ebay refunded lost GSP item. Now scanned. What can I do?

[americannostalgia]

I posted about this earlier but it seems to be the problem that refuses to die.  

In brief:  Im in Canada and bought small item ($28 usd  vintage language old audio cassettes/book (with usb stick of vintage audio backed up in case the cassettes dont work) + $18 GSP item) on Nov 26.  TX Seller shipped late dec 4 AND shipped by media mail to GSP KY from TX instead of 1st class or priority (on his auction he says he'll ship 1st class for domestic mail).   [PS seller claims its my fault because I asked for vintage item to be in box and he put it in a shoe box and therefore 1st class would have cost more than the $4.75 he had earmarked for 1st class mailer to KY]

Anyway it gets accepted late in Dallas usps post office  and then does not move for a full 10 days. I contact ebay and they tell me its considered lost. I contact usps and they say the same thing (and they say he should not have sent a usb stick in that it is violation of media mail rules and if they open it for inspection they will fine him and send it back).  

So ebay refunds me  fully  (INR) and they say "case closed"

[At this point I consider it done also and order the same product closer to home (at higher cost in total from a collector) and received that one (FBA amazon.ca seller).]

Now another 9 days pass --no movement.  And after 19 days of no moment  I get an auto message from usps that its been 'delivered'  I find the track no. and its now at GSP  getting "customs labelling".

Seller suddenly contacts me and says "well discuss next steps I intend for the item to remain in your possession." 

A few pro sellers on this forum and through email tell me that it is not your concern now and that since its been accepted at GSP KY  its up to GSP to refund the TX seller not you the buyer .

 I am told that its GSP/ebay will refund the seller. I am curious --is this true?

I thought that only happens when the item leaves GSP KY and is lost/etc after it leaves GSP but before it reaches buyer (Toronto, Canada), not before (ie during the first leg of the trip from seller (TX) to GSP KY.

Which one is it?  Im confused.  

Also one ebay pro told me on private email that some sellers have tricked buyers in such cases: the seller gets a refund from GSP and then talks the buyer into giving a refund also  telling them "you now received it you should pay me." The buyer than pays the seller and is none the wiser because the buyer does not call ebay staff to inquire if seller got refunded by GSP. Indeed, he said, many buyers especially Canadians do not know that US sellers can get refunded by GSP/ebay in such situations and go ahead and pay back their refund.  

Like I said I and ebay believe it was lost (no movement in the end for 19 days) before it suddenly appeared in GSP KY.  Around day 10 of no movement (and after estimated delivery date of 17 bus days)  ebay refunded me and said case closed.    

Now GSP receives it and is labeling it and suddenly seller wants to "talk about next steps.."

I already bought and received the replacement elsewhere as I said since I honestly believed it was lost  and so did ebay staff and they refunded me.

Now the original TX order is at GSP KY. 

What should I do?  What am I required legally and contractually as an ebayer in good standing  required to do?

And what should I tell the seller?

I should also add  I cannot deny the package at my home  because the private couriers safe drop and I cannot open the door  regardless. Im not only on lockdown but medically ordered to not go out (I have a condition that the doctor told  me that I should not risk it "under any circumstances" so Ive been home for several months studying languages and trying to find a remote /internet job).   I could try to contact GSP or whatever courier they eventually assign to intercept it  if thats acceptable.  

If Im legally required to return it then Ill pay an uber or instacart driver to pick it up and deliver it to Can post if the seller pays return shipping.  Please advise me  if you can.

Thank you in advance.

This is not how I want to end the old year but hey it was a sucky one anyway. 

But best wishes for the New Year to you all! 

[americannostalgia]

PS I meant the uber/instacart driver will pick up from the porch. I literally will not risk exposure. My health will not allow it and I agree with my doctor (I hate this!)

