Ebay-Buyer says hasn't received package

[trampslady]

Okay, hindsight is always twenty-twenty, and all future shipments will include delivery confirmation. However, my mother did me a favor and shipped two packages via USPS parcel post last Tuesday. One item (the one with insurance) arrived over the weekend (Dallas to Michigan). The other (without insurance) has not arrived in California, and the buyer is getting nervous. I have the receipt from the post office, and it notes the zip code, weight, price, etc. However, I have no tracking method. How does Paypal handle issues like this if the buyer disputes the charge.

I feel terrible, and I really hope it got there last night or arrives today.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I'm sorry to say, without delivery confirmation paypal will side with the buyer and give them a refund.

 

[C.Ann]

Okay, hindsight is always twenty-twenty, and all future shipments will include delivery confirmation. However, my mother did me a favor and shipped two packages via USPS parcel post last Tuesday. One item (the one with insurance) arrived over the weekend (Dallas to Michigan). The other (without insurance) has not arrived in California, and the buyer is getting nervous. I have the receipt from the post office, and it notes the zip code, weight, price, etc. However, I have no tracking method. How does Paypal handle issues like this if the buyer disputes the charge.

I feel terrible, and I really hope it got there last night or arrives today.

----------------------

Where was it mailed "from"? If I shipped an item to California from my state I wouldn't even expect it to be there by now..

Also, what class of mail? If it was Media, it could take as long as a month to reach it's destination..

It's a little early to start worrying and even if you had DC, the Post Office wouldn't even start to look for it until 30 days had passed..

 

[my3kids]

Parcel post can take forever to get there. Give it a full 14 business days before you get worried.

 

[DianeV]

Parcel Post can take a while especially going to Calif. for some reason. Reassure the buyer and ask them to wait another week

 

[brivers222]

I just shipped a CD from MICHIGAN to TEXAS first class and it took 2.5 Weeks. The person kept asking me for a refund and I kept telling them that it will arrive and I shipped it. Sure enough I got Postive Feedback 18 days later saying that the package arrived.

For your case, I would not expect Parcel Post to arrive in Cali until at earliest Monday Aug 22nd... Even though it was shipped on Aug 8th. You get what you pay for... Priority 2-3 days tops Parcel any where between 7-21 days.

Hope that helps. Keep reassuring your buyer that you did send it and that since it was parcel, it will take considerably longer!

 

[trampslady]

Thanks guys!!!!!!! I'll beg for a bit more time and patience from this buyer.

 

[swilshire]

Parcel Post can definitely be slow. I think that's why so many people choose Priority Mail these days. I mailed a package Monday and the clerk didn't bother to tell me I could have sent it Priority for less than 50 cents extra.

I mailed a big box of stuff from Boston once (only about 1000 mails from home) parcel post. It took so long that I had gone in to file for the insurance, but they persuaded me to wait a couple of more days. Sure enough, it showed up in good condition.

I would always offer buyers the option of using Priority and Parcel Post. I often choose Parcel Post if it's going to be a good bit cheaper and I'm not in a hurry, but if they make that choice, they should be prepared to wait IMHO.

Sheila

 

[jennifer293]

I wonder if anyone has ever bought off ebay and received a package and then told the seller they never received it just so they could get a refund and get the item for free. I would hate to think that it has been done but you never know about people these days. That is one reason I am so leary about selling on ebay, because I am scared someone might pull some trick like this on me...

 

[gapere]

I wonder if anyone has ever bought off ebay and received a package and then told the seller they never received it just so they could get a refund and get the item for free. I would hate to think that it has been done but you never know about people these days. That is one reason I am so leary about selling on ebay, because I am scared someone might pull some trick like this on me...

This is the reason you should always make it a point to get delivery confirmation whenever you sell something. Just tack it onto the shipping costs when you list your item. Well worth the peace of mind.

As for the item not getting to California, Paypal allows the buyer to file a dispute 45 days from when they made the payment. Kindly remind your buyer that you have plenty of time for the shipment to arrive. Maybe you can email them a pic of your reciept to calm them? Just a thought.

 

[sunkissed212]

I shipped an item last year and the buyer claimed she didn't get it. It was the start of the holiday season so I asked her to please be patient and give it another week - and if, after that time, she still hadn't gotten the package, I would refund her money ... she didn't pay for a trackable shipping method so I didn't use one. Because of that, I really didn't have much of a choice but to refund her money.

