INR 3 days after shipment? Nuts!

[2....1....0....sold!]

Buyer paid late on a Saturday.
Chose the SLOWEST shipping option we offer.
Listing clearly states, at the very top of the listing, the slow options is SLOW and can take 10 days or more.

Shipped on Monday from one side of the country to the other (they live in an obscure little town out in the middle of nowhere)
USPS closed on Thursday.

Friday the buyer opens an "item not received" dispute.

!. Why are they even allowed to open a "dispute" so quickly?

...and no, there's no tracking. It's a low value item shipped in a letter envelope and shipping with tracking would double/triple the buyers total cost. Even with tracking, ebay punishes me if it doesn't arrive? That's ridiculous. As I said, low value and I have no problem issuing a refund because the USPS does blow it on occasion.

I just feel like ebay is really working against me here. There should be no "DISPUTE" 3 days after shipment and the buyer should be directed to SPEAK WITH ME rather than start "DISPUTING" with me.

This is one of the major reasons why I've gone from a high of ~$180,000 is sales through ebay down to just just ~$10,000 this year.

Is this unreasonable?

1. Buyer unhappy it didn't arrive overnight even though they paid for 2 week shipping.
2. Ebay informs buyer the shipping option is up to 10 days.
3. Ebay offers to connect buyer with seller to discuss.
4. I speak with them, explain the situation, and provide good customer service.
5. If 10 days pass, I would refund...if I didn't, THEN ebay should allow a "dispute" process.

How old is ebay, 25 years?...and this process is like the place opened yesterday and some high school intern wrote the "dispute policy" at 1AM in 15 minutes.

[a_c_green]

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@2....1....0....sold! wrote:

!. Why are they even allowed to open a "dispute" so quickly?

...and no, there's no tracking. It's a low value item shipped in a letter envelope and shipping with tracking would double/triple the buyers total cost. Even with tracking, ebay punishes me if it doesn't arrive? That's ridiculous.

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You're not being "punished" but you do need to prove delivery, or else the buyer gets refunded as there is no evidence that he received his purchase. On a package with tracking that disappears en route, USPS will refund you if your choice of Shipping method includes insurance.

If you ship with tracking, the buyer should not be able to file an INR if it's not yet past the latest Estimated Date of Delivery, but when you ship without tracking, I suspect the INR can be filed as soon as you're past your Handling Time with no evidence of shipment.

I can't see what the listing was and you've made your feedback private, so I can only make a best-guess here, but your next step might be to send a diplomatic message to the buyer through the dispute to explain the estimated travel time for his choice of Shipping method (assuming you offered more than one), and ask him to be a little more patient.

[2....1....0....sold!]

I did explain through the dispute; haven't heard from the buyer yet.

My gripe is there should be no "dispute" 3 days after shipment...that's just ridiculous and does nothing but ruin everyone's "ebay experience".

Ebay OVERPROMISES delivery speed and then punishes sellers when the USPS fails to meet the ebay promise. I routinely see REDICULOUS "time estimates" for even my faster shipping methods. There is no way a 1st class package is going to go for from the east to west coast in 3 days...yet, that's what my listing says thanks to ebay and there's nothing I can do about it.

[spark-chaser1]

No advice, just a comment. You got good advice from others.

The buyer in this case is completely unreasonable. It sounds like they saw something and wanted/ needed it so badly they just hit the buy button and hoped for the best. 

And then a minute later stood at the mailbox at 2 am waiting for it...

Sorry that happened to you. I feel for sellers here, I really do.

[a_c_green]

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@2....1....0....sold! wrote:

I did explain through the dispute; haven't heard from the buyer yet.

My gripe is there should be no "dispute" 3 days after shipment...that's just ridiculous and does nothing but ruin everyone's "ebay experience".

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I think the buyer did it in this case because without tracking, there is no evidence that the package was ever shipped. (Did you click on "Mark as Shipped" for that item on your Sold Items page? You can do that much even if you have no tracking number to add.)

eBay doesn't penalize you for late deliveries (though the buyer can file an INR). You can get a Shipping ding for not getting the package into the mail within your stated Handling Time, but not for any delays that the package may experience along the way after that.

[albertabrightalberta]

Although most buyers are honest, call me cynical but I suspect you didn't get one of them. There are buyers who look for items shipped without tracking knowing that the seller will have to issue a refund without tracking proving receipt by the buyer. 

I ship EVERYTHING with tracking and if the buyer wants it badly enough, they pay for shipping, the cost of which is either charged separately or built into the price of the item. And in doing so, I've never lost an INR claim.

[pjcdn2005]

@a_c_green 
If you ship with tracking, the buyer should not be able to file an INR if it's not yet past the latest Estimated Date of Delivery, but when you ship without tracking, I suspect the INR can be filed as soon as you're past your Handling Time with no evidence of shipment.

——— 

It doesn’t work like that.  The timeline for opening an inr is not based on whether or not there is tracking.  However, if there is no tracking eBay may refund after 3 days even if the buyer doesn’t escalate. 

[a_c_green]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

@a_c_green 
If you ship with tracking, the buyer should not be able to file an INR if it's not yet past the latest Estimated Date of Delivery, but when you ship without tracking, I suspect the INR can be filed as soon as you're past your Handling Time with no evidence of shipment.

——— 

It doesn’t work like that.  The timeline for opening an inr is not based on whether or not there is tracking.  However, if there is no tracking eBay may refund after 3 days even if the buyer doesn’t escalate. 

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Okay, I wasn't totally positive about that timeline, but the buyer doesn't get to file an INR immediately after purchase, does he? Is there any minimum period of time at all before which he can't file yet?

[714ricki]

Most of the time, the buyers are honest. However, there is always a risk for the seller by not using a shipping method without tracking.  As unfair as it sounds, the buyer can claim an item not received case at any time. You might have to just refund the buye to close the case & then hope you have an honest buyer who will tell you when it reaches them & make arrangements to pay again.

Good luck!

[lamber9347]

Sorry but you chose to ship without tracking so you cannot even prove you actually placed this item in the mail. I'm certain that you did and don't mean to accuse you just pointing this out. You expect this buyer who lives "in an obscure little town out in the middle of nowhere" to trust that you even shipped this when you are a perfect stranger to them. There were 4 business days passed when buyer opened the INR, not that unreasonable on a transaction with no tracking available to prove the item is moving in the system. Buyers are "directed" to speak to the seller first, that's posted everywhere, but they aren't obligated to do so- and should never be obligated either. Not every seller on here is reputable. Best of luck to you....

[pjcdn2005]

No, they are not supposed to be able to  file an inr until after the estimated delivery date whether or not there is tracking.  The op didn't say that it was before the estimated delivery date so I assumed that the edt was shorter than it should be.   I have heard of the odd case being opened early.  I'm not sure how that is possible but I'm sure that it isn't just because there is no tracking.