eBay

mr_lincoln · ‎04-17-2019

@Anonymous Good evening Trinton, I have a situation I wanted to run by you. I switched labels on two boxes and am working with both Buyers to get the packages back to me so I can inspect and then reship to the correct Buyers. I did this once last year, both Buyers were in the US and I simply refunded through PayPal their out of pocket expense for shipping the wrong items back to me then I paid shipping a 3rd time to get the items to their rightful owners. This time one Buyer is using a Freight Forwarder and we can't stop the package nor can the Forwarder ship back to me, not to mention they are a 3rd party that I can not simply "refund" costs to.

Anyway, all that aside the situation has me thinking and questioning a few things as follows:

1. These do not qualify for any "return" options in the Resolution Center. I am sure this happens on a regular basis with over 25 Million Sellers on the site. Does it make sense to have a "Switched labels" return function for Buyers & Sellers to use so we can benefit from the lower return shipping costs AND have a pre-paid label made available to them? This would avoid a Buyer having to put out any $$ event though it would be refunded to them.

2. Additionally, when the Seller eventually gets the correct item for the other Buyers can they use the eBay-PayPal label printing to print a new label with tracking that would go on the Sold file (again) and also benefit from the shipping discount a 2nd time on each transaction (Assuming the shipping method is either Priority or First Class)?

3. In my situation, and as mentioned, I am going to Refund shipping via PayPal so it will appear as a "Partial refund" for anyone who may review the file. I am not concerned with recovering Fees in this case, just want to get the right things to the right people in the condition they were purchased in. Does this particular situation count against a Seller in any way?

4. The final resolution for each Buyer in this case may wind up being different and the US Buyer has the option with me to pick another item of their choice from my active eBay Store OR ask for a full refund, which I would grant and process through PayPal. If they choose the replacement route I will simply end that item and ship it to them ... in this scenario neither eBay or PayPal would be aware of this unless they read the message trail. The Foreign Buyer on the other hand "may or may not" bring the wrong item back to the US whenever they return BUT they will get the correct item shipped to them once I get it back from the US Buyer, but again, this will be done outside normal label printing functions and simply happen with the only trail being messaging.

5. I don't see this type of situation as a penalty against Sellers if they are making a concerted effort to correct their mistake and do the right thing.

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

jocop_89 · ‎04-26-2019

This is great. I cannot see in paypal how to create another label on an already shipped item. Perhaps you could give me the rundown on how to do this. I must be missing something. I would really appreciate your help. Thank you

Joe

berserkerplanet · ‎04-26-2019

>> I cannot see in paypal how to create another label on an already shipped item

Because you can't. Once tracking uploads to a PayPal transaction, the PayPal label printing option disappears.

You can however manually create a PayPal shipping label: https://www.paypal.com/ShipNow

kim_y_buran · ‎04-27-2019

I am a bit surprised that you did not change your workflow after the first incident.

mr_lincoln · ‎04-27-2019

@kim_y_buran wrote:
I am a bit surprised that you did not change your workflow after the first incident.

... it's tough being human at times ...

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

parkersparrow · ‎04-27-2019

I did that not to long ago. I switched labels on two packages. Both buyers had the same last name & both lived in California. I ended up sending each a shipping label to have them send the packages to each other. Lucky for me they were very nice and understanding.

ersatz_sobriquet · ‎04-27-2019

@parkersparrow wrote:
I did that not to long ago. I switched labels on two packages. Both buyers had the same last name & both lived in California. I ended up sending each a shipping label to have them send the packages to each other. Lucky for me they were very nice and understanding.

This is the easiest way to deal with this problem. Mr. Lincoln had one shipment going overseas, so more complex. But when it comes to risk, the seller is already vulnerable after shipping the wrong items, so they may as well take the additional risk and have the buyers send the items to each other, which is what I did. It worked out fine. paypal ship now is where you may create shipping labels, or whichever shipping company you use, paypal label is not necessary for this rerouting.