Ebay buyer says they haven't received item yet

johnnyboyrebel

soolin wrote: »

The 15 working days 'rule' for Royal Mail is for the seller though an dnothing to do with the buyer.

Theoretically I guess you're right but every man and his dog knows any item sent by first class post holds this maximum period so to agree to it when ordering then complain makes no sense (similar to the other thread really)

MyOnlyPost

soolin wrote: »

The 15 working days 'rule' for Royal Mail is for the seller though and nothing to do with the buyer.

Agreed in principle, but if Royal Mail aren't prepared to call it lost what right does a buyer have to call it lost?

This is just one of many areas where eBay do not police their own site correctly. eBay should educate users that RM do not declare items lost for 15 days and that claims for INR will not be accepted before this time frame. If they introduced this then INR claims could be dealt with much quicker as every seller I know would not argue with refunding on the 15th day. The only delay in refunding would be to check the tracking (where available).

soolin

johnnyboyrebel wrote: »

Theoretically I guess you're right but every man and his dog knows any item sent by first class post holds this maximum period so to agree to it when ordering then complain makes no sense (similar to the other thread really)

Please show us all where we agree to wait 15 working days before we ask the seller for a refund. You might also want to clarify to any new sellers reading this that this course of action is not usual among sellers and doing it might mean they get a neg. The rest of us who actually sell realise we can say what we like but if a buyer feels we are being tardy with a refund they will neg us.

freddysmith wrote: »

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

This is a difficult one. RM actually say somewhere on their forms that proof of value is required, and for business sellers they do usually expect us to show the cost to our business. I do very few claims, maybe two a year and it has been about a year since RM actually asked for my business invoices to prove what I paid for the item. The last claim I did they actually paid out the ebay sale value- but I sell second hand goods so maybe they realise that it isn't as straightforward as showing an invoice for 100 @ £10 + VAT and shipping (or whatever)

johnnyboyrebel

soolin wrote: »

Please show us all where we agree to wait 15 working days before we ask the seller for a refund. You might also want to clarify to any new sellers reading this that this course of action is not usual among sellers and doing it might mean they get a neg. The rest of us who actually sell realise we can say what we like but if a buyer feels we are being tardy with a refund they will neg us.

I am not saying every customer is happy to wait 15 days but as MyOnlyPost says RM set a maximum period so why completely ignore this to keep customer happy? Before you say it, of course customer service is what it is all about but from my experience advising a customer of the 15 day thing as a worst case scenario is fine as customer is generally ok with it, many not even knowing this.

I dont think it is ideal suggesting to new sellers that may be reading to refund before this period. 15 days is there for a reason, RM have set this for a reason, only after this period can they class it as lost therefore only after this period can the seller class it as lost.

Not sure what your comment 'the rest of us who actually sell' means? Of course I sell on various marketplaces, many with more logic than eBay it seems.

steveE2

I refund my buyers around day 10 if item not received after I have checked their delivery office.

Why should my buyer wait 3 weeks (15 working days) for me to issue a refund once I can put a claim in with Royal Mail?
I decide if I am going to refund not RM, then I claim my loss from RM,it can take up to 30 days from the claim going in before a refund is issued, do you expect the buyer to wait that long as well? If not and you're refunding anyway what's the point in making them wait at all.

NeverEnough

freddysmith wrote: »

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

I'm not a business seller but have had a few items go astray in the mail and on each occasion I have been asked by RM for proof of the purchase / sale price. RM accepted a paypal transaction printout on one occasion and ebay transaction details on otherS. They are just interested in your "loss" on the actual item ie if it sold for £20 plus postage on ebay but was worth £50, you will only be refunded the £20 plus postage.

MyOnlyPost

steveE2 wrote: »

I refund my buyers around day 10 if item not received after I have checked their delivery office.

Why should my buyer wait 3 weeks (15 working days) for me to issue a refund once I can put a claim in with Royal Mail?
I decide if I am going to refund not RM, then I claim my loss from RM,it can take up to 30 days from the claim going in before a refund is issued, do you expect the buyer to wait that long as well? If not and you're refunding anyway what's the point in making them wait at all.

Steve, sellers each have their own ways of dealing with these issues. What would happen if you sold something for £40 and refunded after 10 days, only to find that RM delivered it on the 11th? You are then relying on a buyer to pay you again and even good buyers will be tempted to say nothing as they have the item and their money back. I would love to think this could never happen but it is naive of us to think that all buyers are as honest as us.

I would not criticise any seller for dealing with it as they see fit, you run your own business as you want. As stated above my criticism is of eBay / Paypal who are happy to take their fees and not police what happens. A uniform policy set down by eBay that all sellers had to adhere to would end this debate and be fair on buyers and sellers.

As a for instance, eBay are happy to make me wait 4 days to open a NPB claim, even though the buyer contacted me within 1 hour of the auction end to say they didn't want it. They are happy to make me wait 7 days because a buyer cannot be bothered to reply to the mutual consent form. Why not make buyers wait a uniform 14 days before they can open a INR claim? That way everyone is treated the same

johnnyboyrebel

steveE2 wrote: »

I refund my buyers around day 10 if item not received after I have checked their delivery office.

Why should my buyer wait 3 weeks (15 working days) for me to issue a refund once I can put a claim in with Royal Mail?
I decide if I am going to refund not RM, then I claim my loss from RM,it can take up to 30 days from the claim going in before a refund is issued, do you expect the buyer to wait that long as well? If not and you're refunding anyway what's the point in making them wait at all.

It's not just about a claim. Rm can take up to 14 days to deliver, the buyer should know this. I would take notice of MyOnlyPost as you don't want to be losing out where you don't need to. We sell hundreds a day so by default our automated responses state to allow the full period. This is on amazon but its still royal mail. Each to their own though.

Oliver14

MyOnlyPost wrote: »

Agreed in principle, but if Royal Mail aren't prepared to call it lost what right does a buyer have to call it lost?.

Because buyers are your customers not Royal Mails. Also it's a small thing you seem to be having problems with called customer service.

Oliver14

johnnyboyrebel wrote: »

It's not just about a claim. Rm can take up to 14 days to deliver, the buyer should know this. I would take notice of MyOnlyPost as you don't want to be losing out where you don't need to. We sell hundreds a day so by default our automated responses state to allow the full period. This is on amazon but its still royal mail. Each to their own though.

That's a terrible pierce of advice you may get away with that on amazon but ebay is different. If you try and get buyers to wait that long in all likelihood you will suffer.