Gone a bit wrong... :(

whispywillow

Wonder if someone can give me their take on this situation..?

I sold a group of items on ebay, they were due to be sent out a couple of days after the money had cleared into my bank account however i was too ill to take the items to the post office, so i messaged the buyer and told him of the situation, and he was understanding. Now, not only did i get ill but then my son got ill, so i was unable to post these items out for a couple of weeks. He messaged in the meantime to ask where the items where, i explained, he accepted. I sent the parcel off last week, but due to me not being online, i havent marked off the items as being sent yet. He sent me a message this morning asking me where the items are, so they clearly havent been delivered. I have looked everywhere for post office receipt and i just can't find it, (which is so unusual because i normally keep them all in the same place!)
So given all of this kerfuffle regarding the items, should i just wait for the allocated time that royal mail give re lost items and then give a refund (£20)? Or should i contact the buyer and explain that the items have gone missing, nothing i can do, and leave it at that? I sent them standard parcel (which was stated on the listing) so i dont have any way to track the item...

alx2010

If you can't find the receipt then you won't be able to claim back from Royal Mail.
Your buyer has been very patient! When was your parcel sent? Standard parcels take 3-5 working days so it may yet arrive if you just sent it last week.
If it does not arrive within the stated time you should refund your buyer anyway - I doubt that they will be patient enough to wait another 15 working days before you can claim from RM for a refund!

pulliptears

you need to refund your buyer, now, and along with that send a grovelling apology. Its not your buyers fault you or your son were ill, neither is it his fault you have lost the tracking.

Your buyer has been more than patient with you, 2 weeks to post out is completely unacceptable.

Emma_N

I'm sorry to hear that you have been ill, but as others have said you have to refund your buyer straight away. It sounds like your buyer has been more understanding than most.

As for not being able to find your proof of postage/receipt. I wouldn't worry as in my experience Royal Mail don't like paying compensation even when you can provide them with a copy of the proof of postage.

zenseeker

It's funny how you all believe the OP's excuse in this case, whereas if it was the buyer posting here with a "My item hasn't arrived" post, you would accuse the seller of making up a pack of lies.

frivolous_fay

zenseeker wrote: »

It's funny how you all believe the OP's excuse in this case, whereas if it was the buyer posting here with a "My item hasn't arrived" post, you would accuse the seller of making up a pack of lies.

To be fair, it's generally not on to accuse the OP of lying...at least not without a shred of evidence

whispywillow

Thanks for the advice everyone, i will promptly refund

Pulliptears - Cant help but think that the tone in which you write is a bit over the top, im not a naughty 15 year old who needs telling off, i asked for advice on whether the buyer should recieve a refund, considering I would be out of pocket too, i never asked anybody to give their take on the situation and HOW it came about...

I'm fully aware that I wont be able to get compensation from Royal Mail, i lost the reciept, it happens, nowt I can do about it so im not going to worry - just wanted advice regarding the refund, considering that packages DO go missing quite often, and as i'd stated it wasn't going to be posted in any special way, maybe the buyer would have had to take it on the chin, but no worries, i'll cut my losses with an apology and leave it at that

iieee

For future reference, it's really not acceptable to make a buyer wait for the money to clear into your bank account before you post it. You should post it as soon as the money is cleared in your paypal account. If you don't have enough cash to pay for the postage then you can pay online directly from your paypal account.

whispywillow

Would have been hard for me to send the package out with no money - guess thats why I had to wait for the money to clear into the bank account, which is why I put a postage time to reflect the time it would have taken for this to happen. But you know what, whatever - im not gonna sit here arguing with people who I dont know about how I ebay..bye.

pulliptears

whispywillow wrote: »

Thanks for the advice everyone, i will promptly refund

Pulliptears - Cant help but think that the tone in which you write is a bit over the top, im not a naughty 15 year old who needs telling off, i asked for advice on whether the buyer should recieve a refund, considering I would be out of pocket too, i never asked anybody to give their take on the situation and HOW it came about...

You are entitled to your opinion as much as anyone else, but I look at it as though I was your buyer and Id be more than a little pi55ed to be honest. Your buyer bought from you in good faith, its not his problem or fault that you cannot keep postage receipts safe. It is your side of the deal to ensure the item gets to him and refund him in full if it does not. If he were to put in a paypal claim he would win.

The reason im telling you to apologise quickly is your buyer may leave you poor feedback and hit your stars which will affect your selling in future. This is not over the top this is FACT.

I'm fully aware that I wont be able to get compensation from Royal Mail, i lost the reciept, it happens, nowt I can do about it so im not going to worry - just wanted advice regarding the refund, considering that packages DO go missing quite often, and as i'd stated it wasn't going to be posted in any special way, maybe the buyer would have had to take it on the chin, but no worries, i'll cut my losses with an apology and leave it at that

Its always the responsibility of the seller to ensure the package reaches the buyer, whether your buyer pays for 1st class or special delivery. If you cannot prove your buyer received the packet you will always lose a paypal claim.

lyniced

I waited nearly 3 weeks for an item once. The seller came up with illness, broken car (?) and personal problems amongst her excuses. I did feel sorry for her at first, but after the first few excuses, that started to wane. When the items did eventually arrive they were broken, so not a good ebay experience, but thankfully rare.