eBay

kosmic64 · ‎09-16-2021

I had a buyer purchase and pay for an item a couple of weeks ago (September 4th). It was on a Saturday so I informed the buyer that his item would ship on Monday. I had 2 of these items so after the first sold, I listed the other one as well on the day that the first was purchased. The same buyer then buys and pays for the second item listed as well. He paid for the 2nd iteem before the first purchased item had shipped so I sent the 2 items together in the same package.

Yesteday, he opened a Refund Request: Item Not Receive case and asked for full refund of the 2nd item purchased but not the first item. As I said, they shipped together so if he received one then he received both.

The weird thing is that this was the message he wrote when he opened the case:

"No tracking information, this is the day that I received the item. I want bmy full refund."

In that message it sounds like he did receive the items but wants a refund becasue there was no tracking information??!?!!! Firstly, the listing stated that the shipping method is Canada Post Lettermail which has no tracking(low value item by the way so does not merit tracking insurance). Even so if his message "this is the day I received the item"...what am I missing here.

I've messaged him to have him explain further...no reply yet. The fact that his message states that he DID receive the item would lead me to think that this a case that eBay would side with me in this dispute...any thoughts?

femmefan1946 · ‎09-16-2021

The Good News about untracked packages is that they are much much cheaper than tracked.

Since most people are honest, tracking on inexpensive goods is not a problem.

The Bad News is that if the buyer makes an Item Not Received claim, we cannot prove the item was received.

However, while tracking is a Seller Protection, it is never required.

So normally without tracking you would be refunding.

Hmmm- first I would try adding this to your Response in the Dispute.

"I regret you are not happy with your purchase. Please return it for a full refund."

Just to confuse him.

He might actually return it although you might have to pay for the return shipping.

If he persists, use CHAT to call eBay and ask that the Dispute be ended since he did receive the items.

Chat (or Facebook or Twitter) seem to have better trained reps with more authority.

pjcdn2005 · ‎09-16-2021

I'm not sure what to suggest but hopefully he replies and gives you more info.
I would hope that they don't think they should get a free item just because there is no tracking but people can be odd. Perhaps they meant to open a return request?

Even if it seems obvious that the item was received, it would be very unusual for customer service to rule in the sellers favour without online delivery confirmation. It's a risk to ask them for help as if they 'step in' and you lose the case you will receive an unresolved case defect. It's also possible that they would give the customer a 'courtesy' refund and then you wouldn't get a defect but there is no guarantee that will happen.

kosmic64 · ‎09-16-2021

Appreciate the input. I've reached out to him in order to get more details, as you may be correct that he meant to initiate a return request for 1 of the items instead, which I am OK with even if the error in purchasing 2 of the same item was on his end (they were purchased a couple of days apart).

On another not, I checked out his address that he has on file with eBay. We are both in the Greater Toronto Area. When I looked up the address on Google maps it shows that his address is a very large apartment building. However the address he has on file with eBay as a "ship to" address does not specify an apartment number. I'm shocked that he gets anything successfully delivered with that being the case. Just saying....

femmefan1946 · ‎09-17-2021

The clerk at my local PO told me, when the postal code on a parcel came up as needing an apartment number, when she was a carrier, they sometimes got to know the names on their walks and would make an educated guess.

But most of the time the item was Returned to Sender, especially in an apartment building. Some apartment buildings are bid enough to have more than one postal code.

However the address he has on file with eBay as a "ship to" address does not specify an apartment number.

If the item is returned to you as Undeliverable, eBay does not require that your refund, nor that you re-send without further payment.

BUT

Given that these items are not tracked, you could just tell the buyer to return it to you (up to him how) and refund on arrival. If he pursues the Dispute, he will win due to lack of Proof of Delivery.

kosmic64 · ‎09-17-2021

Just an update...

I messaged the buyer yesterday to ask for clarification as to why he was asking for a refund when his message at the time he opened the case said that "No tracking information, this is the day that I received the item". I also gave him the option of returning the 2nd purchased item if he had purchased in error and I'd give him a full refund when returned. He didn't reply

I sent a second message this morning asking the same question and again offered to refund if he returned the item. Within a couple of hours, he had closed the case as being resolved and messaged me to apologize and say that the item had arrived safe and sound... no explanation as to why he had opened the case in the first place.

Anyhow, all's well that ends well...

byto253 · ‎09-17-2021

Communication, how interesting 😁

kosmic64 · ‎09-17-2021

Agreed...communication goes a long way. Too bad sometimes it's only one-sided.

As a buyer myself, if I have an issue with something I've purchased, I reach out to the seller BEFORE opening a case and wasting peoples time 😁...especially when there was no apparent reason for opening the case in the first place 😏

ilikehockeyjerseys · ‎09-17-2021

Here is my guess.

A quick look at your listing shows your items have a delivery estimate of 3-7 days.

The lettermail item did not arrive within 7 business days. The buyer mistook the estimate as some sort of guarantee and with no tracking, assumed his package was lost in the mail. He opened a case, it then arrived shortly after, so he closed the case.

I would highly recommend using an 'Economy Shipping' method in your shipping policies that has a longer shipping window. With 3 day handling, the one I use is 4-18 business days. This will help lower INRs with lettermail since this is more reflective of how long lettermail can actually take in mid or worst case scenarios. Buyers get a more fair estimate, and they don't open a case by mistake if their item doesn't arrive after a week or so. While a lot of lettermail does arrive quickly, 3-7 business days can be a bit ambitious coast to coast and also doesn't account for the possibility of delayed mail.

kosmic64 · ‎09-17-2021

Yes, you're correct CP delivery can be hit or miss with any given delivery. I've had lettermail take longer to arrive to a location a couple of hours drive from my location rather than to a much farhter location in another province has taken.

Good points. I'll definitely consider the adjustment.

Having said that...still would be nice to have a buyer reach out with a concern rather than racing off to opening a case.

zee-chan · ‎09-18-2021

@kosmic64 wrote:

Having said that...still would be nice to have a buyer reach out with a concern rather than racing off to opening a case.

Not all buyers know the difference between messaging you directly versus opening a case.

kosmic64 · ‎09-18-2021

Your scenario that you pose in which:

"The lettermail item did not arrive within 7 business days. The buyer mistook the estimate as some sort of guarantee and with no tracking, assumed his package was lost in the mail. He opened a case, it then arrived shortly after, so he closed the case."

I may have thought the same that he closed after receiving the item...however all things indicate that he alrady had the item in his hands when opening the case. When he initiated the case in the section that allows you to add a message he stated in his message "today is the day I received the item". So he already had received the item and still filed a DNR...

As somebody else has surmised, perhaps he thought he should get the item for free if CP did not deliver by his expectation date. He only closed the case after I pushed for an explanation as to why he believed that he should get a full refund and also keep the item.