posted on June 21, 2003 05:30:39 AM
I'm a long time seller-not a newbie, however I still need advice from time to time.
I shipped a piece of clothing to a buyer several weeks ago and forgot to purchase a tracking number. I ALWAYS get tracking numbers but for some reason on this one batch of packages I just forgot. Brain damage I suppose!!
The buyer emails me and states that the package did not arrive. All of the other packages arrived at their destinations with no problems. The buyer did not purchase insurance. Now the individual wants their money back. Of course!
What would you do? The price was only 7.99 so I'm not particularly concerned about the money I just hate to be taken. Should I stick to my guns and refuse a refund on the basis of no insurance or go ahead and issue the refund and take the loss?
This situation has not arisen prior to this because I always track my packages (except this time). Your advice would be helpful.
posted on June 21, 2003 05:43:36 AM
My feeling is that INSURANCE is for the SELLER'S protection -- insure what you CANNOT EAT!
Considering that DC is either FREE or $0.13, it should be used on every packie just for PEACE-OF-MIND
I would inform the buyer that the USPS does not consider a packie LOST until 30days has elapsed -- at that time, file a trace. I would refund their moola, since it's a tiny amount & you may turn a PITA into a BIG-FAN & SPENDER!
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?" http://tinyurl.com/5duz
posted on June 21, 2003 06:22:30 AM
if he paid you via paypal,you have no choice but to refund if he files a complaint with paypal/
if he did not use paypal and did not purchase insurance,you can always say thats too bad,wait 30 days and we will file report with usps.
you dont have to be NICE to your bidders on ebay,it is up to you.
The post office has a form for Mail Loss / Rifling (#1510). This form can be filled out by the sender after 30 days from the date of shipment has expired. After the sender has completed their portion of the form, the receiver must also complete a portion.... including signing a federal form stating that they did not receive the package. Once the form has been completed, the post office will begin an investigation to find the package.
I find this to be an excellent way to deal with situations like this. You'd be amazed that while bidders have no problem trying to rip off a small time seller... they get a little nervous about trying to defraud the government. Plus, if they did truly not receive the package... this shows them that you are making a good faith effort to retrieve their item. (rather than just saying, no insurance... tough.). Plus... you might just get lucky and have the post office find the item! (although I wouldn't count on it). Hope that helps!
posted on June 21, 2003 06:49:21 PM
I am going through something similar as a buyer right now. It isn't a large amount, under $50. And the seller seems nice enough. But the package never arrived and the seller has no tracking number of any kind. There is insurance. I plan on filing the Buyer Complaint Form with Paypal this weekend to protect myself. As already stated, the insurance claim for missing items takes a long time, way past the Paypal deadline for filing a complaint, much less the inconvenient burden it places on the buyer. All I know is I paid for an item and I didn't get it. I don't know if the seller wrote an incorrect address on the label, or if the item was poorly packaged and so it came apart during transit, or any other reason that might be the fault of the seller. All I know is that I am not at fault at all. I dislike it when sellers assume that because the buyer never received the package that the buyer must be a crook. Whatever happened to believing the best in people until there is evidence proving otherwise?
As a seller the few times this has happened to me over the past four years, before DC and eDC, I had the buyer wait another week, and if the package still did not show up I refunded the buyer's money. I feel strongly that it is wrong to make a buyer wait 90 days or however long to get their money back from the post office.
Also, as a seller, I insist that insurance is mandatory, no matter what the item is or how much it costs. Every package that I ship has insurance on it and eDC.
posted on June 21, 2003 07:41:05 PM
copolady, This is a no brainer REFUND THE MONEY. I have made several refunds through the years and write them off as a business at tax time.
