Unclaimed Item

[mcspartangoods228]

A little over a week ago I had sold a toy figure for $4, and a few days later I found it in my mailbox again and it had a sticker on it that said "unclaimed." Right when I got it I contacted the buyer and asked if I wanted to ship it to them again. It has been three days and I still haven't got a response, what do I do now?

[sam9876]

I wouldn't do anything. 

[ohnojoey]

You are a very conscientious person. Now you wait. Forever if necessary.

[slippinjimmy]

I have a returned package here waiting for the buyer to get back to me.......it's been here since 2004 ($75 item).

I sent a cheque once to a supplier (small time single man operation), it came back marked "moved - no forwarding address", telephone number disconnected.

The guy knocked on my office door one day, irate because I never paid him. I pointed to the wall where his check had been pinned for FIVE YEARS!

[mam98031]

I've had this happen a few times over the years.  What I do when I get no response from a buyer, is I wait a few days and email again.  A few days after that if I still haven't heard from them, I refund their money less original shipping and fees that aren't recoverable.  

Don't go and issue a cancellation for bad address.  If you do that you will end up fully refunding the buyer.  It is fine to do a partial refund, just make sure you email them and let them know what you are doing and why.

[7606dennis]

Basically, Sam has the correct idea.  Since you already contacted the buyer explaining that the item had been returned to you and requested his input on how he wanted to handle the situation, I would wait for his reply.  The ball is in his court, as they say.

I would secure the item while awaiting his reply and if one never comes, after storing the item the amount of time that your state's laws say that it needs to be held before it can be deemed to be abandoned, dispose of it as you see fit.

If the buyer contacts you, you can decide on if you want to ship it to him again, if he pays for the additional cost or if he wants simply refund him.  The choice is his.  Of course, if contacts you after the item has been determined to be abandoned, I would refund him. Otherwise, I keep the money to cover the cost of storage without giving it a second thought.

[second-chance-sa1es]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

I have a returned package here waiting for the buyer to get back to me.......it's been here since 2004 ($75 item).

I sent a cheque once to a supplier (small time single man operation), it came back marked "moved - no forwarding address", telephone number disconnected.

The guy knocked on my office door one day, irate because I never paid him. I pointed to the wall where his check had been pinned for FIVE YEARS!

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LOL Bizarre. I would tend to agree with you though. You never know when someone will turn up down the road.

People die, go to jail, have their accounts hacked, you never really know a persons reason. Sometimes there are hoarders who buy so much stuff they forget what they bought.

couple months back I was in line at the PO (before I started printing my own labels) and he had a package there that wasnt his but that he opened. Postal employee walks up and is talking to him and gets really indignant and asks him why he opened it. This guy looked at me, then looked at the postal employee looking really lost for words then said

"Because it showed up in my mailbox? I mean if I was up to no good wouldnt I have just kept the item or thrown it away? Didnt realize it wasnt for me until I saw what was in it."

People sometimes dont look at their mail before opening it, or skim it, or order things that will be delivered after they have moved away. People are strange.

[creekcoyote]

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@second-chance-sa1es wrote:

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

I have a returned package here waiting for the buyer to get back to me.......it's been here since 2004 ($75 item).

I sent a cheque once to a supplier (small time single man operation), it came back marked "moved - no forwarding address", telephone number disconnected.

The guy knocked on my office door one day, irate because I never paid him. I pointed to the wall where his check had been pinned for FIVE YEARS!

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LOL Bizarre. I would tend to agree with you though. You never know when someone will turn up down the road.

People die, go to jail, have their accounts hacked, you never really know a persons reason. Sometimes there are hoarders who buy so much stuff they forget what they bought.

couple months back I was in line at the PO (before I started printing my own labels) and he had a package there that wasnt his but that he opened. Postal employee walks up and is talking to him and gets really indignant and asks him why he opened it. This guy looked at me, then looked at the postal employee looking really lost for words then said

"Because it showed up in my mailbox? I mean if I was up to no good wouldnt I have just kept the item or thrown it away? Didnt realize it wasnt for me until I saw what was in it."

People sometimes dont look at their mail before opening it, or skim it, or order things that will be delivered after they have moved away. People are strange.

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We get other people's mail frequently.  Sometimes it gets opened before we see who it is addressed to and sometimes we catch it before it gets opened.  I am like the guy at the PO.   Didn't know it wasn't for me until I opened it.