Person Bidded on item then demanded a refund 2 days after ? should i charge restock fee?

[kittencake88]

Person Bidded on item then demanded a refund  2 days after ? should i charge restock fee?specially after I paid to have it packaged and ready to send but as I was about to hand it to the post lady , the message came in on my phone, whining about the shipping fee being too high

[mr.elmwood]

If you want a neg, charge any fee you want.

[reallynicestamps]

Just for the record the past tense of 'to bid' is 'bid'. Not 'bidded'.

First put this person on your Blocked Bidder List. Then go to your Seller Preferences and set those to automatically Block bidders with Unpaid Item Disputes.

Everyone gets customers with "buyer's remorse".

You paid for the item to be packaged? Annoying , but you are now ready to ship it to a nicer customer.

You could ask the customer to agree to a Mutual Cancellation. There are some problems with this, but it is the only way to get your fees back.

The problems are that she could refuse the MC, unlikely since she does want the refund and doesn't want the item, and, more importantly, she can still leave feedback.

At this point in your selling career, you can't afford a single negative. Never mind the more important Detailed Seller Ratings.

So.

Put on a happy face and send a cheerful, polite note telling the <customer> that fortunately her note caught you just before you sent the parcel.

Then refund the money.

You would be allowed to charge restocking by eBay, but remember that feedback? Don't.

Full refund.

Do NOT leave feedback for the customer. Hope that she either leaves no feedback or positive feedback.

Then make a little doll of her and stick pins in it.

[kittencake88]

well i just got off the phone with eBay and they said if they left any negitive feedback they'd remove it so I'm safe in that department its the fact having to pay for the package to be sent out the shipping label for a tracked package came to 22 dollars after taxes , a huge annoyance

[mr.elmwood]

I see that you sold three items and none had shipping listed. They bid, won, then you sent an invoice with shipping? Which they then paid and then changed their mind?

Put the shipping in the listing. If you are unsure of how, we can help.

Peggy at eBay will tell you a lot of things. Do not believe most of it.

[kittencake88]

yeah i did the invoice thing I didn't realize that the shipping wasn't listed on the item , I should have been, good to know that for now but they paid for it then 2 days later changed their mind 

[mr.elmwood]

The most expensive item you have sold, that I can see, was all of $27. Not worth the price of tracking.

[kittencake88]

I choose tracking like you said i can't afford negitive feedback , its to cover my butt

[pierrelebel]

Do I understand correctly?  You asked your buyers to pay a very high shipping cost offering tracking for the sole purposes of protecting yourself?

If that is correct, I am sorry to state that mail order (including eBay) is not for you.

[mr.elmwood]

You will not have to worry about FB as you will not have any sales. In 9000 (nine thousand) sales I have chosen tracking once (1). Otherwise, I offer the cheapest shipping I can.

Consider this, which would you, as a customer rather pay, the most or the least?

[rose-dee]

I took a look at the "Shipping" tab on your current active listing, and there are some changes you should definitely make. 

First, it appears you haven't set up "ship to" locations when preparing the SYI ("Sell Your Item") form.  When I enter my postal code (in Canada), I get a message saying shipping costs are not available.  United States and other international destinations aren't even on the drop-down list, which means you haven't provided this information in the SYI form, and that means your listings may not be visible on sites other than eBay Canada (where U.S. shoppers are unlikely to look). 

Second, you need to show either calculated or flat rate shipping on every item you list.  The basic preferences can be set up in your "Site Preference" page.  These will be picked up each time you prepare a listing -- for flat rate shipping, you'll need to enter a shipping amount for each location on each item.  If you want to exclude certain countries, use the exclusion list on the "Site Preference" page, and this information should be transferred to each listing through the SYI form.  

I imagine calculated shipping works automatically once set up, but I don't use it, so perhaps someone else can tell you what steps to follow if you prefer that method of showing shipping costs. 

Charging buyers after the fact for any type of shipping is a bad idea.  Charging for tracked shipping after the fact is even worse, and is guaranteed to give your buyers "sticker shock".  I think your buyer was justified in being upset about being charged tracked shipping costs on an invoice after the purchase, especially if the item was not a very expensive one (and by that I mean several hundred dollars). 

Remember that tracked shipping (as you pointed out) protects the seller, not the buyer.  Buyers are not going to be happy about paying for something that is intended to cover your "butt" as you put it, particularly if the item price doesn't appear to justify the cost of tracking, and especially if they aren't told in the listing what they're going to pay.  Many sellers feel tracking is virtually useless; I don't, but I only use it on items with a value over about $200, and even then I usually discount the shipping cost for my buyers.

