If I do not give the buyer a tracking number, will it affect my Seller level performance?
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Why do you need to give the Buyer a tracking number? Have they opened a Request or INR Case with eBay? If they have, you have a fixed number of business days to deal with the Request or supply tracking for the INR before the Buyer can escalate to eBay Customer Service. If they filed an INR and you have tracking showing delivery, simply post the tracking to the INR case and your good. eBay will see the delivered scan and will not charge you with a defect or make you reimburse the buyer. If they opened a Return Request and eBay is requiring you to respond/deal with the Return (with no "Decline" option on the Request details page), then you need to respond to the Request and with give them a return shipping label so they can return for a refund (only refund AFTER they return it!), or just outright refund them with no return required (if it's a low price, low cost item, that may be cheaper than sending another label AND having to refund as well).
If they have not gone thru eBay channels, it will not have an effect on your status.
If they have gone thru channels and you cannot prove delivery or deal with the return, you may end up with another "Case Closed Without Seller Resolution" ding, which will push you over the .40 percent point which will drop you out of Above Standard until that rolling three monther percentage drops below .40 again.
-Bob.
Why do you need to give the Buyer a tracking number? Have they opened a Request or INR Case with eBay? If they have, you have a fixed number of business days to deal with the Request or supply tracking for the INR before the Buyer can escalate to eBay Customer Service. If they filed an INR and you have tracking showing delivery, simply post the tracking to the INR case and your good. eBay will see the delivered scan and will not charge you with a defect or make you reimburse the buyer. If they opened a Return Request and eBay is requiring you to respond/deal with the Return (with no "Decline" option on the Request details page), then you need to respond to the Request and with give them a return shipping label so they can return for a refund (only refund AFTER they return it!), or just outright refund them with no return required (if it's a low price, low cost item, that may be cheaper than sending another label AND having to refund as well).
If they have not gone thru eBay channels, it will not have an effect on your status.
If they have gone thru channels and you cannot prove delivery or deal with the return, you may end up with another "Case Closed Without Seller Resolution" ding, which will push you over the .40 percent point which will drop you out of Above Standard until that rolling three monther percentage drops below .40 again.
-Bob.
@ckimodog wrote:Given the fact that you are drop shipping from China, I would say a tracking no is crucial. If the buyer states the item has not been received, you have no way to prove other wise and would have to refund the amount. I'm surprised ebay has not contacted you about this. Another member posted a similar question on this forum stating his account was restricted, as they did not enter the tracking no's in their sales transactions.
Tracking numbers are good to have, but you do not need to post them at time of shipping. If the buyer files an INR case, -then- you need to post them to the open case.
Returns don't have anything to do with original delivery tracking - they are the buyer's claim that the item delivered does not match the listing. In which case, FTC (Federal Trade Commission) rules that have applied to all mail-order/catalog retailers apply to the eBay seller -- the seller must make the buyer whole, either thru refund or replacement (seller's choice). Which is why eBay gives the seller the same options - send a return label to return for refund, or just refund without return required. eBay rules do not override Federal regulations.
If you ignore eBay's rules and force them to make the buyer whole with your funds, you will collect defects each time they do so. Enough defects and you won't be selling here anymore. And you can't just create a new account and start over - well, you -can- but eBay's getting better at matching new and old and suspending new when they determine old was suspended as well.
You need tracking to defend an INR claim - and eBay will back you. I've even had them back me when the customer did a chargeback after losing the INR claim. No loss to me and another notch on my Blocked Bidder List. 🙂
Returns - tracking is nice to have but does not affect the outcome of the Return. You can deny a request if a buyer indicates they changed their mind, but if they say there's something wrong or that doesn't match the listing, you either refund or send a label and refund when you get it back. You can protect yourself from losses, but you cannot protect yourself from buyers opening a Return Request, and lying if they feel they need to. Just think of it as online shoplifting - a problem as old as commerce itself.
-Bob.
