Why even bother???

[ligu_7529]

I sold an item early last week, and it never made it to the customer's house.  They talked to the Post Office who apparently told them it was delivered to the wrong address, and they could not get it back, so to ask me for a refund (the nerve!).  

Of course, I refunded the buyer their money as it was not their fault that they did not receive the item.  My frustration is that I not only lost the sale, but I lost the original price of the item, the time that it took me to shop/find the item, research and listing time and then packing time & materials, plus a trip to the post office to make sure it got there in 1 piece and was not crushed as it was fragile.  I did all of that work to end up with a negative transaction (a loss) due to the Post Office negligence ( I do not believe this buyer had any reason to lie about not receiving the package, as the tracking from post office shows that it was delivered, but not the exact address it was delivered to.)

While I enjoy re-selling, I do not enjoy losing money and this only seems to happen with my eBay sales, maybe I will do like thousands of others and get off this site - just expressing my frustration, I do not need the naysayers telling me what I did wrong and other unhelpful replies, as none of them will change the Facts!

[sakic92710]

I just sense red flags on this buyer.  I do not know what it is like in the US but, in Canada, if you open mail that is not yours (let alone keep it), that is against the law.  Either the buyer is lying or the PO is not enforcing a federal law.

[chubbycatcollectibles]

These kind of cases Ebay will most of the time make sure everyone gets their money back. You should check with Ebay on this.  I have had the same thing happen where they pay the buyer for their loss.

[dhbookds]

I wouldn't have refunded without verifying with the PO the item was indeed misdelivered.  As said, they have GPS and will send the Postman to try to recover the item.  I, too, have had ebay refund the buyer out of their pocket......

[powell-memorabilia]

---

@sakic92710 wrote:

I just sense red flags on this buyer.  I do not know what it is like in the US but, in Canada, if you open mail that is not yours (let alone keep it), that is against the law.  Either the buyer is lying or the PO is not enforcing a federal law.

---

Not sure what the PO should do.  I doubt that they will go door to door searching for a misdelivered package.  Kick down the door, throw the recipient against the wall, put on the cuffs, drag him to a holding cell, and start the interrogation?  Come on - USA or Canada, this isn't going to happen.  

Even if they could find where the package was delivered, who's to say that it wasn't stolen off of a porch?  Heck, maybe the erroneous recipient opened the package, not noticing that it wasn't addressed to him?  I've certainly opened mail that wasn't addressed to me - not catching that it was delivered to the wrong location.  It is only a crime if one knowingly opens mail for another recipient.  And, I think that we can rightfully assume that the PO doesn't prioritize such matters.  

[the_fancy_fox]

I hope you verified your buyers story with your post office. What class of mail did you send it? Many have insurance already added on. 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Well, you would have won an INR, but you did the right thing if you believe the buyer is telling the truth.   I have done so myself several times.  

@sakic92710  why is it a red flag?   Misdeliveries happen all the time, esp with all the cluster boxes.  Many of us have been on both ends many times.  I had a recent case where I 100% knew she was telling the truth b/c she was a regular & had rec'd every other pkg I'd ever sent her.  Nothing the PO can do, how would they even know which cluster cubby it was delivered to & even if they did, they can't go to someone's house & demand it.  Most people are honest & just deliver the misdelivery to the rightful owner or give it back to the postman, but not everyone is honest.  We probably have a misdelivery into our own mailbox (cluster) once every 2 weeks.  About the same frequency for a neighbor bringing over a piece of our mail.  It happens constantly.  

@huntfishdie45  As for the GPS, yes, there are GPS coordinates BUT they don't help a lot of the time, b/c they are only as close as "a stop", they cannot identify which cubby in a cluster an item was delivered to.  So, if it's going to an actual house, it can be helpful, but seeing as though most places use clusters now, the help is limited.  I found this out when I talked to the PO of the situtation described above & since it was a cluster box, it was worthless 😞 

[dolcetreasures]

Buyers have some level of responsibility when ordering online. If they don’t want that responsibility, they are free to shop in B&M stores for themselves. I would never refund on a delivery. 

[rugerskick]

It helps to actually take the time to read what someone posts.  You apparently didn't here.

[rugerskick]

Not sure why the post office isn't responsible for the refund, as they were hired to deliver the item to the proper address, and failed to do what they were contracted for.  And they still get to keep their payment for delivery to the wrong address as well?

[simply-the-best-for-you]

---

@dolcetreasures wrote:

Buyers have some level of responsibility when ordering online. If they don’t want that responsibility, they are free to shop in B&M stores for themselves. I would never refund on a delivery. 

---

Sure, but in most cases the buyer did nothing wrong, it was all USPS's fault.  My buyer above did nothing wrong, she's purchased from me many times.  One time it was misdelivered by USPS & whoever got it was not honest.  That's not on my buyer, she didn't do anything wrong.  Almost all of my misdeliveries have been to cluster boxes (which is what I have too), there's really nothing a buyer can do.  They are a secure form of delivery, but USPS has to put it in the right cubby.  

I have refunded maybe 3x, when I am convinced the buyer did nothing wrong.  I want to keep my customers & if they did nothing wrong, I don't see any reason to punish them.  

[huntfishdie45]

You're making a lot of assumptions, the OP never said anything about what the PO said happened to the package. He posted the customer told him what the PO said happened to the package. You should always verify what happened with the tracking by checking with the destination PO before you refund. If the PO confirms that the package is lost, then refunding the buyer is the right way to handle the situation and then take it up with the PO by initiating a lost claim. As far as it being delivered to a cluster of mailboxes so GPS is not going to work, I would let the PO tell me that after they try to track down the item so that can be included in the lost claim.

[qeqo_0]

---

@ligu_7529 wrote:

The tracking said it was delivered.  It did not say what address it was delivered to. 

---

Call that post office yourself @ligu_7529 to verify that "it was delivered to the wrong address, and they could not get it back" when they reopen on Tuesday.