eBay

joeanddarra · ‎06-16-2017

Hello,

I have a buyer who notified me the item she purchased, an iPod, arrived missing.

The package was damaged - it looks like it was sliced open.

The iPod was rolled in several layers of bubble wrap - the bubble wrap was still in the package.

When I track the shipment via USPS, there is no note regarding damage.

I don't sell very often, and I've never experienced anything like this, as a buyer or a seller, so I am not sure what to do.

I've been in touch with her all week & phoned the USPS. ( The information they gave me wasn't very helpful )

She told me she will give me until Monday to refund her payment.

What am I required to do?

I appreciate any advice you can offer.

Thank you.

emerald40 · ‎06-16-2017

@fern*wood wrote:
I feel it is telling that they haven't opened a case. What does their feedback left for sellers look like?

Exactly. Does not want to go on ebay's radar epecially if she has done this before. Hoping the buyer will quietly take care of her.

wolf*song · ‎06-16-2017

Just so you know, Joe and Darra, if those are indeed your real names... 😉

Some of the advice you're receiving is from more experienced sellers than I. And for the record, I won't view a buyer as cynically as lots of folks (easy there, kids, I'm not saying it's unreasonable to be a little cynical; call it "cautious" if you prefer *L*).

But a good point was made: The buyer's feedback may indeed give you an idea of what type of person she is.

southern*sweet*tea · ‎06-16-2017

Mail theft happens, and if reported the Postal Inspectors will get involved. And yes, USPS workers steal mail, too. http://www.postal-reporter.com/blog/tag/mail-theft/

They even rifle packages to do so

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-usps-mail-theft-20160827-snap-story.html

"and prosecutors say Jarol Garcia, 33, stole at least 166 mobile phones from parcels as they went through the Moreno Valley Delivery Distribution Center."

Tell your buyer that you sent an iPod, and that someone must have tampered with the package somewhere in the mail stream. Tell the buyer that you are going to file postal tampering reports since mail tampering is a Federal crime, and to hold on to all the packaging as the USPS will want to see it. Let the buyer know that she will need to file a report as well, since she was the receiver of the package that was rifled. Wait for a reply. If the buyer truly did get a rifled package, they will be very grateful for your help. If they are trying to scam you, they'll either go silent or the iPod will magically appear.

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell

emerald40 · ‎06-16-2017

@wolf*song wrote:
Just so you know, Joe and Darra, if those are indeed your real names... 😉

Some of the advice you're receiving is from more experienced sellers than I. And for the record, I won't view a buyer as cynically as lots of folks (easy there, kids, I'm not saying it's unreasonable to be a little cynical; call it "cautious" if you prefer *L*).

But a good point was made: The buyer's feedback may indeed give you an idea of what type of person she is.

But that is just it. No one is looking at the buyer as having done something wrong. In fact with her impatience it seems the buyer is the one accusing the seller of ripping her off.

This is a simple matter of something going missing along the pipeline between you and her that needs to be looked into. And saving the outside packaging would give the postal inspector a clue as to where it might have happened.

If it were me, I would want to know if someone was tampering with my mail and would not mind waiting a couple of days to see it through.

gigi7882 · ‎06-16-2017

OP is original poster, that's you.

wolf*song · ‎06-16-2017

I do understand what you're getting at, and to a degree I agree. But everyone's situation is different, and you're imposing your definition of "impatience" onto the buyer. That term is as subjective as if I were to say "White Castle hamburgers are better than Ex-Lax." Some would agree (wholeheartedly and without hesitation, I might add), while others would not.

megadestroyers · ‎06-16-2017

"I will contact eBay. (do I file a claim or just alert them to the problem?)"

No. You do NOTHING to open a claim. Even a call to ebay to report suspicious buyer activity (messages requesting refund through ebay messages? Or via personal email?), are not enough to initiate a claim. That rests with the buyer, alone.

emerald40 · ‎06-16-2017

@wolf*song wrote:
Just so you know, Joe and Darra, if those are indeed your real names... 😉

Some of the advice you're receiving is from more experienced sellers than I. And for the record, I won't view a buyer as cynically as lots of folks (easy there, kids, I'm not saying it's unreasonable to be a little cynical; call it "cautious" if you prefer *L*).

But a good point was made: The buyer's feedback may indeed give you an idea of what type of person she is.

The experienced scammer does not leave a paper trail. She does not call ebay nor does she leave feedback. She attempts to get the seller to quietly comply and if not she moves on to someone else.

joeanddarra · ‎06-16-2017

I'm catching on 😜

megadestroyers · ‎06-16-2017

"First the buyer has to open a case, and secondly the seller has to refuse to refund the buyer once the case is opened in order to get a strike on their record."

I think you're confusing an Unpaid Item dispute with a return request??

gigi7882 · ‎06-16-2017

I have received packages through USPS that have been damaged. And they always have a brightly colored sticker on them, and tape to hold the box together.

emerald40 · ‎06-16-2017

@wolf*song wrote:
I do understand what you're getting at, and to a degree I agree. But everyone's situation is different, and you're imposing your definition of "impatience" onto the buyer. That term is as subjective as if I were to say "White Castle hamburgers are better than Ex-Lax." Some would agree (wholeheartedly and without hesitation, I might add), while others would not.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Per the OP

I've been in touch with her all week and she has replied back to my messages. Then, today, she sent me a message saying she hasn't heard from me and gave me until Monday to refund her money.

________________________________________________________

It is not as if the OP has been avoiding her. There has been back and forth all week, so need for buyer to threaten her with a deadline. If it were legit, she would give seller some time to get to the bottom of it.

ersatz_sobriquet · ‎06-16-2017

@megadestroyers wrote:
"First the buyer has to open a case, and secondly the seller has to refuse to refund the buyer once the case is opened in order to get a strike on their record."

I think you're confusing an Unpaid Item dispute with a return request??

No. Lycan said that the buyer should be paid off so that the seller doesn't incur a strike from a case being opened. I was pointing out that a case does not incure a strike against a seller unless it is unresolved by the seller. Sellers should not be afraid of cases, however they should avoid unresolved cases.

In this situation it would depend on what kind of case the buyer opened. Snad the buyer would win, INR the buyer would lose.

megadestroyers · ‎06-16-2017

Yes. USPS is usually pretty good identifying via stickers, etc, when a package is damaged along the way. All the more reason to press the seller for pics.