Item Not Received - Buyer Contacting Me After 16 Months

[wicks-n-suds]

Happy New Year! I’m not sure if anyone else has been in this position before but a buyer ordered something in September 2023 and is just contacting me now saying they never received it. I’m aware I’m under no obligation as such a long time has passed but I went ahead and went to eBay seller hub in the archives to check it out.

It says the item was shipped and the customer sent me a screenshot from ebay in their account showing me that the final delivery wasn’t made. However because I can’t see step by step points in the shipping route, I have no idea whether it was delivered or not. Sometimes I’ve notice the eBay system hasn’t updated it but when I would look on Canada Post snap ship site before I was using eBay shipping labels, it shows that an item was delivered.

She asked why I can’t just send her a new candle and I told her what I just mentioned above. I need to step by step and where the last activity in the delivery route was. I contacted an eBay chat assistant but because it’s more than 90 days, they referred me to ebay seller hub which I already did in the beginning.

I told her I’m sorry her item didn’t arrive and that if she contacted me within 60 days I could have helped her. She also mentioned she was out of the country at that time and that she forgot about it . I told her she would need to contact ebay and gave her the item/order #.

I can’t believe someone would contact me after 16 months about an item not delivered but then again I’m not surprised.

[38e_avenue]

Sounds like a joke. Politely explain, that it's too late and you are not able to provide any help. Then block the buyer and his country. 

[flipistics]

If the customer was out of the country, it's quite possible it was never delivered because no one was available to receive / pick it up. Depending on where it was sent, it may have been destroyed (sold in a lost mail auction) when it couldn't be delivered.

[femmefan1946]

Buyers are responsible for having a secure place to leave shipments.

EBay does not require a refund for an Undeliverable shipment.
https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?...

Did you ship to the overseas address by post or by courier?

An undelivered shipment may be returned to you, eventually, but is a very low priority.

And as mentioned, if you do not tick off the box asking for the return (which may mean additional charges when it is returned) it may be destroyed or auctioned.

[38e_avenue]

---

@femmefan1946 wrote:

An undelivered shipment may be returned to you, eventually, but is a very low priority.

---

Apparently 😄 I got once a non-delivery return after 18 months 😃

[valuestore]

I have had a few of those over the years, direct them to the help section where they can open a dispute; which of course they can't after 60 days, honest response as there is nothing you can do. . Block and move on. The person is likely just fishing for freebies.

[wicks-n-suds]

Sorry if there was some confusion but this person ordered within Canadian province.. They stated they were out of the country on vacation. I told them there is nothing I can do because it’s over 60 days. I redirected them to eBay.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

16 months is unreasonable. Normally, there are a few things you can do to help a buyer in that situation, like contact Canada Post or USPS to investigate the missing package, or open an insurance claim. You can't do those after 16 months.

The buyer is responsible to report any issues to you within the specified time frame. You can't correct problems that aren't brought to your attention.