[americannostalgia]

update: GSP center emailed me and said they cannot stop thru their warehouse (too many items). And the private courier they are handing it out too is Canada only courier and does not accept RTS. The seller has created a lot of hassle on my part. I think Im just going to let it arrive and just keep it or donate it later. The thing is Im stuck at home not just cause of lockdown but medical ordered lockdown for me. If that makes me a terrible person so be it Im not risking my life for 28 usd. I think reallynicestamps is right "you are no longer part of the transaction" now that GSP has accepted it. GSP does not care that they refunded me the GSP shipping (18+ usd) they pushed it through regardless. Personally Ive granted refunds for late shipments as a seller and I always tell the buyer "just keep it if it arrives dont sweat it!" But this seller is still contacting me and its starting to stress me out. Ebay staff (I called them again) said the seller can ask for a courtesy refund and they might grant it if they think he had no choice to send it late (uh he had a choice he just chose to cheap out to save a few bucks!) And they told me its up to me if I want to return it. I got the feeling from them that with or without GSP  involvement Im not required to refund  --Its not required of me as part of the ebay agreement. They consider the case closed.

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

Once the item is in KY, the seller is no longer responsible for delivery.

It is unlikely that GSP is willing to search the thousands of packages they receive daily, possibly hourly, to mark your purchase "Return to Sender".

You have been refunded by eBay/the seller because the item was not delivered to KY before the deadline.

You are no longer part of the transaction.

The seller shot himself in the foot by shipping Media Mail instead of the promised Priority.

His choice.

His problem.

Eventually, the item will arrive on your doorstep.

You no longer want it.

You can refuse it* and eventually it will return to the USA. Hard to know if it will go back to the seller or to GSP.

But again, he cheaped out and has that wounded foot to show for it.

I am old and grumpy.

*Since the carrier is unlikely to knock on your door and hand it over, you may have to take it to the local Postal Outlet, unopened, and hand it back.

[americannostalgia · Accepted solution]

A friend of mine said that if you can't go to Canada post to return it just keep it and donate it to the school book drive for charity we have every Summer or to a little library stand. But I dont know if that would be allowed. Am I released from fiduciary responsibility now by ebay because its case closed?

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

If you get something in the mail that you did not pay for (like a calendar from UNICEF or key tags from Crippled Veterans) you are not required to pay for it, keep it, send a thank you note, return it, toss it in the trash or give it to the book sale. It's a gift. Happy UnBirthday.

[americannostalgia · Accepted solution]

PS RE: summer book drive idea --Im assuming we all have the covid vaccine by then since Im housebound till then! Take care

[marnotom!]

Keep in mind that if you have been issued a courtesy refund and the seller is keeping the monies from the sale, getting the item returned means that the seller would be getting money for an item they haven’t sold.

[marnotom!]

I think that not too long ago on these boards there was a link to a .com Discussion Board thread where it was recounted that an item sent to the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky was to be returned to the seller because the buyer had already received a refund for it.

And when you think about it, that procedure makes sense.  The item will be scanned in Kentucky and presumably one bit of information on it will be the amount estimated to get the item to Canada.  If the buyer has received a refund, there's no payment for shipping the item to Canada, and I guess it was determined in this case it was cheaper to return it to the seller than trying to liquidate it or send it on to Canada anyway.

I'm thinking that your circumstances may be similar or different.

[americannostalgia]

Good point and I was about to say hopefully that will happen. But its just been updated on PBowes page and now says:

[americannostalgia]

Shipped from the Global Shipping Center to International Destination Erlanger, Kentucky, US Dec 30 5:08 PM Customs Documentation and Labeling Erlanger, Kentucky, US Dec 29 9:15 PM

[marnotom!]

Like @pjcdn2005, I've never heard of an instance of the GSP reimbursing a seller. You need to determine if you received a "courtesy refund" from eBay or if the money actually did come from the seller. Seeing as there are GSP fees involved, I'm thinking that you received your money from eBay rather than the seller, in which case you wouldn't owe him anything.

[americannostalgia]

marnotom! Ebay staff actually confirmed that over the phone when I called them this afternoon. She told me they do give courtesy refunds to sellers on occasion. I got the impression its if a) they are a good seller overall and b) it was out of their control AND c) they had done all the correct steps. .// My seller though cheaped out at a time when he shouldn't have. The person I spoke to over the phone repeated what they had told me previously: the seller should have shipped on time and with a proper service.

[retroman_studios]

First, let's address the most important item:

Your health and sanity.

Don't worry about it. If you are medically under lockdown, then that's what you are.

Tell the seller eBay closed the case and there is nothing you can do right now as your region is under Covid19 lockdown. Tell the seller he needs to talk to eBay.

