Returned to Sender (Me, seller) because "Did not have access to mailbox for a week"

My buyer informed me that their package was returned to me because they could not access their mailbox for a week, and is asking if I will send it to them again if they pay for shipping.

According to the USPS tracking page the package was delivered, but then several days later (about 2 days ago) it was apparently marked as "unclaimed/being returned to sender." I didn't get any notification about this, and so far I have not received the return, and eBay itself still says the transaction is completed and doesn't show tracking info past the delivery date.

So what should I do? Mark the order as "not delivered"? Will it give me the option to charge shipping again, and will this be taken from my pay for the order? As far as I'm concerned this is on the buyer, so it should not fall on me to do anything, but that's kind of a **bleep** move and will hurt my seller rating so I want to facilitate the buyer's needs as best I can without compromising my own interests.

quirkboard

28 View listings

Posted 2 years ago · Edited 2 years ago·Last reply 2 years ago

10 comments

quirkboard

OP2 years ago

28 View listings

Thank you for all the helpful experience and suggestions shared here. The option I ended up going with was to use PirateShip.com to buy a label and then charge the customer an invoice with PayPal with the cost of the label.

worldcoinauctions

·2 years ago

968 View listings

I would set up a fixed price listing for the shipping cost + fees with "free shipping" and have the buyer purchase that, then ship it as before.

wastingtime101

·2 years ago

0 View listings

@quirkboard

This is my standard advice for RTS (returned to sender) packages. Take the parts that are relevant to your situation.

You have a few options. You should decide which route you'll be taking and communicate with the buyer, but wait until the item is returned (and delivered) to you before you take any of the following actions.

You can refund the buyer the item cost minus original shipping and minus a portion of your eBay fees (fee credits are prorated on a partial refund so you won't get back fees on the shipping amount you withhold). Go to your orders page, find the transaction and select "send refund." On the next page enter the amount. After that, relist the item and if you still want to work with this buyer you can tell them to repurchase it with the correct name/address.
Have the buyer sort out their address issue then pay for re-shipping. Send them an invoice through PayPal or give them your PayPal e-mail. This is post-sale so it's OK to exchange e-mail addresses. It's also OK to ship to a different address because it's technically not tied to the original transaction. You would not purchase the shipping label through eBay or upload tracking to the transaction. You would purchase it from an alternate site like pirateship.com or paypal.com/shipnow and you can send the buyer the new tracking # through e-mail or eBay messages.
A different way to accomplish buyer payment for re-shipping is to create an eBay listing for the shipping cost (bumping it up to factor in eBay fees) and having the buyer purchase it, entering their correct address at checkout. You could purchase a shipping label through eBay for that transaction.
You can cancel the transaction "problem with address" which will trigger a full refund to the buyer and your FVF would be credited.
You can do nothing. The buyer's MBG protection is voided when there's a package delivery attempt. I don't recommend this because even though you'll win an INR (item not received) claim on eBay, there's nothing stopping that buyer from going to their credit card to file a dispute and why deal with all that? I also think handling it before it gets to this stage with a partial refund is the "right" thing to do if you're not going to make reshipping arrangements.
You might also want to direct the buyer to this page so their address is updated for future purchases: Account Settings: Addresses

quirkboard

OP2 years ago

28 View listings

Thank you for that comprehensive answer. I appreciate all the options you suggested.

From what I can tell this was not a problem with the address on file, but rather that the buyer just couldn't physically get to the mailbox for some reason.

I am not comfortable sharing personal emails with buyers. I am going to seek an option that provides no more detail than what ebay would provide and which won't involve me getting penalized with additional fees. For your 3rd option, what would stop me from creating an item with $0 cost and only a shipping fee, since that's technically what they're paying for? How does a fee factor in in this case?

wastingtime101

·2 years ago

0 View listings

@quirkboard wrote:
what would stop me from creating an item with $0 cost and only a shipping fee, since that's technically what they're paying for? How does a fee factor in in this case?

The system would prevent you. I believe minimum fixed price listing item cost has to be 99 cents. You pay a thirty cent transaction fee plus a variable (typically 13.25%) fee on every transaction - including shipping and sales tax.

Say shipping is $10 - bump the cost to $12.50 to factor in fees. If you charge $12.50, subtract fees and you're left with $10.54 for shipping. If there's sales tax, you're left with less than $10.54.

If you're not willing to exchange info to arrange ship cost through PayPal, Venmo, etc, you can create the eBay listing for the ship cost (I'd use the services category since you're just charging for a service (shipping), but it's probably easier to refund the buyer on the original transaction less your shipping and fees. Then have them start fresh with a new purchase. In the end the buyer is financially the same, but the transaction is cleaner. Up to you what works best for you.

12345jamesstamps

·2 years ago

8713 View listings

I suggest checking USPS site with tracking and maybe also check with clerk at a post office with tracking.

Tracking on eBay site has been running behind in updates on tracking.

I wouldn't send any refund to buyer. They need to open a claim first. And I wouldn't send emails to buyer...that only adds more confusion.

quirkboard

OP2 years ago

28 View listings

I did check with the USPS tracking site. It showed the package was delivered, then days later, marked as "unclaimed/returned to sender". I didn't even know it was possible for an item to be returned days after delivery. But evidently eBay doesn't care about any events that happen after the package is marked as delivered?

lakefor94

·2 years ago

113 View listings

If the buyer asked to pay for the reship, you can provide them your PayPal account and they can send you the money. I would then reship when the package is returned.

quirkboard

OP2 years ago

28 View listings

Is there not a way to do it through the eBay platform for safety?

kensgiftshop

·2 years ago

389 View listings

@quirkboard wrote:
Is there not a way to do it through the eBay platform for safety?

You might be able to buy another label through Ebay, but you'll have to get the money from the buyer another way.