Item not received! Or is it?!

[kofedo0]

Hi Ebay Seller community!

Here is my rant....

Ive been selling on ebay since last year and been enjoying it. Since January of 2025 I've noticed a lot of buyers open "item not received" cases (14 thus far). I am thining out my media and comic collection and to be fair and competitive I ship via regular mail, whenever I can. In the past I've had "item not received" cases maybe once a month and now 14 in 3 weeks. AND yes, i do ship them out !!!

Anyone been in the same situation? Is it Canada Post "disposing of backlog" after strike or way too many people like freebies???

Cheers, Kosta (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Here is your problem. You have your shipping policy stat that you ship with Canada Post Regular Parcel.

Why is this a problem? It tells buyers that they will receive the item in about 8 days from when you ship it.

Buyers see this, they assume it is correct. When it does not arrive within that timeframe, they message you and choose the option that their item hasn't arrived. This automatically opens an item not received request. You then have to resolve it with a refund by the deadline.

It's a giant chain of events caused by you using the wrong shipping method in your shipping policy. There are buyers who open false INRs to get free items, but 14 of them over a short period of time is very unlikely. 

Here is how your fix this:

-In your shipping policy, change your shipping method from REGULAR PARCEL to ECONOMY SHIPPING.

-Don't change it from REGULAR PARCEL to LETTERMAIL - choose the generic ECONOMY SHIPPING term.

-This will tell buyers that the item will take 20 or so days to arrive. Most lettermail shipments will arrive within this time frame. So you won't have people opening up INRs.

How do I edit shipping policies:

-Top left corner on desktop where it say Hi (Your Name). Click the drop down menu. Go to account settings.

-Bottom left corner, click business policies.

-Find your main shipping policy from the list and edit it. 

Doing so will end most of these INRs. It is going to vary by the category you sell in, but INRs are very uncommon. 

What can I do about the INRs already opened:

-Refund the buyer by the deadline.

-Create a generic listing called 'Private Listing For Buyers Name' in the same amount the buyer paid. You can just include a generic image like the eBay logo. Don't just repost the listing that they bought because someone else could buy it thinking it's the item. Just make it completely generic.

-Send them a polite form letter apologizing for the shipment not arriving. Request that they either refuse the shipment by writing "REFUSED" on the package and dropping it back into a Canada Post box at their convenience, or that if they still wish to keep the item they can repay you through the generic "private listing". You can send them the link pre-emptively and just leave it up.

-You can also exchange Paypal or Interac e-Transfer info for the purpose of repayment, but some buyers might get sketched out by this compared to just saying repay me through eBay when it arrives.

-The buyer may or may not repay you for the item. They aren't obligated to by eBay. With that said, most people will usually want to repay you when it arrives a few days later and they realize they opened an INR pre-emptively.

[flipistics]

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@kofedo0 wrote:

Hi Ebay Seller community!

Here is my rant....

Ive been selling on ebay since last year and been enjoying it. Since January of 2025 I've noticed a lot of buyers open "item not received" cases (14 thus far). I am thining out my media and comic collection and to be fair and competitive I ship via regular mail, whenever I can. In the past I've had "item not received" cases maybe once a month and now 14 in 3 weeks. AND yes, i do ship them out !!!

Anyone been in the same situation? Is it Canada Post "disposing of backlog" after strike or way too many people like freebies???

Cheers, Kosta (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

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@ilikehockeyjerseys  provided great advise.  Lettermail still seems to be significantly delayed. I'm personally not using it right now because of this very reason.

[ricarmic]

addendum to the excellent @ilikehockeyjerseys note, be advised that if the deadline says January 30th it really means end of day January 29th, the bots will autoexecute the refund just after midnight on January 29th a couple minutes into January 30th. I can speak to this from first hand experience.

[byto253]

@ilikehockeyjerseys  nailed it.   If using lettermail select the shipping option that give the mail LOTS of time to get there.  I also noticed that for the US you have "Canada Post USA Letter-post" as the method. Strongly suggest changing that tohe generic "Economy Shipping from outside US" as that will give you a longer time for delivery to make it to the US.   

