I recently sold an item on ebay, Adobe Photoshop 5.5, and I sent the item via usps. No, I didn't buy the tracking option or insurance option!
Now, the buyer claims he/she never got it, and ebay investigations told me they can't interfere after the trading at ebay because they are "not a normal auction house but as a place for traders and sellers and buyers to communicate and engage in activities and ...." and can't help me.
Now, that buyer has said that I either send another software right away or they leave me negative feedback on the 31st! I have another photoshop auction going on now but i won't cancel it because of him/her and loose two softwares for that person! I even emailed ebay investigations and safeharbor [they are the same right?] replied to their conclusions asking them to look further as this will be my first negative feedback. But they are taking time to reply.
posted on September 27, 2001 10:37:07 PM
Well, you have two options, neither of which you're gonna like.
1 -- Refund the buyer's money or replace the item, and chalk it up as an expensive lesson to insure the package next time.
2 -- Get a negative in your feedback, and possibly end up with the buyer filing a fraud report with eBay. It'll just be your word over his, and having no proof of shipping won't help matters. Also, if the buyer paid by credit card, he could also dispute the charge with his credit card company, which could potentially result in the amount being taken from your BillPoint/PayPal/whatever account.
Sorry -- I know neither of these is what you wanted to hear, but without proof of shipping or some sort of tracking, there's not a lot you can do. eBay will be of little, if any, assistance -- they're "just a venue".
As a suggestion, you might ask him to check with his local post office or mail carrier. Sometimes the carrier will attempt delivery, and if no one is home and the carrier doesn't feel there is a safe place to leave the package, the carrier will leave a pick-up notice. These notices are very small, and tend to get lost easily. Perhaps the buyer overlooked the notice, and the package is waiting for him at the post office.
Edited to add: I thought of something else. After 30 days (I think it's 30) you can file a trace with the post office, even on uninsured packages. That might be worth checking into. How long ago was the package mailed? It might be possible that the package has been delayed due to the air flights being grounded for several days.
posted on September 27, 2001 10:39:56 PMebay investigations told me they can't interfere after the trading at ebay because they are "not a normal auction house but as a place for traders and sellers and buyers to communicate and engage in activities and ...." and can't help me
we are only just a venue
Boy, don't that sound familar!
I state in my TOS that the seller is NOT responsible for uninsured items. I give everyone the option to purchase it. If it's a high dollar item, then I may purchase some type of insurance myself.
Have you tried talking to your postmaster, or mail clerk? Also, if it was sent priority mail, doesn't the USPS have an internal tracking system for their own use? Seem's like I heard that before.......
Anyway, I wouldn't send another. If you get negged, just explain that the buyer did not purchase insurance, and you can't control the mail....
No, I didn't provide any option for insurance but before shipping I told them the way I would ship "Normal USPS post, no insurance or anything extra" and they didn't say anything to that.
posted on September 28, 2001 01:45:42 AM
I always build the cost of DC right into the shipping charge. At this time I have 3 packages missing in action. 2 are going to military bases and the PO says that is the problem. Number 3 was mailed parcel post 2 and 1/2 weeks ago, going across town to a friend. It is lost in space!
posted on September 28, 2001 05:22:07 AMI had mailed it on September 10th, from California to within the states, and till now the buyer claims he/she didn't get it!
It's too soon to refund. The postal service won't consider a package "lost" until 30 days has past, so why should you. Some of the mail from the 10th was sitting on planes in airports for days. I got a payment just 3 days ago that was postmarked the 10th.
Well, the buyer isn't waiting and going to leave a negative feedback or take "other action" like they said on the 31st.
Don't know. Really didn't expect this. Still waiting for further action from safeharbor as they said they are still looking into it after I emailed them again saying they have to resolve this.
posted on September 28, 2001 07:36:44 AM
Frankly, there's not much that can be done to "resolve" the matter. You say you sent it, but have no proof of mailing, and no insurance or DC. The buyer says they didn't get it, but they may be lying and just trying to get another copy for free. There is nothing eBay can do to help you, this is a classic case of he-said/she-said.
That said, in the future you should always use DC and/or insurance on items that cost above your threshold of pain. Don't offer it as an option to your buyer, or tell them "I'm not using insurance, is that OK?" Not many will volunteer to pay extra money. Tell them it's required, charge them appropriately, and then you're covered in the case of any "loss" real or otherwise.
posted on September 28, 2001 09:08:27 AM
Maybe the bidder really didn't get the software and tomorrow there will be a thread about a fraudulent seller who didn't ship software that the bidder bought. Then people here will be advising the bidder how to get their money back. It goes both ways.
Not my name on ebay.
posted on September 28, 2001 10:57:35 AM
What would I do? I would refund.
There's only been one time I didn't refund when the buyer claimed she didn't receive something. She had purchased several things at once, and everything was shipped together in the same box. She then claimed that both the largest item, and the most expensive item were not in the package upon it's arrival. I know for a fact that they were both in there, because I had to fit the smaller items in the box around the large item, and the expensive item was placed on top of everything else. She said there were no holes in the box or any signs of tampering. Then she sent me a photograph of the unopened box, sitting on her doorstep after the UPS carrier delivered it. (Who takes photos of their packages, anyway??) Plus she didn't e-mail me for about 6 weeks AFTER the package was delivered.
I sent her copies of the UPS shipping receipt and told her she could file a claim if she wanted to.
Interestingly, this bidder was also a seller, and the main thing that she sold were items identical to the large item in the package. I think she sold it, and simply forgot about selling it. And it's possible she was trying to pull a fast one, but there was no way I could prove it.
This was before eBay had their fraud system set up, and she had paid with a money order. The worst thing she could do was neg me, which, for the amount of money involved, I could live with. (She didn't end up leaving any feedback at all.)
Had there been ANY doubt in my mind that those items were in the package, I would have refunded immediately.
In every situation since then where buyers claimed to not have received their package at all, I have sent refunds or replacements, and then later filed for insurance where applicable. If it wasn't insured, the refund or replacement was out of my own pocket. Anything over $25 gets insured, even if the buyer doesn't pay for the insurance.
posted on September 28, 2001 11:25:59 AMWell, the buyer isn't waiting and going to leave a negative feedback or take "other action" like they said on the 31st.
Point them here, this tells when the post office considers mail "lost":
posted on September 28, 2001 07:57:55 PM
The package may still get there. The post office has been slower than ever lately. What if you refund and they get the package? Tell them if they neg you will neg back.