Like everyone said, he shot himself in the foot, that's what he gets for being cheap.

Just relax and let eBay handle it. If the seller continues harrassing you, contact eBay and they will deal with it.

[americannostalgia]

Thank you retroman_studios between you and the others it finally clicked in my mind. Ebay has indeed closed it and thats final they said. I dont like to disappoint  people but sometimes I think I am too sensitive when I should not be especially with the current situation.  Some people have to be allowed to sleep in the bed they made, as they say.

Have a happy new year!

[americannostalgia]

update: GSP center emailed me and said they cannot stop thru their warehouse (too many items). And the private courier they are handing it out too is Canada only courier and does not accept RTS. The seller has created a lot of hassle on my part. I think Im just going to let it arrive and just keep it or donate it later. The thing is Im stuck at home not just cause of lockdown but medical ordered lockdown for me. If that makes me a terrible person so be it Im not risking my life for 28 usd. I think reallynicestamps is right "you are no longer part of the transaction" now that GSP has accepted it. GSP does not care that they refunded me the GSP shipping (18+ usd) they pushed it through regardless. Personally Ive granted refunds for late shipments as a seller and I always tell the buyer "just keep it if it arrives dont sweat it!" But this seller is still contacting me and its starting to stress me out. Ebay staff (I called them again) said the seller can ask for a courtesy refund and they might grant it if they think he had no choice to send it late (uh he had a choice he just chose to cheap out to save a few bucks!) And they told me its up to me if I want to return it. I got the feeling from them that with or without GSP  involvement Im not required to refund  --Its not required of me as part of the ebay agreement. They consider the case closed.

[pjcdn2005]

I don't consider myself a 'pro' seller but I read both .ca and .com forums quite a bit (too much) and this is the first time I recall a buyer being refunded before the package reaches the gsp center. The majority of problems are after the the package reaches the center or after it leaves it.  I've also never heard of a seller being refunded by the gsp so have never heard of any 'scams' like that.  I really can't see the gsp ever refunding a seller but  that doesn't mean that it hasn't happened.

Unless someone else is personally familiar with a situation like this, I doubt that they can say what is going to happen and I agree that it really has nothing to do with you at this point. I assume that you were refunded in full so that means that the gsp refunded the international shipping portion and any import fees you paid so I can't see them forwarding the item to you though I guess anything is possible.  But I would tell the seller that if it does happen to get sent to you that you no longer want it as you thought it was lost and that if they would like it back they should contact the gsp and see if they will send it back.  Or, if the item does get sent to you, the seller can send you a return label (or money for one)  so that you can send it back to them.

[americannostalgia]

I just phoned Ebay and they confirmed that if seller is in GSP program they may be refunded (ebay decides) if lateness was not sellers fault. And if they do refund it will *not* come from buyer (buyer keeps original refund) but rather ebay takes the hit. They said Im not required in any way to do anything else.

[reallynicestamps]

Tell him that you will refuse it when it arrives and that it will eventually get back to him.

You might mention that Canada Post does not offer Media Mail and you don't know how items sent by Media Mail are treated when returned to sender.

I'm really grumpy today.Maybe I should go have lunch. 

[pjcdn2005]

The op can't refuse it if they are not able to open the door plus the item would not go back to the seller. It is more likely to go back to the gsp center in Ontario as that is probably what the return address will be. The seller's address will definitely not be on there once it leaves the gsp. It may not even reach the center in Ontario....if the courier charges for refused packages, its possible that the gsp's policy is for the courier not to send an item back to them.

As far as media mail, the item was only sent to the gsp cent via media mail so that has nothing to do with how it will be sent to Canada or returned from Canada.

ps Priority mail was not promised by the seller. The gsp is the one who states International Priority  which is a generic term and has nothing to do with a specific service.

[americannostalgia]

pjcdn2005 there is no gap center in canada. The last item I got from gap here states return as KY center as sender. And you are right sender did not put priority in shipping list however he DID promise 1st class domestic mailing in his auction ad. And TX to KY is domestic. Anyway I could pay a uber guy to pick it up from my porch and either RTS to courier (if they accept RTS) or deliver it to Can Post --either way it will cost seller. I think simmplest would be to donate to library if seller does not want to pay. We are talking about $28 usd item.