eBay

musicyouneed · ‎06-01-2016

I sold a CD tonight around 6 PM and I just found it after looking for it for almost 6 hours. Normally I am very organized as i sell CD's and I have about 10,000 at home. I have 4 CD stands and also about 40 boxes. Most of the CD's I list I put them alphabetically in one of the stands, well it wasn't there, panic set it. I looked at my pictures to find out what I listed it with and when so if I found them I would find the missing one. Sure enough I found them.

Normally I wouldn't worry too much, I have a 2 day handling time but I like to get them out the next day. Also I am working a full time contract job for the next 3 weeks so I didn't have much time to look.

Have you ever misplaced anything you sold?

momcqueen · ‎06-03-2016

I have more than a few items that have been listed for more than 16 months but never that type of notice. Perhaps I did use Sell Similar to relist them in the meantime since that's what the Promos were looking for. Unless those notices are peculiar to eBay.com.

zee-chan-jpn-books · ‎06-03-2016

I never got those 16-months notification either but I also just use relist/sell similar, whichever the promo is for. More often relist for the sake of letting the watchers know.

And yes, books can definitely be slow sellers. Last month I just sold six of those "elderly" listings (half of them missing descriptions) to one buyer... so they are all just waiting for the right person to find them

hlmacdon · ‎06-03-2016

@musicyouneed wrote:

Normally I wouldn't worry too much, I have a 2 day handling time but I like to get them out the next day. Also I am working a full time contract job for the next 3 weeks so I didn't have much time to look.

Have you ever misplaced anything you sold?

Totally know this feeling. Literally have thousands of items and despite having bins, labels, etc there is always some rouge piece that has been put on the wrong shelf, box, bin, etc. Still nothing quite beats the feeling of finally finding the item!

forester_studios · ‎01-04-2019

Hi Everyone - Hate to revive a thread from 2.5 years ago, but seems unnecessary to start a new one. I have been looking for an item sold a few days ago and am having the same problem locating it as previous posters. Just wondering if anyone that has recently had to cancel a sale due to a missing item can offer advice on the best way to go about it. I hate the thought of getting a defect over a low value item. Obviously I will need to refund the buyer in the next few days if it doesn't turn up. Any helpful advice on how to proceed would be MUCH appreciated and thanks in advance.

jt-libra · ‎01-04-2019

No doubt, many sellers would advise simply being honest with the buyer who, more than likely, will be understanding. If you currently have few, or no defects, I wouldn't worry about getting one.

Having said that, however, that is not what I have personally done. I really didn't care about a defect; but I did care about keeping my end of the bargain. Twice this past year, I couldn't locate an item. In the first case, I was honest with the buyer and told them I would order it from Estee Lauder and have it shipped directly to her. I believe the price I had received from the buyer was about $17 or $18. The price online, including taxes and shipping, was $47 -- a HUGE loss to me.

In the second case, I couldn't find a DVD .... the buyer was American so I explained the situation to him and told him I would have it shipped to him from an American online retailer. My net loss --- $35.00.

A valuable lesson learned. I don't have very many listings anymore but I do make a point of reviewing them periodically and ensuring that I actually have the items on hand. It's so easy to accidentally re-list an item when you're in a hurry or distracted.

Only you know what you will ultimately be comfortable with, but if it's only the defect you're worried about, then explain the situation and cancel the transaction. If it's an item that can't be re-purchased anywhere, perhaps you could offer them a free item or a discount.

Let us know how it works out.

ricarmic · ‎01-04-2019

Because I like to avoid writing stuff "in the moment", I like to have form letters written for when I need them.

Here is my form letter for an MIA item. The only caveat is that by some extreme stroke of luck I have not yet had to use it. Please feel free whatever is of use to you....

Hi! Thank you very much for your purchase!

I humbly apologize because I cannot find the item you have purchased.

I can provide a number of options to resolve this:

-I have a similar item. I can send it instead, with a free bonus to make up for the fact that it won’t be exactly the same as the item you purchased

Or

-if you see any other lots in my store that you are interested in that are valued anywhere up to $XX I can send it instead. (please just advise me of the title and item number you do not need to purchase it)

Or

-if you see an item that is worth more than $XX send me a question about that lot and I will send you an offer reducing the price by $XX which you can accept and then follow the normal payment process

Or

-I can provide a full refund

I apologize again for being unable to provide the item, let me know which option above you prefer when you have a chance. Thank you very much for your understanding and have a great day!!

momcqueen · ‎01-04-2019

This has happened to me more times than I like to admit over the past six year due to my no-labels, no-system style of haphazard inventory management. I always find what I was looking for after I've long given it up for dead and in the first place I looked but didn't see it. Always. Incredibly frustrating. Like others have said, I worry more about not keeping my end of the deal than getting a defect so my go-to solution would be the dreaded dropship from another seller who looked to be trustworthy regardless of the dollar loss I'd need to take on the transaction.

femmefan1946 · ‎01-04-2019

I actually made money on one of those 'where is it?' sales.

I had a Jayne Cobb figure listed It sold and then a few months later.... yep... I relisted it.

Before apologizing to my customer, I Searched eBay, found two others, asked if they would save my butt and ship to my customer, and because Browncoats stick together, both agreed.
I went with the first to respond and as it turned out, between his US dollar price and his domestic shipping cost (both my buyer and the seller were American) my customer's payment was substantially lower than my seller's charge.

And yes, I did explain to the customer what had happened and she was fine with it. Browncoats.

jt-libra · ‎01-04-2019

I had to google Browncoats lol

forester_studios · ‎01-05-2019

Hi Femme - I love Firefly! Fellow browncoat here forever! Unfortunately, the item is of such low value I doubt I could find it any cheaper than what it sold for. It was a "year end clearance" item priced accordingly, so I don't mind giving the poor buyer a full refund. It's just that I have never had to refund for a lost item before. I have misplaced items before, but have always found them in a few days and shipped. Oh well hopefully I can locate it this weekend and ship it Monday!

forester_studios · ‎01-05-2019

I have also "lost" a few items due to my questionable inventory management over the years. Hopefully will locate it this weekend! I guess a defect won't be the end of the world. Just wish there was a way to avoid it.