ebay refunding $405 for an item still in transit

[retro-boho-and-co]

Hi, I am hoping someone can help me! This is completely crazy!!

I sold an item (in Australia) listed with air mail delivery but with sea mail as a delivery option in the description.

Buyer (in USA) chose sea mail delivery. This takes 8-12 weeks. Item lodged March 17.

Item is due for delivery May 18-June 18. Buyer was informed of this. Buyer questioned where  the item was in early April and I again explained estimated arrival date is May 18-June 18 and that sea mail takes between 2 to 3 months.

In mid April buyer opened a dispute item was not received. I again explained the item is not due until mid May at the earliest. Buyer indicated they were happy to wait until June 18.

However, buyer did not close the case. I escalated the case to have it closed. Instead, ebay closed it with a refund to the buyer as the item had not been received. This is despite me saying it was not scheduled to arrive yet. Tracking shows the item was lodged on 17 March and on 20th March was loaded at the dock.

Ebay has said - there is no update in tracking (there are no updates in tracking while the itme is in the boat), item has not been received, my appeal was rejected and they will not reopen the case.

So $405 was refunded to the buyer, who will recieve the item in the next week to month.

Ebay has said to ask Australia Post to return the item (this isn't possible) or to email the buyer and request payment. I have emailed buyer with no response.

Surely this is not the only way to resolve this, I can't believe that despite multiple phone calls and emails stating delivery schedule and  date, that ebay has refunded the buyer.

Please help! I was selling things to pay for my kids birthday and I don't want to cancel it. It's incredibly stressful dealing with ebay help as they seem unable to actually use common sense and it appears once a case is closed there in no method to re-open it.

I would not mind if it was less  than $100. This is $405!

[countessalmirena]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@countessalmirena wrote:

The difficulty is that eBay's Money Back Guarantee doesn't cover a period long enough for sea mail / surface mail to get to the destination.

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Yes and no... There is a limit on the amount of time the MBG remains a viable option for buyers, no matter how long the ETA is, though if it worked as it should, and sea mail is an option, which then provides an eBay ETA, then technically a dispute couldn't be opened before that ETA has passed. 

The first problem here was that sea mail wasn't the service selected in checkout, just the service paid for by the buyer.

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Good clarification. I see that on the US site it's 30 days from the latest estimated delivery date to open a request. Is there a maximum period in total?

[digital*ghost]

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@countessalmirena wrote:

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Good clarification. I see that on the US site it's 30 days from the latest estimated delivery date to open a request. Is there a maximum period in total?

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Yes - I've PM'ed you further info, for reasons I'll explain in the message. 🙂 

[maranock]

You're right, it is a lot of money to lose and a good reason to get frustrated, especially with conflicted info.

[countessalmirena]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@countessalmirena wrote:

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Good clarification. I see that on the US site it's 30 days from the latest estimated delivery date to open a request. Is there a maximum period in total?

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Yes - I've PM'ed you further info, for reasons I'll explain in the message. 🙂 

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[padi*0409]

Is it the same item that you were talking about on this thread from two months ago ?  

https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Packaging-Shipping/Sending-item-no-tracking-and-buyer-protection/qa...

[*tippy*toes*]

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@retro-boho-and-co wrote:

Do you really think I care about an "impression" given here?

I'n not here to impress anyone by posing with false knowledge, crafting a persona of being knowledgable about something I'm not or being passive agressive like some of the posters here. I have no interest whatsoever in any image, or in posting to generate a false sense of self, or gain some bonus brownie points from strangers. Nor am I here for sympathy, to make friends or to inflate my ego.

I am here for help only, in the form of valid inofrmation.

It seems some here provide that, which is fortunate. However, others speak witrh no authority or true knowledge. These exist in any internet forum and are best ignored ot filtered out I agree. My patience on this has worn thin however, and I will not tolerate being told I have violated a policy when I have done no such thing. If I had, I would have a different attitude. However, to imply this situation is because I tried to be sneaky and subvert sanctioned postage guidelines is wrong.

