Got scammed by combined shipping. How do I avoid this next time?

[heygar1]

  Please don't wag a finger at me. A buyer scammed me, and I accept that. What I want to know is how to avoid this happening again. 

  A buyer purchased a knife from me on day one and another on day two. Btw, these are seperate listings, not quantities of an identical item.  Then I get a buyer request to ship the two together. No problem, (so I think).  Both knives get shipped in one package with one tracking number. Two weeks go by, then the buyer files "did not receive"  request for the second knife.  Of course, ebay sided with the buyer.

 The only take-away I can think of is to never combine shipping. But there must be a way to do this for honest people and protect myself. I'll use this as a teachable opportunity. Thank you in advance.

[dbeatrecords]

I know how to combine shipping on ebay, but if buyer pays for item and then the next day purchases and pays for another item before you have a chance to ship the first, it does not allow you to combine in ebay shipping. It is not advisable to add same tracking number to both orders and ship in same box. You open yourself to INR since the tracking number applies to ONE order only. 

[jda03121]

This is also not correct. Tracking numbers apply to packages, not contents.

[mam98031]

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@jda03121 wrote:

As I said before, everything people are saying is correct...However, true scammers quickly learn how to play eBay's rules and adding or having tracking numbers will not insure that the buyer will not file NAD when they see the tracking numbers and win the dispute. In this case, INR was sufficient but I would bet the buyer would have file NAD if both tracking numbers had been present. EBay has actually allowed buyers to change a INR to NAD. They side with the buyers whenever it's a he said, she said.

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Yes, when a buyer files an INR and the item or items arrive, they can close the INR and then go and open an INAD if they see fit to do so.  That option should be there for all buyers.  But you are right if a buyer is wanting to take advantage of the seller and steal their money, they have almost unlimited opportunities to do so with the current state of how Ebay allows returns.  Fortunate for all of us it is only a fraction of the buyers that are willing to steal from us.  Most wouldn't even think of doing that.  But the ones that do can be expensive and certainly annoying at best.

[mam98031]

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@jda03121 wrote:

Sorry, that is totally incorrect.

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No it is not.

[mam98031]

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@dbeatrecords wrote:

I know how to combine shipping on ebay, but if buyer pays for item and then the next day purchases and pays for another item before you have a chance to ship the first, it does not allow you to combine in ebay shipping. It is not advisable to add same tracking number to both orders and ship in same box. You open yourself to INR since the tracking number applies to ONE order only. 

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I'm unsure as to why you have an issue with combining the shipment.  I have done it many times in the past.  But like I say, I don't know why you have an issue with it.  I have no answers for you.  My experience is different than yours.

[mam98031]

While this link below is a little old it still holds true.  The screens have changed slightly, but it is a very good guide.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/eBay-for-Business/How-to-combine-two-or-more-orders-for-shipping-in-on...

[chapeau-noir]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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eBay has no way to know the two knives were shipped under the same tracking number. 

The solution is incredibly simple. 

All you need to do is make sure you have manually added the tracking number to all the eBay transactions that were included in the combined shipment. 

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That's obvious.  But it still doesn't cover contents.

[mam98031]

Then there is this too.

From the Ebay help pages:

You can create a shipping label from one order and upload that tracking number for all of the items in the new combined order.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/shipping-rates/offering-combined-shipping?id=4169

[dbeatrecords]

"Tracking numbers apply to packages not contents" is a correct statement. So if you manually add a tracking number to 2 different orders, USPS will deliver the package, but I do not believe eBay will not recognize both orders as being delivered. (one USPS tracking # per shipment). My point is that if you ever have to combine shipping and not able to do so in eBay shipping, PayPal shipping provides you the option.  "If you use PayPal to collect payments for items you sell on the Internet, it may sometimes happen that a customer will make multiple separate purchases, each with their own associated shipping costs. This is particularly true if you sell items without a centralized shopping cart, such as on eBay. Rather than charging full shipping cost for each item, you can combine everything into one package and offer your customer a reduced shipping rate. This can be accomplished quite easily through the PayPal interface." Just trying to offer a viable option for sellers, and personally had to use this on an order last week.  

[chapeau-noir]

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@mam98031 wrote:

Then there is this too.

From the Ebay help pages:

You can create a shipping label from one order and upload that tracking number for all of the items in the new combined order.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/shipping-rates/offering-combined-shipping?id=4169

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But that's just for unpaid items, and it sounds like at least one of the items had been paid for (or both) from reading OP's post.  The usual solution on shipping is to just enter the same tracking number for each, of course, but that still doesn't cover package contents.  I know some sellers refund the buyer THEN issue a combined invoice (I just refund overage through paypal). But that still doesn't cover contents.

I'm saying all this because this happened to me last year, as a matter of fact, with one item out of four 'missing'.

[fern*wood]

If you didn't enter the tracking number on the second knife (am not clear on whether you did or not), are you able to enter it int he not received case?

[a_c_green]

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@fern*wood wrote:

If you didn't enter the tracking number on the second knife (am not clear on whether you did or not), are you able to enter it in the not received case?

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I have a bad feeling that the answer is No, due to a change in the rules sometime last year in which the tracking number had to be uploaded to the Sold item record before the buyer files an Item Not Received dispute. eBay will no longer honor a Delivered status on a tracking number if the number was uploaded to the sale after the dispute was filed.

I should say that I'm maybe 85% sure that I have that right. The other 15% chance is that the cutoff time for uploading the tracking number might be before the last estimated date of delivery, rather than before the buyer files an INR. Hopefully someone else can remember the rule change better than I can. I think @Anonymous did some detailed explanation of that rule change when it was first announced.

[mam98031]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

Then there is this too.

From the Ebay help pages:

You can create a shipping label from one order and upload that tracking number for all of the items in the new combined order.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/shipping-rates/offering-combined-shipping?id=4169

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But that's just for unpaid items, and it sounds like at least one of the items had been paid for (or both) from reading OP's post.  The usual solution on shipping is to just enter the same tracking number for each, of course, but that still doesn't cover package contents.  I know some sellers refund the buyer THEN issue a combined invoice (I just refund overage through paypal). But that still doesn't cover contents.

I'm saying all this because this happened to me last year, as a matter of fact, with one item out of four 'missing'.

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No it isn't.  And I would NEVER advise anyone to create a shipping label for a transaction that isn't paid for.

[1tuna]

can I ask where you read this information about tracking,the reason I ask is that I recall reading this last year and was wondering why its never ever mentioned in the community.I knew for sure I read it and that was my snappy comeback for people who say that ebay does not require tracking...... to be uploaded.Now I know this was not some misprint that I read on some board.

is it explained anywhere in the ebay verbiage that is out there? ,  thanks for calling attention to this little known detail.I have a feeling it is very misunderstood

[coffeebean832]

@1tuna 

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2018-fall/service-metrics-and-shipping.html#m22_...