Missing Item case closed in Buyer favor after USPS lost package, now tracking shows as delivered?

[nathanstaffordstudios]

Hello everyone! Back at the end of June I sold an item for about $600 from the US to France. I shipped it out immediately but the item stalled at the International Distribution facility here in the United States. A missing item case was opened with USPS to find the item, but it sat dormant for months. Finally, in August the buyer opened an item not received case as no updates came from USPS and eBay refunded the buyer.

Now nearly 2 months later USPS has updated the tracking and closed the missing item case and the sold item in question is at the distribution center in France pending delivery tomorrow. At this point, the buyer is going to have the item and the money and I am at a total loss here.

I was communicating with the Buyer who states that if it's delivered they are happy to re-pay, but in the event, this does not happen and the buyer falls through on this promise- do I have any recourse here? Is eBay able to see the item has been updated and delivered and refund me?

Thank you so much to whoever can give me some insight into this. Any additional info that is needed to answer my question feel free to ask.

[inhawaii]

If the buyer does not re-pay you as promised do you have any recourse?
No.  There is nothing you can do but hope he honors his word.
You can not make him pay. Ebay will not make him pay.
I guess you could take him to small claims court.
Good luck!

[tsme35]

Lucky the buyer waited months, I'm lucky if a buyer would wait a day.

[lamber9347]

@nathanstaffordstudios To answer your question no, you have no recourse here. No one can force the buyer to pay for an item that has been refunded, just as no one can force a seller to actually ship an item vs canceling. This is a platform that puts sellers and buyers together and that's all. 

Your best bet is to stay on the buyer's good side. Your buyer has waited two months for the item, so they have every right to be angry about this. None of this is your fault but still sellers have the responsibility to get the item delivered within a certain time frame and unfortunately it didn't work out this time. Continue to apologize for the long wait and perhaps offer that they keep a portion for the inconvenience of the long wait, plus the shipping costs. Maybe you will get at least some of the funds back, which is better than nothing at all. Best of luck to you.... 

[Anonymous]

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@nathanstaffordstudios wrote:

 $600 from the US to France

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You are very brave

[johnrj1226]

Was  this shipment insured for lose/damage?  If yes,  did you file a loss claim? and receive  payment?

Don't thing at this  date  (~3.5 months later from order/shipment date) eBay will get involved in a refund.  Hopefully the buyer will live up to their words once the shipment is  safely delivered to them.  It is the sellers responsibility to assure  purchases are delivered to the buyer in the condition as stated in their listings.

[m60driver]

This is all just part of selling online and, alas, there is currently no solution other than to rely upon the good graces of the buyer who is of course under no obligation to pay.  Most of us have lost goods and the money in this very situation.  It is just another reason to not sell expensive items unless you have the margins or volume to cover the loss.

[sprinkles91]

well, you have a few courses of action here as ebay isnt going to lift a finger as the sale has been closed. i would still report that the item was delivered to the buyer to them through CS chat, maybe request and see if you can appeal the case with updated tracking evidence but thats just me & i highly doubt they do anything about it.

•time sensitive. intercept the package asap!! thats money they got back therefore they have no claim to your merchandise at all & you shouldnt worry about upsetting them, as they where paid back in full & this o longer concerns them.

re-rout them with the usps before they go out for delivery, & have them returned to sender asap bc technically thats no longer their property if they where refunded. you can do tis easily on the usps site or call. this is my best course of action to keep you safe & its time sensitive to intercept delivery, i would call usps CS try intercepting online as stated, double & tripple check that the package has been re-routed safely & do not communicate with the buyer that you are doing so, as technically your sale has closed the moment they where refunded.

•small to no chance they will do anything bc the sale is technically closed bc they where refunded. so i wouldn't suggest this. but alas, i will gladly give you the map i have if you ever need to speak to CS for any reason, all the same.(i miss paypal)

i have a map to get through the help topics, its always the same. Help & Contact} Contact us} Buying} How buying works} Chat with us} then have your question already typed out & ready, then type help or your issue into the window if it fits, & start the chat. never email them after hours as i have never gotten anything but irrelevant copy/paste responses to hot words from my first scentence.

•if the package was delivered & the buyer goes silent. if insurance was used through the usps, call & ask your postmaster what your options are.

•the radical option no one likes, but being in a family of cops, i have to suggest the legal options. 

have proof of the sale & the buyers name & address, & report them as stolen with your local police & they will contact their local authorities. given the amount, if the buyer ghosts you, keep thier info & screenshots of where they promised payment specifically, just in case. 

•small claims court isnt really a viable option to me, bc the attorney fees are worth more than the total price of the shoes!

good luck! pretty please let us know the outcome !💖✌🏻🤗

[ittybitnot]

@sprinkles91 

The OP's buyer is in FRANCE.  The buyer is not going to care one hoot about local police reports, small claims court, or US Postal Inspectors. 

[ittybitnot]

 Is eBay able to see the item has been updated and delivered and refund me?

@nathanstaffordstudios 

eBay doesn't care.   They can't take the money from the buyer and give it back to you, and eBay does not refund the seller in these instances from the "ebay" money box. 

When the item is marked delivered, you can contact the buyer to re-pay.  This is typically accomplished through PayPal.  If you have a PayPal account, you can send a money request/invoice to the buyer.  They will not have to have a PayPal account to pay for that invoice.  

[lamber9347]

It's very kind of you to offer several suggestions for this issue but I'm going to clarify a few for anyone else reading this reply. 

It has been pointed out that the buyer in this instance lives in France so no reporting to cops or small claims court. 

Small claims court does not require the use of an attorney so no expenses for attorney fees. 

USPS insurance is for damages during transportation or lost packages. This package was delivered (will be apparently) so nothing the postmaster can do nor insurance. No reason to suggest this. 

Lastly this is not considered theft. Buyer paid for item correctly. Item was refunded due to not being delivered during estimated time length. If package is still delivered afterwards that is not considered theft because buyer did nothing to allow delivery of refunded item. 

[sprinkles91]

im completely aware that theyre in FrAnCe. Irrelevance. i believe i specified in my post to not even have any communication with the buyer while simply going online to intercept the sellers package back to themselves. as the buyer in this specific situation is completely irrelevant as they have already been refunded. as i stated already.

[sprinkles91]

hello💖 i agree! but my suggestion was that the seller go online & try & redirect the package before it is delivered & not just set to be done so. that is why its at the bottom of my list, & marked as radical & also further stated that i did not suggest this as a viable option for many reasons. yes i should have left the very last suggestion out given the location, but alas we all make mistakes & mine was at the end of my post, because its choux a' la creme', & not the puff pastry with the really nice cream. lol✌🏻

[sprinkles91]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

 Is eBay able to see the item has been updated and delivered and refund me?

@nathanstaffordstudios 

"eBay doesn't care.   They can't take the money from the buyer and give it back to you, and eBay does not refund the seller in these instances from the "ebay" money box." 

harsh. I've had ebay refund me with an updated tracking number more than once. it exists.

[sprinkles91]

thank you for being so positive btw, you are coveted. lol