Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

tomstone607
Community Member
Hey, I'm a new PowerSeller (woohoo!) and I've surprisingly only had 2 or 3 problem buyers in my 6 months selling on eBay. But of course, I knew that I was bound to come across a bad apple. Here's the deal: Someone purchased a large amount of items from me through one of my auctions. These are expensive items, so I offer insurance as an optional charge. However, this person didn't seem to want to pay or contact me. I then filed an Unpaid Item Dispute (the old system was so much more effective). The buyer decided to pay me for the items after 3 weeks of being on the Unpaid Item Dispute list. So I got the payment, and shipped the items WITHOUT insurance, because it wasn't paid for!

Four weeks later now, this person has emailed me claiming the package hasn't arrived. Normally I would offer a full refund on the item, HOWEVER this is a $500+ transaction. I also offered insurance, and here's the quote from my auction: "You'll probably be getting some GREAT costly cards from me... so why not insure your package? Any items that are shipped out WITHOUT insurance will be out of my hands!!! I do NOT provide any guarantee on uninsured packages!!! If you do get insurance, then you will be guaranteed to get your money back 100% if your package doesn't arrive." I clearly try to persuade buyers to opt into the insurance option, but this person did not.

What do I do?

BTW - I just checked, and this person is no longer a Registered User. I think the answer is quite obvious now. Can this person complain about me to eBay? Can I be held responsible for this?

Look forward to your replies.
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

shoplineca
Community Member
tomstone607
Welcome to the PS Club. The forum is the best benefit of being a PSer.

You have told us alot and very little at the same time.

You did not tell us where the customer resides (Canada, US or overseas).

You did not tell us how the customer paid you as that information is very important to what may happen.

You did not tell us how you shipped nor if you shipped the item with tracking or signature required. That is also very important as to if you have any way of proving delivery.

What you did tell us is that you have a very dangerous practise of making insurance (a very low cost part of shipping) an option and believing that your TOS (terms of sale) are somehow going to protect you (they are not).

Make Insurance mandatory with no exception. Also items over say $40 should be sent with some form of tracking to prove delivery.

If you were shipping via Canada Post, the first $100 of the goods value is free so you would have forked out about $4 to totally protect your $500 shipment from damage, loss or theft.

Dont worry about getting in trouble with eBay, they dont get involved in any of this stuff. However if this was a PayPal transaction, worry that your client will get a 100% refund and you will not get your item back.

Let us know the rest of the story (those unanswered questions above) and maybe we can assist or point you in the right direction.

Malcolm

Message 2 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

auctiondropnship
Community Member
What do I do ??

Truthfully ....insure all items of that value
.
Auction Drop N Ship
Drop It, Sell It, Ship It

Canada's Ebay Drop Off Store
Message 3 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

tomstone607
Community Member
The item was shipped from Canada to France. The customer paid via PayPal, and was sent regular Air Mail to France. I sent 3 packages to France at the same time, and two of the three arrived with no problem.

I do have a receipt that says I sent a package via International Air Mail on a certain date. But I guess that doesn't prove which package I'm talking about.

So if this is reported to PayPal, he will get a full refund? Is this because of their international trading rules that don't cover me on international sales?
Message 4 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

tomstone:

I agree with shoplineca with his post.

As far as the buyer and payment, since the address is in France and is not confirmed, you would have to refund, in full, if he does a charge back. Make sure there is enough in your account to cover it. Otherwise, your paypal account will be suspended and any funds locked up. If you are verified, paypal may try to take the funds from your bank account or credit card. ebay account may be suspended too.

Also, even if it was covered by the paypal protection, it is over 200.00USD, and you need a signature in addition to a tracking number.

I would inquire with Canada Post with regards to filing a fraud claim. But I am not sure if this means it is not eligible for an insurance claim.

And if you have the time and know-how, with French police.
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

tomstone607
Community Member
Awww man... sounds like bad news for me. Is there a time period for this to happen? Like I know eBay closes all auctions that occurred 90 days after they finish. What is it with PayPal? Is there a way for me to hope that this falls under the "no longer an open transaction" section and I luck out? I know that PayPal waits 30 days for a transaction to effect your Seller Reputation. Does PayPal dismiss transactions 30 days after they've been completed? Because this item was paid for just about a month ago...

I hope I can squeek out of this one, or else I'm $500 in the hole!
Message 6 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

shoplineca
Community Member
There are a couple of possibilities.

The first is that your customer is telling you the truth. From there, either your item is lost, destroyed, stolen or HOPEFULLY delayed and will arrive.

