Refund for refused item

[stonecabin]

What is the best way to refund a buyer for an item not picked up at the post office after notice was left; need to do it right to recoup as many fees as possible (postage, final value, paypal)?

[ittybitnot]

First off, wait until you get it back. 

[stonecabin]

Understand that....and?

[daveroo]

Since it reached the PO but the buyer hasn't picked it up there is NO refund due at this time.

The money is yours until the buyer opens a case.

At that point eBay will make a judgment.

Just make sure you have the tracking info handy; that's your protection.

And if the PO returns the item to you you will have both the money AND the item.

[chrysylys]

Buyer is due a full refund of the item price, but not the shipping.

[missjen831]

You can issue a partial refund through PayPal but you will forfeit the eBay FVF and the 30cent PP transaction fee. If you refund in full and cancel the transaction, you forfeit only the PP 30 cent fee. The refund should be issued whether a case is opened or not.

[losangelesniceguy]

Fastest way:

Call their post office and tell them to return to sender.

DO NOT issue a refund. If you refund the money they can run to the post office and retrieve the package and keep the refund.

You can set up delivery instructions, this can be done once they have attempted to deliver and is being held at the post office, cabeat is that you have to have a USPS account (make one). In the delivery instructions you can direct them to return to sender (you)

Act fast, the ebay system will ask you to refund the buyer before the USPS automatically returns a package to sender. This opens it up for a buyer being able to pick it up right after getting refunded.

Be patient and if you are persistent there is no reason why you should lose the package. I had a package that was "refused" and traveled two times from CA to FL, before they got they got it right and delivered back to me

Hope this helps

[orangehound]

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@daveroo wrote:

Since it reached the PO but the buyer hasn't picked it up there is NO refund due at this time.

The money is yours until the buyer opens a case.

At that point eBay will make a judgment.

Just make sure you have the tracking info handy; that's your protection.

And if the PO returns the item to you you will have both the money AND the item.

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I don't operate this way.  I don't want buyers stealing from me, and I would never treat a customer this way ... just taking their money without providing them a product.

Whether they open a case or not,  if the item comes back then I would refund their money  (either in total, or subtracting off the postage).

** I actually just got back a package that had a bad address.  I'm in the process of communicating with the buyer to see what they want to do.

[lintbrush*]

I gotta ask...

Has it been 2 weeks since notice was left?  That's when it will come back.

Did you contact the buyer and let them know it was waiting for them at the PO.

Those pesky little slips can get easily lost or maybe wasn't left in the first place.  If I happen to see one is sitting in limbo for 3-4 days, I send my buyer a message.

[castlemagicmemories]

Once you get it back, deduct the shipping cost, final value fees, paypal fees, listing fees, if any.  Just be sure to account for any fee you were charged and the shipping so that you are not out anything.  

Buyer should not get a full refund because of these expenses.

[femmefan1946]

You can issue a partial refund through PayPal but you will forfeit the eBay FVF and the 30cent PP transaction fee.

A partial refund is just that.

Part of the money the buyer paid.

So if he paid $50 of which $10 was shipping, and$5 was eBay FVF and $1.35 was PP fees, the refund would be not $40 but $33.65.

And it can be refunded through his PP payment.

[ed8108]

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@daveroo wrote

And if the PO returns the item to you you will have both the money AND the item.

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Are you recommending that the seller keep the buyer's payment and the item ?

[7606dennis]

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@ed8108 wrote:

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@daveroo wrote

And if the PO returns the item to you you will have both the money AND the item.

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Are you recommending that the seller keep the buyer's payment and the item ?

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Actually, I would recommend something akin to that.  If the buyer fails to pick up his mail at the PO, I would wait until it was returned, send him a message advising that the item had been returned and request how he wanted to proceed.  I would then secure the package and await his reply.

There is no reason babysit one's shipments so there is really nothing to do until the shipment has been returned by the USPS.  If that occurs, the package which has been paid for buy the buyer, is still their property and the seller needs to secure it until its owner advises on how he wants to proceed and take possession of it.  Once the message is sent, the ball is in the buyer's court. 

He may reply that he no longer wants the item, in which case a refund, minus the S&H would be in order, provided the listing didn't include free shipping.  However, if the buyer balked at the S&H being deducted from the refund, I'd probably give him a full refund and be sure to put him on my BBL.

Of course, he want the item reshipped.  In that case I would expect him to pay for the cost of that, unless the error was somehow mine.  I'd be sure to double check the address before reshipping though.  I might even agree to reship at my expense if he gave me a reasonable reason why couldn't have picked up the original one at the PO.  Of course, he may have trouble convincing me his excuse was reasonable.  Something like he was in a coma for six weeks might do it, but I wouldn't put money on it.

If the buyer filed an INR before the item had arrived back to me, I'd have no choice but to issue a full refund if the tracking showed it as not being delivered.  Again the buyer would surely be added to my BBL.

Now  the final scenario would be if the buyer never replied to the message and never filed and INR.  In that case, I would secure and store the item until such time as state law would deem it to be abandoned property and then dispose of it as I saw fit.  I would feel justified in keeping the money as compensation for securing and storing the property.