Customer requesting refund because of shipping delays

[the_tcg_wizard]

I have a customer who wants a refund, (i have no refund policy) because the item hasnt been scanned by USPS in over a week. I feel like once its in the hands of USPS and scanned by them, It is now out of my hands and I should not be responsible for the item being delivered and should not be on the hook to refund the customer as I am not in any way in control of the transportation of the item. If an item is lost by the post company why should I take a loss when I did my part in shipping it on time? And for context the item WAS scanned in by USPS in a different state than i shipped it from. 

[mtgraves7984]

Yes... sellers are charged with delivery of any sold item. If your buyer hasn't received the item by one day past the Estimated Delivery Date on the order, they can open and Item Not Received claim. To win that case, you'll have to provide a 'Delivered' scan. Let's hope your package keeps moving. Good luck.

[masim5393]

You picked the shipping method, you're responsible for making sure the buyer either gets their item or gets a refund.

---

@the_tcg_wizard wrote:

I have a customer who wants a refund, (i have no refund policy) because the item hasnt been scanned by USPS in over a week. I feel like once its in the hands of USPS and scanned by them, It is now out of my hands and I should not be responsible for the item being delivered and should not be on the hook to refund the customer as I am not in any way in control of the transportation of the item. If an item is lost by the post company why should I take a loss when I did my part in shipping it on time? And for context the item WAS scanned in by USPS in a different state than i shipped it from. 

---

[whattheactualfox]

As far as I know, ebay does not require you to refund a buyer if the item is delayed. Its only if it was never received. if they want to return it, your policy applies (no refunds.) If they open a case I would let ebay know about shipping and the delay so they understand the situation. From a customer service POV, I would refund them shipping, that way it might ease the situation.

[monster-deals]

---

@the_tcg_wizard wrote:

 (i have no refund policy) 

---

No you don't, no one on ebay does.

[tcojunkman]

The USPS sure has been messing up my shipments lately .  a package going to Ma. shows "out for delivery" in Anchorage Alaska ??  Luckily I was able to get it back. Also due to the lack of scans , I got my seller ratings cut from Top rated to above standard. Which means higher fees. After talking with them at ebay  , they sent a letter suggesting I buy postage from ebay to fix the issue . And that tracking not being validated on time it did'nt give a "pleasant buyer experience"  Not even considering its USPS fault and I have NO control over there issues.   As usual its ALWAYS the sellers fault. So between the  pathetic USPS service anymore and the lousy "seller experience" ebay likes to show its sellers ( a seller for 20 years) I am done .Just not worth the hassle .

[powell-memorabilia]

@the_tcg_wizard 

Wow - no, just no.  

You are absolutely accountable for the performance of your chosen carrier.  You aren't responsible to deliver an item, but your contract is with the carrier, and the buyer has a contract with you.  If your chosen carrier doesn't deliver, that is between you and your carrier, not your buyer and the wind.  

Let us put the shoe on the other foot - if you ordered something, and it was not delivered, would you feel like you should receive a refund?   Let's make it a big purchase - a new car.  You buy a car - not on the lot, but the dealer orders from the manufacturer.  You pay for the car, and the dealer has it shipped to your home.  On the way, the truck has an accident, and your car is ruined.  Is your dealer on the hook, or just you?  When you contact the dealer, does he tell you to take it up with the shipping company?

[cadbury0007]

You should quickly go to the usps website and open a case with them for 'Missing Mail'.  I've had several times when a customer has messaged me to let me know that it's late, or in some cases, it's been delivered but it never arrived in their mailbox.  It works to get the package moving again. 

In some cases, somewhere along the way, an incorrect scan will occur and tracking will show the wrong information.   File a case, and inform your buyer of what you are doing to help find their package.  Tactful communication can be very helpful in smoothing out some ruffled feathers.

[bookscollectiblesandmore]

A seller just got a refund from me for a late package because of the post office. Then she received the package so I asked her for the money. She says she never got it. Here is the tracking number: 9449008205496444437354. I'm out the money now. So I thanked her and blocked her.

[asset_liquidators]

I am not going to speak on what ebay thinks but will state that by law you are responsible for getting the item to the customer and last I checked it has to be delivered within 30 days.

So in short, if the carrier loses the package it is on the sender not on the recipient but there is a 30-day window for it to turn up.

[pickermall]

There have been delays for months.... they should be "back to normal" as the pandemic comes to an end, but there are cities affected by protests, weather, etc. File the missing mail request on the USPS website and send the buyer a message with the USPS case number. It's pretty useless, but it can stave them off...

If you sent it Priority Mail, it IS insured if it does get lost.

[bookscollectiblesandmore]

I think if they still get the package eventually the insurance will be null and void. I'm in that situation right now.

[goldhawkickz13]

just want to see how stuck are the usps parcels for you guys, for mines, they had been very good first 3 months in 2021 from canada to usa. they all delivery on time, or faster than normal world era days.

but since late feb, esp end of march to april they are horriflying. i have 2 parcels stuck at "processed at isc chicago" for over 20 25 days now without anyone being able to tell me what's going on.

i call usps, canada postal almost every day trying to push someone to help. nothing happens.

i looked and found isc chicago's direct number and all they could tell me is they know where the container that has my parcel is, and most they could do is sample other parcel's tracking that's in the same container, which by 20th day of stucking there, most of them were delivered. so it would be weird that only mines are still in that almost empty container.

another theory they got for me is that my shipping label is ruined so they can't scan it and tossed aside for the mail recovery department to handle if i file a trace. that seems very slim because how lucky i would be having two parcel shipped seperately on two different container to just have my specificly destoryed label during transit.

or another theory is that they were larger than the automatic sorting machine could handle, requires manual sorting and they got no man power in the place due to covid.

which is also hard to imagine because similar size parcel i shiped along with them went smooth, fast, delivered.

so now everything going into chicago has me go really paranoided.

ny is another bad place as well. twice this year i got parcel that got "missent" to a wrong post office and get rerouted multipule times to multipule incorrect post office. one end up going dark with no further tracking update. one got fortunate that the local post office clerk promised to keep an eye for and got it delivered.

at this point i am very worry about buyer run out of patience, in fact one already gotten a refund. while item is stil so call "in transit" and ebay doesn't seems to care to extend the wait time for it to move.