eBay

msmaggie060 · ‎12-09-2023

I just rec'd pkg back as buyer has moved. Do I cancel the order and let eBay refund or do just send her a refund myself? I will contact buyer as she will have to update her eBay address and repurchase. How to do this so I don't get a slap from eBay?

ricarmic · ‎12-09-2023

What I did with the last one is I called the buyer, got the address thing figured out and resent the item to them for no charge so I didn't have to do anything within eBay. When I talked to the buyer on the phone I asked them to remember we had to resend if they answered the did it arrive on time questions which they did (ie no ding) and left positive feedback as well.

Generally speaking I will almost always resend with no charge to buyer, I treat it as a cookie jar insurance kinda thing, and the buyers very much appreciate it - remember that more than 50% of my sales are from repeat buyers, so if me paying shipping twice for a buyer means they'll remember that and keep coming back that's aok by me. This approach is probably not the average seller approach, I'm sure you'll receive other suggestions which are very viable as well, but this is what I do.....

*It is worth noting that as far as I can remember EVERY time it is an old address and the buyer is sure they changed it, I don't remember ever hearing a different scenario, so the address change process must be a pain or have something folks aren't always doing properly.

reallynicestamps · ‎12-09-2023

You won't get a "slap"from eBay.

You don't even owe them a penny.

https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?...

This is the part I'm referring to

Exclusions and special coverage when the buyer doesn't receive an item

 Items collected by a third party on behalf of the buyer
 Not covered
 The buyer arranged their own shipping method, such as a courier pickup
 Not covered
 The buyer provided an invalid or incorrect address at checkout
 Not covered

That being said.

When the item arrives back with you, or the buyer gets in touch, do as ricarmic suggests,because it is good customer service not because eBay will punish you.

Although personally I would charge for the reshipment because tracked shipping is very expensive. (ricarmic and I have access to heavily discounted postage stamps which cuts our shipping costs hugely.)

sparx_63 · ‎12-09-2023

Hello

Recently had that happen to me, but in my case the buyer had an incorrect Postal Code by one letter, and Intelcom/Chit Chats rejected the delivery. I contacted the buyer to let them know what happened. Chit Chats was kind enough to eat the return shipping on the item as a one time courtesy. I refunded the buyer in full (was not required as per EBAY policy) after I had chatted with them whether or not they still wanted the package. I explained to them they would need to re purchase with the "new" address and I would ship it out again. I ended up eating the shipping with "cookie jar" insurance 😉 but still made enough in the end to easily cover and still make a good profit. Customer was happy with the outcome. Hope this advice helps you with your decision.

femmefan1946 · ‎12-09-2023

Good use of Cookie Jar Insurance.

The benefit of CJI (aka self-insurance) is that we can use the accumulated "premiums" to cover situations like this where by all the rules someone would be hurt.

In your case a misprinted postalcode. Or a seller who packaged well but the item broke anyway. Or the seller was in the right, but eBay found against them anyway.

Just put your hand in the Cookie Jar and make the problem go away.

msmaggie060 · ‎12-10-2023

So today I tried to send a message to the buyer so that I could let her know I would resend the pkg. to her. However, when I tried to send hear a message through "contact buyer" in my sellers hub the Send Message is grayed out. Anyone have any ideas? Is this something new?

Edit: managed to send my message. Went through my sent messages then to contact buyer and it worked. Must be a glitch in seller hub.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎12-10-2023

@femmefan1946 wrote:
Good use of Cookie Jar Insurance.
The benefit of CJI (aka self-insurance) is that we can use the accumulated "premiums" to cover situations like this where by all the rules someone would be hurt.
In your case a misprinted postalcode. Or a seller who packaged well but the item broke anyway. Or the seller was in the right, but eBay found against them anyway.
Just put your hand in the Cookie Jar and make the problem go away.

@femmefan1946

In olden days (of eBay) all sellers had a cookie jar. It was called PayPal.... where you could hold funds for emergencies, like fees, lost shipments and those dreaded NAD's...hey and even make purchases if you wanted to. I miss the the olden days!! Now I just use a cookie jar for holding cookies!! Strange system, but it works for me!! 😉

-Lotz

reallynicestamps · ‎12-11-2023

The Cookie Jar was always virtual.

I have my Managed Payments transferred every Tuesday to a dedicated chequing account, and I try to leave a little in there to cover any possible problems.

Mind you, I've been buying gifts with the money lately so nothing better go wrong for the next two weeks.

ilikehockeyjerseys · ‎12-11-2023

Was it shipped untracked or tracked?

When I receive a returned untracked package from Canada Post, I usually snap a picture of it with the yellow Canada Post label and the buyer's address. I will attach that to a message that I send the buyer, and I will ask them to confirm their address.

Sometimes, Canada Post returns things by accident. Sometimes, a buyer accidentally uses their old address.

If it was the fault of Canada Post, I will usually re-send at no extra charge. While the issue with Canada Post was not my fault, I am responsible for shipment until it is delivered. So Canada Post's problem is my problem.

On a side note, if the stamps aren't crossed out, or if your Post Office is friendly enough to print a postage paid sticker, you can usually re-send it at no extra cost since it's unopened and not re-addressed. (I can't comment on whether that is technically allowed)

If it turns out the buyer gave you the wrong address, you can either re-send it to the correct address, or cancel due to problem with address. Something you want to consider is that you won't be covered by eBay Seller Protection if you ship to a different address. If you shipped untracked, you also aren't covered, which means shipping to a different address in this scenario shouldn't be a problem.

In short:

Untracked = Re-ship with one of you paying the shipping. (They can e-transfer or Paypal you, or you can make a generic eBay listing for the shipping amount.)

Tracked = Cancel due to problem with address, invite the buyer to rebuy the item with their correct address.

If the buyer never replies, cancel due to problem with address.

eBay isn't going to give you a problem. The only problem you might have is if the buyer leaves a negative feedback, there is no tracking, and an eBay CSR doesn't understand your inquiry when you call or e-mail to have the feedback removed. That's not really a big deal.

femmefan1946 · ‎12-12-2023

Paypal was never part of Cookie Jar Insurance.

Some sellers might have 'stored' funds there, rather than putting them into the bank or reducing this month's credit card bill, but CJI is self-insurance and the occasional time when they had to draw on it, there did not have to be anything actually held by PP.

My choice is to back my PP account with a credit card, so I never had to worry if I had money in the PP account. If more was needed it would be drawn from the card.

YMMV-- and apparently did.

I do agree that it would be nice to carry a balance in MP, and occasionally use it to buy with, especially since the banks are paying interest comparable to rates in the early 1960s.