How long until you refund on ebay?

Mandles

Well, the season of goodwill, or rather miserable impatient buyers has really started. Thanks to the snow aswell i am having a few people now getting very snotty with me that their items have not arrived after 5 days(not including sunday)!
Maybe people think that i also work for the post office and should get it there faster!
Anyway, my question is , is post still not moving in some areas and how long would you wait until agreeing to refund?

Crowqueen

5 days is not long enough even without snow, but I hope you are not pouring oil on troubled waters and are keeping any venting to yourself.

Be careful how you respond and people will be happy to wait a few more days. Responding badly means people will be more likely to throw tantrums earlier than strictly necessary.

Mandles

Crowqueen wrote: »

5 days is not long enough even without snow, but I hope you are not pouring oil on troubled waters and are keeping any venting to yourself.

Be careful how you respond and people will be happy to wait a few more days. Responding badly means people will be more likely to throw tantrums earlier than strictly necessary.

I know, she is really bugging me as i was very polite and nice and said that it is probably the snow that has caused a backlog and that i was still waiting for stuff myself so if she could wait a little longer and let me know by either leaving feedback , if it arrives or email again if it doesnt over the next week. I also said that i only post to paypal address given (as that has been a problem for others in the past). Also bear in mind that the postage i charge did not cover the item i sold.

She replied saying that other stuff has arrived that she purchased after my item (i posted 2nd day after payment).she wants me to check paypal address that i sent it to . It is the exclamation marks that wind me up , "i have recieved other items that i purchsed after this!!" and did i not send recorded? ... postage charged did not even cover actual postage costs. Grrr, i can't stand impatient buyers.

I think i will leave my reply to her a little longer as she is one of those buyers who will just go on and on at me, thinking i can make post quicker.

Crowqueen

There's nothing you can do except not let your patience snap. Good idea not replying to her in the heat of the moment - I've done that on here enough times to know it's never a bad idea to wait and let things cool down.

Amethyst_ice

I have had this from some buyers this week.

Keep calm and remind them royal mail do not class items as lost until 15 working days after expected date and can they give it until then.

Remarkably my person got theirs on day 15...hmmmm lol

Crowqueen

Keep calm and remind them royal mail do not class items as lost until 15 working days after expected date and can they give it until then.

Not a brilliant idea - that is three full working weeks, which takes us now beyond Christmas, which may mean their money is tied up in the item that they haven't received, and that's not going to make them any happier or less likely just to start a dispute and take it from there. I'm looking from a buyer's POV but I've decided not to buy Christmas stuff from eBay/Amazon this year after something failed to turn up last year and the seller was pretty desultory about it. With the weather compounding things, it's just a non-starter.

At this point I would be saying wait until Thursday or Friday and if nothing then then I'll refund you the money in time for you to buy replacements in time for Christmas.

fred7777

I've found more buyers emailing about missing parcels since ebay introduced the dispatch time on listings. Many buyers seem to confuse dispatch time with delivery time and if you put dispatch within 3 days they expect to get it within 3 days rather than 3days+time for delivery.

I've found the trick is to manage people's expectations from the start.

Put a long dispatch time to give yourself a bit more safety margin, my items usually have 3 days but anything I think there may be a problem with gets 5 or more. It seems to me buyers don't read the whole listing until they think something has gone wrong so putting a longer dispatch time doesn't reduce your market.

Put several methods of delivery. I offer a cheap, standard or 2nd class parcels etc delivery for a low price and then a special 24hr tracked signed for courier delivery for a much higher price and let the buyer choose. Nobody has ever chosen the high cost option but the fact they know they chose the slower delivery seems to delay any emails about late deliveries.

Always get a proof of posting. Not that it does much good if the item is actually lost but sending the buyer a scan/pic of the proof of posting proves you sent it and usually buys a bit more time for the item to arrive. I know I could send it recorded or signed and I do for high value items but lets face it it's ebay and buyers don't want to pay high postage and packing charges.