For my own listings, the shipping is either the generic standard or economy shipping methods as that provides a good amount of delivery time, and leaves the options open to which service I use.   

[mrdutch1001]

Tracking is for the benefit and peace of mind for the seller, so maybe consider that, otherwise yes, if there is no tracking, there is zero proof that the package arrived and/or that the package reached the intended recipient. Yes, indeed there are dishonest buyers out there and as a new seller you may find yourself being taken advantage of, but for the most part, buyers are honest peoples....and yes mail does go missing from time to time and/or can take a scenic journey across the country but land at the destination eventually...or not at all.  However, this also is a society of must have yesterday, many buyers are impatient.

All in all, those are the risks any seller faces.

[sin-n-dex]

I ship lots of things by lettermail, and although I got some INRs, not nearly as many as the OP says in 3 weeks. I do think some buyers are scamming for free items, and some buyers open prematurely and don't want to bother paying for it when it arrives. But getting 14 in 3 weeks suggests they are expecting a package with tracking (if regular parcel is the method), and when there's no tracking they think their item was not shipped and open an INR.

I use Economy shipping for all my mailing, and don't get the INRs happening too frequently. Perhaps 1 per month.

C.

[kofedo0]

Thank you everyone for the info!!!

Lots to take in and update. In my situation most items are $6-$11 and adding another $10 for shipping seems unreasonable. I figured by shipping cheap it'll give me a competitive edge and show buyers that I am not gouging on shipping fees, and whatever they save on the difference between regular vs tracked can be used for something else.  

[flipistics]

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@kofedo0 wrote:

Thank you everyone for the info!!!

Lots to take in and update. In my situation most items are $6-$11 and adding another $10 for shipping seems unreasonable. I figured by shipping cheap it'll give me a competitive edge and show buyers that I am not gouging on shipping fees, and whatever they save on the difference between regular vs tracked can be used for something else.  

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There's nothing wrong with shipping lettermail (domestically), but you have to make sure your policies are correctly set up. If you indicate to the buyer that you're shipping with a tracked service, shipping untracked is going to be a problem.

Right now lettermail seems to still be backed up which is likely causing the bulk of your issues.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

I guarantee you it is because of how your shipping policies are set up. The buyer sees at checkout that it will be there within 8 days, and when it is not, they rightfully contact you for an update which triggers an INR request. 

Don't ship with tracking for items at that price point. You won't get any sales. It's not viable.

Try the change that I mentioned in my post, I can 99.999 percent guarantee it will resolve your issue. It's a really easy and simple change. You still may get 1 INR every once in a while, it's just the nature of the beast, but 14 is excessive.

The only other piece of advice I would give you is to write a simple stock letter that basically says thanks for shopping with me, your item has shipped, I aim to provide a perfect transaction let me know if you have any questions or concerns, etc, etc. Don't explicitly mention that it is untracked. If you have a stock message that you copy and paste, it takes 10 seconds to send to each buyer.

This helps in two ways:

1 - When you reach out to a buyer, they are more likely to feel like you care and are engaged in the transaction. If something goes wrong, they are less likely to assume the worst. They have an avenue to contact you.

2 - They are more likely to reply directly to your original message if the item is late. This is very important because if they send you a brand new message and follow eBay's prompts, they will most likely choose 'item hasn't arrived'. If they choose this option, it will automatically open an INR Request whether the buyer intends to do that or not. Replying to your original message won't automatically open an INR request. 

But yeah, as a starting point just make that small change to your shipping policy and the INRs will most likely stop. You will get one here or there, but not 14. 

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

I disagree about impatient buyers in this context. I think the problem that OP and other sellers have is that they use the wrong shipping designation. This gives buyers unrealistic expectations. Basically, a buyer doesn't know eBay's system inside and out, so if they look at the order page and it says the package is a few days late they assume it could be lost and reach out to the seller. This leads to an INR being opened.

