A big disappointed on how ebay stands for the seller side.

[gbouncer]

I recently sold a few items together and sent the proof of the mailing photo at the post office and the receipt to the seller the day I was in the post office. However, eBay made a full refund to the buyer. Seller didn't mention it to the eBay and claimed that the item is not delivered.

The seller has agreed to buy the item with no tracking since the delivery service he chose is the international regular mail which mentioned in my selling post with no tracking number. This is not fair to the seller who lost their value of the item and also the delivery fees. 

[gbouncer]

Hello everyone, Sorry for the typo on the last post. Here is the modified version.

I recently sold a few items together and sent the proof of the mailing photo at the post office and the receipt to the buyer the day I was in the post office. However, eBay made a full refund to the buyer and the buyer didn't mention it to eBay and claimed that the item is not delivered.

The buyer has agreed to buy the item with no tracking since the delivery service he chose is the international regular mail which mentioned in my selling post that the mail is without tracking number. When the buyer opened a case and claimed that the item is not delivered, eBay asked me to provide the tracking number. Here is the question. How can I provide the tracking number while the regular mail doesn't come with the tracking? 

This is not fair to the seller who lost their value of the item and also the delivery fees. 

[recped]

Proof of shipping is worthless, the only thing that matters is proof of DELIVERY!

Tracking is for the protection of the seller not the buyer and in any event tracking is not magic pixie dust, packages with tracking get lost just as often as packages without tracking.

How would you feel as a buyer if you paid for something, never received it and the person you bought from said "too bad, I sent it so you're out of luck"?

[marnotom!]

Just to reword Recped’s excellent post a bit: The buyer’s complaint or claim is that they didn’t receive their item. How does proof that you sent the item refute that claim?

[ricarmic]

Sadly, you've now learned one of the golden rules:

Never ship surface. 

This brings up another golden rule, spend more time here learning from the selling boards!

Sadly you're about the 112th person who's had to learn the never ship surface rule the same hard way. This issue comes up very frequently here, always with the same unfortunate result.

If you are able to spend more time checking out the issues and solutions posted here, it should help you to learn more about the risks/rewards of this environment to your advantage.

I know it works, I've been selling here for over 20 years now and I am continually learning new things from postings to this board that help me avoid issues and or take advantage of selling strategies that happen to work in my categories.

Online selling here (or anywhere) is now a complex thing, and it is very hard to keep up with all the continual changes....time reading stuff here (or on other boards) is well spent in the long haul...IMO at least

[femmefan1946]

The seller has agreed to buy the item with no tracking since the delivery service he chose is the international regular mail

Did he "agree" or did he demand the cheaper slower and untracked service?

If you suggested it, you just learned a hard lesson.

If he suggested it, you were scammed and there is nothing you can do about it.

Don't offer surface shipping. Ever.

If a buyer wants a cheaper (but untracked) service, offer to cancel the transaction. It will be easier than losing both your item and the payment.

[mcrlmn]

Don't give a S&H choice.
Of course, you hope everyone will empty their pockets for registered mail.
I always select the cheapest shipping option because it is the seller's responsibility to deliver my purchase(s) to me.
Why would I pay more?
You have to weigh the risks, etc. when determining shipping method conveyed when creating listings.
If you're losing sleep, ship registered or get out.
Life is too short.

[esclyons]

you can now, write the buyer, and politely say, i am sorry your item, didn't make it to you before the ebay estimate of delivery, i am sure when it does arrive you will contact me, so i can send you an invoice, and you can they repay for the item, thanks for your time and understanding..

[ricarmic]

Here's a link to the form letters I use in these occasions feel free to use what is of use...

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/RICARMICs-slow-delivery-MIA-Neutral-NEG-etc-form-letters...

This particular phrase has served me well: Assuming the parcel does arrive after that, let me know and I will send another invoice so you can pay again (small parcels like this are not insured so I am out 100% if they do not arrive). 99.5% of the time parcels to the UK just take longer than they should to arrive,

[zee-chan]

Don't put in your listing that you're shipping using services with no tracking. That's also going to attract scammers. Which country did you mail to? Certain countries are higher risk with scammers.

Also, like every other posters here said, don't ship using surface mail.

[gbouncer]

I shipped it to Mexico.

[gbouncer]

Thank you for everyone who spent their time to leave a comment on this post. I have learned a lot here. I would provide the tracking mail service and recommend sellers to pick the service if they are going to purchase a high-value product.

[femmefan1946]

Umm -- no not exactly.

Whatever the buyer may want, on a high value product, use tracking.

Even if it comes out of your pocket.

Not every sale is worth having.

I was moaning the other day about paying $70 to track a $100 item to China.

Now, I have a super deal on postage stamps, so my actual cost was lower, but I was not going to ship there without tracking.

And because I am an idiot I had Free Shipping to North America (no problem) and $9..99 overseas. I didn't expect a Chinese customer.

But it will arrive and I will be able to prove it if the customer was looking to get a free stamp.

The idea is if it is high value, don't give the customer the choice.

If he can't afford it, he can't afford it.

You can't afford to lose it.

In passing, mention was made of Registered Mail.

In spite of its long pedigree, going back before there were postage stamps, when the service was called Money Letter, Registered Mail is NOT a trackable service.

At least not internationally. Registered tracking ends at the border (or the gangplank).

Use one of the barcoded Express/Expedited/ Priority services that do track to the country you are shipping to.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1

[ypdc_dennis]

---

@gbouncer wrote:
I shipped it to Mexico.

---

For low value stuff I ship untracked to a lot of countries.

Mexico is not one of them.

Canada Post has a page for every country they ship to with details about shipping and import restrictions. Here is Mexico (they have a lot of import restrictions): https://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGIntDestDetails-e.asp?table=tblCountry&txtLetter=MX

-..-

[pjcdn2005]

I’ve shipped 2 parcels to Mexico and had to refund both.  I think that they have a problem with their mail system.

[femmefan1946]

There's a shipping insurance company called something like ShipInsurance (catchy!) which publishes a list of destinations it will and will not insure.

I believe Mexico is one of those destinations.

[richardcm]

Shipsurance not Shipinsurance. Best to use their subsidiary Insurepost for one time insurance needs.

Mexico does seem to be covered by both companies.

[z123wn187]

I sell alot of trading cards, and I ship to Mexico, surface....(well used to ship surface)

The problem is the amount of customs the package hast to go through. Canada to US...sometimes a 2 day wait in customs. Then 3 days to 5 days to the US to Mexico customs office. In my experience, I tell the customer "based upon weather, holidays, and the human factor it can take 10 to 15 business days to ship from Alberta to the Mexican border. Then it sits in customs for 5 business days, then it ships to then it will ship to you..."

I always explain to the customer that they are looking at 20 to 25 business days to receive the item on standard letter mail. Paying for air would be in their best interest, and tracked to receive it in a timely fashion.

This approach always works to get the buyer to purchase the right shipping.

[teenytrinkets]

It doesn't refute the claim, but proof of shipment at least proves honesty, and in some cases could help a seller avoid a neg being called a scammer. A photo would clearly prove an issue with the shipment (not the seller).

I had a buyer accuse me of lying once. I sent her a photo of her lettermail envelope, she calmed down and didn't demand a refund or immediately neg me - and then waited a few more days until her item arrived.

[marnotom!]

But what checks on the buyer’s honesty are there with proof of shipment?