Buyer wants a full refund - shipping is late due to covid - What are my options?

[eugene_silva]

Hi Team,

I have a buyer who is requesting a full refund because he/she is unhappy with the amount of time it is taking for an item to be delivered.  The item was shipped from Ontario Canada to NY.  It appears that USPS has rerouted the item due to COVID and USPS experiencing unprecedented volume and limited employee availability.  The item has tacking and the status shows that it is 'In-Transit' with no expected delivery date - but is still on its way.  

eBay's resolution department is involved and I have until tomorrow to issue a Full Refund to this buyer.  What are my options here?  

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[femmefan1946]

When you say "eBay is involved" do you mean that the last estimated date for delivery given to the buyer by eBay has passed?

And the buyer has opened an Item Not Received dispute?

And your tracking shows that in fact the Item has Not been Received?

Your only choice is to refund the buyer.

Do this voluntarily before eBay does it for you.

If you don't eBay will give you a Defect, which will be more expensive than just money because Defects can mean restrictions on the number and value of your listings, higher fees or loss of discounted fees, and if there are "too many" Defects, a closed account.

However, you can show the buyer that the item is still on its way by, once again, giving him the tracking number and telling him where USPS last recorded the item.

And letting him know that you will be continuing to track it and will re-invoice him when it arrives*. Make the message friendly, console him for his disappointment, and be very professional.

This may be as sincere as a cashier's "have a nice day", but it may also save you from getting a negative FB in addition to the Defect, and might increase the chances of the new invoice being paid.

We're all in the same boat. Keep your stick on the ice.

*This is a little tricky to do, but possible.

[recped]

If there is recent tracking showing it is actually moving....

AND

You can actually contact eBay immediately, ask for and be granted an extension....

If this is not possible you better refund before the clock runs out as it doesn't sound like your buyer is going to wait and will escalate the moment it is possible.

[musicyouneed]

I had the same thing, a buyer from New York had purchased a Christmas CD from me at the end of November.  I sent it to them on Nov 30/20.  He sent me a request for refund, I just posted the tracking # to the request.  Just do that for his request, do not refund yet.  It arrived on Dec 31/20.  It was sent USPS with tracking so you could see the hold ups.  It was stuck in New Jersey for 2 weeks.  New Jersey had rented 4 storage units to store all the mail they couldn't deliver.  Mail sent in mid Dec got delivered before mail sent in early Dec.  He had requested a refund because it was taking so long. 

I explained to him that I was not a business but an individual that was supplementing my pension by selling CD's.  Everytime the CD moved I sent the buyer and email, I even quoted several people from USPS twitter unhappy with the delays.  There are over 18,000 postal workers right now that are off due to covid, either sick or in quarantine.   I was honest with the buyer and apologized for the USPS delays.  I had another one today this is what I sent him and his response.

Hi I am so sorry for the USPS delays. I have been following your CD since it left Canada and it is been stuck in USPS sorting facilities for a month. 2 weeks alone in New Jersey. Tracking number: ________. It should be arriving any day. I have read about all the horror stories of mail being delayed because of corona virus, christmas packages, apparently USPS has almost 20 thousand postal workers either off sick or in quarantine.

I am so sorry for the delays, due to covid and staff shortages. It looks like New Jersey had a bottleneck in fact they had rented 4 buildings to store all the mail that needed to be delivered. I am provided a picture of the tracking for you.

Don't worry it will be there soon.
Thanks

His response:  Ok thank you for your candid and immediate response.

I think that buyers just want to know that you are on top of it.   If you want any other info send me a message.

[ricarmic]

Music has already provided a letter example, here are my current versions as well...

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/RICARMICs-current-INR-questions-or-Case-form-letters/m-p...

As @musicyouneed mentioned, if you hop on these things and respond fast the buyers seem to react a lot more positively too...

[wilmcal0]

I don't think that eBay should even be giving out Delivery Guarantees.

1. Canada Post has suspended guaranteed delivery dates since March 2020, yet eBay continues to issue delivery guarantees.

2. Ebay is not affiliated with Canada Post in any way, they are two completely separate companies. One company cannot issue a guarantee regarding another company's performance, you can only guarantee your own company's performance.

3. If eBay wishes to guarantee a delivery date and that date is not met, eBay should issue a refund out of their own pocket. Ebay are the ones issuing the guarantee...not the seller, nor Canada Post.

4. I have noticed that when purchasing from the U.S. via eBay, that the guaranteed delivery date is MUCH more generous then when selling to the U.S. (sometimes a whole month). Why is that so??

[2nd-time-around-jewelry]

I agree, keeping in touch with the buyer is essential. I sent out an Expedited package with tracking to the US on Nov 27/20.  There were no scans of the item for weeks on USPS. I put in a claim with CP & kept in touch with the buyer.  Any updates I saw or heard were sent to her. The item finally arrived on Dec 31/20. Thankfully the buyer was very patient & understanding.

[lady.stark]

I am currently in the same boat as you. A package I sent on Dec 5 to California was last scanned in New York on Dec 14. EBay "promised" delivery on Dec 14. Just 9 days after shipment (and 6 business days), which is totally insane!

However, there has been no movement since then. On USPS' website, on Dec 18, a message was posted saying that delivery will be later than expected, but the package is still on its way.

