My buyer hasn't payed me in two months since I shipped the item. How do I get the money I'm owed.

[yonick_0]

At the end of April I sold an item but unfortunately, the buyer has yet to pay me and it's mid July. I was forced to ship the item prior to receiving payment because I was going on vacation. When I came back three weeks later the buyer has yet to pay me. So I opened a case against him but it was closed so I got a refund on my invoice. My question is, how to I get the money I,m owed?  

[femmefan1946]

Well, now you know Rule One-- NEVER ship before payment.

• In 20/20 hindsight, would it not have been possible to carry the shipment with you and ship from wherever you were when the payment was confirmed in Paypal?
• When you are paid through PP, as a new seller, your payment would be Held for 21 days, but you do have to ship as soon as possible when the payment clears . Paypal does allow you to use the cleared payment to buy a shipping label and gives a discount off the PO counter price.

As things stand, you sent your customer a present.

You MAY be able to get some money back from Paypal, but not from the buyer.

The PP Resolution Centre is at the top of your PP account page under Tools.

[thebluetortoise]

I agree. I never ship before I get paid. Another option here is to use the "on vacation" feature. Make the vacation window large enough before your vacation that there are no incoming purchases that you will not have sufficient time to ship. As far as I know, the buyer can still buy the item, but they know that the item will not ship until you get back from vacation.

[momcqueen]

It's not quite that simple. Putting your store on 'vacation' only gives the buyers a banner warning that you are away, it doesn't change any Estimated Delivery Dates for them. If you don't want to 'hide' all your listings while on vacation, you need to set your handling time to match the number of days you will be absent.

[silverpinups]

You have my sympathies but I believe your out of luck. You opened a "unpaid item case" with eBay and the buyer didn't pay for the item so the case was closed in your favour and you received your FVF's back for the item. 

The buyer will have a unpaid item strike against his/her account but unfortunately you won't receive payment from the buyer. 

Did you ship the item with a Tracking Number?

If you did you could call PayPal and see if you qualify for PayPal's Seller Protection. It's worth a try but shipping the item prior to receiving payment might be the final nail in the coffin. 

[hyperrush]

Outch! Never ship first until you receive the money! In wrost case buyer got a freebie.

[yonick_0]

I know, but I had to because I was leaving the country the day I shipped it.

[momcqueen]

When you plan to take a vacation, it is better to end your listings so that this doesn't happen. As it stands, you have learned a $70 lesson. NEVER ship an item until you're paid for it. If you do, it's a gift to the recipient, as opposed to a sale they must pay for.

[momcqueen]

How much money did you lose on this?

[yonick_0]

$70 USD