eBay

matmarcinczy_0 · ‎04-11-2018

Hi,

I sold an item on 3/27/18 and shipped it to the buyer by USPS Priority Mail the same day. Tracking data shows that it arrived at and departed it's regional distribution center on 3/29/18. It then showed "In Transit To Next Facility" on 3/30/18, 3/31/18, and 4/1/18. On 4/1/18 it showed that it was delayed and would not be delivered by it's delivery date (which was 4/1/18). There has been no update to the tracking data since then.

The buyer, understandably, opened an "item not received" request. After being patient for several days he has now requested a refund. I have no problem giving him a refund, he didn't get the item he paid for.

My question is: What can I do to minimize my losses here? I filed a missing package report with USPS on 4/6/18 but have no success with that as of yet. In the claim I instructed them to deliver the package to the buyer when it is found. Since he now wants a refund I need to change that so it is returned to me. Is there a way to make a claim with eBay directly? What is my best course of action?

Did anyone go through any similar experiences? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

myboardid · ‎11-01-2019

The only protection you have for lost packages is insurance. this is true no matter what carrier you use. Used judiciously - only when the loss is too much for you - it is a useful tool.

Note - it works well for LOST packages, not so much for damaged items. Most insurance companies will fight you and say you didn't package well enough. I had to fight one once (but I eventually won) because somewhere on the package's travels someone stuck a forklift through it. Pretty hard to protect your package from that.

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Successful and experienced seller since 1997, over 70,000 feedback, boardie since the boards were begun.

turquoisetulips · ‎11-01-2019

@worldproblemsolver wrote:
This just happened to me and it totally sucks!!! Sold an item for $450 and shipped by USPS Priority Mail with Sig Confirmation. It didn't arrive after two weeks and still showed as In Transit. Filing online Missing Mail with USPS got nowhere. Buyer, then understandably, files with eBay stating he never got. Which is true. He didn't want to wait and I can't say I blame him, so I refunded his money. But before I did that, I also filed a Package Intercept request with USPS, so hopefully the item will come back to me. Still waiting to see what happens as who knows where the package is at this point. This whole thing has really shaken my faith in USPS. Next time when shipping anything over what I'm willing to lose, I will either ship Express Priority or get full insurance amount. Either way, this is messed up on USPS's part. How is one supposed to operate a business like this??

The worst part is USPS is part of our government so fighting them over anything [ even when its their error ] is pretty much useless . Did you ever get the item back at least ? Tulips