Just curious as to what all of you would do in this case.

[deltone]

Back in June (25th to be exact) I had an auction for a dvd end. On 26th June I mailed the dvd as she had paid with Paypal.

On 15th July she emailed me and said she'd not received the item and was concerned and was there any way I could track it. This question always alarms me as no, I cannot track it but I almost hate admitting that to buyers as it's almost like a license for them to say they didn't get it because they know I can't prove it. I immediately wrote back and assured here that I had sent it, and that I couldn't track it as she'd only paid $2 for shipping, blah blah blah, but parcels USUALLY get there faster, but could we give it a few more days. I was very pleasant, and she replied to me in a very pleasant manner. On 17th she replied that it would be fine and thanked me for my consideration as I had assured her I wouldn't leave her high and dry.

So anyhow a few more days pass, and we correspond again and determine that she still hadn't received it so I send her another.

Now, I don't hear from her again and I basically assume she received it as not all buyers tell you they got the parcel. I used to follow up on all my sales but I sell too many to do that now so I figure no news is good news. We're talking near the end of July when I sent the 2nd one. So that's one near the end of June, and another the end of July.

So, now today I get an email from her stating she wants her money back as she didn't get either of the dvd's. We're talking 3 months after the first, and 2 months after the second!!

She's very polite and ALL of our correspondence has been very pleasant. There is nothing in her feedback to indicate that she has a habit of scamming or anything. She has decent feedback of around 50 or so.

So now my dilemma........I KNOW FOR A FACT that I did send 2 dvd's to this person. Sure, sometimes a parcel doesn't arrive, but two???? What are the odds?

But what bothers me the most is that she's waited this long. I'm a procrastinator, but geez, two months???? Especially after waiting a month for the first one? Who would wait that long? And she didn't wait more than 3 weeks after the first one, so she doesn't seem to be the type to wait too long.

And IF she didn't get the TWO dvd's, would that not indicate that there must be some sort of problem with her mail at her end? I want to do the right thing here, and I'm 99.9% sure I will refund her money as I do believe in customer satisfaction but sheesh, something doesn't feel right. I can't help but feel that I'm being suckered here, although her feedback doesn't indicate that. Any ideas? THANKS

[firedept10]

deltone

Have you reconfirmed with her the mailing address? Possibly she gave you the wrong address and it would be her fault. I would not resend a third. Third time is not always a charm. If it has not arrived by now, it will never arrive. Hopefully it is not a large amount you have to refund. But that is what I would do. Wish we had delivery confirmation here in Canada. Sure would make our life easier. Hate to think you are being played the fool but you have to go with the customer is always right. As you stated her feedback shows no indication of being a scam artist. Wish I could tell you more.

Don

[jaymor8]

I disagree Don. I think that the OP has the right idea when he says that the buyer figured out nothing could be traced. Regardless of wonderful feedback, there's a first time for everything and wonderful feedback does not indicate whether or not she has done this before. Because it can't be proved, perhaps feedback is rarely left in these instances.

I truly truly find it hard to believe that the same things happened twice to the same bidder. It is so unlikely. You didn't mention OP, if it was an international sale...Customs could be the culprit. But, if after the first time it went astray, she didn't request insurance....then who's the fool??

I need coffee....I'm crabby!

Jackie...

[sunglassdesign]

why don't you make the buyer pay for UPS signed delivery. I know it is more $$ but you will never run into this problem again. plus you can track the parcel online.

[deltone]

Thanks everyone. It was international (I'm in Canada, she in the US). These dvd's are very cheap to mail (I charge $2 which is way less than most selling the same thing charge) as I don't want to make on the shipping and because it's just a small parcel, to charge more for shipping with all the extras would be cost prohibitive and would make me non competitive.

Thing is, she's not asking for another dvd to be sent, she wants a refund. I know she can't file for a chargeback with Paypal as too much time has passed, and I suppose she could give me a negative if i don't do what she is asking but aside from all that, I don't like "stiffing" someone if there is any possibility that she didn't receive the dvd, so I'd rather "do the right thing" even if it turns out that it is the "stupid" thing.

All indications are that she's sincere (good feedback, and very nice emails, friendly and professional) but at the same time, not all scammers have negatives on their feedback (heck, I'm VERY honest and I've got 2 negatives, undeserved though they may be), it IS true that she could have pulled this with others and never received a neg. Case in point, I have no intentions of leaving her a negative feedback. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I guess I'll just go repay her and be done with it. I've wasted enough time, thought and money on this. I just hope it doesn't' happen again.

[hdwrench1]

You are getting scammed. We ship over 50 packages a day and in 3 months only 1 not received by the customer. We verified her address and shipped another product with a tracking number and within 3 days we got the first one back stamped "unclaimed"
Most buyers are honest but there are a few who will rob you blind given the chance.
My $.02

[deltone]

hdwrench, I fear you might be right. One parcel maybe, but two? HIGHLY unlikely.

I wrote to her and told her that I'd get back to her. Told her a "white lie" that I'm not near my regular computer which contains my records (not true) so as to give myself some time to think about this. I know I'll end up refunding but I want to think of the best thing to say in the email to her. SIGH