I came here for help, some members were helpful and some weren't. Pointing out that providing inaccurate information is not helpful is niether hostile nor rude. I do not have to be polite to people who are not being polite to me, or even worse - deliberately clouding the issue or peddling false information. Those people have a responsibility to verify what they are saying, If not, be quiet and let the genuine and sincere people speak up.

Otherwise, other sellers may believe that sea mail is not allowed.

It is (but not wise for reasons stated above).

It's a pity the forum seems populated by some professional posters who wish to wear a self appointed crown as an expert, or martyr. Fortunately there are some here who are not ego trippers and for their information I am truly grateful. Thank you. I have taken their advice and will follow it up.

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This post is the reason why you will get very little help from people in this forum. The knowledge of members here is way more than the plebs on the phone when you call eBay, but it appears to me you may have blown it. I was all set to offer help, but then I realised you aren't interested in hearing what people have to say, you're just out for blood.

As for your postage choice, there are several postage choices in the dropdown that aren't covered by seller protection. EBay still offer them as an option so sellers have a choice. Just because they are there, doesn't mean you are protected from scumbag buyers. If there is no valid tracking, you're screwed.

Spoiler

You're not going to Thailand any time soon are you?

[digital*ghost]

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@retro-boho-and-co wrote:

It seems some here provide that, which is fortunate. However, others speak witrh no authority or true knowledge. These exist in any internet forum and are best ignored ot filtered out I agree. My patience on this has worn thin however, and I will not tolerate being told I have violated a policy when I have done no such thing. If I had, I would have a different attitude. However, to imply this situation is because I tried to be sneaky and subvert sanctioned postage guidelines is wrong.

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I think maybe things are escalated a bit beyond where they should have in this thread. Posters here don't deliberately post false info, I feel confident of that, and it's clear some have spoken from personal experience, or had a genuine interest in trying to help in one way or another, whether it be in regards to the refund, or trying to make the thread less frustrating for you. I can understand wanting to defend yourself against perceived sleight, but there's a good way and a bad way to deal with these kinds of situations (I'm not trying to lecture, though it will probably come across that way anyway, I'm actually trying to find a delicate way of suggesting when you need help from a group of people, it's easier to get what you need if at least a few of them maintain empathy). 

Maybe I'm speaking out of turn, maybe it doesn't matter, maybe I have a bit more objectivity when I'm on the outside looking in, but although I can understand not caring about any resulting impression your posts leave, it can and does sometimes affect the quality of the help that's offered. 

[retro-boho-and-co]

ok, I get it. It's perfectly fine for peope to post garbage, but completely wrong to point out it is garbage

I asked several times - politely - for clarification for this statement and got none., Instead it was reposted as fact, and as an explanation for why this situation had occured as welll as for why it would not be able to be resolved by an external body (I had violated ebay policy). And then, because I had pointed out iot was garbage, I was told I'd get treated badly by everyone here and have a bad image. Sounds like a school yard to me.

I have not asked anywhere about seller or buyer protection from ebay. I have not asked what people think of me as a person. I"m not going to be fake and pretend to be happy for false information provided - which at no point has been corrected, nor has the poster verified it. Sounds like some people like a be sherlock, find some obscure "reason" to explain everything and then walk away when needing to back it up. It's not the point of the forum, but some people obviously have it as a hobby and get some pleasure from being "the one" who finds THE answer even when it's not. Ok, great.

[retro-boho-and-co]

Sea mail is covered by seller protection exactly the same as all other postage methods - the problem with this item is that seller protection reuqires the tracking to be updated as a certain interval, and that tracking shows delivery

In this case, the case was closed before the tracking showed delivery and the tracking has not been updated in the time frame specified

This is what has been said  above. It is NOT that sea mail is not covered. It is that certain criteria must be met to be covered, which may be difficult/impossible to meet when sea mail is used

[maranock]

You have to consider the problem from our (other ebay users) perspective. We already know how fraught with problems surface mail is so none of us use it. Commenters have been trying to suggest actions to your problem as best they can and sometimes that info will conflict. It is still much better advice than you will ever get from Ebay, but you will have to go through suggestions and work out what may work for you. If it not the answers you are looking for, then sorry, we may not know these answers, or you may not be listening.

If you are looking for answers from lawyers then go to a lawyer, here you will find real life experience which will not always be cut and dry.