(As Seller) How Do You Know A Package Is Lost?
I shipped this package to a buyer in another country two months ago, the tracking says it cleared custom a month ago, but no update since, the buyer never contacted me or anything. Now, the estimated delivery date shown on eBay is an estimated period between some time in February and April, so technically I have three more weeks until this package passes its estimated delivery time. The customer hasn't contacted at all, nor have they filed a case, perhaps this is common for the custom in their country, but should I just go ahead a file an insurance claim for lost package and refund the customer?
Or should I file the insurance, and wait till contacted by the customer to refund them?
Or do I not do anything at all until I'm contacted, or when the delivery time has passed?
What happens when I get the insurance money and the package eventually shows up?
slippinjimmy
·3 years ago@yifazhen2
I've read this thread a couple of times.....unless I missed something there are several important details you have not yet revealed.
1 - What country was this shipped to?
2 - What service was used (carrier / specific service)?
3 - What was the item?
4 - What was the value?
mam98031
·3 years agoSometimes the buyer actually receives the item but the tracking never gets updated. You have no way of knowing if the item is still in transit or delivered UNTIL the buyer contacts you to tell you. As so many have said, waiting is your best course of action.
Let's just say the buyer has received the item and the tracking never got updated. If you contact them to tell them the package is stuck in transit, they may insist of a refund with the full knowledge that they have the product. And if they fine an INR within the appropriate time frame, they can get the item for free.
So best to just wait.
reallynicestamps
·3 years agoThe customer hasn't contacted at all,
Don't do anything until he does.
And in future do not use Surface shipping.
frodobagginskennedy
·3 years agoDo not poke a sleeping bear. Wait until you hear from the buyer!
anasazirose
·3 years agoTracking for international deliveries sometimes takes forever to update. What I've learned from the wonderful volunteers on this board is to wait for the buyer to act, and wait for the buyer to act THROUGH PROPER EBAY CHANNELS.
I sent an item through EIS, and it took 2 months to be delivered. Under the new EIS program, once it safely got to the shipping center in the US, ebay is responsible for getting it to the buyer. If there is an INR , always get ebay involved, they are responsible for refunds of international sales and the seller keeps the sale.
I was, however, watching to see that it was actually delivered. When it finally was, I was relieved.
I ordered stickers for my grandson. They were sent from Thailand. 10 days after the scheduled delivery date, I filed an INR, a few days later they arrived. This was before EIS, so I messaged the seller that I wanted to pay for the item. I was instructed to rebuy it. My understanding was that they would not resend stickers, but they did. I just sent them to school for the teacher.
reallynicestamps
·3 years agoThey were sent from Thailand. ... This was before EIS,
Like the GPS* before it,EIS is not available to non-US sellers.
*GPS was also available to UK sellers.
movieman630
·3 years agoI don't know how packages are lost. Only the USPS gods know that.
I will say with over 20 years in the mail order business and using the USPS as my primary shipper I have not had many packages get totally lost (with the exception of December 2020).
In my experience a "delayed" package will 99.9% of the time be delivered by 4 weeks. If a delayed package hasn't been delivered by that 4 week date it's usually lost.
I don't know how or why this equation works but that 4 week date is a magical date for delayed delivery. For this reason I tell buyers I won't send replacements or issue refunds until that 4 week period has passed without delivery. If they open a case I tell them to close it if they still want the item replaced after that 4 weeks (if possible) and to let me know when that date arrives. If they keep the case open I'll have no choice but to refund them and quietly on my own end they get added to my BBL. I don't tell them that part.
I have a strict add to BBL for anyone who initiates a return or opens a case against me unless it was my fault. If I was wrong, I always make right by them.
In my other business off ebay I use the same policy in regards to "lost or delayed" mail.
albertabrightalberta
·3 years agoYou are handling this improperly.
An experienced seller knows that he/she should never tell a buyer to close a case to wait for the item or refund! And with the amount of experience you have as a seller, you know better than to tell a buyer to given up his buyer protection.
Of course you're entitled to block any buyer for any reason but to add a buyer to your BBL because they exercise their MBG rights in order to maintain protection isn't something a decent seller should do.
movieman630
·3 years agoNo you don't get it. It's not handling it "improper". Ebay only allows you 7 days to respond to these cases and if it's only been a week or two that's not enough time. I'm an honest seller, they're not giving up anything.
This is why I'm against opening cases per-emptively. They should email me first and ask questions. If they email first I will tell them the "4 week" policy. I've never had an issue with this policy. As I said 99.9% of the time they get the item just in the "nick of time" at that 4 week end zone and there's no need for any issue.
That other .1% of the time I send them a replacement and all is well. I eat the original item and shipping cost. So that's a good fair policy. If it's an item I can't replace I always send a full refund.
I've sent replacements early and have the buyer get 2 items in that 4 week window. Now I'm out 2 and shipping costs. I never get one back.
I've had buyers ignore my 4 week message in the case files and I have no choice but to issue full refunds to close out the case in ebay's 7 day window. Then they get the item a week later and I'm out the money and the item. ALMOST never do they repay or send the item back. This is why these buyers go on the BBL.