You need to decide whether you can sell what you want to sell online and still offer reasonable, non-tracked shipping to your buyers.  If you can't take that risk, then selling on eBay may not be workable.  If you show a tracked shipping charge on a listing for an item under about $100 in value, few buyers will bite, and your sales will suffer.  If you don't show any shipping, but only charge them on an invoice once they've purchased, they'll bite you instead, and you may soon find that eBay will restrict your selling and/or buyers won't buy because they don't like what they see on your feedback page. 

Check your competition in your category(ies), both in Canada and in the U.S., see what they charge in shipping, then try to keep your shipping somewhere in the middle (or offer free shipping wherever you're able).  Set up shipping information on each listing you post on eBay so your customers can feel confident in knowing exactly what they have to pay if they make a purchase.

[mdf_jersey]

You will not have to worry about FB as you will not have any sales. In 9000 (nine thousand) sales I have chosen tracking once (1). Otherwise, I offer the cheapest shipping I can

No offence to Mr Elmwood, But..

There is no way I would send items without tracking. It works for both sellers and buyers.  It protects me, knowing that the item was delivered, and the buyer is also confident that their item is on the way and will be delivered. Yes it's a little more expensive, but I do make sure my cost of shipping is in the listing.

I can understand some sellers not choosing tracking because of the price of your goods, but if the item does go missing( and it happens enough times) , at least with tracking both seller and buyer can  agree that its missing due to the postal system and not the seller.

As the seller I dont get the blame and always have the issue worked out. Many times I get thanked for my time looking in to where their item is. Cant do that if you dont have tracking. The buyer can and does look at the seller as being at fault.

[rose-dee · Accepted solution]

---

@jerseywithstats wrote:

There is no way I would send items without tracking. It works for both sellers and buyers.  It protects me, knowing that the item was delivered, and the buyer is also confident that their item is on the way and will be delivered. Yes it's a little more expensive, but I do make sure my cost of shipping is in the listing.

---

Yes, but you are selling a lot of items of considerable value.  This can make sense for something that a buyer has paid $100-300 for, and I agree that tracking then gives the buyer some comfort as well.  This is why I do use it for my more expensive items.

I think the problem the OP caused for herself was that she was trying to sell an inexpensive product with a whopping big shipping cost (after the fact).  In my view, tracking can be a useful tool, but I think sellers have to know how and where to choose it, which takes experience -- and paying attention to what other sellers do. 

Ultimately I believe the main advantage in tracking is in providing protection for the seller, not the buyer.  And by protection, that would include being able to show delivery where a claim was filed, as well as the insurance coverage for loss, breakage, etc. 

Where an item is of a higher value, buyers perceive that tracked shipping is justified, so the seller can justify the cost from her/his end.  I think where the OP went wrong was that she assumed her customer(s) would be glad to pay for tracking no matter what the item price. 

[kittencake88]

Thank you I'm just starting out here so I'll know for next time , usually when I buy still I always make sure it has tracking myself that gives me the reassurance but I'll keep the advice you all have given me in mind

[mr.elmwood]

---

@jerseywithstats wrote:

You will not have to worry about FB as you will not have any sales. In 9000 (nine thousand) sales I have chosen tracking once (1). Otherwise, I offer the cheapest shipping I can

No offence to Mr Elmwood, But..

There is no way I would send items without tracking. It works for both sellers and buyers.  It protects me, knowing that the item was delivered, and the buyer is also confident that their item is on the way and will be delivered. Yes it's a little more expensive, but I do make sure my cost of shipping is in the listing.

I can understand some sellers not choosing tracking because of the price of your goods, but if the item does go missing( and it happens enough times) , at least with tracking both seller and buyer can  agree that its missing due to the postal system and not the seller.

As the seller I dont get the blame and always have the issue worked out. Many times I get thanked for my time looking in to where their item is. Cant do that if you dont have tracking. The buyer can and does look at the seller as being at fault.

---

Jersey, my average sale runs around $31. I can make that $39.99 with shipping, or $49.99 with tracking. My customers prefer the cheaper price, every single one of them.

Since I started using Paypal Shipping, two years ago, out of approximately 1300 parcels, wanna guess how many have gone missing? Zero, none, nada. Wanna guess how many INR complaints I have had? Yep, zero, none, nada.

The only time I use tracking is when weight forces me into Expedited. I never buy insurance because nothing ever goes missing.

I have very high risk tolerance. It is nothing for me to put a sticker on a box worth $300 and toss it in the mail.

At Christmas, about a week before, I have a parcel, each, for Poland, Russia, Malta. I said out loud "Well, all I am really losing is the postage". All three flew through the system and the customers were happy. Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Israel now, Russia, Poland, Slovenia, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, all the countries the weak-kneed will not ship too? I just put on the postage and toss it in the mail.

I have made thousands of extra dollars shipping anywhere.

