Nightmare Ebay Situation!

DannyWhoWorks

I sold an IPOD on Ebay yesterday for £82 and £4 postage. I wanted to send the item off soon as possible and never have had any problems before so as soon as the bid ended, I sent the item off (I do have proof of postage).

When I came back, the buyer had still not paid me, and said could he pick the item up instead. I said no, as I have already sent it off so would not be possible.

He then emailed me back saying 'Oh lord, I moved from that address a while ago'

What can I do? ... He might be telling the truth, he might be conning me 100% but can I do anything?

Thank you, Dave.

plumface

You posted something,a 'something' of value before payment!:eek:
Did you put a return address on the packet and what service did you send it by? (ie, recorded or normal post)
If you put a return address on it you MIGHT get it back.
Royal Mail compo' is a maximum £46.
So the simple answer to "what can i do?" is to email the buyer again with a cancellation request.(they can refuse) and hope,somehow the item gets back to you!

RFW

DannyWhoWorks wrote: »

I sold an IPOD on Ebay yesterday for £82 and £4 postage. I wanted to send the item off soon as possible and never have had any problems before so as soon as the bid ended, I sent the item off (I do have proof of postage).

When I came back, the buyer had still not paid me, and said could he pick the item up instead. I said no, as I have already sent it off so would not be possible.

He then emailed me back saying 'Oh lord, I moved from that address a while ago'

What can I do? ... He might be telling the truth, he might be conning me 100% but can I do anything?

Thank you, Dave.

So you sent an item prior to getting paid and only sent via standard post, not tracked?

Your best hope is to get it back as uncollected mail.

soolin

I really can't say this in any 'nice' way.

Can I suggest that before you list another thing you read some of the sticky threads here about how to use ebay- and pay particular attention to the postage sticky.

All you can do now is hope you get the ipod back through the mail- assuming you have a return address on back it may get back to you but at this time of year I wouldn't expect that to happen for a good few weeks. Obviously there is a chance the people at the address will take item in and think someone has sent them a Christmas gift- or it might just end up lost somewhere.

If after 30 days the item has not come back to you you could always try reclaiming your fees by asking buyer to agree to a mutual

theonlywayisup

Good grief.

Not even a mistake.

Sambucus_Nigra

DannyWhoWorks wrote: »

I sold an IPOD on Ebay yesterday for £82 and £4 postage. I wanted to send the item off soon as possible and never have had any problems before so as soon as the bid ended, I sent the item off (I do have proof of postage).

When I came back, the buyer had still not paid me, and said could he pick the item up instead. I said no, as I have already sent it off so would not be possible.

He then emailed me back saying 'Oh lord, I moved from that address a while ago'

What can I do? ... He might be telling the truth, he might be conning me 100% but can I do anything?

Thank you, Dave.

You really sent an ipod before you had been paid?

Really?

lancs-lady_2

I think this is the first time I've posted on this forum, even though I like to "lurk". I've been an Ebay seller/buyer for 10 years now, and the only word that springs to mind in answer to this thread is WHY???

I wouldn't send something that sold for 99p without payment first (like everyone else I presume, apart from OP that is, let alone something for so much value!)

Looks like someone is going to have a nice, unexpected Christmas present!

I'm sorry I really don't mean to be rude, but what a complete and utter plonker!

melliott1963

:shocked: I have to add my shock at this post.

It sounds to me as if you're far too trusting of people for your own good.

Never ever send off anything you sell until you have received payment and Paypal say it's OK to post. Paypal will also give you the address to send it to.

I'd be amazed if you ever get this back, so you'll just have to take this as a lesson to be learnt. Whilst £82 isn't a massive amount to loose, it's still quite an expensive lesson.

So the lesson is: Never send before payment received and, if the item is worth more than £46, make sure you send it properly tracked, such as Special Delivery.

Avoriaz

Danny, please can I have your Ebay ID.

I'd like to buy everything you have for sale. :whistle:

Goldiegirl

I'm also a bit aghast that a valuable item was sent before payment, and by (apparantly) standard mail.

I think the only realistic thing to do is to hope it comes back, and to learn from the experience i.e. never post anything without getting the payment first, and to read up on postal services so you can can chose the appropriate service for the item you want to send.

It it doesn't come back, to be honest I think you'll just have to swallow the loss.

barbiedoll

Does your buyer have any way of contacting the people who now live at his old address? He may be able to get it redirected or even be able to collect from there himself, assuming that he hasn't moved 300 miles away!

If he does manage to get it AND he still pays you, I think that the least you can do is refund him the postage.......



(Having said that......why hasn't he updated his ebay details?)