Buyer Reported they did not receive item - but did - and $$ was refunded

[gemcity400]

I recently sold and item Oct 2 - shipped Oct 4 and Delivered  - I added usps tracking.  Item showed delivered.  Buyer made claim they did not receive item.   I called her post office (it was a very rural area) and the nice man at the post office knew the area and looked it up and said, yes - it was delivered.   I contacted buyer - told them I called PO and it was indeed delivered (I gave her specifics of the delivery).  They messaged me back on through eBay and said their neighbor had it as they were on vacation but still let the case go on as though they did not receive the package.  I have screen shots.   I get notification from eBay they have refunded them and I now have a strike on my account and out payment for item.   The buyer then messages me again and wants me message them on FB.  I messaged them through eBay I want this cleared up on eBay.   The buyer had deleted their previous messages to me through eBay.   I appealed and included a screen shot of them indicating they received the item.  When I try to appeal eBay tells me I can't - the case has been closed and decision is final. I am getting screwed over.   Any suggestions on what I can do?

[kabilab]

Gem. your post caught my eye, as my hometown of Dayton is called the Gem City.

I do not have any suggestions as to your problem, BUT, going forward, suggest you become a proponent of the first rule I learned, on this board, 6 yrs. ago. NEVER attempt to sell any item on the Internet, the loss of which would cause you stress.

As an example, I sold a DVD for $279. My cost was $5 AND I had attempted and failed to move the item for approx. 10 yrs. All went well, but if not, that's life.

[ittybitnot]

Any suggestions on what I can do?

@gemcity400 

Try contacting eBay via one of their social media portals.  Use the blue message button here: 

https://www.facebook.com/eBay/

or one of these

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

https://x.com/askebay

Let us know what you find out. 

[gloryglorygifts]

In the future, have your buyer open a INR (item not received) case. You will then get a notice from ebay asking you to upload tracking, which you do immediately. They investigate and then refund the customer because they are covered under the buyer protection policy. Nothing comes out of your pocket. The policies are in place to protect not only the buyer but also you as a seller. Use them! 

It sounds like they did open a case and you ignored it? That is a defect on you. Since you have the screenshots, you can try to appeal it. I've had success with a case that was already closed, the buyer refunded and receiving the item. This may help you and hopefully the link works. https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling/seller-performance-overview/appeal-defect?id=4871&st=3&pos....

I like dealing with the support on FB. Contact them at https://www.facebook.com/ebay/. 

Good luck to you. 

[gemcity400]

I am in the Gem City!!   It's not even being ripped off the of the item that bothers me - it's 1) that I now have a strike as a seller - I was proud to have a good record.  2) you go around in circles with/on eBay.   In my opinion, sellers get little support from jerk buyers.  Many of my seller friends have abandoned eBay for this reason.  This is my first flub transaction. 

[fern*wood]

Did you actually enter the tracking number into the opened case?  That is what the ebay bots would check.

[bdmh-enterprises]

Unfortunately this looks like another case of a seller listening to ebay's poor advice of 'working things out with the buyer'. This is all well and good BEFORE a case is filed, but when that happens everything is automated and timed and the only real options are respond with a tracking number or a refund. It seems the case went to time while you were contacting the buyer.

This is understandable though, as it's absolutely ridiculous and unintuitive that you would have to enter the tracking at all considering it's automatically added to the transaction when you buy the label!

Definitely take your case to the social media reps suggested above. It seems like you'd have a decent chance.

[bonanza125]

@gemcity400 

Would like to know your answer to what gloryglorygifts ask. When you first received the case did you upload the tracking number? Did you ignore the case when you received it and instead contacted the buyer directly through message?

[jerseyboymusic]

@gemcity400 

When the buyer opened a item not received dispute, did you upload the tracking to that claim, or just make phone calls?

When you upload the tracking number to the claim, and show tracking info, these things tend to close out in the seller's favor

[soh.maryl]

Did you or did you not follow protocol? If there was tracking proving tracking, did you or did you not enter the tracking # into the case? That is absolutely all you needed to do.  There were no circles to go around.  

[inhawaii]

The buyer would not have been refunded unless you did not follow proper protocol.