eBay

udoittwo · ‎01-02-2024

I sold an item on 12/27/23. I was mailed 12/28/23, 1st class mail so it would take time and it is over the holidays so possibly 1-2 weeks and I told the buyer that.

The buyer contacted me today[1/2/24] asking about tracking I said there is no tracking but please be patient as it was mailed during the hardest time for the P.O.. I was just up front and honest but I got an angry email back that they didn't want my excuses and asking for a refund.

Don't know why but I take it personally. What do you do? Do you just refund, eat it and be done with it? Guessing I would get negative feedback if I said anything at all. I get it, when you do a 100,000 feedbacks, you know you are not going to win them all but even though this hasn't happened yet, it bothers me.

I know eBay tracks the seller but does it track the buyers? Always wondered, a person that knows something does not have tracking could simply say it was never received and get the item and a refund. Does eBay track buyers and get a lot of refunds?

heckofagame · ‎01-02-2024

Do nothing until the buyer opens an INR case. And yes, the buyer could receive the item and still file an INR. Not all people play nice.

12345jamesstamps · ‎01-02-2024

I would not reply back to the buyer. That makes it worse.

I don't have tracking on a lot of items. Never had a nasty buyer like yours.

Here's the problem : you don't sell a lot so a negative feedback can hurt you....selling a lot it will get buried.

However, if buyer leaves a nasty negative feedback with words we shouldn't be using you or eBay can remove it.

It's a roll of the ball.

If its a small amount...just refund and block buyer without sending any more emails.

I say do the refund. Any seller or buyer knows during the holiday period mail can get delayed.

My envelopes without tracking are getting cross country 4-5 days tops.

I think responding to the buyer might have made it worse. The item probably arrived today.

Looking at my feedback today...items I mailed out on 12/28/2023 arrived to some buyers today without any tracking. Items with tracking are taking forever to get to buyers.

murph1727 · ‎01-02-2024

Was the item the Erie Lackawanna map? If so, your shipping is specified as Ground Advantage which offers tracking as a parcel. I have occasionally sold ephemera with free shipping using first class letter/envelope but you want to select "economy shipping" not Ground Adv-Standard Shipping (-which gives an estimated delivery date probably not possible with first class letter). Also, when there is no tracking, I state that in the description. The reality is without tracking you take your chances and hope it arrives and you have to understand there will be losses and just eat the cost. Sorry you ran into an angry buyer.

ittybitnot · ‎01-02-2024

a person that knows something does not have tracking could simply say it was never received and get the item and a refund.

@udoittwo

Yes, that is how it works. DO NOT REFUND until the buyer files a claim with eBay. Then you will have to refund for an "item not received" claim since you have no proof of delivery.

duffy4444 · ‎01-02-2024

@udoittwo wrote:
.....I was just up front and honest but I got an angry email back that they didn't want my excuses and asking for a refund.
Don't know why but I take it personally. What do you do? Do you just refund, eat it and be done with it?

@udoittwo:

Yes. In this case, you eat it, process a refund and be done with it, IF they open an INR case at eBay.

You have no leg to stand on if you send an item with no tracking. You're then at the mercy of legitimate yet impatient buyers - and scammers. Adding tracking to an item should be one of the first things you learned in "Onlne Shipping 101", unless you and your business model are willing to take the risk of losing the item AND your payment for it.

I have shipped hundreds of items by the less-expensive USPS First Class Letter or Large Envelope, which do not give tracking. Out of many hundreds of such sales and shipments, I have only had two items that were not delivered in the past 25 years. So I ate the cost as a loss and moved on, because my business model is set up to take that risk with items worth less than $20. Without tracking, you are at the mercy of a buyer's options. If they ask for a refund, whether they're angry or not, you have no choice but to do so, as eBay has no way to see that you actually shipped the item... slam-dunk for the buyer.

Cheers, Duffy