Was I in the wrong here?

redfragglebiker

Hi,

After a wee bit of advice with regards to an eBay sale. Brief timeline below:
1) Buyer wins auction for a dress I was selling last week
2) I post out second class as stated on auction
3) Ebay message rec'd yesterday stating not recieved
4)I message back stating posted date and would she mind giving me a day to dig out the proof of postage etc as I've just moved house
5)Email from ebay rec'd today stating she has opened a case against me

Now I've not sold on eBay for a while but I thought that opening a case after a week for an item that was posted second class was jumping the gun a bit. I know in most cases it would have arrived by now but I've not ignored her messages, I've stated the date posted and apologised for it not turning up.
If it doesn't turn up in the next few days I'm happy to refund but I thought opening a case was a bit much?

Am I being over sensitive or have I done something wrong as a seller I need to be aware of? :question:

Is there any advice you guys can give about how I should respond from here?

soolin

I think the issue was mentioning the proof of postage , the user doesn't care about your POP and may well have thought you were going to scan that across and get difficult about a refund.

Going to a claim in a week is unreasonable, but the buyer might well have felt that that if you were not going to cooperate she needed the claim in quickly as it is going to take a further 10 days anyway.

Just one other thing, how quickly did it get sent after payment, could buyer be counting the time from payment rather than despatch?

redfragglebiker

Hi Soolin, I was hoping you'd be about (we all bow to the queen of eBay! Lol)
I posted two days after payment was received which is exactly as I stated on the listing.
Didn't even think that the proof of posting could be taken negatively *headdesk* ah well I guess I shall live and learn!

originaladidas

Cant stress enough to all sellers, RECORDED RECORDED RECORDED!! Unless your selling hundreds of small value items, always go recorded delivery. Explain to buyers why youre doing it, to cover them AND you in the process. eBay and Paypal take no notice of proof of posting, its not worth the paper its printed on.

Personally on this case? Your buyer has got the dress or they would wait a touch longer in the process for it to turn up. Now they have it they are keen to get it as a freebie... they are far too trigger happy on the opening of the dispute...

theonlywayisup

originaladidas wrote: »

Cant stress enough to all sellers, RECORDED RECORDED RECORDED!!

I can't stress enough. Read the postage sticky, read the postage sticky, read the postage sticky!

originaladidas

theonlywayisup wrote: »

I can't stress enough. Read the postage sticky, read the postage sticky, read the postage sticky!

Cant stress enough not everyone has got the time or inclination to read every thread to get an answer, get an answer, get an answer............

originaladidas

soolin wrote: »

In this case if item has not arrived then there would be no point in having wasted 95p on recorded. I would also remind OP that if she needs to do a claim from RM that she has the same ability to do so, recorded or not so needn't worry about that either.

But how do you know if the item has not arrived if there is no tracking method? If its recorded surely you know for definite if it has or not? If something is posted through a letterbox how is there any proof whether is was delivered or a GLIT?

Course if it matters that much about saving money you could always do free P & P

soolin

originaladidas wrote: »

But how do you know if the item has not arrived if there is no tracking method? If its recorded surely you know for definite if it has or not? If something is posted through a letterbox how is there any proof whether is was delivered or a GLIT?

Course if it matters that much about saving money you could always do free P & P

Free p and p on ebay would cost a seller money though, not save it?- although like many sellers I do dabble with free postage occasionally on some items.

You miss the point about recorded. If it doesn't show as received you are in no better a position than other standard post. The only time you need recorded is if you believe all buyers are likely to scam you, and frankly if I got to that stage I would no longer sell online.

sjbrun

I sell in excess of 50 items a day non of which I send recorded unless the buyer pays the extra for which they can do. Recorded annoys me as a buyer as I'm hardly ever in so it end up going back to the office which I have to collect on a saturday morning and Id much rather have a lie in on a saturday.

If two products were the same price one recorded and one not, I would go for the one sent by normal post everytime for low value items.

I have seen some postmen in the street tearing the red recorded barcodes off so they can just post it through without bothering to get a signature.

Surly it would be better to just put 20p or so from every sale into an insurance tin and so when something goes missing you are covered. Less than 0.04% of my sales go missing so I dont think there is much of a problem or am I just lucky?

theonlywayisup

sjbrun wrote: »

I sell in excess of 50 items a day non of which I send recorded unless the buyer pays the extra for which they can do. Recorded annoys me as a buyer as I'm hardly ever in so it end up going back to the office which I have to collect on a saturday morning and Id much rather have a lie in on a saturday.

If two products were the same price one recorded and one not, I would go for the one sent by normal post everytime for low value items.

I have seen some postmen in the street tearing the red recorded barcodes off so they can just post it through without bothering to get a signature.

Surly it would be better to just put 20p or so from every sale into an insurance tin and so when something goes missing you are covered. Less than 0.04% of my sales go missing so I dont think there is much of a problem or am I just lucky?

No you aren't just lucky. You are a sensible seller who realises there is NO more INSURANCE or SECURITY with Recorded Delivery. But let the sellers thank think there is carry on. As soo says, it helps everyone else. :T

soolin

sjbrun wrote: »

I sell in excess of 50 items a day non of which I send recorded unless the buyer pays the extra for which they can do. Recorded annoys me as a buyer as I'm hardly ever in so it end up going back to the office which I have to collect on a saturday morning and Id much rather have a lie in on a saturday.

If two products were the same price one recorded and one not, I would go for the one sent by normal post everytime for low value items.

I have seen some postmen in the street tearing the red recorded barcodes off so they can just post it through without bothering to get a signature.

Surly it would be better to just put 20p or so from every sale into an insurance tin and so when something goes missing you are covered. Less than 0.04% of my sales go missing so I dont think there is much of a problem or am I just lucky?

My pattern is the same as yours, except I am a teeny weeny seller (you send as much in 2 and a bit days as I send all month!) Everything under £46 goes standard 2nd or sometimes 1st class, or airmail, or even standard parcels. Items over £46 go special delivery to give me the additional insurance cover.

I sell some cheaper lines and very often do a second run to a post box just before the last collection and don't even bother with POP as it isn't worth the effort on a sub £4 item. However by using standard post I am pretty much covered for losses on the rest, and I suppose I am running at about 1 in 500 items lost again at the moment, so I can refund and still be well in pocket.

My problem is I like my money too much and would begrudge paying the Post Office for a service that is at best shoddy. I also think the vast majority of buyers are good honest people, so don't need to protect myself against them all.