EBAY GIVING MONEY BACK TO CUSTOMERS WHOSE PRODUCTS STILL SHOW "IN-TRANSIT"

[shallow_karl]

Cases (thanks to the disaster with the mail-service in the U.S.) are being decided in the customer's favour and their money given back.  Bad part is, you can't claim anything even if insured by the post office as they require a customer phone number and / or email, neither of which Ebay allows you to ask for. 

[reallynicestamps]

You should be able to find the customer's email on the Paypal payment.

Unfortunately, unless tracking shows DELIVERY (not shipping , delivery) we are stuck with refunding.

You can, when it is delivered,  send an invoice to the buyer using Paypal's Send Money service, noting politely and cheerfully that the client now has the item and this will make it easy to pay for it.

Some sellers will only invoice for the selling price and not the (failed) shipping cost. Up to you.

Yes, it's a head game. But it works about half the time.

To prevent this, one workaround (and it is frustrating that we need workarounds) is to change your handling time from one day to five, seven or even 30 days.

You still ship quickly of course, but the longer handling means your customer sees a later estimated delivery date.

Another head game.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@shallow_karl 

If by chance you sent your parcel with Shippo, those details are on your original shipping documents for International orders. All good as long as they were filled in accurately by the buyer, which doesn't always happen. I always keep a copy of the shipping documents attached with the order for accounting and in case of emergencies. Not sure how/what displays in PayPal as I haven't used in ages.

-Lotz

PS. Unfortunately that info does not display for Canadian parcels.

[marnotom!]

Just to add to Stamps’ excellent post, eBay’s hands are somewhat tied here. The delivery time windows stated in listings are based on information from the chosen carrier. Canada Post has not changed its delivery standards in light of the C-19 Crisis, only advised users to expect delays. eBay can’t adjust delivery estimates based on statements like that. I second Stamps’ suggestion to adjust your handling time as necessary.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

If you only offer one shipping service, you can change to Economy Shipping as a general term for shipping within Canada. Then just explain in your auction, Economy Shipping is fulfilled using Canada Post Regular Parcel. (Or Expedite, etc).

This will give you roughly 30 days for the item to arrive.

Going to the US, you can do the same thing using one of the generic terms like Economy International Shipping, and stating that it is fulfilled by X service. This will give an estimate of 38 days if you have a 3 day handling time. If you are using Small Packet Air, this is actually a realistic worst case scenario estimate right now. This would be an excessive estimate for other services though, so some people might not feel right about using that kind of estimate.

I've switched to using tracked packet exclusively right now, but I just go with the normal delivery estimate. I try to communicate to customers when their item ships that there might be delays. I've not had any issues with tracked packet so far. Small Packet Air was really brutal during May. Some items took up to 40 days, which is hard for US customers to understand, because I don't think they are as used to Canadians to experiencing those kinds of delays.

[tyler@ebay]

Hi @shallow_karl - to tack onto the posts here, if you did send with tracking and it ends up being delivered within 30 days of the case being closed against you please contact Customer Support so they can review your options, as it may be something they can appeal for you. 

Thanks!

[33nhl]

At the current state both sides Canada and USA mail is at least 7-10 days behind for mail service.

Best thing is to do is inform buyers upon shipping that there are major delays and both sites have posted details, if buyers don't understand the problem at hand then they should not be making online purchases at all where it be on Ebay or Amazon or elsewhere.

It seems from around May 14 these delays are getting worse example I recently sent a package tracked registered about 2 hours drive away it took Canada Post 8 days to deliver normally be 1-2 day service. Ebay is and should be aware of this so I don't know why they would issue refunds other wise there is no point in selling or buying online with these crazy mail delays seems though most mail carriers are playing sick leave thus some regions have truck loads of mail sitting in yards.

[daisysquiltshoppe]

PayPal also shows phone numbers for buyers.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

Recent parcel to Newfoundland from Calgary.

As per eBay Listing 4 to 10 business days with Expedited

Delivered in 25 days. Arrived in Montreal quickly. Dropped off the radar for 20 days after reaching Montreal.

Would like to say this is a one of, but sadly it's not.

-Lotz

[kawartha-ephemera]

Reading of the troubles still being experienced by so many I'm glad to have ceased in February listing items requiring small packet, expedited etc. I've been listing only items that will ship vis regular lettermail but my run of good luck may have come to an end ... mailed a regular 30g lettermail item on June 01 from Toronto area to Kentucky, received my first item not received case in years yesterday, the letter is mia ... buyer agreed to wait a bit longer before I issue a refund.

I so rarely get tangled up in a resolution centre case ... what are the chances ebay will auto refund without the buyer asking for an intervention? Don't have any defects at the moment so not too concerned about it.

[ricarmic]

As I understand it you need to refund on the "act by date" on the INR otherwise it automagically gets processed regardless what the buyer does.

Include text to the buyer to contact you afterward if it arrives so you can rebill them (I'm sure you've seen my form letters on other threads).

At the moment I have 5 of these on the go, the extra paperwork is insane for them especially the accounting part!!!!

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

Maybe sellers need some sort of button for rating a buyers patience after each transaction? You see a very low rating.....A future sellers would have the option to decide how to proceed!! Similar to call screening. Hey, just a thought!!

-Lotz

[ricarmic]

Having said this though, despite mostly being a seller, when I do buy, I find it hard to be patient despite all the experience/frustrations with buyers! It is a lot harder to be patient when you're the one waiting for it to arrive.....

The frustrating part is there is no rhyme nor reason, 2 packges to Toronto shipped on the same day can have WEEKS of difference in delivery time which makes no sense.....

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@ricarmic 

The current feedback system has become basically obsolete. When sellers can no longer rate the experience there's not much they can do about difficult customers. Blocking, for me is not an option. For my items most customers rarely return. As for rating buyers patience, I think it could be a good tool for those "exception" customers. The vast majority of buyers are excellent, just like the vast majority of hobby sellers. High volume sellers are another kettle of fish.

-Lotz

[hlmacdon]

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@ricarmic wrote:
As I understand it you need to refund on the "act by date" on the INR otherwise it automagically gets processed regardless what the buyer does.

The potential problem here is that ebay then classifies this as a voluntary refund and if the item is subsequently delivered to the buyer they are telling sellers there is nothing they can do based on feedback from effected sellers. If you call they may put the case temporarily on hold but if the tracking doesn't update within 10 days they'll refund. We are in uncharted waters as far as disruptions to the postal system but there needs to be a better way of dealing with this when everyone is well aware of the delays.