About 10 days later, she emailed me back and said she still hadn't gotten the package. I refunded her money and called it a loss on my part. About a month later, I got another email from her. The package had arrived!! It was mangled and she said it had looked like it had been lost in the snow somewhere!! She immediately re-paid me for the item and things were good.

So, I ended up with a positive ending to my experience. I would say to ask your buyer to be a little more patient with the post office and then go from there.

 

[ceecee]

I have found that parcel post can take a really long time. From Ohio to CA, TX and HI especially. I had a package once take almost 2 weeks to TX and they had opened it to inspect it! (It was a Disney pin) I almost always tried to send priority with delivery confirmation due to the unpredictablity of parcel post.

 

[ceecee]

I wonder if anyone has ever bought off ebay and received a package and then told the seller they never received it just so they could get a refund and get the item for free. I would hate to think that it has been done but you never know about people these days. That is one reason I am so leary about selling on ebay, because I am scared someone might pull some trick like this on me...

I have had this happen twice in the last few months, as well as people saying items are broken (items I sell are new). I have also had 5 non-paying bidders over the summer, I have never had this problem before. I sent the confirmation number on the 2 and never heard from them again. One guy did email back to say he found it at his neighbor's house.

 

[lbgraves]

I believe that the deadline for filing for a nonreceipt refund with paypal is 30 days.

Sorry, they must have changed it. It is 45 now.

 

[PrincessKitty]

I wonder if anyone has ever bought off ebay and received a package and then told the seller they never received it just so they could get a refund and get the item for free. I would hate to think that it has been done but you never know about people these days. That is one reason I am so leary about selling on ebay, because I am scared someone might pull some trick like this on me...

I had somebody on Amazon recently who I definitely believed was trying to scam me. He emailed me about 6 weeks after the book was delivered and said he hadn't received it.I googled his address and found (seriously!) a worm farm, a chicken farm, and a bookkeeping business at his address. I advised him that Delivery Confirmation confirmed it had been delivered. He then requested that I give him the "name of the person who signed for delivery."

I told him nobody had signed for delivery (that's not how Delivery Confirmation works); I then told him that I had googled his address and found several businesses at that address and requested that he ask all his employees if they had received the package. He finally emailed me back that he had located the package.

Re: packages taking a long time to arrive, I have had Media Mail take a full 30 days from Florida to California around Christmas. It was my mistake, the buyer had payed for Priority Mail and I sent it Media Mail by mistake! I promptly refunded 100% of his money and apologized profusely. He refused to cash the refund check because he loved the book and appreciated the way I handled the mix-up!

 

[MOMOFMNM]

it is the buyers responsibility to buy the confirmation and insurance!! TOO BAD I say!!

You know they could have got it, and decided they did not like it or something or could not afford it and then say they never got it, that is not fair at all to the sellers...this happened to me with a buyer so now I make a claim on all my listings to BUY CONFIRMATION and INSURANCE becuase it is not my resp once it leaves my hands and the xtra expense should not come from my pocket it should come from theirs!!! IMO...

 

[PrincessKitty]

it is the buyers responsibility to buy the confirmation and insurance!! TOO BAD I say!!

You know they could have got it, and decided they did not like it or something or could not afford it and then say they never got it, that is not fair at all to the sellers...this happened to me with a buyer so now I make a claim on all my listings to BUY CONFIRMATION and INSURANCE becuase it is not my resp once it leaves my hands and the xtra expense should not come from my pocket it should come from theirs!!! IMO...

No matter what you say in your auctions, if you accept Paypal and don't use Delivery Confirmation, Paypal will do a chargeback against you, no questions asked, if a buyer says they didn't receive a package.

 

[lbgraves]

DC is free if you print your postage using Paypal or the USPS's website. It is .13 for first class mail. Like it has been posted though, DC doesn't protect the buyer...it protects the seller.

 

[seashoreCM]

Why not include in the shipping quote the cost of delivery confirmation?

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[PrincessKitty]

Why not include in the shipping quote the cost of delivery confirmation?

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

That's what I do...plus if the item is fragile, I include insurance in the shipping quote and say so in my auction.