I mailed a package. Buyer says it didn’t arrive, but tracking shows it did. What now?

[7606dennis]

If the buyer files an INR dispute be sure to respond with the tracking number to the dispute.

[dbfolks166mt]

     Until they officially open an INR case with eBay you don't have to do anything. If they open a case then follow 7606dennis   direction. 

[ms.rodriguez*]

You can tell your buyer to check if someone at their home got the mail and perhaps put the item away in a closet and forgot to tellyou.  You can tell them to check their bushes or their backyard to see if a new postal employee put it there.    Let them know that according to the tracking #, the parcel has arrived.

Do NOT say anything else.  If they open a case, you go immediately to the case and write the tracking # and escalate it.  Ebay will close the case in your favor since tracking shows DELIVERED.

I sell w/ another acct.  Here are where some of the missing packages since 1998 were found:  A few times, the packages were found in bushes, in the backyard, in a closet, in a trunk,  behind the microwave,  on the fireplace mantel, in the spouse's handbag and in the neighbor's house.  One guy emailed me about a week later to tell me that his dog to the box to the doghouse in the back and destroyed the box.   The hot wheels car did survive but not the original packaging.

[reallynicestamps]

If you did not track, just refund because you cannot win.

In those cases, use Cookie Jar Insurance.

This is just putting a few virtual pennies aside in a virtual Cookie Jar as a sort of self-insurance premium to cover the cost of lost or delayed shipments* .

Many non-US sellers do not track, using CJI instead, because most people are honest, the shipment may well be delayed, and the cost of international tracking is so high that it is more economic to eat the very rare loss than to pay out for useless tracking.

* and occasionally false claims.

[bearswatching]

Seller says tracking shows the package arrived and you are talking to them about cookie jar insurance. Are we reading the same post?

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Yes, if they open an INR, def upload the tracking & you'll be good.   Now for your customer, there's a very good chance they are telling the truth, as pkgs are misdelivered all the time.  In addition to what @ms.rodriguez*  posted, I would let the buyer know that they should try to talk to their carrier or the post office.  The USPS can actually look up the GPS coordinates to pinpoint where it was delivered.   That can help a lot, if it was delivered to a neighbor or accidentally to the wrong house.  I'm not sure how helpful it is in the case of cluster mailboxes, where a lot of the delivery errors happen though. 

[soh.maryl]

Think about this:  What's the main reason that a seller obtains tracking?

Yes, it's so that, if a buyer claims item did not arrive and/or opens an INR case, he can enter the tracking # in the case and prove delivery.  

[downunder-61]

@kateh-64  Are you sure you got paid? I see no sold on your account

[dbfolks166mt]

If you did not track, just refund because you cannot win.

In those cases, use Cookie Jar Insurance.

This is just putting a few virtual pennies aside in a virtual Cookie Jar as a sort of self-insurance premium to cover the cost of lost or delayed shipments* .

Many non-US sellers do not track, using CJI instead, because most people are honest, the shipment may well be delayed, and the cost of international tracking is so high that it is more economic to eat the very rare loss than to pay out for useless tracking.

* and occasionally false claims.

Why would you not ship with tracking it automatically comes with most of the delivery services. Not sure what the OP shipped but their OP account shows they are in the US and the package had tracking. The reason a lot of foreign sellers do not use tracking is because their local postal services don't offer it. 

[mtgraves7984]

I'm not sure how helpful it is in the case of cluster mailboxes, where a lot of the delivery errors happen though.

@simply-the-best-for-you 

True story. My daughter lives in a large, gated community with the cluster mailboxes. She was looking for a package that had shown 'Delivered', but wasn't in her box. She happened to catch the carrier the next AM, who punched tracking into the USPS 'gizmo' that she wears on her hip.

The label was correct, but the carrier had dropped it in the box for Apt. A301, not J301. So, we get not only a gps 'ping', but even one down to the apartment number at  the gps location.

The carrier (with authority) was even kind enough to see if the neighbors at A301 had checked their mail.. and they hadn't. There was my daughter's package which she handed over to her after she checked the daughter's ID.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

@mtgraves7984  

Good to know.  I've always wondered b/c our cluster boxes are giant, with maybe 20 'package only' boxes that are larger than the rest & those 20 are all right next to one another & so I wasn't sure if it was granular enough to pick up the difference if the box is only inches from the next box. 

[reallynicestamps]

The reason a lot of foreign sellers do not use tracking is because their local postal services don't offer it. 

Not exactly.

I can ship a paperback or a single stamp by LetterPost to the USA for between $1.30 and $5.57 if the package weighs less than 200 grams.

But if I want to track it, the lowest cost would be Tracked Packet USA which costs $14.44 for up to 250gr.

So the tracking is offered, it is just too expensive for a $10 to $100 item.

Since the postal system is good at its job and most people are honest, I choose the lower cost, untracked service and Cookie Jar Insurance.

International tracking is very very expensive.

[reallynicestamps]

@mtgraves7984 @simply-the-best-for-you 

Canada Post has introduced a new service called FlexDelivery which promises not to deliver packages.

Instead the package is held at the nearest Post Office or postal outlet* and only a Notice is left at the householder's address.

 I suspect a combination of porch pirates, bad weather, and breakins at community (cluster) boxes led to the service which is free by the way.

*These are subcontracted usually in a store that has long hours. While they must be open at least post office hours, most open earlier, close later,and are open on Saturdays and Sundays.