Buyer expecting for tracked shipping after auction

[dansterino]

Hi all, 

I have an item that has sold via an auction but has not been shipped yet. In my auction description, I indicated that the buyer should not pay until they receive my invoice.

Here is the listing: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/393242061407

The buyer lives in the US and paid for the item prior to receiving my invoice, so I sent them a message yesterday asking them if they required expedited or tracked shipping since this item will be shipping to them via small packet (i.e. untracked).  I also provided the additional cost if they require one of these options.

Upon contacting the buyer, they indicated that they expected tracked shipping. I called eBay just now and they confirmed with me that tracking is not required at all for shipping and it is out of the seller's control.  The buyer has already indicated to me that they will pay the additional funds via PayPal for tracking (i.e. tracked packet), but they will not do business we me again. I sense negative feedback coming from this buyer, but the representative I spoke with on the phone mentioned there is a way to remove negative feedback from the buyer if this happens.

I know Canada Post provides the UR tracking number for small packets (untracked). I haven't shipped one of these in a while. Do any of you know how often are they scanned in Canada and the US?

If anyone also has a UR tracking number that can be visible in Canada Post's tracking system, it would be great to provide a link to it so I can send it to the buyer as what they may potentially expect. I already told them that the tracking events aren't guaranteed.

Lastly to have eBay remove negative feedback from buyers that is unwarranted, is this an easy process? And am I being unreasonable in this case?

My questions are in blue for ease of sake! Any comments would also be appreciated.

Thanks!

[pjcdn2005]

I know Canada Post provides the UR tracking number for small packets (untracked). I haven't shipped one of these in a while. Do any of you know how often are they scanned in Canada and the US?

The url tracking only shows on eBay, not CP or USPS web sites and only shows scans in the US. ...assuming that usps has scanned it.   I had one recently and ebay tracking showed a scan at the international center in San Francisco and then updated a few other stops before the item showed as delivered. It can be hit and miss on whether or not the packages are scanned although the few times that I have checked, mine have been scanned. I don't enter the url unless a buyer asks me where the item is.

Although I don't think the buyer is necessarily being reasonable since the shipping is free and states 'economy shipping' but you probably causeed this problem yourself by contacting your buyer and giving them the option. It's not a good idea to ask buyers to wait for an invoice before paying. That's what the shipping section is for...you give them different service options if you want but in most cases people are going to choose the least expensive service as they are covered by the ebay mbg regardless if there is tracking or not.  The tracking protects you, not the buyer. Keep in mind too that often when the buyer clicks on buy it now they either have to pay or back out of the transaction so there isn't always a way to ask for an invoice.

How much more would tracking be? You might want to bite the bullet and pay for itself on this one but of course that is up to you. I honestly don't know how I would handle this.

Another factor..although people ship perfume by air all the time...many people have said that it should be shipped by ground only but I really don't know the ins and outs of that subject.  I do believe that CP expedited parcel USA is by ground within Canada, I don't know what happens once it is in the US.

As far as removing feedback, that's a hit and miss thing.  If it is obvious by the feedback that  the buyer expected something that wasn't stated in the listing, ebay may remove the feedback.

[reallynicestamps]

The seller chooses the shipping service based on her comfort level.

Some sellers only give one choice, some allow more giving the buyer the choice of speed or economy usually.

Americans expect tracking, but most don't notice that it is not included on Small Packet, because the package arrives promptly and there is a bar code (for bookkeeping not tracking) on the package.

Basically, as pjcdn2005 says, you made a mistake in consulting the buyer.

In future, use Calculated Shipping to give the buyer his cost of delivery before he bids. This is also fair to him, since he can make an adjustment to how much he is willing to pay for the item including shipping.

He may have bid low because he was unsure of his shipping costs.

But don't worry too much. We all make mistakes when we start out-- and some of us continue, sigh-- and not every transaction will go perfectly.

I assume you have your Solutions for Small Business number from Canada Post (it's free here: https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/business/small-business.page?) and allows you discounts on some services.

If you use Calculated Shipping the customer sees the over the counter rate, but your SfSB number gives you the discounted rate, which covers occasional blips and pehaps the cost of packaging.

[reallynicestamps]

It is very difficult to have eBay remove feedback. Basically they regard FB as an expression of an opinion and will only remove vulgar and inflammatory language or if the result of a Dispute is mentioned.

