Buyer fraud during the pandemic

[player-0ne]

I'm sure I'm not the only one, but, I have noticed a large increase in "Item not delivered" cases recently. These buyers will open a case without ever messaging me. It really feels like I'm being taken advantage of and I have no recourse. I understand that shipping is taking longer, but what am I supposed to do about that?

Eric

[mcrlmn]

You have options:
- Registered mail
- Mail same day.
- Increase costs to cover possible losses
- Throw in the towel and get some sleep

I've not experienced any issues whatsoever.
In fact, I've been surprised by how quickly some customers are receiving their purchases.
One example is a buyer in Ontario received his delivery yesterday; 2 days from Ladner, B.C.
Items I've purchased on eBay and Amazon are arriving quickly.
I'm surprised and pleased.

[femmefan1946]

Are you using Tracked Shipping?

If so, your INR dispute gets answered promptly and in the Dispute with the tracking number.

This may not show Delivery, but for most of your buyers the Dispute will be impatience not fraud, and showing that the item is on its way should be enough.

For the scammers, the delay allowing response to the Dispute, which I believe is five days, should be enough for delivery to be accomplished and tracking to show that.

Cameras and camera parts do seem to be a high fraud item.

However, most parcel services do include tracking. And for $1.50 you can add the Signature Option which is pretty cheap insurance and more effective than other kinds of insurance.

EBay only requires Signature on shipments over $650 but there's no reason why you can't use it on something less valuable.

There are some questions at the moment about whether carriers are allowing physical Signatures. tyler@ebay  Could we get some confirmation on this?

[femmefan1946]

@mcrlmn 

Registered Mail is only tracked within Canada.

I think you are thinking of the newer bar-coded services like Tracked Packet, ExpressPost, Expedited, and Priority Post.

While I think of it, there are enough countries blocking incoming mail, that international / overseas shipping is probably not worth offering at this time of plague.

Freight forwarders, who have Canadian addresses and ship internationally for their overseas clients are still a safe address.

[teenytrinkets]

I was concerned about this. I've also had several non paying bidders. Lost snd delayed packages. And i know it's going to get worse. I threw in the towel...for at least a few weeks

[femmefan1946]

Delay is more likely than loss. The postal system is pretty good at their job.

But the more often eBay reassures us that delays are not going to lead to automatic refunds or to Defects, the more likely they are to keep their sellers.

[tyler@ebay]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

Are you using Tracked Shipping?

If so, your INR dispute gets answered promptly and in the Dispute with the tracking number.

This may not show Delivery, but for most of your buyers the Dispute will be impatience not fraud, and showing that the item is on its way should be enough.

For the scammers, the delay allowing response to the Dispute, which I believe is five days, should be enough for delivery to be accomplished and tracking to show that.

Cameras and camera parts do seem to be a high fraud item.

However, most parcel services do include tracking. And for $1.50 you can add the Signature Option which is pretty cheap insurance and more effective than other kinds of insurance.

EBay only requires Signature on shipments over $650 but there's no reason why you can't use it on something less valuable.

There are some questions at the moment about whether carriers are allowing physical Signatures. tyler@ebay  Could we get some confirmation on this?

---

Hi @femmefan1946 - when it comes to signature confirmation, we require it to be used when the total amount of the items being shipped is $750 or greater.

All major carriers are still offering it as an option, though (interestingly) none of them are actually capturing signatures any longer. Canada Post is doing a secure drop or leaving an attempted delivery notice to pick it up at a local station (where I imagine they'd have you sign). FedEx is having the delivery driver verbally confirm with the intended recipient and then signing on their behalf. 

Thanks!