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Two Separate Coin Envelopes — Buyer Says Neither Arrived. What Would You Do?
Summary: coffieman16rr7, an eBay seller of coins and collectibles, sought advice on a situation where a buyer reported not receiving two separately mailed coin envelopes. Both were sent from the Post Office without tracking, and coffieman16rr7 confirmed the buyer's address issues but found it unusual that both envelopes failed to arrive. They are looking for guidance on how to proceed fairly while protecting themselves, contemplating whether to document the situation with eBay or issue refunds.
Hi everyone,
My name is Adam Adams, and I sell coins and collectibles on eBay under the username coffieman16rr7. I’m looking for some advice from other sellers about a situation I haven’t run into before.
A buyer purchased two separate coins from me. I mailed both on August 28th, but they were sent in two completely separate envelopes. I personally took both envelopes to the Post Office. Because they contained coins, the postal employee classified them as non-machinable, so I paid the additional postage on each envelope. The postal employee printed and applied the postage. Once that was done, I was specifically told that I could no longer touch or take possession of the envelopes. The employee laid them out on the counter so I could take photos, and USPS retained them for mailing. I have photos of both envelopes at the Post Office showing the buyer’s address, USPS postage, and the August 28th mailing date. Unfortunately, this postage did not include tracking. The buyer is now telling me that neither envelope ever arrived. He says he checked with his mail carrier and his local Post Office and they do not have them. I also questioned the address because the buyer recently changed his eBay shipping address to a PO Box. He confirmed that he still lives at the physical address eBay provided me when the purchases were made, and he says mail addressed to his physical address normally gets routed to his PO Box. The buyer has been communicating with me and I want to treat him fairly. At the same time, I’m having a hard time understanding how two completely separate envelopes, both accepted by USPS at the counter, could both disappear and neither one reach the buyer. I haven’t accused the buyer of anything, and I don’t want to jump to conclusions. I’m trying to figure out the fairest way to handle this while also protecting myself as a seller. What would you experienced eBay sellers do in this situation? Would you contact eBay and document everything before doing anything else? Would you refund both purchases even though there were two separate mailings? Has anyone had a buyer report that multiple independently mailed items all failed to arrive?
I appreciate any advice, especially from sellers who regularly ship coins or other small collectibles.
Adam²
eBay: coffieman16rr7
🪙 Collector • Seller • Always Hunting for the Next Great Piece
lady_madonna
Mentor1 week agoSince they were sent without tracking, you will need to refund the buyer if they filed a Refund Request.