Late December, the buyer contacted me, so I immediately opened a ticket with Canada Post and gave the buyer the ticket number and mentioned the message on USPS's website. Buyer contacted me again today - seems really impatient even though we just had 2 weeks were mail was barely moving due to the holidays.

I wrote a very polite message saying that the package was insured, but we had to wait for Canada Post's investigation results. He thanked me and said would wait a bit longer. Hopefully, the package will arrive soon.

[femmefan1946]

It's insane-- but these are not sane times.

USPS probably could cope with a workforce that is taking leave for sickness or family responsibilities due to the Pandemic.

And they are used to holiday shopping and have  system to hire part-timers during those periods.

And they had already seen the increased amount of shipping that they were already handling due to the pandemic surge in online shopping.

But then:

Managers were told to refuse overtime and carriers were told to return to their terminal at the end of the workday, bringing undelivered parcels with them.

Fewer temporary workers were hired than usual.

Sorting machines well above the normal turnover were being removed from terminals and not replaced.

Mailboxes were removed and not replaced, forcing counter clerk to handle more shipments that could have been dealt with at terminals.

None of those were the idea of USPS professional management. They all came from the lickspittles and ideologues appointed by America's Worst President.

Sanity may yet be restored.

Come on January 20th.

[marnotom!]

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@wilmcal0 wrote:

I don't think that eBay should even be giving out Delivery Guarantees.

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eBay provides delivery time estimates, not guarantees.

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@wilmcal0 wrote:

1. Canada Post has suspended guaranteed delivery dates since March 2020, yet eBay continues to issue delivery guarantees.

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Not all Canada Post services offer guaranteed delivery dates.  However, all Canada Post services have "delivery standards" which they define as "the expected transit time in business days from the day of deposit (day 0) to delivery for items deposited before the local cut-off time."

While guaranteed delivery dates may have been suspended by Canada Post, their delivery standards have not changed, AFAIK.  It's on the delivery standards for Canada Post (or any other carrier with a relationship with eBay, for that matter) that eBay's estimated shipment times are based.

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@wilmcal0 wrote:

2. Ebay is not affiliated with Canada Post in any way, they are two completely separate companies. One company cannot issue a guarantee regarding another company's performance, you can only guarantee your own company's performance.

3. If eBay wishes to guarantee a delivery date and that date is not met, eBay should issue a refund out of their own pocket. Ebay are the ones issuing the guarantee...not the seller, nor Canada Post.

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eBay is providing delivery time estimates based on information from the shipping service chosen by the seller. 

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@wilmcal0 wrote:

4. I have noticed that when purchasing from the U.S. via eBay, that the guaranteed delivery date is MUCH more generous then when selling to the U.S. (sometimes a whole month). Why is that so??

---

Different postal systems, different delivery standards, different information supplied to eBay.

Keep in mind that delivery time estimates are necessary for the Money Back Guarantee to function in its current form.  Without eBay's Money Back Guarantee, most buyers would be filing non-delivery claims through PayPal, which has no "waiting period" for these sorts of claims the way eBay does.

[lady.stark]

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@marnotom! wrote:

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eBay is providing delivery time estimates based on information from the shipping service chosen by the seller. 

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That was my understanding and it should respect the seller's listing. But how is it possible to say that my package sent Dec 5 will arrive Dec 14? I checked my listing again, and strangely, it says "Estimated delivery within 15-25 business days".

However, when I click on the Order Details page, the tracking says "estimated delivery: Dec 14". Why did they pick a date that is way sooner than it should be?

[marnotom!]

Could that date have been provided by the carrier?

[lady.stark]

Could be... but then again, I shipped a package January 3, using the SAME shipping method, and this time, the delivery estimate is much more realistic: Monday, Jan 25, 2021 - Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021.

There was no "wiggle room" for the first listing. Usually, it's between x date and x date. But not for the Dec 5 package...

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

I made a letter sized purchase Nov. 19, 2020 from one of the other fine eBay regulars also located in Calgary. Shipment was by economy. Purchased for 2 reasons. Interest in the item and a test of local mail service/eBay accuracy. Listing states 6 to 20 business days. Paid listing stated delivery Nov 27 to Dec 17. Received it overnight. Was I lucky? Who knows? I've had letter/expedited packages to Lethbridge/Red Deer delivered overnight or the extreme 7 days.  What you see in eBay with regards to "projected delivery" can and does and will vary. Can even be influenced by when eBay has made changes within the system.

-Lotz

PS. Because many sellers are now using generic terms for shipping this may be causing much of confusion regarding projected delivery windows.

PS#2. There can be similar irregular deliveries even with express premium services. Totally out of the control of the seller.

[marnotom!]

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@lady.stark wrote:

Could be... but then again, I shipped a package January 3, using the SAME shipping method, and this time, the delivery estimate is much more realistic: Monday, Jan 25, 2021 - Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021.

There was no "wiggle room" for the first listing. Usually, it's between x date and x date. But not for the Dec 5 package...

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Have you checked the carrier's website to see what sort of information they're providing?  I just checked the tracking for two returns that I took to the postal outlet for my wife and they both have specific "expected" delivery dates from Canada Post, not a date range.

[lady.stark]

I spoke too soon... the Jan 3 shipment has now a delivery date of Jan 9... I just hope the buyer does not see the same thing...

[marnotom!]

I’m still wondering if these dates are a reflection of the carrier you’re using. Are you using ChitChats or something similar, by any chance?