shipping problems

[eland375]

Do any of you power sellers have any advice for my about shipping. Ebay is not helping. The post office seems to have lost one of my packages and the poor lady is upset because its a collectable and a Xmas present for her son, it can't be replaced. The tracking is telling me it went from Pa to New Jersey to the Sort Facility and it is showing still in transit. Its been 16 days. Do I have to refund the person the money she sent. The postman says I can't even put in a lost report for 30 days and then he said they rarely find the things. Are they responsible at all? He is telling me that unless you use priority mail (which I can/t cause some of my items are really big and heavy, then it could take weeks because they go on a truck and if the truck if full they just wait. I am really stressed about this. I returned someones money last week because she said that ebay said she would have it in 4 days and it was 6 days and she didnt have it and it was a gift so I gave her her money back and then she recieved it the next day. HELP----I just last week made power seller and I have really worked to get there and now I am constantly afraid something will mess me up with feedback or such. any advice would really be welcome...........Kathleen

[iankimmerly]

Don't Panic.

Reply to your customer and remind her that Christmas is three weeks away and much will happen before then. (OK it's 17 days, but we're schmoozing here.)

Did you insure the shipment?

Did you use Delivery Confirmation, which would cost about a quarter if purchased online? If so, give her the DC number and chill.

Remind her that there are more items in the mail at this time of year but that the PO also takes on extra help.

Ignore your postman. Take the parcel number (DC number) and look it up on USPS dot com. If you used Delivery Confirmation it will not be recorded at every stop. Tell your customer so. Give her the DC number. It won't do her any good, but might reassure her that the parcel is at least on its way.

If your customer seems sane, let her know that DC means that the parcel is recorded when it is given to the PO and when it is delivered to her doorstep, but rarely in between and those recordings are usually done by an overworked employee. And that it is amazing how many stops a parcel makes before delivery.

Losses in the mail are vanishingly rare. And I speak as one who has been doing mail order for over 30 years. The world's postal systems are amazingly good at their jobs. Sometimes a little slow, but good.

Be friendly and cheerful with your panicky customer. Assure her that the parcel has been sent. Remind her of the time until Christmas. Give her a date that you will be back in touch. (December 13 is a week from now). Get in touch the day before and enquire about delivery. Tell her then that you will refund if she has not recieved it by December 14. And then, if she hasn't, refund with a request that she refund the refund WHEN the parcel arrives.

And I hope you have politely reminded your earlier customer that she should be refunding her refund. Ethically, neither of you should have both the money and the item.

I'm in Canada and our post office is much slower than USPS. As a result, we Canadian sellers are more laid back about these complaints. We use communication, politeness, concern and sympathy to keep our customers soothed until Canada Post completes the job. Which they do. And then we get positive feedback.