Need advice on first INR case : (

[sweet.things.4u]

Hello would need some advice on a INR case as it is the first one I have ever had since I started selling in 2007. The item is not a high priced item and was shipped within Canada regular mail no tracking. To expensive for the value of the item. So I received a message this morning that the customer opened a case which he wrote. "Have not recieved it yet" Ebay says I have up to July 7 to respond. It is 4 days after the ebay estimated delivery time so possibly the package will still be received (if no mail strike). Being my first time I am not sure how to proceed to insure I don't receive strikes or defects. Can I ask the customer to wait a few more days and if he does not receive the item I will gladly refund him. Or is it just best to refund ? If he does agree to wait...will ebay just take action after July 7 or wait for the days we agreed on. And if I responded can I go back in where the case is opened and do the refund or my first response would be considered  what action I took concerning the case. It is not alot of money but chances are he will receive it, but I do not want to compromise my account in any way if could be avoided. Thank you for your help : )

[pierrelebel]

You are in QC.  Where is the buyer located?

[sweet.things.4u]

Hi Pierre! The buyer is located in Calgary Alberta

[sweet.things.4u]

Says buyer should of received by June 29...but I do not think ebay takes into account holidays like St Jean Batiste Day 

[dutchman48]

I would not contact the customer as a case is already open. As far as waiting, Canada Post has issued lockout notice effective Friday. If no resolution, there will be no mail as of Friday.

I would refund tomorrow, send the buyer a note saying when the item arrives, please repay through Paypal.

Chalk it up to cost of doing business

Just a curious question, which province was it sent from and which one did it go to?.

[sweet.things.4u]

It went from Montreal Quebec to Calgary Alberta. I have been very lucky till now as this is the very first package that someone claims is not received...so was not sure how to go about dealing with the open case. I have had customers directly contact me for a package not received and I have asked them to wait a few more days at which time the package always showed up. This is my first INR case. 

[pierrelebel]

Are these stockings sold on June 16th?

When I check the listing under the shipping tab I see "Estimated within 15-23 business days"

I think you are dealing with an impatient buyer.  Give it a few days.

[fort2b]

For it not to have tracking, I assume the item was sent by lettermail?   All parcels sent via Canada Post have tracking, even those sent regular.

I have been selling for 16 years and have had occasional experience with INRs.  Communication is vital.  I would contact the buyer immediately, apologize that there's been a delay and ask if they would mind waiting a bit longer, as sometimes delays like this happen, usually when there is a routing error within the postal system and the item gets sent to the wrong part of the country and has to get sent back on track.

Ask the buyer to please wait another week and if it hasn't arrived by that time, to contact you and you will refund in full.  Most honest people will wait.

Nothing will happen unless the buyer initiates it.  3 days after opening the dispute they can ask Ebay for a refund and will get it immediately.  But if the buyer doesn't ask then nothing will happen.  The case will automatically close 20 days after it was opened if the buyer doesn't take some kind of action and you will be off the hook.   However, normally some kind of action by the buyer will happen before the 20 days is up.

The only harm in asking the buyer to wait is, if they get impatient and just close the case and get Ebay to  refund them you will get a defect.  This is pretty much the worse type of defect to get,  Two in a year and you will lose TRS, much more than two and you could be banned from selling.  This is why communication with the buyer is critical.

Also, every important, review the buyer's feedback.  Sometimes there are warnings from other sellers, disguised as positive comments.  Also, check the buyer's feedback left for others.  If they have left lots of negs and neuts then the buyer may be either dishonest or a hot head, in which case I would suggest you refund immediately....as galling as that will be.

Since it's a low value item, if you are at all uncomfortable asking the buyer to wait then just refund now.....drop the buyer a note asking them to please resend the money, should the item show up.  Honest people will.  I've had it happen a few times.

[sweet.things.4u]

Yes Pierre it is....I also see the 23 days ...but when you go to the order details it was paid on June 13 and estimated says June 29. This is why I wanted to ask them to wait a few more days...but was not sure if once I respond can I go back and refund if I need to ...or can they not like my response and just escalate it?

