Delayed Shipment

[makoan-37]

Hi, so I have a dilemma I could use some help with:  I made a sale ($18) to a buyer in Hawaii.  The buyer chose USPS ground, she paid on 3/13, and I  shipped the item the same  day.  The buyer opened a case yesterday (4/1) stating that the item has not moved on the tracking since 3/22, and she requested a refund.  I responded to her and told her I would open a case with USPS, which I did on 4/2.  USPS informed that ground shipments go by boat to Hawaii, and that the package is on the boat but it won’t sail until the boat is full and the weather is clear, so the buyer likely won’t get the item for 4-6 weeks.  I am now questioning whether I should refund the buyer.  I am a fairly new seller, and really don’t want a bad review or a negative case against me, and $18 really is not all that much money.  However, the buyer will be eventually getting her skirt, and the delay is through no fault of mine.  I have gone back and forth and can’t decide what to do!

[gurlcat]

Here's the clarity.  It's vital to understand that when it comes to blocked buyers' ability to reach the seller, buyers who are auto-blocked by seller preference settings are totally different from buyers whose names were manually placed by the seller into their Blocked Buyer List.  

Seller preference auto-blocked buyers: The seller can OPT to allow their messages to come through (like to request allowance to bid because their unpaid item strikes were not their fault or whatever), or the seller can block messages completely.  It's still a choice.  

BBL buyers: Their messages do not reach the seller at all, not even when there's an open case.  AND these buyers get no kind of notification that their messages won't go through.  So they will take non-replies from the seller as being ignored by the seller.  

I don't think @wastingtime101 is acting annoyed whatsoever, just providing corrective information.  And it was really a shame when your assertion that his ongoing thread about the topic was "old" ended up getting the thread shut down, because for one thing it wasn't old, and people were posting their current/recent experiences with the problem, tagging a blue, and he was reporting them to the powers that be.  Sure wastingtime (or anybody) could start a new thread about it, but that one was serving as a good clearinghouse type collection of various kinds of scenarios where this policy change was problematic.  

[mam98031]

My apologies for having this wrong.  I was told that they were going to fix that, but clearly they did not.  IMHO it isn't a good thing to block a current buyer from being able to converse with their seller as it can create other issues to include them posting negative or neutral feedback.  But you are right, the Buyer Requirements clearly state that if you turn on the block for messages, it applies to all on the BBL, current transaction or not.

[monster-deals]

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@simba6 wrote:

I would wait and see if a case is opened.  eBay will at times delay a case if the item is in transit. 

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Usually if there has been at least one tracking update in the last 10 days 

Policy may not be written in stone on that or may have changed but is my experience when speaking with Anchor CSRs

[wheelworkzmurfreesboro]

I woudn't do anything until ebay tells you you have to. You did your part and shipped the item. Your buyer chose ground. You haven't done anything wrong.

[gurlcat]

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@mam98031 wrote:

 But you are right, the Buyer Requirements clearly state that if you turn on the block for messages, it applies to all on the BBL, current transaction or not.

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But just to be precisely clear, even if you don't activate the block in Buyer Requirements, the names in your BBL will STILL have their messages blocked.  There is no way to allow any of those names to contact you, starting from the moment you add them to the list.  

[gloryglorygifts]

You have me looking at my own orders. I shipped one yesterday to Hawaii, it cleared the Queens, NY postal hub last night and has an expected delivery date of April 8th. It will be interesting to see if it makes the boat or not....

If the buyer opened a case, don't do anything but respond to ebay with any requests they may have - like adding tracking.  They take care of it from there. That's what buyer and seller protection is all about.