Item returned due to buyer not collecting. How to proceed?

Sponge

I sold a mobile phone and a couple of accessories on ebay on the 10th September 2009.

The phone sold for £13.83, with £3.99 P&P. It was posted RM 1st Class Recorded on the 12th Sept, to the address provided by ebay/paypal. I emailed the buyer the tracking number the same day.

To cut a long story short (I can provide further details if asked) the buyer has made little attempt to collect or organise redelivery of the parcel. He claims postal strikes and postie behaviour (keeping parcels to the w/e when there is only a 50% chance of him being home; not leaving a card) have resulted in him not being able to get the parcel.

As a result, it now appears to be on it's way back to me. Buyer learnt this from local office when he finally made contact with them on the 1st October and I have confirmed today on RM's website.

The buyer has contacted me and has not offered any explanation or asked me to resend the item. He has simply asked for a full refund. I do not have the returned parcel.

I fear he had no intention of going through with the purchase and this is his way out.

I have searched the ebay forums and most of the replies from users suggest (to other similar issues) that the seller should offer to re-send the item at the buyers expense. Or to refund the cost of the item, but less P&P and ebay fees. They say this because it's the buyer's fault for not making every effort to get the parcel, it's an issue out of the seller's control. I do not know if this is acceptable ebay behaviour for a seller, it's just advice from ebay forum users.

I have tried to find help on ebay's site, but I just cannot navigate their help section. Everything seems to be geared towards buyers or page by page of legal talk I do not fully understand.

Experience of ebay/paypal disputes (they side with buyer) leads me to think they will say I should offer a full refund (which I think leaves me out of pocket) and unable to leave any negative feedback.

I'd like your comments on the situation and some advice please.

PS If I do not receive the item back from RM, or it's damaged, what value do I assign to the RM claim? Can it only be what the ebay buyer agreed to pay for it, but didn't? Is that how they'd calculate 'market value'?

kprigg

I dont know for definite what you are supposed to do. If I were in your position however I would wait until the phone is back to you & then refund the purchase price, but not the p&p.
If the buyer was not available when the parcel is delivered & had been left a card they could have gone online & requested a specific day for the item to be delivered. It shouldnt be that you are out of pocket because the buyer couldnt put themselves out to collect.
I hope it works out for you.

emby

kprigg wrote: »

I dont know for definite what you are supposed to do. If I were in your position however I would wait until the phone is back to you & then refund the purchase price, but not the p&p.
If the buyer was not available when the parcel is delivered & had been left a card they could have gone online & requested a specific day for the item to be delivered. It shouldnt be that you are out of pocket because the buyer couldnt put themselves out to collect.
I hope it works out for you.

exactly what i would do.

Sponge

I received the parcel this morning. Thankfully I put a return address on it and it appears to be unopened. I will probably still open it to check the contents. Do you think it's worth photographing it first?

I haven't contacted the buyer yet. I was thinking I'd inform them I have received the goods and make the same offer as I did in my last email: they pay for me to resend the goods, or I refund less P&P.

I've just remembered it was listed free, so just final value fees in the mix. I've never issued a refund before. A brief look at Paypal and it seems I can issue a full/partial refund via their control panel. They will issue a pro-rata fee refund in my case, if I deduct the P&P costs.

My only worry is if after issuing the refund, the buyer can pull any sort of scam and get a chargeback of some sort. I have the goods; I have proof I posted it; I have proof he didn't collect it; I have proof I have refunded him; but I have kept some of the money. The latter, combined with Paypal's history of automatically siding with buyers, leaves me worried.

I want to be able leave a strike against this guy, but I can't even leave him negative feedback any more!

martindow

Couldn't the buyer open a claim with Paypal and get all of the money he has paid returned?

Sponge

That's what I'm worried about. It would effectively leave me £3.99 (what P&P was) out of pocket. Not a vast sum, but my money nonetheless.

What would he claim under though? Item not received? He didn't receive it because he didn't collect it. But will Paypal appreciate, or even care, about such details.

ormus

with odds stacked against sellers these days, just refund the whole amount and move on.
luckily most buyers are honest and dont give any problems.

a few do, and thats a price sellers on ebay have to pay. certain items cause more problems than others. mobile phones are near the top of that list.

Sponge

I decided to seek the guidance from ebay users on their forum too.

I got a reply within minutes and they also said I have to refund in full.

I always thought winning an auction on ebay was a contract and something ebay/paypal enforce. But it seems one can change ones mind and simply not collect a parcel to ensure a full refund.

I understand there are good and bad apples. Someone selling loads of stuff on ebay might be able to ride out the rough, to benefit from the smooth; but someone like me, that only sells once in a blue moon, the proportion of good to bad becomes too unfavourable.

I think this might be the last straw.

ormus

a lot of peeps are coming to the same conclusion.
ebay is ok for buying now, but a bit shy te for selling items. (for the private seller).

Sponge

It seems it'll be an easy task for the buyer to file an 'Item Not Received' claim against me. Paypal will rule in his favour (they always favour buyers, even scammers) and take the money back. I didn't remove the funds from my Paypal account as I usually do. So, I'm assuming the matter won't go any further as far as seeking money. However, I might get a 'black mark' against my account.

To be honest, I'm not that fussed. As long as I get an opportunity to tell my side of the story, maybe add a few choice words of derision, I'll simply accept it, or more likely close the account, never to grace ebay/paypal with my business again.

sequence

If the tracking shows clearly the buyer did not collect/redeliver then there is a good chance that Paypal will find in you favour. However it is not really worth the hassle and I would just refund in full.