Buyer getting irate over item lost in post...

soolin

Really I'm just confirming what others have already said. It doesn't matter what you say or what your buyer paid for postage wise if it hasn't arrived in a reasonable time then refund in full.

Also, you really can;t expect the buyer to wait the 15 working days that RM require, then a further 3 weeks or maybe more for you to get your refund, you need to be refunding before all that. I usually try and stall until week 2, but if the buyer still claims non receipt I will refund then and wait until the RM claim time arrives to recoup my losses.

Don't forget if a buyer paid by paypal they can start a chargeback as early as day 7 anyway, and if they didn't pay by paypal you shouldn't be treating them any differently anyway.

Soo

Hintza

li'l-p you are not going to get much support on here it is your responsibility to get item to buyer. However from the tone of your buyers e-mail I would be narked and would probably make them wait for the Royal Mail to complete their investigation before refunding.

However assuming buyer paid with PayPal they can and probably will start a chargeback and you will unfortunately lose. If you choose to send the items by non trackable means you are running a risk ( a risk that most of take for items under £32) but a risk nevertheless.

The unfortunate thing is mail does go missing on the odd occasion and that is one of the dubious joys of EBay.

li'l_p

soolin wrote:

Also, you really can;t expect the buyer to wait the 15 working days that RM require, then a further 3 weeks or maybe more for you to get your refund, you need to be refunding before all that. I usually try and stall until week 2, but if the buyer still claims non receipt I will refund then and wait until the RM claim time arrives to recoup my losses.

...what refund? Where am I getting money from?

I think people are missing the point of my original post. I genuinely DO care and am not saying that I want to just walk away and do nothing. However considering this woman is emailing me on the bounce from day one/two after no receipt of item, it just strikes me as a little OTT and unnecessarily heavy handed.

I will be filing a claim with Royal Mail and as a gesture of goodwill I will refund the item cost, however my point was that there is little I can do after 2 days of the item having not shown up.

cantcope

I bought something from ebay which didnt arrive even though i waited 2 weeks and seller had POP, she eventually claimed from RM and refunded me, only for the item to turn up 6 WEEKS later. Seller had sent it on the day she'd said it had just done the rounds i think before it eventually got to me.

thumbs down for RM

ViJay_3

rsykes2000 wrote:

To be honest, you putting that is irrelevant. You should definitely take responsibility to get the items to the person who paid you for them. And if the RM lose or destroy them, it is your responsibility to claim.

I avoid like the plague, sellers who put stuff like that. It just seems to make them less trustworthy as far as I'm concerned.

jenniferpa

I think perhaps it was your statement in your listing regarding your responsibilities that probably caused this. The buyer, not having received the item, and having taken another look at the listing was understandably concerned that you were going to shuck off all responsibility, hence the confrontational tone of the email. Unfortunate, true, but understandable in a way.

Jennifer

sassybird

I have to say that most people buying on e-bay are great and patient when it comes to getting their mail.

However, there is always the odd one who can drive you round the bend. I've been on e-bay as a buyer and seller for a couple of years now and have mostly enjoyed the experience and been extremely pleased with my purchases.

A while ago I was selling a photograph album. My ad stated clearly that I was based in the United Kingdom and that it was a fairly heavy package. I listed the UK p&p, but asked that overseas buyers e-mail me for postage costs before bidding. The item was sold for a couple of pounds. I then received an e-mail from a lady in the USA asking how much p&p would be, and that she had not realised I was in the UK.

I had the item weighed to go to the USA - the p&p airmail was £15.00 and by surface mail was about £7.00. I explained to her that airmail was quickest (usually within a week to 10 days) and surface mail could take up to 8 weeks. She opted for the surface mail.

8 days later I started getting e-mails asking where was the album? I couldn't believe it - I replied letting her know (again) the p&p times quoted by RM. She e-mailed me 3 times within the next week or so. In the end I was bl**dy sorry I'd sent it to her at all! Not worth it for a couple of quid.

I asked her to be patient and if she had not received the parcel within the quoted surface mail time period - I would start to make a claim. The next thing I know, she has left me e-bay feedback saying that the album was beautiful when eventually received and she was pleased with it.

I must admit - I'd had enough and this very nearly put me off selling outside the UK at all.

I understand just what lil'p means - she wasn't being stroppy - just letting off some steam. It can be soooo wearing when we get a difficult customer. However, the majority of e-bayers are a joy to deal with and definitely bolster my belief for the honesty and friendliness of people the world over.

li'l_p

Thanks sassybird...!

I do enjoy ebay, both buying a selling and for the one or two hiccups I've had in my 600+ transactions, the good almost certainly outweighs the bad by a million miles. Otherwise I'd have given up a long time ago!

Anyway, this matter is now resolved. The buyer has now had her refund in full, arranged by me tonight to put this matter to bed once and for all. I can now sleep comfortably tonight...

dippy-dora_2

Ask her to check with her local sorting office first.
Then it is you as the seller who reclaims the money from royal mail after 15 working days. Never post a receipt off to the buyer. The post office will tell them it is the sender who has to claim.

To be honest, auctions that say they are not responsible gets me pressing the back button straight away, I would never buy from someone who states that.

soolin

dippy-dora wrote:

To be honest, auctions that say they are not responsible gets me pressing the back button straight away, I would never buy from someone who states that.

Same here, I always thinks it looks like a newbie who doesn't understand how ebay works and I wouldn't buy from them. It may even be that term that put the buyers back up in the first place, maybe they were anticipating problems and thought they would start off firmly rather than give the seller the benefit of the doubt?

Soo