I am supposed to refund ?

[thevillage1955]

A buyer contacted me today saying that he never received the item he ordered... 10 months ago !!! It really is a small amount ($5.00) item but still...should I refund ?

[brettjet38]

NO, and why did the Buyer wait 10 months?!

And you are under any obligation to refund anything after such a long time, some people just do not remember receiving items, and others ...

...will try anything.

[femmefan1946]

EBay allows buyers to open Item Not Received disputes for up to 30 days after delivery, or last estimated date for delivery.

Paypal and credit cards allow similar claims for up to 180 days from Payment.

Both of those have passed long since.

If a buyer opens an Item Not Received claim, the seller can win the claim by entering the tracking number showing delivery-- even if the claim is being made through PP or cc.

But of course, most of us who sell lower value items go commando on tracking as an unnecessary expense.

Did either of you leave feedback? I use FB to tell me when the purchase was shipped and how.And sometimes to guage the personality of the customer by their FB Left for Others.

[38e_avenue]

No, seriously! After 10 months the buyer cannot open INR case, nor leave the feedback. Block the buyer and send a message - some kind of "we are sorry, but after such a long time a refund is technically not possible any more. Please accept our apologies". 

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

If you're asking, are you required to refund. No. The buyer protection lapsed because they did not open a request within 30 days of the expected delivery date. Buyers can still open an INR request after those 30 days, but you should be able to have it closed through contacting eBay.

If you're asking, ethically, should you refund the buyer? You will get a range of different answers. Some people will say that it was the buyer's responsibility to inform you within a reasonable time. Other people will say that when you sell untracked, you bare the burden of ensuring the item arrives. 

It's your call depending on what you feel is right. 

[flipistics]

Regardless of decision, you should make sure the person contacting you is actually the person who bought from you. The only way to refund them would be through something like PayPal since you can't do it through eBay after that long a time. I could definitely see someone running a scam like that.