A mistake made in tracking, should I refund?

[needsmorerobots]

I shipped an item from Canada down to the states and for this item, anything that is rare, valuable or above a certain amount I have the buyers pay for tracking to protect me from potential scammers and to allow the customer to keep track of their package.

In this instance I thought Ebay was glitched and nothing from the CP track number was updating on Ebay. I messaged the customer telling him so and told him what day his delivery was going to land. It wasn't until after the package was delivered that I found a made a mistake with the track number changing an "M" to an "N".

Would someone (or should I) refund the customer full shipping? I already know what I'm thinking, I just need a second opinion.

Thank you for your input.

[ricarmic]

It sounds like the buyer received the item so definitely do not refund them.

If you're saying you mistyped the tracking number in eBay, just fix it now, I believe you can "edit" them for this very situation (if you're worried about them trying to scam you).

If they ask, let them know you discovered the error and corrected it now, and you're sorry for the confusion while it was en-route. I really doubt they will ask.

[mcrlmn]

If the correct tracking number indicates delivery, I'd move on.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@needsmorerobots 

tyler@ebay  Could you confirm please. I believe this is the case. If you update tracking due to a typing error at a later date does it update the ship date? I don't believe there is a way to undo and it could cause a strike for late shipping even though that is not what happened. This is something I noticed in the past when I filled in tracking at a later date items posted by letter.

-Lotz

[ricarmic]

Ooo good to know, I've never had to update so far..... it will be interesting to see what the answer is for something that already shows as delivered....

[femmefan1946]

I messaged the customer telling him so and told him what day his delivery was going to land.

Don't ever do that.

You are telling the customer that the tracking won't work properly and he can scam you for a refund.

Most people are honest.

Most buyers are calm and sensible.

He believes it will arrive, it does arrive, he leaves positive feedback.

No communication necessary.

Schtum.

[tyler@ebay]

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

@needsmorerobots 

tyler@ebay  Could you confirm please. I believe this is the case. If you update tracking due to a typing error at a later date does it update the ship date? I don't believe there is a way to undo and it could cause a strike for late shipping even though that is not what happened. This is something I noticed in the past when I filled in tracking at a later date items posted by letter.

-Lotz

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Hi @lotzofuniquegoodies - editing or changing a tracking number after it's been uploaded or entered will reset the ship-date internally. That would potentially impact a member's Tracking Uploaded on time and Validated metric, but if the valid tracking number got a scan within the designated handling time the On-Time Shipping metric wouldn't be impacted. 

As to the OP's situation I definitely would not recommend issuing a refund. I think updating the tracking number to the transaction would be helpful just for your own records. However, in this situation since the originally input tracking number isn't valid that metric would be a miss anyway so I don't think there's any harm in updating it to be the valid one. 🙂

[needsmorerobots]

Thanks guys,

  He received the package on the day I told him. And I corrected the tracking number on the Ebay sale page after I discovered my error but by then he had already received the item he paid for.

I didn't expect these answers and I guess my idea of a solution wasn't one that experienced sellers would do.

Thanks again.

[femmefan1946]

@needsmorerobots 

There are two reasons for tracking.

One is Seller Protection.

Without proof of delivery, which is part of tracking, the seller cannot win an Item Not Received dispute and must refund the buyer in full.

Many sellers of low value items don't bother with expensive tracking since most buyers are honest and the postal system is very good at its job.

We use Cookie Jar Insurance to cover the cost of the very occasional Dispute.

Another is Top Rated Seller status.

This gives us a discount of 10% on our Final Value Fees.

But Canadians get a Global TRS which does not require much in the way of proof of tracking.

The US seller has a much higher standard because USPS has very cheap tracking available-- as low a 25c online. Our cheapest tracked service is about six times higher than the equivalent untracked service.

At some point all of us have to consider whether the possiblity of a rare scam dispute is worth the additional costs, and lost sales, of expensive tracking. Part of this is based on demographics.

I have no problems shipping my books and sewing patterns without tracking, because my customer is someone who reads and actively enjoys following directions.

If I were selling electronics, or sneakers, or reborn babies, or horse tack, or sportscards, I'd be a lot more cautious. For different reasons, those are high fraud categories. (On both sides of the transactions unfortunately)

Also, are you aware of Canada Post's Small Business Solutions program? You get a free card from the PO or online which not only gives you some discounts but also opens up the Expedited shipping service which is faster, better tracked and the same price as Regular Parcel.

Best wishes in your new business.

[needsmorerobots]

Femmefan1946,

  Thank you, those are good tips and insight.

I do have a CPO card but was unaware of the expedited parcel at the same cost of regular. The post office outlets are staffed by non-union employees (depending on where you go) who are sometimes poorly trained or not at a certain knowledge level in their job.

I usually sell home media items and items that are  a little harder to obtain. I enlist tracking to cover my behind on anything home media above $20 and most of the unique items. It would be so easy for people to claim something was never received when they did.

I was a seller/buyer on Ebay during it's wild west days when protection wasn't in place for both sides as it is now. For example I had a customer with an 8 or 9 rating make a successful bid on an item for roughly $80 US only to back out and leave me in the lurch. It turned out he was doing this and scamming other people before his account was banned after dropping to a rating of -4. The other was me bidding successfully on an item at the minimum bid. The seller had my address and my money but sent me a virus through e-mail that wiped out everything on my computer. I never received the item. My Ebay access and his identity were all lost with the data.

Technically 50% of my transactions on Ebay back then were scammers or people who backed out. It took me years to return to this place. One could understand why I'm a little reluctant to ease up. But I still hear and understand what you are saying. I might give it a try at some point just to see if things are better now then they were.