[pierrelebel]

I would wait a few days before answering or contacting the buyer.

It is quite possible (probable) that the parcel was simply delayed in the mail and I also suspect you are correct in assuming eBay does not take :a Fete Nationale (St Jean Baptiste) into account when estimating delivery time from Quebec.

[sweet.things.4u]

Thank you Fort2B I did check the feedback.....has great feedback from their customer but not many left..only 2 in the past year and one was a negative about not receiving an item. It had no tracking because I sent it regular as it fit though the 2cm mail slot and was not an expensive item so sent it as regular mail. I have done that many times since 2007 and this is the first time it has not been received. Difficult for us canadians to ship low priced items and charge a customer high shipping to have the tracking. : (  I am a small time seller and cannot afford to recieve those strikes you described to me....sounds horrifying to think of it especially the one where I could get banned for 2 strikes....YIKES : ( Sounding more like I should just go ahead and refund and save myself a possible huge headache....even if I believe they will end up receiving it and think they may have jumped the gun to fast to open a case. 

[sweet.things.4u]

I agree Pierre but Ebay is saying I have to respond by July 7 : (

[pierrelebel]

July 7th is a few days away.

Wait until late tomorrow.  Keep in mind the time difference between QC and AB,  If the parcel is delivered tomorrow early afternoon to the buyer, it will be late afternoon your time.

Patience.

[sweet.things.4u]

Yes Pierre I will wait till tomorrow evening....hoping if they receive it they will close the case. I wonder if the date July 7 also includes that day or is 12:01 tomorrow evening lol

[ricarmic]

If you reply to the case with a message to the buyer, it puts the status "awaiting buyers action".

That turns off the timer until they respond. Generally I try to have the last word, so that it remains in that state.

Here is a link to some sample wordings I use in these situations, please feel free to use whatever is of use to you....

(I have had several of these in the last month and so far my message responses have worked positively).

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/I-haven-t-received-my-item-or-Item-not-received-case-the-...

[jt-libra]

If it's a low-priced item, I would just refund and avoid dealing with the many subsequent e-mails on the subject.

I had a recent INR .... I apologized to the buyer and advised her that I would send a refund immediately.  She stated that she wanted to wait another week or so; she was not impatient at all.  It didn't show up and I sent her a refund.  I also sent her a gift (worth more than the original purchase) as a token of my regret for her disappointment.  However, I did get a defect anyway, which did not surprise me.  The buyer was asked whether she received her item by a specific date and she replied "no".  She was being honest and I don't fault her for that.  She had no way of knowing that that answer would have implications for me.

I didn't send her the gift to avoid the defect; otherwise I would have asked her to please indicate that she had received the item in time.  That's not only tacky but dishonest.

So you can do all the right things and still end up with a defect.  You just have to follow your own conscious.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@sweet.things.4u wrote:

....I also see the 23 days ...but when you go to the order details it was paid on June 13 and estimated says June 29. This is why I wanted to ask them to wait a few more days...

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Last week eBay made adjustments to postal shipping times.

Your listing will show the CURRENT delivery time range not what was there when your customer bought. For that you will have to view the Order Details to see the delivery estimate was there when the purchase was made.

-..-

I'd ask the buyer to wait until Friday, and to let you know if it has not arrived by then, if it has not then you will refund (with Canada Post shutting down, not much point asking for more time).

[sweet.things.4u]

Thank you all for taking the time to share some great advice with me....very appriciated. : ) I think I will just go ahead and refund the customer this evening unless I hear any news from them. For some reason I doubt that I will. Given the amount I think it is best to avoid any headaches as I know nothing about this customer with the exception that they were quick to open a case without even sending me a message first. Normally for new ebayers I can see how they would do that but when you been around for awhile normally you try to communicate with the seller before opening a case. So given this and the amount I think I will resolve it by giving them a refund and avoiding a possible strike etc etc. BTW you are all so awsome and the info you all provide is simply priceless! Thank you again!

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

Don't forget to add that buyer to your Best Buddies List afterwards