What Would You Do?

[i-love-my-sheep]

I'm after the opinions of the sellers. I bought an item in April from a reputable seller in England in April and as of last week it hadn't arrived. I sent a message to the seller (using the 'other' option - as I do with ALL correspondence with sellers, so I don't trigger a defect) to let him know and also to ask if it had been returned for some reason. He said it hadn't. However, a couple of days later he sent a message saying it had been returned and he'd just resent it, and also mentioned that due to resending, he was now not going to make anything off that item and in fact, had lost money. It was just a general comment, not a whinge. If he hadn't already resent, I would've suggested cancelling the order for that very reason. The package should arrive by early next week, all going well. Me being the nice person that I am is feeling quite guilty that he's now losing money on this item, so what i want to know is, as a seller, would you be grateful if the buyer sent some money towards the second postage cost? I was going to wait for it to arrive to check the amount on the postage label, but wanted opinions on whether I'd be doing the wrong thing or not because it would be a direct PayPal payment, technically off ebay.  So, 1. would it be the right thing to do for the seller, who I have previously bought a few items off, and 2. do either of us risk getting into strife over it if I do send money?

[curraone]

so by now he must know the reason it was returned?

[amber-eyed-girl]

Why was it returned? If it could be considered the seller at fault (wrong address, illegible, poorly packed) then no, do not give them more money. If you have an otherwise good relationship with the seller, they would be happy with a little extra, of course, but it depends on the precise reason why it was returned. If it was returned as uncollected, then that could be considered your responsibility, and a contribution would be a good idea.

noone will get into strife if you send another payment. Send them any extra to the same Paypal address as the first and say what it is for.

[i-love-my-sheep]

It was returned as 'not at this address', which i thought weird because I'm quite well known at the local post office. Plus, anything bigger than a small padded bag they card me for and I have to pick it up. The seller sent me a photo of the address and it was exactly right, exactly as he has sent previous parcels to me. Printed label, with clear tape over the top to prevent smudging in the event it got wet. Actual parcel was pristine as they always are from him. So, the not at this address had me totally stumped, especially when it would've been a carded pick up item. I never thought, I should've asked him to check what the post mark was, maybe it went to a different town......although, how many Orange's are there in Australia (apart from on trees)?! I suppose it could've gone to Orange Grove in Sydney, but I just checked and there are no street names the same as mine. One of life's little mysteries!!!

Thanks Amber.

[sparrow2207]

It may never have left the UK and may have got sent straight back to the sender after sitting in a UK sorting center. Wouldn't be the first time a postal system totally screwed up.

[i-love-my-sheep]

You could be right because he said that other parcels sent that day had also not arrived. I don't know if they got returned or not because he didn't say. It wouldn't be the first time I've heard about Royal Mail stuff ups.

[curraone]

so basically we know that is was not his fault - so I would wait until you get the item, and are satisfied, and then it is entirely up to you to reimburse him through paypal - nobody's business but yours.

[amber-eyed-girl]

Yes. The seller can enquire why, and try to get it reimbursed by the post office, that is worth asking too if it was an error.

[phorum_junkie*]

Sorry but it dosn't matter what the seller says, you haven't received your item and it must be getting very close to the 45 day cut off for a claim. If it isn't too late already open a Paypal dispute and tell the seller you will give them another 19 days to get it to you before you escalate to a claim.

I am presuming it is not somthing containing a lithium battry which cannot be sent using the UK parcel srvice.

[i-love-my-sheep]

No, nothing lithium related (I know the rules about those), it's a Matchbox car. I have bought from this seller on about 15 other occasions and never had any issues, so I trust him to do the right thing. I have no reason to believe he'd try and pull a swifty on a $12 order when previous orders have been in excess of $100 each. It had definitely been posted the first time because I could see part of the post mark in the photo he sent me showing me he sent it to the correct address. I also doubt he would want to risk his good ebay rating over a $12 order. If it was a seller I'd never bought from before I'd probably have opened a case, but having no issues with this seller in the past, I can't see the point. I know I risk getting burned, but that's a risk I'm prepared to take. Besides, I want to keep buying from this seller, I don't want to end up on his blocked list!!!

I have a buyer at the moment who's package hasn't arrived and he's happy to work with me to try and sort it out and see if we can find it. He hasn't opened a case against me, just sent me a courtesy message stating it hadn't arrived yet. I said if we exhaust all avenues and it doesn't show up, I'd refund and he's happy with that. I'm relieved he hasn't opened a case (yet)!!!