What am I responsible for in this?

[86norman]

Posted an item to the buyers paypal address, buyer then contacted me saying the address is his old one, track the item on AP website and shows that the item was tried to be delivered to the address but was then returned to sender. I still haven't heard back from AP but I'm wondering what my obligation to the buyer is?

Any help would be appreciated.

[punch*drunk]

Do you have it back yet?

You would be within your rights to get them to pay the postage to the correct address.

[86norman]

Sorry, no I haven't had it returned to me yet and that was 3 weeks ago (the AP website is showing that it has been  returned to me) I'm assuming it's lost somewhere.

[***super_nova***]

I would lodge missing parcel claim with AP and then wait.  If the buyer tries to claim with PP you are protected as long as you have all the receipts.  If the parcel is found, then the buyer has to pay postage again for re-sending it.

[mitty_2010]

This happens once in while thats why all my adds have please make sure your paypal is up to date as customer will be responsible for return postage costs , try your local post office it may be there waiting for you ,in some cases has taken 3 weeks for item to be returned to me, depends on the post office, some hold it longer than others, this was not your fault so really they should pay for the return , hope I was of help .

[86norman]

Thanks for all of the replies, by the sounds of things the parcel is lost and I won't be getting any compensation. Is it up to me to replace the item? The way I feel is that none of this would have happened if the buyer had the correct address. Now it looks like I'm going to have to supply the buyer with the item again.

[punch*drunk]

You are not obligated to replace them, but perhaps you could come to an arrangement with the the buyer, maybe offer them another pair for half price or something. An amount that sees them getting what they bought without you being out of pocket.

[purplespoilz_au*]

That has happened to me a few times

If the buyer has obviously forgotten to change their address, I don't get it redelivered - mean aren't I ?!?!

I reimburse them for the original purchase price only, not including the postage.  Then if they really want to, they can repurchase it through the normal channels and pay for postage again.

If Aust Post tracking says it has been sent back to you, and you haven't got it yet, lodge a missing article claim.

[nonny_muss]

It's tricky because as a seller you have done everything correctly, including posting it to the supplied address, which was incorrect, but the onus is on the buyer to provide the correct one.  Given the item has not been returned to you, you should not be liable to resend another nor give a refund.  

I would definitely lodge the missing article claim, and do this before any refunding or resending another item.  Does the buyer have specific expectations about what they want from you now?

[beach_and_home]

It usually takes at least 3-4 weeks for AP to return a parcel to the sender so it might still be on it's way back to you.