Buyer opened return request for "missing parts & pieces" but order not delivered yet

[andrew547]

As the title says, a buyer opened a return request for "missing parts & pieces", but the order has not yet been delivered.

I've learned enough to ask experienced members "how can I get burned by this (by ebay or the buyer) and how should I respond"?

My first response is always to work it out with the buyer, but again...reading the myriad ways sellers get burned unexpectedly (and wrongly in my view) by trying to do the right thing has me wanting to protect myself first, be nice second.

So I asked the buyer to call USPS to inquire about their package, close the return request because it was inappropriate, and deal with me directly. She said she called USPS but did not close the return request.

I suppose I could approve the request and let her suffer the consequences of having nothing to return. I could also complain to ebay about a fraudulent return request (per tracking, it has not arrived yet). I could wait to see what the buyer does.

Thoughts?

[andrew547]

Hold the presses...

This is really weird.

I was wrong. Buyer filed her claim on the 27th. When I saw the claim shortly after she filed it, on the 27th, I checked tracking. Tracking status was "in-transit". I am positive of this.

Later that night I checked tracking again and the status was "delivered"...but what I didn't notice was that the delivery time/date was 2pm the PREVIOUS DAY on the 26th.

WTH??? I find this very troubling.

I'm not concerned because buyer said the package had not been delivered in her SNAD claim, but I am very concerned that USPS is falsifying tracking/delivery data. 

I suddenly feel like I'm living in an alternate universe.

[andrew547]

Here is how I responded to the buyer when I saw the package was "delivered" per tracking, and her response:

Mar 27

The buyer sent you a message

Message

That is not correct. They have neither delivered the package nor have they located it.

Mar 27

You sent a message

Message

Per USPS tracking, I see they managed to locate the package, and they either delivered it to you or you picked it up. I trust everything is OK now? Let me know.

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So the buyer filed a return request for missing parts & pieces and repeatedly states that she has not received the package.

Tracking is engaging in revisionist history. Says "delivered", but I don't believe it because they seem to be erasing data, and buyer says she doesn't have it.

[luckythewinner]

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@andrew547 wrote:

As the title says, a buyer opened a return request for "missing parts & pieces", but the order has not yet been delivered.

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How do you know it has not been delivered? 

[andrew547]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@andrew547 wrote:

As the title says, a buyer opened a return request for "missing parts & pieces", but the order has not yet been delivered.

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How do you know it has not been delivered? 

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I believe it hasn't been delivered. Buyer repeatedly says it hasn't been delivered in her communications on the 27th, and on the 27th when she filed her claim, tracking listed the package as "in-transit" with several hops along the way and a final status of "on the way to its final destination". Now, magically, there is tracking data from the 26th and 25th like "arrival at post office" and "available for pickup" that were not there on the 27th. The "delivered" was not there either.

I am open to suggestions on what to make of this.

[socalboomer50]

The buyer opened a claim for parts missing.  You issued a return label so the buyer needs to return the item.  They can't return something they don't have.  Meanwhile keep checking the delivery status.  Perhaps the package was inadvertently placed on the wrong delivery vehicle and returned to the post office.  If the message states available for pickup" the buyer needs to go pick it up.  This is the fault of USPS.

[andrew547]

UPDATE:

The package finally arrived, the buyer is thrilled with her order, and I am stuck with yet another defect for "missing parts & pieces"

[rpalma]

You can provide your own shipping label.

If it isn't used, you can request a refund once you're confident it won't be used.

If the item never arrived, then they can't send it back to you although they could send you something else and you'd be forced to refund once it shows delivered to you.

You need to figure out if the buyer is confused or a scammer.

[equid0x]

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@andrew547 wrote:

ran out of time to edit...

Do I really have to call ebay every time this happens?

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I would. If you stick with the online stuff, you're going to get a default judgment in favor of the buyer.