Would you refund the buyer who claims item was not received?

[brighttomato]

I've had this happen before and I am just dreading another conflict situation so I am tempted just to refund without question. Before I do, I just wanted to get some advice from other experienced sellers.

We use Australia Post Regular Post and have a flat rate of $6.60. Obviously, there is no tracking which, of course, creates problems occasionally. Like in this case - buyer purchased an item and is now claiming that it was not received/lost.

With the unfortunate feedback system which can often be used as a blackmailing/extortion tool by some (rare) buyers it is impossible to negotiate a mutually acceptable outcome. Anything less than a refund or replacement would result in a negative.

So do people just refund with no questions asked in these situations to avoid a ruined feedback?

p.s. I am considering eparcel but what concerns me is that I won't be able to absorb the extra postage costs considering that many of my items are cheap and light.

[q40199]

Is there a time limit on claiming an item wasn't received.  My buyer claims item didn't come after 7 weeks.

[imastawka]

Sorry to disappoint, but you can claim INR in Paypal up to 180 days later

[jellybirddesigns]

Good grief - this is a 5 year old necro thread.

I wish threads would be automtically closed after a certain amount of time.

[imastawka]

Me too.     But it was resurrected by someone who had the same question.

Granted, they should have started a new one, but being new to the board,

thought it fitted the bill.

[davewil1964]

Problem is people might read it and not realise that most of the information is out of date

[imastawka]

Good point.   I must admit I didn't read it either.

[jjba6541]

Dont worry about refunding buyers who say they havent recieved items..Ebay will do it for you.No matter what.Even if you supply proof that items are delivered Ebay will pay up and not expect buyer to return item.Thats what they do .0