How long you can wait before giving a refund depends on the buyer some are prepared to wait weeks until the item arrives some aren't and will start a dispute instantly and you may end up giving a refund for an item which could still arrive to avoid negative feedback.

Finally always be nice and email the buyer as if they are acting reasonably (even when they aren't) and always reply to them quickly especially when you are stalling for time. People are more likely to wait a week more if you get back to them within the day than a day more if you take a week to reply.

cyberbob

fred7777 wrote: »

Put a long dispatch time to give yourself a bit more safety margin, my items usually have 3

Long dispatch times put customers off. Also the rest of customers don't bother looking anyway.

fred7777 wrote: »

Put several methods of delivery. I offer a cheap, standard or 2nd class parcels etc delivery for a low price and then a special 24hr tracked signed for courier delivery for a much higher price and let the buyer choose.

Putting tracked as an option is pointless as tracking is for the sellers benefit. If you want an item tracked don't give an option

fred7777 wrote: »

Always get a proof of posting. Not that it does much good if the item is actually lost but sending the buyer a scan/pic of the proof of posting proves you sent it and usually buys a bit more time for the item to arrive.

If you do this in likelihood the buyer is more likely to open a paypal claim against you (I would) as it looks like your trying to avoid responsibility. As all claims opened effect your seller metrics this is a bad thing.

I refund after 10 days Never had any problems with getting people to wait that long (not that I get much lost mail) It's the amount of time I would expect a Seller to refund me.

Just to mention there are still some mail delays out there specifically in area's of Scotland

Meadows

Mandles wrote: »

Well, the season of goodwill, or rather miserable impatient buyers has really started. Thanks to the snow as well i am having a few people now getting very snotty with me that their items have not arrived after 5 days(not including Sunday)! Maybe people think that i also work for the post office and should get it there faster! Anyway, my question is , is post still not moving in some areas and how long would you wait until agreeing to refund?

All I can say is communication, communication, communication....
I purchased an item almost two weeks ago and after a few days the seller said to me they could not get out due to the snow would I wait or did I want a refund, so I said fine no point risking an accident to post the item, leave it a few days and then let me know the score and we will take it from there. That was a week ago and I have had no more contact from them.
I will give it till mid week and if I don't have the item and they do not get in touch with me I will email them and ask if they have posted it if not I want a refund.

While I was prepared to wait and they did contact me after a few days I feel it is only courteous that they keep me informed as to when and if they can deliver the goods.

I always find it is better to communicate with your buyer and that way they don't feel they are being fobbed off or stitched up.

Mandles

Meadows wrote: »

All I can say is communication, communication, communication....
I purchased an item almost two weeks ago and after a few days the seller said to me they could not get out due to the snow would I wait or did I want a refund, so I said fine no point risking an accident to post the item, leave it a few days and then let me know the score and we will take it from there. That was a week ago and I have had no more contact from them.
I will give it till mid week and if I don't have the item and they do not get in touch with me I will email them and ask if they have posted it if not I want a refund.

While I was prepared to wait and they did contact me after a few days I feel it is only courteous that they keep me informed as to when and if they can deliver the goods.

I always find it is better to communicate with your buyer and that way they don't feel they are being fobbed off or stitched up.

I get your problem (has she not clicked the despatch button) but my buyer knows that i posted it 5 days ago...... what more can i possibly do right now??

Meadows

Mandles wrote: »

I get your problem (has she not clicked the despatch button) but my buyer knows that i posted it 5 days ago...... what more can i possibly do right now??

Heard nothing more from mine so do not know if it has been posted or not yet as I said I will give it until mid week and then chase it up.

I can appreciate your problem and also your buyer as many a time we are told by a seller I have posted it but when you check the postmark it was actually send 3/4 days after they said.

There is not too much you can do at present as we have had the weekend and bad weather. I would tell them if they don't have it by the weekend to send you an email confirming none delivery so you can pursue this with the post office and then refund the item before they go into dispute.