It is, more that some of my customers worry. I ship a lot of parcels to Miami, Port Richie, Doral Florida. Freight forwarders. They are going to South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. I never kept track of where to. I checked today and I had one off to the Dominican Republic and another to Guatemala.

I am at about 65 countries. Buddy-o-mine is about ten countries ahead of me. He had a good one, an engine gasket set to Gabon.

[rose-dee]

---

@kittencake88 wrote:
Thank you I'm just starting out here so I'll know for next time , usually when I buy still I always make sure it has tracking myself that gives me the reassurance but I'll keep the advice you all have given me in mind

---

I'm glad I could be of some help to you -- one of the best ways to learn how to sell well on eBay is through the experience of other sellers here.  Selling on eBay is not as simple as eBay says it is in their enticements to newcomers.  

One thing I would say though is that as a buyer you really no longer have to be concerned about tracking being needed to provide reassurance that you'll receive your item, at least for things purchased on eBay.  That is absolutely the seller's area of responsibility - to ensure you get what you paid for.  That's how eBay's rules work, and that's what every seller should be aware of (although I see many on these boards who don't seem to understand the concept). 

As a buyer, if you don't receive your parcel within the time estimated by eBay, and the seller has no way of tracking it, and/or proving that it has in fact arrived, then you can open a claim for Item Not Received, and the seller will either be obligated to refund your money or Paypal will refund you and go after the seller. 

It's true that you might not get the item you were looking forward to receiving, but at least as a buyer you can find another similar item and have the money to pay for it. 

By the way, if you're a buyer who has been refunded on an INR claim, it's a nice gesture if your item does in fact finally arrive, to contact the seller and tell him or her to invoice you again so you can pay for the item.  You see, by that point the seller will have lost the money for the item and the item itself, so a double loss.  Sellers will greatly appreciate such honesty. 

You will find, as a seller, that the cards on eBay are definitely stacked in favour of the customer, but if you make sure you're aware of your obligations and responsibilities before you get into selling (and come here to ask other sellers for advice if you run into a problem), you'll do better in the long run. 

As a new seller, in my view it's best to start small, start carefully, build up your reputation slowly, and make reading the eBay selling policies your "summer project" until you know the rules by heart.  Not only will you have more confidence as a seller, but you'll most likely have more success making money.  Best of luck!

[martinw819]

"Since I started using Paypal Shipping, two years ago, out of approximately 1300 parcels, wanna guess how many have gone missing? Zero, none, nada. Wanna guess how many INR complaints I have had? Yep, zero, none, nada."

You are lucky. Me on about 100 sales I had two open cases for non-received item. One was finally received and the other was supposedly not received (and I think this is not true and I got screwed by the buyer).

In the first case the buyer finaly receive the parcel and left me a very positive feedback and in the other I made a full refund (and lost $ 45 US). In both, the cases left in my seller dashboard (even if my customer service is great and buyers are happy) and approach me removing my powerseller status under the new rules into force next August.

I am currently rethinking the way I sale (where I trust the buyer and provides shipping without tracking). I think now make larger lot (more expensive) and ship only with a tracking number.

[reallynicestamps]

There is no way I would send items without tracking.  -- jerseystats

Jersey and Martin:

You also sell into similar demographics.

I believe collectors of sports paraphenalia and gamers would run heavily to male, 20something, and hmm..... how to put this politely... out for themselves?

It's the demographic with the highest rates of criminal behaviour, after all. 

Now I have a couple of dozen nephews, fine lads every one, in that demographic but even they have easygoing attitudes to society's preferences. LIke drinking while boating and dumping the beercans over the side. 

Tracking may be necessary in some categories,  while similarly priced or even more expensive items in other categories can go bareback. 

[dinomitesales]

"In 9000 (nine thousand) sales I have chosen tracking once (1)"

I'm confused by this statement you made - I just took a look at your 20 newest listings and 75% of them have "Expedited Shipping" as the only option; Expedited Parcel includes tracking by default. Are you somehow mailing these Expedited but by some cheaper method that doesn't include tracking?

Also, just thought I'd point out that on the listings for which Expedited was not an option, it says "Standard International Shipping". I'm confused as to why it says 'international' when I am in the same country as you... are you shipping from the U.S.?

[mr.elmwood]

---

@dinomitesales wrote:

"In 9000 (nine thousand) sales I have chosen tracking once (1)"

I'm confused by this statement you made - I just took a look at your 20 newest listings and 75% of them have "Expedited Shipping" as the only option; Expedited Parcel includes tracking by default. Are you somehow mailing these Expedited but by some cheaper method that doesn't include tracking?

Also, just thought I'd point out that on the listings for which Expedited was not an option, it says "Standard International Shipping". I'm confused as to why it says 'international' when I am in the same country as you... are you shipping from the U.S.?

---

What? Give me a for example excluding Canada as Expedited Canada is the cheapest rate.