Customer still says they didn't receive after shipped out twice

[revoqueinc]

Hello,
So I am having this customer that claims she hasn't receive the item 2 times now and I have sent it out twice now. I am located in Canada and use letter mail shipping, no tracking number. The reason I use this is because it's the cheapest form of shipping in Canada and the item sells for very cheap. After discussing with her, I told her I sent it out twice and she said she will give me a negative feedback for long shipping time. I honestly believe she is lying to me because undelivered mail will be sent back to me if not delivered and I haven't received anything yet. I offered her a full refund and she still says she will give me a negative feedback. I lose money every time I send this item out and if I send it out the third time, I feel like she will still say she didn't receive it because there is no tracking number. I don't use tracking number on small items like this because it is very expensive in Canada and the item sells less than shipping price.

My question is, what do I do here? Do I also report her for lying? I don't have enough proof to show that she is lying. Is it reportable if she gives me a negative feedback after I refund her in full? Please I need some help kindly. 🙂

[dutchman48]

I am going through this right now.

Buyer wanted shipping reduction after purchasing. When I said no, he begrudgingly paid and of course filed a INR to get all his money back and the item.

Ebay condones, enables, and encourages this behavior from buyers.

All they say is no tracking, refund buyer.

They could care less if he is a scammer or not.

It will get to the point, if any inkling of an issue, refund the buyer and don't ship. You get a defect but at least have your item and not wasted money on postage.

If INR later, you lose the item as well as shipping costs, and also get the defect.

Which is the better solution economically.

Welcome to the NEW and IMPROVED Ebay, NOT

[rose-dee]

What sort of item was it (size/weight), and when did you ship it?  

I purchased a small, lightweight item on Dec. 18th that still hasn't arrived.  It was sent by regular lettermail within Canada. 

My advice is to wait just a few more days.  I have a feeling your buyer will receive both items.  I often find that, starting about a week prior to Christmas, postal delivery times within Canada slow down a lot.  It may be that all the extra people they hire to handle the pre-Christmas rush are let go, and there's suddenly a huge backlog for the regulars to handle.  That bottleneck may take another few days to clear.  

I wouldn't assume your buyer is lying if she's still communicating with you.  Try your best to keep her on your side if you can for a few more days.  It might help to drop by your local Post Office and see what they say about current delivery times -- you can then pass that information on to your buyer in the hope the item(s) arrive before she decides to make an INR claim. 

[revoqueinc]

This is absolutely ridiculous. Is eBay ever going to help out the sellers? The sellers are what makes eBay revenues and profits but if this is how they choose to do it, will there be a better portal than eBay?

[pierrelebel]

"will there be a better portal than eBay? "

Unfortunately, mail order business (direct marketing) is changing and consumers (buyers) are getting more protection than ever before.

Instead of listing your items on eBay, try a magazine, or your own website, or other online venues, or whatever. 

The problem remains the same: if a buyer claims non receipt, that buyer will get a full refund from the credit card issuer (or payment service - PayPal or others) used to pay for the purchase.

[westernstargifts]

It will get to the point, if any inkling of an issue, refund the buyer and don't ship. You get a defect but at least have your item and not wasted money on postage.

For the first few years on eBay I always shipped out another item.  As time went by I realized that many of the buyers received the package either the very next day, after I re-shipped, or very soon afterward.  Then I began asking them to wait a little longer.  That worked for awhile.  Then buyers seemed to get more impatient, expecting their packages to arrive earlier and earlier.  They were also quicker to file an INR so I started refunding rather than re-shipping.  I never have any of those packages returned by CP so I assume they have either been stolen or lost in transit or the buyer actually did receive it.  (How many times can they be "lost"?)  Also buyers started asking, much more frequently, if there was tracking....and they more often filed INR after asking about tracking.  Most of my items are shipped Light or Small Packet.

Then eBay introduced defects so I have gone back to asking them to wait a little longer.  My postal clerk enters the postal code on my postal receipt (only does it for me).  Now if they don't receive it I send them a scan of the receipt showing their postal code to reassure them that it was shipped, and on the date I marked it as shipped.  I let them know that it is not trackable but this seems to help. 

It doesn't make any difference now if I issue a refund immediately or wait until they file an INR...either way I get a defect.  I trust my instincts when it comes to deciding whether to refund or re-ship.