The second is that your customer is lying and has the item.

You can request CP to run a trace for the item however without tracking information, the chance of actually finding it or determining if it was delivered or where is pretty thin at best.

The fact that your customer used PayPal means they can either request PayPal to give them a refund which PayPal will automatically do after it is learned that you are unable to prove delivery or they can do a reversal through their c/c which will have the same effect and will result in PayPal looking for your to reimburse them to the tune of $500.

Without proof that you sent it and proof that it was delivered no one is going to do that much for you within the system.

All you can hope for is (a) the item is returned to you as a "Dead Letter" a few months down the road or (b) the customer receives the item and reimburses you for it.

You can squeek out of this with your eBay and PayPal reputation in tact at a cost of $500.

This is one expensive lesson to learn about insuring everything you ship and getting tracking and POD (proof of delivery).

Malcolm


Message 7 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

tomstone:
I have not heard of anything 90 day or closed transaction period.

There have been reports of paypal transactions being reversed after a year. It depends how it was funded.

Also, proof or shipment/delivery doesn't mean much as it was sent to an unconfirmed address, and there was no signature ( required over 200.00USD )

Your only hope is the customer gets the package and is honest. BTW, how was this sent and what does tracking say?
Message 8 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

tomstone607
Community Member
So in the future, if I get an unconfirmed address located in an international country, I could reject the buyer from paying for my item? Does a tracked package and a signature ensure that this wont happen to, say another person in Germany? Is that the only/best way to ensure this does not happen?

rekuabke-quality:
It was sent standard Air Mail through Canada Post.

This just hit me. If word gets out to all the dishonest buyers on eBay that I have or will deal with, then couldn't they all say they didn't receive my items and go through PayPal and get a refund from my account through PayPal? What I'm trying to say is that this PayPal system is pretty weak... why do they hand out refunds so easily? It seems to me that anyone with vicious intents could receive an item, and then whine to PayPal saying they didn't get it, and since I cannot prove it then they get a refund. This is very frustrating to think about.
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

shoplineca
Community Member
tomstone607
Its not just PayPal. If you accepted c/c's over the telephone (assuming that you established a merchant account) and shipped product to the customer, they could claim they never received it if in fact you couldnt prove delivery.

Put the shoe on your own foot. You order product and you dont receive it from the seller. You call your c/c company and tell them to reverse the charge to your card. If the Seller cant prove you received the goods, you would get your money back.

I dont see anything wrong with this procedure at all.

While its true that PayPal expects to see electronic proof of delivery, legally if you are not able to prove delivery, you are an open target for scams and losses.

Cant fight the system so you may as well make it work for you and get proof of delivery and insurance for all future transactions.

Malcolm

Message 10 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

tomstone607
Community Member
I got ya. Thanks for the help, everyone. Starting yesterday, everything must be shipped insured with a signature.
Message 11 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

shoplineca
Community Member
tomstone607
... and here is hoping that you have an honest Buyer who receives the item at some point and either makes certain you are paid or returns it to you.

Malcolm
Message 12 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

tomstone:
Only buyers in US and Canada ( maybe England ) have confirmed address. tracking, signature and the like mean nothing.

On expensive or high risk items, sell only in US and Canada and have buyers from other countries ask for permission to sell. At that point you say only money order or wire transfer. No charge backs.

Shipping with a signature may not help and will only increase your costs.
Message 13 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

chocolatdesalpes
Community Member
I don't deal with France anymore. Last 2 months, had 2 clients from France. One said she rec'd items, didn't like postage. When I was firm on postage, she all of sudden did not receive 1 of the 2 items she said she rec'd and I shipped together. PayPal paid her back. 2nd customer from France, didn't receive parcel. Not much I can do, PayPal paid her back. Anyone else with experience with dealing with customers from France? Or is it just bad luck on my part?
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

treasure-pot
Community Member
This is a thread that was more than 2 years old!!!!!!

Bill treasure-pot


Bill


Message 15 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

Some of us were not here two years ago Treasure-pot.

As for selling OVERSEAS - anyone that accpets PAYPAL is pure nuts in my opinion as you will definately get burnt quite alot.

In order to protect yourself and still use PP as your means of collecting money you would have to ship all your items with FEDEX, UPS, DHL and/or PUROLATOR as these are the only companies that offer SIGNATURE SERVICE within major European cities.

Sending an item via AIRMAIL is just asking to get scammed.

