and have asked what they would like to do.

My questions are:

Is Australia Post going to come after me with any return post fees (if there is such a thing)?

Assuming the buyer still wants the item, how do i retain seller protection? Do i just get them to change their address in ebay/paypal and simply add a new tracking number?

Considering that this is their fault, am I entitled to charge for postage again, or in the case they no longer want the item, refunding them minus the postage?

thanks for reading 🙂

[pennyforum14 · Accepted solution]

Is Australia Post going to come after me with any return post fees (if there is such a thing)?

Probably not, usually they just return to sender at no cost.

Assuming the buyer still wants the item, how do i retain seller protection? Do i just get them to change their address in ebay/paypal and simply add a new tracking number?

Not sure if you can add a second tracking number, or even edit the old one, but if they want it resent, you can send them a message with the tracking number in it so eBay can see that you resent.

Considering that this is their fault, am I entitled to charge for postage again, or in the case they no longer want the item, refunding them minus the postage?

Yes, if they gave a wrong address, it is their responsibility to pay for the postage again.  If they don't want to do that you can refund minus the original shipping.

[number-1]

thank you!

[number-1]

did some more reading, turns out that if i just post to the new address, i won't get seller protection.

what i have to do is cancel the whole thing, then relist it and make sure the buyer has changed their address before purchasing again, if the choose to.

😞

[*tippy*toes*]

If you refund minus the postage, make sure you also keep what fees you've paid as well. Why should you pay the fees if the buyer can't get their act together?

[phorum_junkie*]

I would say nothing until they contact you, they may never do so in which case I would refund item price less any fees after the time for an ebay claim has gone by.

If they ask where their parcel is just tell them that it has come back to you and you will either resend it if they pay the postage or you will refund item price only if they prefer.

If they put in a claim for not received phone ebay or Paypal, whichever way they go, and explain that due to the buyer's error the parcel has come back to you and you expect the buyer to pay for it to be re posted.

If it is still found against you keep ringing and asking to speak to supervisors until you get somebody who will do the rigt thing.

[number-1]

cancelling the transaction through ebay should get me a credit on all ebay fees.

paypal fees should also be refunded, though i guess the fees on the shipping won't be (ugh), and if i remember correctly there is also a very small paypal refund fee, hopefully that covers all my losses... other than time wasted.

[clarry100]

I would do as PJ has suggested.

[number-1]

they contacted me and gave me a new address, i have replied that i can't send to it because i won't be protected and i have offered them a refund on the item only.

paypal has a 90 day period now for claims, waiting that long probably isn't going to work 😄

as i have posted in a another reply, my monetary losses should be small enough, i just hope they can get back to me soon so i can relist the thing and get this over with.

[*tippy*toes*]

Cancelling will only get your fees back if they accept the cancellation or it times out after 10 days. If they decline the cancellation, which they might if they still want it, then you lose all your fees.

Refunding through PayPal, as you said, you will lose the fees for the postage component and also lose the 30c fee that doesn't get refunded regardless. That's why I suggested only refunding minus the postage and any fees that you would have lost.

It's actually 180 days with PayPal now. That's why sellers are up in arms when someone lodges a dispute on day 178.