INR received. Tracking shows nothing since 10/4. Do I just refund?
- Sat, Oct 412:00amIn Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late
- Fri, Oct 312:00amIn Transit to Next Facility
- Thu, Oct 212:00amIn Transit to Next Facility, Arriving On Time
- Wed, Oct 112:00amIn Transit to Next Facility, Arriving On Time
- Tue, Sep 308:47pmArrived at USPS Regional Origin FacilityCHARLOTTE NC DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 28057
- Tue, Sep 3012:00amIn Transit to Next Facility, Arriving On Time
- Mon, Sep 294:12pmDeparted Post OfficeBUFFALO, SC 29321
- Mon, Sep 294:12pmEstimated delivery date updated to Fri, Oct 3
- Mon, Sep 293:39pmUSPS in possession of itemBUFFALO, SC 29321
- Mon, Sep 2910:41amShipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting ItemBUFFALO, SC 29321
- Mon, Sep 2912:00amShipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting ItemBUFFALO, SC 29321
- Mon, Sep 297:41amTracking number providedAs you can see it's lost somewhere by USPS. I bought postage on Ebay. Do I refund for the INR?
23 comments
golfingaddict
·10 months agoPersonally, I would refund the buyer. I would then immediately file an insurance claim with the USPS. Last winter I had a run of issues like this and USPS refunded me.
However, I have questions about how the new INR policy announced at Open, would actually work.
If the package is later delivered, will eBay refund the seller if the seller voluntarily refunded in order to avoid a defect?
What will they refund? Shipping and cost of item? Fees? Will defects be removed if the seller did wait for eBay to step in?
I'd like to see more details about the new eBay policy regarding refunding sellers for INR 's that later show up.
reallynicestamps
·10 months agoPut the tracking information into the Dispute.
Do it yourself, manually, by hand.
Don't trust eBay on this.
They have the information but they want to see that you are engaged.
The information usually gives you a day or two respite for delivery.
But do it yourself.
The list looks long but you bought the label on Monday, USPS recorded it eight hours later, and it was not likely to be delivered on Saturday.
mam98031
·10 months agoThis is great advice, however it has nothing to do with "trusting" Ebay. It simply is what the process requires of us sellers. While it may not make sense to those of us that make sure the tracking is uploaded when we ship doesn't matter. Ebay requires we enter the tracking number when an INR is filed.
mam98031
·10 months agoIf a buyer contacts you with a delivery issue or if the buyer opens an INR, IMHO these are the steps to take.
If an INR was opened, make sure you upload the tracking number to the INR right away.
Go to USPS website and review the detail tracking info.
On this tracking screen there is a place to file for email updates as there is movement on the tracking. Sign up for that so you get informed right away when something gets entered to the tracking.
Go and file for a TRACE, I don't recommend filing for Missing Mail just yet. The two are completely different actions. The Trace usually gets the job done quicker.
https://usps.my.site.com/emailus/s/package-inquiry
Contact your buyer. Keep all contact inside the INR filed so everything is recorded on the claim. Let your buyer know you are working with USPS to get their package delivered. Apologize for the delay. And let them know you filed a trace which takes between 48-72 hours for USPS to respond. As you get any information you will update the buyer right away. Assure your buyer that you are working this problem and will continue to do so until a proper resolution.
If there is movement on the tracking within the last 7 days, Ebay will keep the INR open. Do not voluntarily issue the refund yet. It is highly likely the package is going to get delivered, it is just late. Annoying for the buyer for sure. Just stay in touch with them and assure them you are working on a resolution.
bill.purvis2012
OP10 months agoI was under the impression that there was something different with EBAY on postage purchased from them when an item doesn't get delivered. INR. Didn't I see that they were now coverling the loss?
participatrophy
·10 months agoYou did. It was announced at eBay open and in the Sept seller news thing.
https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/news/2025-september/inr-policy-updates
jonathanbrightlight
·10 months ago@bill.purvis2012
Notably, the change is not strictly about items that are not delivered, but specifically items that are late, enough so that the buyer files and wins an Item Not Received case, and then after that, the item is eventually delivered. An item that is never delivered is treated the same way as before.
gator08041971
·10 months ago@bill.purvis2012
Use this link for USPS to do a missing mail search before doing any refunds or filing a missing package request:
https://www.usps.com/help/missing-mail.htm
Always start with a missing mail search request. This often will knock the package loose and back into progressing. If USPS comes back and tells you to file for a lost package after a few days, you can do that, and then refund the buyer. USPS will usually take a few days to process that reimbursement. They will cover the shipping cost and up to the limit of whatever the insurance coverage was, or the items sold value if it was equal or less than the insurance coverage.
I have had to go through this myself on one occasion. And it involved a forwarder too. I got refunded by USPS, the buyer got refunded by me/eBay, and the package still got delivered eventually a couple weeks later anyway. USPS was the one that ate that transaction.
caldreamer
·10 months agoUSPS tracking indicates that item will be delivered late. USPS will NOT give the Seller a refund if the item is delivered late. So I would NOT refund money unless the customer is demanding a refund.
stainlessenginecovers
·10 months agoI've had packages 'semi-lost' for up to 2 weeks, 3 weeks in total. I would just respond to the INR with the tracking number, as I've done in the past. Then, I message the buyer letting them know that '"ometimes USPS gets a bit messed up but out of 25000+ packages shipped using them the past 10+ years, not 1 has NOT made it to the final destination. I will keep an eye on this package and if doesn't 'move' in 1 week, I will refund you. I will also open a 'missing mail' with USPS. You will see it on the tracking in a day or 2"
(I then do that 'missing mail' and it always shows up)
12345jamesstamps
·10 months agoCheck buyer in feedbacks to see if buyer ID states USA or another country.
