buyer didn't select tracked package option

[laricha_4578]

good day sellers,

question for you, I am in the process of selling an item, just had email confirmation it sold, however of the 3 shipping options i have on the listing the buyer selected the cheapest with "no tracking", i know i should have taken it off but wanted to give them options. is there anyway i can confirm he gets the item? can i pay myself a little extra at post office to track the item? should i contact him? he is rate 100% with all excellent buyer feedback, no negative feedback and has been selling and buying on ebay since 2001. Just want to be sure he gets it and there is no funny business

[marnotom!]

Yes, you can certainly upgrade the shipping at your own expense.

[snoopwiz · Accepted solution]

For a $238 item, I would not offer a non-tracked service. Even more so because of the category you sell in.  Reach into your own pocket, upgrade this transaction to a ship service with tracking. You are welcome.

[reallynicestamps]

The seller is in charge of shippiing and chooses her service to protect herself, I would not offer more than one service.

If the buyer asks for a cheaper (usually untracked) service I would offer to cancel the transaction At Buyer Request since this is all too often leading to an INR scam.

If the buyer request faster (usually more expensive) service I would agree and ask for more money. Once we are in a transaction, we are allowed to exchange email /PP address information to bill the extra fees.

In this case, I agree with @snoopwiz . Upgrade at your own expense. Add Signature Confirmation even. The peace of mind is worth paying for.

You could even tell the customer about the upgrade "in this busy holiday season".

[pjcdn2005]

If these were the hockey cards and are going to the US, there isn't much difference in the price between small packet and Tracked packet so if I were you, I would purchase tracked packet and pay the extra out of my own pocket.  As far a signature confirmation, that is only required if an item is $750+ and offers no extra seller protection.  Plus, you can't add a signature with tracked packet so you would have to use Xpresspost and that would cost a lot more.

Only offer a non tracked option if you are willing to ship that way.  There is no reason for a buyer to pay more for tracking because they are covered by ebay's money back guarantee if  they file an item not received claim and there is no tracking to show that they received the item.

[marnotom!]

The OP is well aware that they should not have offered the untracked shipping option.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

If the item is expensive, eat the difference to send it tracked. Paying for tracking is the equivalent of paying for insurance. You have to look at the price of the item, the likelihood of it to be claimed 'Item Not Received' (which rises the more expensive it is), and the difference in cost between untracked and tracked shipping.

Someone here said $238 dollars. If that is accurate, I would easily pay the difference to send the item Tracked Packet instead of Small Packet. 

In Canada, it is not uncommon for people to sell without tracking. This is usually limited to lower priced items. Spending $10 to "insure" a $30 sale by providing tracking won't make sense for most people when their losses to INRs are going to be less than 1 percent of their total number of sales in normal risk categories.

[laricha_4578]

Thanks for the assistance, I have elected to use only expedited shipping w/ tracking and signature going forward!

[byto253]

I think just about everyone has done something like this, then shipped it tracked at their expense as part of the "experience" 😁

If you are near a chitchats or other shipping company, it may be worth checking the tracked shipping rates there.  If this is small like a card, they will only be about $5.  Something larger like the awesome jerseys you sell may not be worth it if going to the US as Canada Post tracked packet is competitive.   Depending on location, they can be much cheaper for in Canada shipments.