OTOH, eBay does not use FB to assess member accounts, because it is just an expression of an opinion. The problems come with Disputes that are not handled well.

I also provided the additional cost if they require one of these options.

Don't do that. You can't charge more than you advertise. (Unless the buyer agrees, and usually only if the buyer asks for an upgrade first.)

I already told them that the tracking events aren't guaranteed.

Don't do that.

Everything is going to go smoothly and cleanly until it doesn't.  I suspect that each move you made was telling the buyer that this transaction would be a mess. His expectations were that this would be troublefree, but what is his idea now?

[byto253]

Canada Post small packet is an air service by default, so I would not indicate ground in your listing.    As indicated, include a tracked packet option in your listings.  Many folks will not even click on the option but if they had the choice if there is a question later. 

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Sign up for Chit Chats and send the item tracked through there. It will be around 15 dollars. I see on your listing that you are in Ottawa, there is a drop off location located near Industrial. That will at least solve your short term issue of getting the item sent tracked via USPS without requiring an additional payment.  Just google for the Chit Chats website, it is all very straight forward. With Chit Chats, orders are fulfilled with USPS, so the end delivery should be no different for the buyer. Speed wise, it is faster than Canada Post Small Packet. For example, if you drop it off today before Chit Chat's cutoff, it will probably be delivered Saturday at the earliest and Tuesday at the latest. (assuming no USPS delay)

It is against eBay policy for buyers to ask for things not included in the listing. So depending on how generous of a rep you get when calling eBay, you might be able to get a negative feedback removed on those grounds. But it is very unlikely. If you did speak to a rep previously and they said there is a way to get the negative feedback removed, it is possible they either put a note on the order and made a note of your call. So if you call in to get it removed when it does happen, you can try to mention the previous date you called in to see if the new rep you are speaking with can access any notes related to that call. In the future, if the rep agrees with you that the buyer is doing something that would constitute a future feedback removal, try to ask them to put a note on the transaction regarding that.

If you call in about any problem related to a buyer and the rep seems to agree with you, it's always a good idea to ask them to make an note about it, even if they cannot take action that day.

With that said, the problem I could see with feedback removal is that while using general terms isn't really a problem (ground, economy, etc) - there is nothing in your listing to note that ground shipping will be fulfilled with a specific service such as Canada Post Small Packet Air. So it's difficult to prove they are asking for something not stated in the listing, because the shipping service is not made clear. 

Negative feedback sucks when you aren't a high volume seller because one feedback rating can tank your percentage, which looks bad, but it really isn't the end of the world. Especially now that you can reply to each feedback and write a novel about why the buyer was unwarranted in their feedback. eBay doesn't issue defects based on negative feedback.

Check the buyers feedback, see if they leave a lot of negatives/neutrals or feedback that indicate problems for others. If they don't leave a lot of it, this might be a case where they are not an unreasonable person, and you guys just miscommunicated and got into a bad situation. If you do end up sending through Chit Chats (which is USPS First Class tracked or Priority tracked) just communicate to them that you will send it tracked without requiring an extra payment and just try to wrap things up in a professional manner. You don't have to fall on your sword and portray the situation like you did them wrong, but just show them that fixing the miscommunication was important and you went out of your way to resolve things positively.

If they have left for other sellers lots of negative or neutral/positive feedback with comments indicating there is a problem, doing this is probably useless because while rare there are buyers who seem to find problems with 50 percent of the transactions they are in....in that scenario you resolving things positively will be less likely to matter to them. 

Based on the info you gave, I would guess this is just a less experienced eBayer who assumed 15 CAD shipping would be tracked because as someone in the US, they don't understand Canada Post's level of services offered. 

So in short:

-If you haven't sent it yet, google Chit Chats and use that. It is USPS tracked, is faster than Canada Post, and Ottawa has a drop location.

-Check the buyer's feedback left for others. If they don't look perpetually difficult, explain to them that you went out of your way to resolve the situation and they now have tracked shipping without requiring an extra payment. 

-If you get a neg, try to get it removed because the buyer asked for something not included in the listing. If you cannot get it removed, reply to the neg with your side of the story.

-Using general terms is fine for shipping in the shipping settings, but be sure to state which service is used in the auction (Don't mention untracked though, as long as you advertise the actual service if it is untracked, it is listed as untracked on the shipping carrier website)