Help! Buyer Did Not Recieve Item

alison999

Hey,

I recently sold 2 CDs to the same person on eBay.

They were sent seperately because I already had them ready to post before the auction ended.

She paid for regular mail, shes in the UK, both items were posted on the same day, but only one has been recieved so far.

She says that if she doesnt get the next one by next week, she wants a refund. BUT as I pointed out to her, she didnt pay for insurance (signed for) so its not my fault that it got lost in the mail, I clearly stated in the item description, "[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]IF YOU DO NOT PAY FOR POSTAL INSURANCE THEN I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ITEMS GOING MISSING IN THE POST. I RECOMMENED THAT YOU ALWAYS USE REGISTERED POSTING."

I dont know what to do know. I tried looking on eBay for advice but its only buyer protection, I know she paid for the item BUT its not my fault she didnt recieve it.

Can she demand a refund?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][/FONT]

withabix

It doesn't matter what you put in your item description in terms of liability if something gets lost in the post. Ebay rules state that the seller must be able to prove the item was delivered.

This requires a signed-for delivery method, irrespective of whether the buyer paid for it or not.

You will lose a Paypal claim (assuming that was the payment method) and the buyer will be refunded.

If you don't send by Recorded Delivery, you should get a Proof of Posting from the Post Office when you send anything - that way you are insured for the value of the goods upto £32 and can get a refund from the Post Office.

FloFlo

If she paid by paypal they will refund her as you have no proof of delivery.

No matter what you put in your listing you are responsible for the item reaching the buyer. Sending something registered post protects the seller not the buyer so if you want to protect yourself then send all your items special delivery.

alison999

So shes got away with it then? What if she did get it and shes just saying she didnt?

withabix

alison999 wrote: »

So shes got away with it then? What if she did get it and shes just saying she didnt?

Unfortunately you have to be able to prove it. As you didn't send by a signed-for method, you can't.

alison999

withabix wrote: »

Unfortunately you have to be able to prove it. As you didn't send by a signed-for method, you can't.

Well, thanks for the help anyway. I think that I'll be making registered post compulsory for buyers in the future no matter how much it costs THEM, since in a week or so, I'll be the one thats out of pocket twice.

soolin

alison999 wrote: »

So shes got away with it then? What if she did get it and shes just saying she didnt?

Hmm, if you know she has lying them you obviously used recorded delivery as how else do you know she has the item. If you did use recorded then add th etracking into paypal and you wil any paypal chargeback as long as it shows as delivered.

If you can't prove it was delivered and think your buyer or buyers generally are out to cheat you then maybe ebay isn't for you. Packages go astray, honestly, just look at the RM declared figures for losses. It might even be just delayed in th epost somewhere and will turn up next week safe and sound having gone to wrong sorting office or something.

Anyway, take that silly term out of your auctions it attracts people that might just chance it on as it makes you look a little naive. be polite to the buyer and if we are only talking a week or so ask her to wait until at least week 2 and if it doesn't arrive then promise her a full refund. If you are already in week two or so then refund now via paypal and your paypal fees for that transaction are returned. Then use your certificate of posting after 15 working days has elasped to reclaim from the RM.

soolin

alison999 wrote: »

Well, thanks for the help anyway. I think that I'll be making registered post compulsory for buyers in the future no matter how much it costs THEM, since in a week or so, I'll be the one thats out of pocket twice.

Recorded costs you as if you charge an extra 72p per item post and packing then they have 72 p less to pay for your item. A CD at £7 with £1 p and P gives the seller an item cost of £7, the same buyer with £8 to spend would need to pay only £6.28 for your item which leaves you out of pocket.

alison999

Well I would put up P&P fees wouldnt I?

I just think its unfair that there are Buyer Protection policies but nothing to protect the seller. This has never happened to me in the 4 years that Ive been on eBay.

She took ages to pay (3 weeks for the 1st item, 2 for the 2nd) and I was really patient with her, and now shes doing this... I have no proof whether she has/hasnt got the item....

I've sent her a message offering to refund half the price for her. I know she'll probably so no, but its worth a shot.

soolin

Turn it about for a moment and pretend you are a buyer. You buy something from Play and when it doesn't arrive they say 'tough'..that wouldn't be fair would it?

Sellers are protected, we have postal insurance via the Royal mail our losses are covered as long as we aren't silly with p and p (they usually only refund actual postage and item cost). A buyer is 100% reliant on the seller, that's why reputation is so important on ebay. A single neg on a selling account is not a problem at all, however a neg that says 'seller refuses to refund for lost items' might destroy a seller.

As for postage yes you do ultimately pay for it yoruself but if your business mdoel can support that then include the 72 recorded charge to the item automatically so they don't get the option. However bear in mind that 100 parcels sent recorded = £72 in lost profits to you and decide if that is the way you want to go. It is also wroth remembering that many recorded items never show as delivered, around 40% of my recorded items still do not show delivere donline even though i know the stuff has arrived. Luckily I don't need proof for ebay, but if any of those was on ebay then I would lose a claim regardless.

alison999

I have thought about it if I were in her position, thats why Ive offered to go halfs. I doubt she'll take it though since shes entitled to the whole lot but I feel Ive lost a CD that I cant resell and I have to pay her back for it because she choose not to use recorded delivery.

I didnt realize that she would still be entitled to a refund if it got lost using regular mail.

Now Im on the 'other side' of it I feel like theres not a lot to protect the SELLER in these cases.

We'll see what happens, and it is a lesson learnt. Recorded delivery from now on lol