Refused Order Returned, No Contact From Seller, Suggestions?

[theeightysixthsamurai]

I recently sold an order that was returned to me. When I recieved the order, the USPS had a note attached stating that the package was refused.

I attempted to contact the buyer to see if there was a problem, as the package was never opened, but have yet to hear back from them. I have sent three seperate messages over the course of four days and they haven't replied. I thought the address might have been wrong, but since the note states refused, wouldn't that mean that someone recieved it and didn't want it? This is a first for me.

Have any of you ever had something similar to this happen, and what are your suggestions for my situation?

[slati_2013]

Wait till you hear from the buyer before making any move. If they want a refund, give them the refund. You got your item back, that is all that matters. 

[retrose1]

I think every long time seller has had this happen every once in awhile.

OP, the time to be helpful and chatty and give good customer service is before there is a problem to see to it that there are no problems - but once there is a problem a seller should have a no nonsense, professional business solution to any problem.

ebay says work with the buyer, but the problem is that in most situations, the buyer does not want to work with you.  They have stated their intentions and now you do something about it.  And that solution is not repeatedly emailing asking the buyer what they want.

In your case the buyer refused the package - they do not want it and they no longer have it.  How will their answering an email change that?  You have two options.  Keep the item and the money and hope the buyer doesn't file a dispute or call ebay OR figure up the fees and expenses to ship the package to the buyer and the refund the original payment minus the costs with an email that says sorry it didn't work out and move on.

[theeightysixthsamurai]

The only reason I haven't done this yet, and trust me, this is the first thing I thought about doing, is because I don't know for certain that it was the buyer that refused the package.

My thinking is that what if this is a younger customer that still lives with their parents, which could be very likely considering I sell Yugioh cards, and their parents refused the package?

If I give a refund without attempting contact, my outlook is that they could possible file a complaint because they never received their order and I refunded their money without asking them what they would like to do first.

I see what you're saying, but I'm hoping to hear from them first. I've only sent three messages and in my last one I stated that I'd wait till the end of the week to give them a chance to respond, in case they're out of town or some other matter is keeping them from getting online. If by the end of the week I haven't heard from them, I'm just going to issue a refund and take the slight loss of $2.77 for shipping.

I still have the cards safe and sound, so it's not too much of a loss.

Thank you both for your input, it's much appreciated. 🙂


-86th

[a_c_green · Accepted solution]

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@theeightysixthsamurai wrote:
The only reason I haven't done this yet, and trust me, this is the first thing I thought about doing, is because I don't know for certain that it was the buyer that refused the package.

My thinking is that what if this is a younger customer that still lives with their parents, which could be very likely considering I sell Yugioh cards, and their parents refused the package?

If I give a refund without attempting contact, my outlook is that they could possible file a complaint because they never received their order and I refunded their money without asking them what they would like to do first.

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They have no grounds for a complaint since your tracking shows that the package did arrive and was refused. There's no need to determine their motivation beyond that (and if it was a younger customer who still lives with their parents, I don't believe that people under 18 are supposed to have eBay accounts anyway). 

As you have now said in writing what you're going to do, then follow through as you described. I have a feeling that the buyer just wants to walk away from this whole thing, so you're not likely to get any pushback on how you're handling this.

[7606dennis]

It is my understanding that if a buyer refuses a shipment for any reason other than postage due, they have given up their MBG protection.  I would have contacted them via eBay messaging and inquired as to the reason for the refusal, but would only do so once. I would then do nothing and await their reply or some action on their part.

I would secure the package while awaiting their reply.

[theeightysixthsamurai]

I have issued a refund and setled this matter. Thank you all for your suggestions. I don't know what the deal was, as they never got in touch with me, but at least I know I'm clear of it all now.

[ittybitnot]

I have issued a refund and setled this matter. Thank you all for your suggestions. I don't know what the deal was, as they never got in touch with me, but at least I know I'm clear of it all now.

Hope you were not awarded he mega defect of out of stock for he path you chose to refund.   Let us know how this is working out.  

[n2relaxn]

I would contact them and indicate you are refunding...but only partial, as you are withholding shipping amount. That is what Ebay would do if they filed a return case. They do not refund the shipping if the buyer wants to return.

[pinupsplus]

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@retrose1 wrote:

I think every long time seller has had this happen every once in awhile.

OP, the time to be helpful and chatty and give good customer service is before there is a problem to see to it that there are no problems - but once there is a problem a seller should have a no nonsense, professional business solution to any problem.

ebay says work with the buyer, but the problem is that in most situations, the buyer does not want to work with you.  They have stated their intentions and now you do something about it.  And that solution is not repeatedly emailing asking the buyer what they want.

In your case the buyer refused the package - they do not want it and they no longer have it.  How will their answering an email change that?  You have two options.  Keep the item and the money and hope the buyer doesn't file a dispute or call ebay OR figure up the fees and expenses to ship the package to the buyer and the refund the original payment minus the costs with an email that says sorry it didn't work out and move on.

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I dunno... I've had packages come back stating the item was refused.  I always just snap a picture of the returned item and send the message through eBay messaging with the picture.  Many times the buyer stated they had never received the item and still wanted it.  Shipped it back out and the buyer was happy happy happy.  It is just possible that when the item was delivered, the carrier misdelivered it and the recipient wrote refused on it.  At any rate, I didn't have to pay to reship it because I explained to the PO counter staff that the buyer stated they didn't receive it.  The counter staff simply marked through the information and the bar codes and sent it on its merry way.

So I guess I'm saying that IMHO, you SHOULD communicate with your buyer and not just assume that because it was refused it was the buyer that did so.  Seems to me that the fastest way to get a negative is to just ignore the situation hoping they don't file an INR case, or to just refund them without explanation.  Shrugs.

It doesn't always work, I did once get a negative from a buyer 2 days after I snapped the picture and sent it to him asking him what he wanted to do.  He didn't answer the message, instead he left me a negative stating the item never arrived.  So much for communication.

[missjen831]

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@n2relaxn wrote:
I would contact them and indicate you are refunding...but only partial, as you are withholding shipping amount. That is what Ebay would do if they filed a return case. They do not refund the shipping if the buyer wants to return.

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I would check the dates on the posts you are responding too.....this one is 5 months old 🙂

[pikabo-icu]

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@missjen316 wrote:

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@n2relaxn wrote:
I would contact them and indicate you are refunding...but only partial, as you are withholding shipping amount. That is what Ebay would do if they filed a return case. They do not refund the shipping if the buyer wants to return.

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I would check the dates on the posts you are responding too.....this one is 5 months old 🙂

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The other was from 2015!

I requested mods lock it.. Don't know if we should ask for this one too- 

[pinupsplus]

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@pikabo-icu wrote:

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@missjen316 wrote:

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@n2relaxn wrote:
I would contact them and indicate you are refunding...but only partial, as you are withholding shipping amount. That is what Ebay would do if they filed a return case. They do not refund the shipping if the buyer wants to return.

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I would check the dates on the posts you are responding too.....this one is 5 months old 🙂

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The other was from 2015!

I requested mods lock it.. Don't know if we should ask for this one too- 

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