The same problem happens to sellers who assume they should use the lettermail designation with their shipping policy. But eBay's window for lettermail is too short so it results in a lot of extra INRs. OPs situation is worse because they selected regular parcel, which I believe has en even shorter window. 

I do think you are right in a way about changing expectations of shipping speed since most buyers now use Amazon Prime. I just don't think it's the reason they are getting this many INRs, or else we all would be getting this many. I think most buyers who have used eBay before sort of understand that your average seller isn't lightning fast like Amazon. 

[reallynicestamps]

Is the problem with Canadian or American buyers?
The cost of Tracked Packet USA is about $7.15 with the eBay discount.

And US buyers expect tracking which is dead cheap with USPS.

Canadian buyers are, in my opinion and experience, more willing to accept untracked Lettermail.

Noting that Regular Parcel (domestic) is in fact tracked, just expensive.

by shipping cheap it'll give me a competitive edge and show buyers that I am not gouging on shipping fees,

I agree.

But the psychology games are even more complex.

Buyers hate to pay any shipping. They hate the most paying shipping that is higher than the purchase price.

Even when the shipping price is perfectly reasonable.

So.

Free Shipping.

DON'T PANIC!
Free Shipping is not free, your cost for shipping is figured into the selling price.

Which is cheaper?
A $10 item with $5 shipping?

A $15 item with Free Shipping?

Strangely, most buyers will prefer the Free Shipping, even though the two are the same price.

Or get creative.

A $14.99 item with Free Shipping? How about a $19.99 item with Free Shipping?

Some buyers equate a higher price with better quality.

If your items are OOAK or unusual, this works even better.

Not to mention.

If shipping must be expensive, use Calculated Shipping which gives the exact cost to the buyer's doorstep, rather than Flat Rate.

It sounds more honest, because it is usually an odd amount like $16.73 rather than a flat $10.

Head games?
Yup.

[dinomitesales]

@ilikehockeyjerseys hit the nail on the head. Not only are you lying to buyers in your listings by advertising a service you aren't providing, you're also giving them unrealistic delivery estimates.

I will add that domestic Lettermail shipments are very slow right now. I don't know the reason for it, but there are still significant backlogs of Lettermail from the strike that are slowing down new Lettermail entering the system. I'm seeing some things take a week or more to be delivered in my own city. But hopefully this will slowly get better with time, and soon we'll be back to regular Lettermail timeframes. Changing to "Economy Shipping" will help you avoid the INR though.

[recped]

FYI - My Lettermail shipment were extremely slow for the first 3 weeks after service resumed. The last two weeks it has been back to normal.

I have an extended handling time (5 days but usually ship faster) but do use the CP Lettermail designation, in non-strike times I almost never have any issues related to delivery.

[marnotom!]

A couple of days ago I received a bill in the mail from Toronto that took three weeks to reach me on Vancouver Island.

[hockey-kong]

nothing wrong with your thinking Kosta, just change your policy to reflect your actual shipping method which is economy.

Free shipping is a plus, but telling your buyers it's free regular parcel shipping when in fact it's free economy shipping will remove false expectations for your buyers. Plus it will stretch out the expected delivery time.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

The lettermail designation isn't that bad, but I don't think there is a point in penalizing yourself. It's not just INRs, but you also will get some late shipment defects. This is because when a buyer leaves feedback, eBay asks them "Did you order arrive before x date". Buyers usually answer in a matter of fact way and list no, that leads to a late shipment defect. Too many can threaten your Top Rated Seller status.

The only upside of the lettermail designation over economy shipping is that a buyer who doesn't really know what you ship with might think economy is actually going to take 18 business days (which it rarely does) and choose to buy from someone with better delivery quote. But I don't think this would be that common.

I do agree that you're probably fine using the lettermail designation, but I don't think there is much point in doing so. Economy gives a very fair and realistic shipping window, and it minimizes problems with unintended INR requests and late shipment defects.