Buyer opened premature refund request, but I CANNOT RESPOND.

[ftr_mike]

Hello there,

I recently sold a $1000+ item. Based on the tracking information, it seems to be held up in customs. It is only a week past the estimated arrival date and despite the tracking information having been provided to the buyer, he has already requested a refund. My paypal balance is now -$1150. 

The problem is that I cannot respond to the request. When I open it, it gives me 3 options: Update tracking information, issue refund, send buyer a message. Whenever I click the first or third option, and press continue, the page just reloads and nothing happens. It still tells me I need to respond by Oct 8. 

What should I do? 

I am worried that I will be unable to respond, the buyer will get a refund automatically, and then he will receive the item shortly after. 

[tyler@ebay · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the tag @pjcdn2005 - 

Hi @ftr_mike, sorry to hear that the item you sold ran into some difficulty. Typically in these situations, we would want you to respond with updated tracking information (if the tracking hasn't already been uploaded to the item). 

As a general rule, if the item has made it to customs and is being held (inspection, import charges, etc) we would usually place the request on hold if we are asked to step in, if not find in your favor outright, as the vast majority of import issues are on the buyer's end to resolve (the most common being that duties need to be paid and the buyer has yet to do so). 

I recommend you make sure that the tracking for the package has been attached to item, and 'respond with updated tracking' if not. If you are running into technical issues when trying to do so, @ypdc_dennis had some suggestions that I also recommend: trying from a different browser, clearing cache and cookies, etc. 

If you're still having issues after doing that please consider contacting Customer Support. Thanks!

[pjcdn2005]

Which service did you use to ship the item?  For seller protection you are required to have a signature for items C$850 or more and most CP international services do not have that option.  If you have delivery can confirmation but don’t  have a signature for an expensive item, a buyer can still win an item not received case.  That’s one reason why I wouldn’t ship an item like that overseas.

Whuch country is the package going to?  There is a problem with the international estimated delivery times on the listings for some countries.  Fior example, delivery time to France on your listing shows as 3-5 business days and  Canada Post eta is 8 business days for tracked packet so the time is incorrect.  

tyler@ebay   This problem was brought up to happy- pigeon  a couple of weeks ago.  eBay changed some of the international eta dates making them inaccurate.   if the time estimate on a  listing is incorrect, which may be the case in this situation, shouldn’t the seller be protected since it was ebay who incorrectly changed the eta?

[pjcdn2005]

I would phone ebay and ask them to put a week hold on the refund request since tracking shows that the item is in customs.  The tracking was already uploaded to eBay before the case was opened?

Just as an fyi...even if you are able to contact  the buyer through the refund request screen, that won’t be counted as a response. The buyer will still be allowed to ask ebay to step in and make a decision after 3 (?) business days.  Putting the request on hold will delay that.

[ypdc_dennis]

Try a different browser (or updating your current one).

...

I have found some ebay pages with buttons that are badly coded.

They work properly with some browsers but not others. You click the bad button and it just reloads the page without doing anything (but for a different browser it will work).

-..-

[reallynicestamps]

Go to the original listing.

You should see Contact Buyer on there- top right I believe.

Or go to the PP invoice, go to Refund (DON'T PANIC!)  click and the buyer's email address should appear. You just want the information, don't continue.

Use the email address to contact the buyer.

Reassure him that the item is in his country, at customs, and should shake free at any time.

Encourage him to use the tracking number (he probably already has it but give it again) to see for himself.

Encourage him to take the tracking number to his local Post Office and ask their help in getting the parcel moving.

The Hold is not personal. If you were buying a $1000 item and it was late in arriving, you would want to know that your seller hasn't taken the money and run, after all.

You could mention, in passing that his payment is on Hold with PP until delivery.

I'm assuming that the item was something that can be imported into the customer's country?