Ebay buyer says they haven't received item yet

Legacy_user

I posted on Wednesday first class (not recorded). The item sold for £35.

I only have the receipt from the post office, with no post code or anything on it.


Have I lost £35 or will I be able to get this back from the RM?

Jen_Jen1985

If the bottom says "it is important that you retain this receipt as it is your proof of posting" then you are covered by royal mail.
Seeing as you only posted wednesday I think your buyer is being a little premerture and should wait a bit longer before you consider refunding.

hermum

Very impatient buyer you have. I'd ask them to wait for a few more days.

soolin

Goodness yes I agree, three working days is an unreasonable time for a buyer to start questioning a seller. Respond very politely explaining that it is still quite early after posting and maybe suggesting they contact you later next week if it still hasn't arrived. Keep them happy, let them know you will refund but after a more reasonable period of time.

I think getting into the second week is a more acceptable time frame and some buyers are happy, once they see a selelr is reassuring , to wait until a full 2 weeks has elapsed.

MyOnlyPost

It's very difficult as the post office won't declare it lost for 14 days, so technically you shouldn't refund until then. Most buyers however are not prepared to wait that long but I agree with what has been said above, 3 days is too soon. I wouldn't ask a seller where my item was until 7 days unless I had paid for express delivery.

hermum

MyOnlyPost wrote: »

It's very difficult as the post office won't declare it lost for 14 days, so technically you shouldn't refund until then. Most buyers however are not prepared to wait that long but I agree with what has been said above, 3 days is too soon. I wouldn't ask a seller where my item was until 7 days unless I had paid for express delivery.

Not many buyers will wait for a refund until RM says the seller can claim for loss, which is 15 days working days.

soolin

MyOnlyPost wrote: »

It's very difficult as the post office won't declare it lost for 14 days, so technically you shouldn't refund until then. Most buyers however are not prepared to wait that long but I agree with what has been said above, 3 days is too soon. I wouldn't ask a seller where my item was until 7 days unless I had paid for express delivery.

The 15 working days 'rule' for Royal Mail is for the seller though an dnothing to do with the buyer. As above I don't think there ar emany buyers who would wait three weeks for a refund, but I would always hope to get them into the 2nd week.

It is also worth remembering that the closer we get to Christmas the worse the post seems to get- but also the less time a buyer is prepared to wait as they need their money back to re buy from another seller. So bear that in mind if selling in the last few weeks before Christmas.

digitalphase

Far too hasty!

TBH I think two week's wait for Royal Mail to 'try and find the missing item' is reasonable, if you can provide proof of postage in the mean time to the buyer. That proves that you did send it, and it is just making sure the item really is missing before you can proceed further.

It may be easier for businesses to recover from a missing item, but private sellers selling one off's from clear outs are hit harder because they cannot just send out a replacement, and you do really need to make sure it's definitely not going to turn up before issuing a refund and making a claim.

I've recently had an item 'go missing' and thankfully my buyer has been very understanding and co-operative. I have refunded while I wait for my claim to go through with Royal Mail. We ended up waiting the 2 weeks anyway, as I wasn't informed it had gone missing until then, as the ebayer must have checked with their post office and that must have been what was advised.

I have a few more things to clear out which are winter related, but won't be selling anything else this year after that. And I'll be sending with a tracked service first class.

System

Thanks guys.

I have the post office receipt but it just says 1 parcel posted and the price. No address.

If I have to claim it as lost the Royal Mail, what are they like with these things, will I get the cost of the item back?

NeverEnough

If you have proof of posting they will refund up to a maximum of £46 - there's a form to download on the RM website, you need to complete that and send proof of the ebay transaction (a printout of the invoice you sent to the buyer will do) and the receipt from the post office and you will be refunded whatever the proven cost was up to max £46, plus the price of the postage you paid. As others have said, though, refund your buyer much earlier than this. RM will refund you if you jump through the relevant hoops.

freddysmith

So the Original proof of value if claiming for the contents required by Royal Mail would be the proof of the Ebay transaction?