It might be 'freight forward' from USA to another and didn't get a scan.
Don't contact buyer...let buyer contact you.
bashort
·10 months agoThere has already been a INR opened, if you wait past the deadline and the buyer askes ebay for help it will be a unresolved case.
Opening a "missing mail" case with the USPS is a absolute total waste of time and accomplishes absolutely nothing in my opinion, you really think they are actually going to expend any effort to find your one tiny missing item in the millions of packages in the system at any one time.
gator08041971
·10 months ago@bashort
Opening a "missing mail" case with the USPS is a absolute total waste of time and accomplishes absolutely nothing in my opinion
Well in my case it was the correct procedure to follow. Do the missing mail, USPS will "look" and give up after a week if its not updated in that time frame, then will tell you to file for a claim. I'm pretty sure this goes toward getting the claim approved as well.
With regards to the INR:
Wait till the day before you need to respond, then update the tracking with the tracking number that you got when you bought the label (regardless of where you bought it), even if its already on the order page. Copy/paste it into the INR case. This extends the deadline for a response and tells eBay you are on top of the INR yourself while you wait for USPS to update with your missing mail request.
But you can do what you want obviously.
thehustlebee
·10 months agoIf it’s a lower-value item, it’s usually easier to just refund and move on. But if it’s over $100, I personally wouldn’t refund right away.
Go through the normal follow-up process first:
Open a missing mail search with USPS.
Keep the buyer updated so they feel reassured you’re not ignoring the issue.
If it’s officially declared lost, then refund or file a claim. No need to take the loss too early, especially on higher-value items.
12345jamesstamps
·10 months ago'INR opened'...my point was to know if item went 'freight forward'...thus contacting buyer who opened an INR and emailing them that it takes longer to go from our country to their country...and asking buyer to perhaps wait longer...it's does happen a lot where a scan hasn't happened and thus we see in tracking the phase 'in transit to next facility..."which can say that for months. I have been there.
I am assuming you don't get a lot of 'freight forward' like I have.
Even if seller googled the address it might show it went freight forward from Florida or Delaware or Oregon, etc. where it is a square with a bunch of store fronts.
And I would only contact buyer if seller knows it's going freight forward to calm the buyer.
Giving a refund just like that without knowing what happened is not what I would do.
I think seller has like 4 days to refund.
The time frame for 'freight forward' shipping is too short...it like needs another 2 weeks added to those sometimes. New buyers do not understand this.
Anyway, some advice is better than none.
albertabrightalberta
·10 months agoI disagree.
EVERY time I've had a package that seems "stuck" and I've opened a missing mail case, the case seems to shake the package loose from wherever it's stuck. USPS uses their GPS and can see the last location and each time, delivery is made within a couple of days.
The reason this works is because they know that they'll be on the hook for a lost package insurance claim and if finding the stuck item saves them from having to pay out, they make the effort.
gator08041971
·10 months ago@albertabrightalberta
What @mam98031 said jostled my memory.
It was a Trace that I had submitted first, then it was a missing mail claim I filed second. I had mistakenly mixed up the two things I had mentioned (Missing mail/Claim) and forgot it was called a Trace that you do first.
Which is what I had done in the one INR that I had gotten last year. After the trace, USPS told me to open a missing package claim, which I did, and I had then refunded the buyer, USPS refunded me, and the buyer still got their item a couple weeks later.
Just wanted to clarify that part.
mam98031
·10 months agoYes, sometimes I do have the SHOCK factor !!! I hope I didn't hurt you!!! LOL ðŸ˜
I'm with you. I find filling the Trace works much better than the Missing Mail claim. I know others will have better luck with the Missing Mail, but for me, and I've filed a lot of these things over the years, the Trace works best for me.
jonathanbrightlight
·10 months ago@gator08041971 Is a Trace the same thing as the Service Request form on the USPS website? I have heard that term but I don’t see it mentioned on the USPS site anywhere.
mam98031
·10 months agoThey changed how they worded stuff on their site and I'm not sure they are still calling it a Trace. But it is a separate function.
https://usps.my.site.com/emailus/s/package-inquiry
A Missing Mail report is done on this link.
https://emailus.usps.com/s/package-inquiry
Experience tells me these two types of reports are handled differently. But the site has made it a little confusing on how to do a Trace. IDK why they did this as the Trace report is usually very effective for me and the Missing Mail report not so much, even though it is suppose to have a higher priority.
bashort
·10 months agoIn order to draw this conclusion it would be necessary to take a large number of lost packages and file missing mail reports on 1/2 of them and compare results.
The whole lost mail report is just ridiculous, just another step added by USPS to delay and deny responsibility.
USPS systems already are well aware your package is stuck somewhere evidenced by the repeated 12:00 ghost scans. Whatever a "missing mail" report does to shake a package loose should be automated.
bill.purvis2012
OP10 months agoNo, it's US.
12345jamesstamps
·10 months agoCity and state?