LOST ITEM SHOWS UP AFTER REFUND IS GIVEN

[tuffoon]

Back in early August 2021, I  sold a magnetic electrical ballast  for around $36.00 to a "new" buyer with no reviews on eBay. He paid me, and I shipped the item out U.S.P.S. Priority Mail the day after. The package should have taken no more than (3) days to arrive to the buyer's address, but unfortunately did not show up as scheduled.   I actually opened an investigation within a week with the U.S.P.S. and they were unable to locate the missing package. I  am well aware that the U.S.P.S.  makes errors all of the time with shipped items,  so I decided to give it some time to see if the package eventually arrived to the buyer's address. The buyer contacted eBay who messaged me  over (3) weeks later and stated that the item appeared lost and wanted a replacement sent out. Rather than send another magnetic ballast out,  I decided to issue a full refund to the buyer since it was already over (3) weeks since the item had shipped.  The buyer was refunded in early September for the supposed "lost" item.  It is now the first week of October and I decided to check the "tracking" of that package in order to see if the results had changed.  The "tracking" showed that the buyer had picked up the package at his P.O. Box  6 days after being issued a full refund in September.  Of course,  the buyer didn't bother to notify me that the package finally arrived,  probably figuring that he received  a "free" item at no cost.  I contacted eBay for them to investigate what happened, which I hope will either lead to me having the payment returned, or having this buyer kicked off the site permanently . I also contacted the buyer to make him aware that eBay had been notified since the item was in his possession for almost (1) month since it arrived.  I am just happy that this was not a "big ticket' item, and I did not ship out a replacement. I am hoping that eBay will come through for me.

[coastaltechsolution]

Or keep track of the shrink and claim on taxes  

[7606dennis]

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@edagreene wrote:

Sorry you lost the revenue for the sale.  This has happened to me several times and not only did I lose the money but I got a negative review from the buyer and eBay gave me a demerit.   

eBay is following Amazon's policy of the customer can never be wrong,  Great for the buyer but not the eBay partners, us!

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Alas!  Since the only thing eBay sells is advertising space they seem to have forgotten who their customers really are.

[nickelsanddimes2015]

If he opened a items not received case and was refunded through there contact ebay for business on Facebook and message them and they should give you your money back. If a case wasn't opened then I don't think you can get that back but it's still worth a shot. Next time if this happens the best thing to do is tell the customer after 15 days from the shipping day you need to file a lost package claim that way if the post office pays the claim you are covered and sometimes in between that time it might get delivered so you are not out either way. I never refund if it's sent Priority and doesn't show up without processing a claim with USPS first.

[vintagecraze50]

Well yes, for every lost item, Freebie given to a customer. Scamming customer, you have to raise your prices. You have to make this up someway. Countering risks on this website is one of the business strategies you have to use. More inflation of prices happen when there are significant risk factors.  Some may permanently list items at way way above their profit margains to control for this as well. 

[vintagecraze50]

Most will not bother to do this unfortunately. Once that money and item are gone. It is gone forever.

[kensgiftshop]

@tuffoon 

About all you can do is ask the buyer to repay, but there's no way to make them.

[justafarmgirlatheart]

This happens to not be true just so everyone knows. The exact same thing just happened to me recently and I appealed ebay's decision, showed proof the item was delivered and ebay refunded me my money and took any feedback down that was left by the buyer. So they will make the buyer ultimately pay them back! 

[desertmodels_uae]

They won't do anything for you because simply they can't claim back the value of the order from the buyer. 

Under the managed payment, eBay doesn't store the payment information (as required by in the payment industry standards - known as PCI) beyond completing the payment processing step. 

It was possible under the PayPal payment method to claim back the value of the order within 4 weeks or 6 weeks (can't recall exact grace period) from completing a refund because  they were able to store on file the payment information which was just an email address without any information related to the funding mechanism (be it a credit card or funds in the account) behind this email. 

So it is down to the buyer ethical values to pay you for what he received from you or not. 

It is key to note that eBay must re-visit their not received/lost items. Currently the system is set on the standard related to fully integrated shipping provider (i.e. courier providers like FedEx and DHL) and ignore completely the standards of last mile delivery providers (like USPS network outside US and postal service providers where you have two organization involved in the process). 

For the last mile delivery providers they must revise the policy to meet the UPU (Universal Postal Union) standards in terms of: 

1. Transit time 

2. Lost item procedures 

3. Damaged in transit procedures 

4. Service Fulfillment point (i.e. when the shipment is deemed delivered) 

There are set of procedures to follow related to UPU Last mile delivery providers  and these can assist sellers to preserve their rights (which eBay is not interested in looking after). For example there are: 

1. Standard insurance coverage based on weight for lost and significantly delayed delivery 

2. Some UPU members provide additional insurance on top of the standard covering other risks like wrong delivery, damaged in transit

3. Service Fulfillment point in UPU is one of two points, which ever materialize first: delivery at door step/P.O.Box address or at the custom office point (if required by authorities). 

For example it happens the buyer country require custom inspection where during this process the parcel is opened and potentially the item is damaged. The buyer still can claim received damaged and take full refund ignoring the fact buyer didn't pay the seller for the custom clearing services and ignoring that custom procedures require the receiver to be present in person (or hired the service of a representative to be present during the process).  

eBay have one size fit all which doesn't work especially what is this marketplace is known for bargain deals on pre-owned item, garage sales, collectibles. It doesn't make sense that sellers offer US$ 25 item with courier shipping charges of US$ 25 as neither the seller nor eBay will make money out of this listing.  So here come the UPU providers to full the gap in this segment. 

So eBay must separate the type of shipping (courier and Last Mile Delivery providers) and update the T&C's of sales accordingly. If buyer accept the T&C's then he is accept the buyer protection policy related to the method. 

[pjcdn2005]

They will not ask the buyer to pay them back, the money comes from eBay’s pocket. How long after the buyer was refunded was the package delivered?  I have read that eBay will give the seller a courtesy refund in some cases but I’m not sure if there are specific requirements for that.

[katzrul15]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

They will not ask the buyer to pay them back, the money comes from eBay’s pocket. How long after the buyer was refunded was the package delivered?  I have read that eBay will give the seller a courtesy refund in some cases but I’m not sure if there are specific requirements for that.

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It is a courtesy refund.  We recd one in January for a Dec refund that missed Santa deadline.  Arrived 1st week of January - we demonstrated we refunded the Buyer in good faith, timely and the parcel, which shipped early and stalled at a Memphis sorting center, finally delivered right after New Years.  

[inhawaii]

All you can do is HOPE the buyer does the right thing  by either sending the item back or paying for the item.

I think people are generally good and honest.

If not, I believe in karma.

[inhawaii]

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@justafarmgirlatheart wrote:

This happens to not be true just so everyone knows. The exact same thing just happened to me recently and I appealed ebay's decision, showed proof the item was delivered and ebay refunded me my money and took any feedback down that was left by the buyer. So they will make the buyer ultimately pay them back! 

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@coolections is correct.

Once ebay refunds the buyer they NEVER take it back.

Just because you got paid back does not mean the funds came from the buyer.

The funds came from ebay. Sometimes ebay "eats it" (pays) just to make the seller happy.

[whereverigo]

This is an interesting thread. My situation is on the other side of the fence. Yesterday, I received an item that had been deemed lost-in-shipping many weeks ago. The seller had very kindly refunded me all costs. Now, I just want to return those funds back to that good-willed seller. I let them know this and was instructed to use PayPal to conduct this transaction. But there’s doesn’t seem to be a way to do so. I’m sure we’ll work this out, but I wish we had clearer guidance. 

[kh-sandra]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.