Item lost in Mail

[kirkes_imports]

Hello! I'm a relatively new eBay seller and I have found myself in position I not totally sure how to handle. 

A buyer purchased an item and I got it all processed and shipped, no problem, another normal day. 

About 6 days later now my buyer messaged me with the subject " Request to Cancel Order" because the package had not yet arrived and the tracking info says its been "In Transit to next facility" for four consecutive days now. I submitted a missing mail request to the USPS and have been keeping my buyer updated on any new information. We just got over a long weekend, and the USPS has had alerts of shipping delays due to weather all across the country. I told my buyer that if the package hasn't arrived and no new information came from USPS by the coming Friday I would cancel the order (as requested) and they would be issued a refund. The buyer followed up by asking if it would be possible to just send a replacement for the lost item. 

I'm not sure how to handle the situation from here. I don't want to ship a replacement just for the original order to be cancelled and now I'm out 2 items without having been paid for either. I've read through as much of the policies as I could find but none of them seem to cater to this particular situation or I'm simply not understanding the policies themselves.

  What actions need to be taken by either myself (the seller) and/or my buyer to keep the two of us AND ebay happy? 

The Best solution I have come up with is to cancel the original order and refund the buyers money. Then process a new order for the same part and just hope this one doesn't get lost in transit. 

In my search for answers I've read a couple threads of buyers taking advantage of missed tracking scans by postal companies to get free stuff and now my guard is up.

Thank you in advance for any advice!

[lakefor94]

What city is the shipment stuck in?

I would not send another item unless the buyer purchases another of the item.

The USPS should call you within 3 business days with an update. Usually on the 3rd day.

Keep the buyer informed. I would not refund or cancel. Buy some more time with the buyer with your communication skills. Deliveries can experience delays, it is part of logistics. Delays happen. 

[lux.ra_14]

Six days is way too soon to say the package is lost. Ask the buyer to be patient a bit longer. Chances are the tracking will update shortly. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Your buyer is being very impatient!  IMHO one week is too soon for the buyer to be asking for a replacement, or for you to be offering a refund.

I checked a couple of your listings from about a week ago; they offer "Standard shipping" which is a category that eBay uses mostly for ground shipping such as USPS Ground Advantage.  It's not at all surprising that it could take over a week.  The USPS notation about "in transit" is a placeholder used when a package isn't scanned for about 24 hours. In the case of a ground shipping service, that probably means that it's on a truck on its way to your buyer. As noted, there have been weather issues, but also sometimes there are personnel-related delays just in unloading a truck.

[wastingtime101]

As others said, it's way too early to be considered lost! I would not cancel either. If it comes down to it, I would advise the buyer to file a non-receipt claim.

Buyer can't file a claim before the latest estimated delivery date eBay provided at the time of their purchase.

If there are recent tracking scans (can't remember if it's within 10 days? or 7 days? to be considered recent on a domestic sale - eBay's changed it a few times), eBay will put an extension on the claim to allow more time for delivery.

While you can refund the buyer if you want, there's really no reason to jump to that kind of loss after only a week.

There are several locations around the country where USPS is experiencing delays due to weather, staffing, sorting machinery (lack of), and other factors. I was going through a bunch of recent shipments yesterday and more than half arrived several days (or more) past eBay's estimated delivery dates.

[kirkes_imports]

Tracking shows that the latest facility it was processed through was Nashua, NH. The same city the buyer is located. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@kirkes_imports wrote: ... the latest facility it was processed through was Nashua, NH. The same city the buyer is located. 

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Uh-oh. Now I'm wondering whether this is just a case of failure to do the Delivery scan.