Do I ask EBay to step in and help on an Item Not Received?

[vintagemama79]

This may be too many details but here goes:  I sold an item for approximately $900 in May.  I shipped it May 8 via USPS with signature required and I purchased insurance through USPS for the purchase price.  Delivery was attempted May 11th but no authorized recipient was available so notice was left.   I messaged the buyer on May 19 to let them know that the PO tried to deliver and it should be waiting for them to pick up.   Got no response.  Messaged them again May 23.  No response.  Messaged again May 27.  No response.  Finally on May 30 the buyer sends me a message (acting as though I had never messaged them previously) that they had not received the item.  By that time it seems the PO had lost the package.  No more tracking info is provided after May 17.  

At this point the buyer has filed an INR notice with EBay and it only gives me three options to respond as seller:  message buyer, update shipping info, or refund.  I have messaged the buyer a lot through the item page itself and also responded to the INR request directly.  This was filed June 26 and response was required by the 29th.   Nothing has happened since then.  So my question is, what do I do now?  The buyer has not seemed to take any further action.  On a side note, the USPS is denying my insurance claim (although I have not received the official denial letter yet so I don't know their reasoning).  I have heard that I should be covered from EBay's standpoint since tracking shows that delivery was attempted but I don't know if that is true.  Do I need to ask EBay to step in on this and if so, how do I do that?

[nicnrae]

File a lost package with the post office NOW-I think there is a 60 day limit to file, this happened to me and I did get the insurance payment as the post office did not deliver item.

[heckofagame]

What does the tracking say? Did you update the tracking by entering the number? Attempted delivery is considered delivery. 

[vintage-camerastuff]

I believe you are covered by ebay because delivery was attempted however he could go to his payment provider and you could still end up losing both your item and money.

[huntfishdie45]

Something is wrong with this buyer, If I purchased something on eBay for $900.00, I would be looking out for the package through tracking and out the front door looking for the mailman. The fact that this buyer never even responded to your emails sends all kinds of red flags up. eBay needs to step up in cases like this and protect a seller who has done everything right and according to eBay policy. The Post Office is responsible for losing the package period. If eBay sides with the seller USPS needs to pay your claim. Good Luck

[tcgbliss]

My advice to you would be to contact eBay right away and get the case closed as the buyer has not made any further action to remedy this issue. The buyer won't get a refund, and this won't hurt your seller reputation.

[vintagemama79]

I did that in June,  thank you!

[vintagemama79]

I completely agree. But I have never had this happen before and I’ve never had to file a claim with USPS so I’m not sure how to do it. They didn’t respond at all to my lost item claim the middle of June. I only got a They didn’t respond at all to my last item claim the middle of June. I only got an email that they had received it. There was no further communication from them. Not helpful!  So I submitted a claim for the insurance on June 25 and they apparently sent me a denial letter on June 27 but I haven’t received it yet. It’s too bad they can’t do that through email or, and this is a crazy thought, a phone call! Dealing with the post office is a nightmare.

[vintagemama79]

This is exactly what I’d like to do, but I’m afraid I can’t figure out how to contact eBay. It just keeps sending me to different articles. I tried a chat box but it also gave me generic answers.

[huntfishdie45]

I think if the lost item claim is still not resolved they will automatically deny the Insurance claim. They have to do an internal investigation and determine the item is in fact lost and not sitting on a shelf somewhere. You should be getting the insurance claim denial with an explanation soon. Until then there's not much you can do with them. If you ask eBay to intervene you may lose your fees that you paid eBay if they find in the buyer's favor. The buyer still has one more card to play with their credit card company by pulling a chargeback claim so without answers from eBay and the Post Office there is not much you can do yet. Hang in there maybe eBay protects the seller for once! Good Luck

[slati_2013]

There is a Consumer Advocate at Postal Service Headquarters who can review any denied claim and order the USPS to refund you.  You should send your claim to this Consumer Advocate within 30 days of the first letter denying your claim. You have to write a letter explaining to this person why the USPS should refund you. I was in the same position once and the person ordered the USPS to refund me close to $1400. If you filed online, the denial letter could have also been sent online. Time is of the essence so make sure you have not already received that first letter online. 

Also note that after repeated attempts to deliver an item, the package is returned to the sender so it might be on the way back to you which is why your claim may have been denied. Also note the buyer has the option to escalate the case after a few days. I can't remember how many. It is possible the buyer picked up the item or it was eventually delivered. It may be why you have not yet heard back from the buyer or why the case has not been escalated. The fact that the tracking was not updated does not mean there was not movement of the package.

Right now you are in a waiting mode. If the buyer does not escalate the case, the case will close out. 

[aproudparent2010]

On the chatbot type in Agent....that should give option for an Agent to call you

[reallynicestamps]

EBay does not require you to refund a penny when the seller provides an Undeliverable address.

This is a cut an paste of a discussion of an earlier thread with velvet@ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...
 
This is the part I'm referring to
 
Exclusions and special coverage when the buyer doesn't receive an item 
Items collected by a third party on behalf of the buyer

Not covered

The buyer arranged their own shipping method, such as a courier pickup

Not covered

The buyer provided an invalid or incorrect address at checkout

Not covered

I don't know how to do screenshots.  There is a LOT of information on that page.

 
An ethical seller would refund the payment, less shipping costs, eBay fees, and international payment processing fees.
But it's my belief that eBay will not require any refund.
 ...
Hi @femmefan1946! You're correct in that a refused package is on the buyer and not the sellers responsibility to refund. As long as tracking shows the package was refused, then we would side with a seller if the buyer opened an Item Not Received claim. 
 
I agree that I would not withhold all the money, but it is up to the seller if they would like to withhold shipping, refund the buyer entirely, or keep it all. If the seller is okay with refunding the buyer entirely and being out the shipping costs, then they can cancel the transaction using the buyer requested option since in essence, they did by refusing the package. If the seller wants to retain the shipping costs, then they can message the buyer a heads up (not a requirement but a nice thing to do) and then refund them partially through this flow here. 
Velvet,


[reallynicestamps]

Anohter cut and paste.

The phone reps have a terrible reputation for getting you off the phone as soon as possible even if that means giving you the advice you want to hear instead of the advice you need to have.


https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/ — Message button in upper right on landing page.

https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en


https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851 -> Automated Assistant, type AGENT -> enter. You will then get more options.


The social media Chat accounts are covered by trained eBay employees with some authority.
And you get a transcript so you can compare what you heard with what you were told.