eBay

swenson8781 · ‎03-13-2018

Buyer purchased item for $60 w/free shipping, made it to destination but was at apartment building and USPS wouldn't leave it. Package sat at buyers local USPS for 10 days, and I received back today with postage due of $11.24 (same as original cost of shipping).

Buyer messaged me stating they didn't receive initially, tracking showed it was at local USPS, or they could schedule a re-delivery. I told them where it was and encouraged them to pick up if possible. Both buyer & I tried calling local USPS, with no answer, of course. As the deadline got closer to USPS returning to me, I encouraged them to at least schedule re-delivery, which they obviously didn't do.

I'm okay if the buyer doesn't want/didn't pick up, but would like to refund buyer the $60 (since I have the item back), but then subtract out the postage due for it coming back to me, is that reasonable? Also, can I do that through Paypal without getting a defect, since it would be a partial refund?

castlemagicmemories · ‎03-13-2018

@blueberryjellyfishwrote:
If you want to do a full refund then do a cancellation for problem with address.

If you want to do a partial refund and minus some shipping charges then send it through the paypal transaction & send the buyer an eBay message confirming the refund. Reference the paypal transaction number for good measure.

With all due respect, adding an explanation would be a good idea, for Ebay purposes.

impalajohnny · ‎03-13-2018

I'm surprised that posters are trying to throw the buyer under the bus on this one.

If it was me and the buyer and I were both working on calling the local PO to schedual a redelivery but could not get through for 10 days. I would not have paid one cent in postage due and I would have had the package turned around and sent back to the buyer free of charge when it hit my local post office.

Maybe the buyer could have easily just went down to the local PO and got it but maybe not, alot of people order things online because they are dependant on home delivery.

pburn · ‎03-13-2018

@impalajohnnywrote:
I'm surprised that posters are trying to throw the buyer under the bus on this one.

If it was me and the buyer and I were both working on calling the local PO to schedual a redelivery but could not get through for 10 days. I would not have paid one cent in postage due and I would have had the package turned around and sent back to the buyer free of charge when it hit my local post office.

Maybe the buyer could have easily just went down to the local PO and got it but maybe not, alot of people order things online because they are dependant on home delivery.

When USPS carriers choose not to leave a package at my door (for whatever reason), they leave a pre-printed form with all the information I need to deal with the package. One of the several options is to schedule a re-delivery, one is to schedule a pick-up at my postal center, one is to leave the package with a neighbor, etc. Maybe eight choices of how I can get that package. I just mark which one I want and stick the pre-paid form back on my mailbox for the carrier to grab the next time s/he delivers the mail.

Maybe USPS in the buyer's town doesn't have that kind of service? Maybe the buyer can't go to Customer Service at the appropriate station? I even email USPS if I have a problem with a carrier, and the email, while appearing to go to some postal black hole in D.C., ends up in the inbox of my local stationmaster.

I think there were several other ways to contact the appropriate USPS staff when calling didn't seem to work. I agree with other posters that the buyer wasn't trying very hard to get that package.

reallynicestamps · ‎03-13-2018

When the customer did not pick up or arrange re-delivery, she forfeited her right to Dispute the transaction.

You can :

offer to reship on payment of the return shipping to you and the new shipping back to her. Since the original transaction is over, you could either set up a private Fixed Price listing for her or invoice her for the two shipping fees through Paypal's Send Money service.
refund her original payment
refund her original payment minus the return shipping USPS charged you.

I would go for the last option.

And then BLOCK

KISS.

bigdeals.etc · ‎03-14-2018

@impalajohnnywrote:

If it was me and the buyer and I were both working on calling the local PO to schedual a redelivery but could not get through for 10 days. I would not have paid one cent in postage due and I would have had the package turned around and sent back to the buyer free of charge when it hit my local post office.

I'm not sure this is always the case. I wondered this too (because I don't use parcel post) but what happens if you didn't pay the postage due? I doubt it would go back to the buyer... and if it does, then would the postage due be doubled?

Essentially you are saying the same thing as refusing to receive a return to sender package due to refusal, right? This happened to me one time, I sent an item that was worth 50 cents to me. The buyer refused it and it came back to me with postage due for 1.50 (I didn't understand why neither, but a lot of USPS workers never follow policy and just do whatever they want). I told the USPS employee that I refuse it because the item inside is worth only 50 cents. The employee said "What?? But we will get rid of it then. It won't go back to the buyer." I just walked away and said "Trash it."

bigdeals.etc · ‎03-14-2018

By the way, it's possible to partial refund someone thru PayPal while talking to eBay to refund you the FVF depending on the circumstance. Sometimes it has to do with returns with postage due or something. I've done it many times. Just make sure you're talking with eBay and they agree to it as you're issuing the refund. They can check in real time and just credit you the FVF.

banana*shoe*boutique · ‎03-14-2018

@bigdeals.etcwrote:
By the way, it's possible to partial refund someone thru PayPal while talking to eBay to refund you the FVF depending on the circumstance. Sometimes it has to do with returns with postage due or something. I've done it many times. Just make sure you're talking with eBay and they agree to it as you're issuing the refund. They can check in real time and just credit you the FVF.

Yes! This is what I was going to say!

OP - CALL eBay and tell then what happened and what you are refunding. They will talk you through the process and you can refund minus shipping AND get back you FVF.