Bidpay is also a better alternative to PP since their is no chargebacks with them once a transaction is approved however for pricer items you do have to provide a VERIFIABLE DELIVERY - ie: TRACKING.

Also, never ship to an UNCOMFIRMED, PO BOX Address or a THIRD PARTY ADDRESS - doing so, you will get scammed 75% of the time if not more.

Depending on what your selling you may just have to take the risk since the cost of shipping it in a secure way will be expensive.

We recently had a person from the UK try to scam us for 10 laptops - sent payment via CERTIFIED MONEY ORDER which ended up coming back as FAKE 28days later. Thanks to our bank advising us to wait 30days for the cheque to clear before shipping otherwise we would be out US$6,000 plus.

BTW - the cheque the person sent us had a valid account number and fortunately for us the REAL account holder did not have sufficient funds to cover the amount. We were told that this is the most common type of cheque fraud used today for overseas cheque scams.

TIM @ FTL
Message 16 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

treasure-pot
Community Member
Oh, duh futuretech_liquidations, and some won't be here in another two years to read the thread that will then be four years old. My point was that I two year old thread should not be dragged up again. What's yours? The original OP is no longer here to read either of the recent responses.

Also, never ship to an UNCOMFIRMED, PO BOX Address or a THIRD PARTY ADDRESS - doing so, you will get scammed 75% of the time if not more.

I'm curious where this statistic comes from. In more than six years of selling with two major ID's and more than 10,000 transactions, I have been scammed once shipping to an unconfirmed address. I also ship by small packet and first class mail routinely. Maybe the advice you offer is solely limited to your category of product and you might consider including that in your comments.

While I don't think I would council sellers to routinely ship to unconfirmed addresses, I also would not fabricate doom-and-gloom statistics to scare them off of it either. Just stick to commenting (without the embellishment) on what Paypal's policy actually is and let sellers make their own intelligent choices. Few sellers are likely to ship with signature service for a $50 item.

Bill treasure-pot


Bill


Message 17 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

Duh yourself Treasure-Pot - never did I say anywhere that someone SHOULD use signature service for a $50 item infact I did comment that it would be too costly to do so.

You are fortunate that the items you sell are of such low value that no wonder you have had little or no experience in being ripped off/scammed. My comments were aimed more at those sellers shipping internationally overseas to UK, Germany, etc.

As for the doom-and-gloom statistics, there is plenty of evidence both online and on TV shows alike detailing the growing level of fraud and scams being conducted on eBaY daily.

You have some nerve telling me what I can and cannot say here, who the heck made you this forums captain - if you do not agree with what I say - then fine - I am more than open to constructive critique by all.

But as for telling me or others for that matter, what to do and what not do - you know where you can stick that eh!

This forum is not your classroom.
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

treasure-pot
Community Member
... But apparently you consider it your classroom and it's OK on your part to distribute arbitrary and ridiculous statistics. Have I got that right? I'd still like to know where you saw that figure of 75% or more. Not from Geraldo, I hope.

I have read and reread your post and no where do you mention that all addresses shipped to internationally are unconfirmed (other than the USA and the UK). That being the case, your council seems to be never to ship to those countries as doing so, you will get scammed 75% of the time if not more. If that is truly your suggestion, and people were to heed it, eBay sellers should limit their sales to three countries. Or if you do sell elsewhere, use BidPay because there are no chargebacks or Certified Money orders which may or may not be vaild because it is the number one form of cheque fraud used today.

I won't deny that scams and fraud exist on eBay, as they do in the brick and mortar world however, IMO, unbelievable statistics do more harm than a simple warning of the risks involved in shipping internationally. Who knows? Some unsuspecting seller might happen on your fraud alert and decide that selling internationally is not a good idea.

I'm guessing you don't buy into eBay's core value assumption the "people are basically good" as you certainly seem to suggest that there is a con-artist behind every bush.

And, by the way, my personal limited exposure to fraud is because I manage my risks by using the tools that are available and has little to do with the value of the goods you might see me selling today. You have been around long enough to know that sellers frequently can change the nature of their product offerings.

Bill treasure-pot


Bill


Message 19 of 21
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Advice regarding buyer who says they haven't received my parcel...

We recently had a person from the UK try to scam us for 10 laptops - sent payment via CERTIFIED MONEY ORDER which ended up coming back as FAKE 28days later. Thanks to our bank advising us to wait 30days for the cheque to clear before shipping otherwise we would be out US$6,000 plus.

I think you're bank should have advised you that there is NO SUCH THING as a "certified money order".
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.


"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.
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