Advice on an "Item not Rec'd" case opened against Me; Seller -Buyer confirms Delivery Though!!

[watermelonmemories2005]

Hi - Wondering IF Escalating the Case, will get me in More trouble - Is there someone else to Call to look at the Bones of this Case, without escalating?? I did call Support and got nowhere with the one who answered, had to tell him 3 times that I WAS the Seller - ok anyhow 

------Item; $55.00 Olympic Backpack - purchased 11/30th by a U.S. buyer ( who opened the account that same day..) - Shipped to Germany - Didn't open the case til January 13/14th --so $100 was whipped out of my account just before Ebay's Dues were Due - Nice --

------She Very nicely says in her comments, that she shipped it to her Boyfriend. He WAS NOT HOME  when the package was delivered and IT WAS SENT BACK - thus she wanted a refund! 

-----I assume the Post office made a couple attempts at delivery !!

----So as I see it - She confirms that I delivered it -It was their misfortune not to be able to take receipt -- I explained this and said that unfortunately, she would owe for shipping both ways ,which wouldn't leave much of a refund & also that I haven't received the package back yet -

------it was over $45 -to ship it - 

----Now - she has not said another word... I asked in my initial response & again early last week - for details on the dates delivery was attempted and whether the Post Office left a Ticket etc on his door - Did it actually say that they were returning the item -or is this her guess?- still no response ---  It was sent "Small packet International ;No tracking"

--My Canadian PO -says it was sent First Class, so she assumes it would be sent back to me -

----hence I tried to get my $100 put back in my account, in case a COD package arrives at my door -- --- So to me it is Obvious that she doesn't get the $$ back - However I know E-bay works in mysterious ways and I have lost out before --- Oddly she has not escalated the case ...

----What is the best way to approach this, so it gets looked at properly and not just automatically refund her.?? Many thanks Melanie  

[femmefan1946]

It was a backpack ?

So it went parcel.

Which Canada Post service did you use that had 'no tracking'?

Both Expedited and ExpressPost have Delivery Confirmation to the USA.

Tracked Packet International is the cheapest tracked service to Germany.

Shipped to Germany -....that she shipped it to her Boyfriend.

Did you ship to the address in her Paypal payment?

He WAS NOT HOME  when the package was delivered and IT WAS SENT BACK -

This is normal.

It is not unusual for buyers (or in this case recipient) to refuse a parcel when they learn how much duty and sales tax/ VAT they will have to pay for it.

(This is one reason the Global Shipping Program (spit spit spit) is so popular with US sellers.)

http://www.zoll.de/EN/Private-individuals/Postal_consignments_internet_order/Shipments-to-Germany/Du...

If the buyer had TOLD you it was going to her boyfriend as a gift and you had marked it as such, there would (probably) have been no duty (under 45 euros in value). There would still be VAT and a service fee to the carrier.

She confirms that I delivered it

No. It was not delivered.

The question is--was it refused? or was it never claimed?

[femmefan1946]

If it was sent back, and so far you have only her word that it was, unfortunately, then eventually it will get back to you. Then it can be resold. But you will still have the cost of shipping and possibly the cost of the return shipping.

You mention taxes, so I guess you are a registered 'real' business.

FWIW, the costs of this shlemozzle are deductible expenses.

[momcqueen]

If the case has not yet been formally escalated, I would sit tight until it is. Only then would I invest the time in speaking to Customer Service again and, hopefully, making contact with a CSR who is able to grasp the intricacies of your situation. It's possible your buyer was able to recover the parcel before it was actually sent back to you by the carrier there.

[watermelonmemories2005]

Yes -The case was opened on Ebay -and all messages were carefully worded there for them to read.  There was no tracking, But her comment about her boyfriend not being home to receive it, is also logged in the Case Communications.

The Customer service rep I spoke with just kept talking in circles, reading "Pat Answers" from a sheet it seemed.  Saying you have many days til the 19th, to work something out with the buyer, it will all be good -not to worry. I hear that you are worried about your money, I sell also, I understand , but Ebay will refund you - they are very fair.... etc etc - As I said, I had to keep telling him that I was the Seller, did not want Ebay to refund the Buyer - crazy call ..so I finally thanked him for all his help and hung up ---

---Still very odd that the buyer has gone silent and not demanding the money back now.

I certainly would like it back in my account ;I thoroughly dislike that Ebay/Paypal  take the money without first notifying or talking to the Seller -

--- I will  garner the strength to call again tomorrow -I;ve just had very little success with Customer Service - twice last year, I spent 45 minutes going over a list of "glitches" in my listings - that they found very odd also - opened tickets apparently -said they would reset my Rating to 100% and still nothing ever happened -even after the followup call & going thru it for the second time - for example - listings are forcing me to enter a TAX rate - even though in Business preferences it is set to not charge - I've toggled it back and forth numerous times -after adding sentences to my listings, telling buyers that I would refund BC residents; I discovered that I could at least change the 7% to .01% - so that nothing tallies - but now this year -EVERY new listing I put up moves to upload, then says there is an error with the Tax rate and makes me go fill something in -even though on first filling the listing; the Tax area was shaded off and unpopulated - just an added annoyance. I just do not have the time to address all the problems..and I know that I am losing some $ over it - I wish there was a way to EMAIL in a list of issues -then I could address it slowly after their hours etc --

ok -- griping done - off to listing - Thank you - Melanie

[momcqueen]

If the case has not yet been escalated, I would sit tight until it is. Only then would I invest the time in speaking to Customer Service again and, hopefully, making contact with a CSR who is able to grasp the intricacies of your situation.

[femmefan1946]

DON'T CALL ON THE WEEKEND!

Call on Monday to get the Utah call centre.  They seem to have a little more leeway and are slightly less likely to work from a script.

The accents can be a trial with the US clerks though.

Don't be afraid to ask if the clerk is used to international transactions. Remind her constantly that you are in Canada, the seller is in the USA,a nd the item was sent to Germany.*

And if you are getting nowhere, ask politely to be given to a supervisor.

Write down the name any clerk gives you, and get a case number.

*Oh! to an APO address? Is he in the US forces in Germany?

[watermelonmemories2005]

Thanks for the Call Center Tip -No was Not an APO - Regular address in a major town that slips my memory, right now. As they have had my money since Jan 14th , I'd rather not wait any longer to get this resolved.

[momcqueen]

If it was shipped without tracking, however, you have no assurances whatsoever.

Call back, ask to speak to someone new at ebay Customer Service until you get a person that understands the intricacies of the situation*. But again, tracking that shows Delivered is your only firm hope. The rest is merely he said/she said and ebay deals in absolutes like tracking says delivered. 

* If you already called once, what did they tell you? 

[momcqueen]

A few follow-up questions for clarity:

1. Was this case opened through ebay or paypal?

2. Are these messages that you exchanged with the buyer done via ebay Messages?

3. Does tracking show it was delivered?

My initial advice to you is to call ebay Customer Service and explain to them what you have explained to us. If the case was opened via ebay, all the messages were exchanged via ebay Messages, your uploaded tracking shows it was Delivered and the ebay moneyBack Guarantee does not cover forward-shipping to new destinations anyway, there's virtually no way that you can be held financially accountable for this unfortunate situation.

Unless there are mitigating circumstances. 

But you should call, not just wait.