Ebay needs to extend the case window longer if you want to leave it open. Or at least allow us to "customize" our response time. IN other words plug in a date that if it's not delivered by ebay can give them a refund and lock it in. If it's two weeks later so be it. At least the seller is protected from losing both the item and the money because of shipping delays.
varebelrose
·3 years agoSeriously? You are telling buyers to close INR cases, when it is an actual INR? Of course they get refunded because thats how it is SUPPOSED TO WORK...
Where oh where is that blocked seller list many of us have been hoping for?
movieman630
·3 years agoAgain, I'm an honest seller so it doesn't really matter. In my opinion too many people open INR cases prematurely. They should just send a simple message first. Makes everything a lot easier. All my customers that do it my way always end up satisfied. They either get the item, a replacement or a refund.
Just have to wait to see if it gets delivered in that 4 week window.
Telling buyers to close a case isn't wrong if you're an honest seller that does right by them. Like I said, most people don't wait long enough. They open cases when a simple email would suffice. No reason to get "big brother" involved.
dbfolks166mt
·3 years agoAs others have advised do nothing with regards to contacting or refunding the buyer you are not at that point yet since the estimated delivery date has not yet passed. You did not specify which country this item was shipped to, what carrier you used or what class of postage. I will assume USPS and that you used an insured class of postage.
One issue is, depending on the country, USPS does not always interface with the carrier services in those countries so the tracking stops once that countries postal service takes possession of the item. While you cannot file a claim at this point you can, since no tracking updates have taken place in the last month, open a missing package case with USPS. Once the estimated delivery date has passed, that would be USPS's date not eBay's, you can open an insurance claim with USPS based on the following allowable timeframes.
If USPS pays you for the claim and the package eventually shows up it would depend. If the buyer opened an INR case and you had to refund the buyer nothing more to be done unless you can get the buyer to pay you for the package since it did arrive.
If the buyer does in fact pay you, in essence reversing the eBay refund, then you have a decision to make. Ethically you should contact USPS and repay them in kind since your buyer has paid you. What I would deduct from the refund to USPS would be the shipping cost you paid.
anjofak
·3 years agoJust fill out all the forms on the usps website, something is bound to do something, almost started my own postoffice doing that and ended up talking with a guy that QC political flyers or something president related 🤔..
anjofak
·3 years agoNot sure, but I know in one of the many stamp collections I've accumulated I found a 1840s letter not uncommon find many of these old letters kept for the stamps mainly, but this one has a letter and a uncashed check for $153.00, I often wonder about doing the hunt for the descendent and mailing it..
Especially since hearing about a letter making its wat to recipient after 100 years..
itscalledapostingid
·3 years agoI wouldn't worry. I think the buyer would have complained by now if they hadn't gotten it.
rugerskick
·3 years agoSometimes they wait until the last few days.
fashunu4eeuh
·3 years agoNo need to contact a quiet buyer—no news is good news. The item may well have been delivered and missed getting a delivery scan. So the time to take action is when the buyer contacts you with a concern.
If the buyer claims the item is not received, and it is 1) after the estimated delivery date, and 2) the tracking does not show a delivery or attempted delivery, then you refund. Once the buyer is made whole, then you investigate the matter on your end.
Once you review the carrier’s tracking data, and have talked to the carrier to put a trace on the package or whatever is possible to locate it, and the package has still not scanned, then it is likely a lost package. Then you attempt to collect on the shipping insurance, which is there to make you whole.
You never wait for the insurance payment to refund your buyer. Shipping insurance is strictly for you, the seller. The buyer does not need it. (They have the eBay Money Back Guarantee.)
Should the package eventually show up to the buyer after the refund, you hope for an honest person, because you would send them an invoice to to get a repayment. This wouldn't happen thru eBay since the transaction is completed when the buyer is refunded. You could go thru PayPal to generate a new invoice to send the buyer.
iamalwaysright
·3 years agoDon’t do anything as the time duration has not elapsed yet. Who is your insurance with? Does it need some sort of affidavit or form to be filled out by your buyer? If so, you can get that claim accepted now anyway since you’ve had no contact with the buyer yet. And no, I wouldn’t poke the bear and reach out to the buyer.
yifazhen2
OP3 years agoI should also note that it seems the buyer has 30 days to file an item not received claim after the latest delivery date, but since the estimated delivery period is so long, it turns out after the latest delivery date I only have 7 more days before I can file an insurance claim, wonder if there's any suggestion on that.
mam98031
·3 years agoThe latest ETA [estimated time of arrival] on the purchase at the time of purchase.
albertabrightalberta
·3 years agoUnless and until you hear from the buyer, do not do anything. I've found that there have been cases in which tracking hasn't shown delivery but my buyers have left feedback so I know it got there.
Most buyers are honest but there are some who, if you let them know tracking isn't showing that they received the item and you ask about it, you might make them realize that they can get a refund PLUS have the item that was delivered.
You can be sure that if it didn't arrive, the buyer will file INR, at which time you will have to issue a refund.