Sold an item and shipped it USPS Priority Mail. Printed label through ebay which provides the buyer with a tracking number. The buyer's ebay shipping address is the same as shipping address shown on the paypal transaction. Buyer has not left any other instructions or messages.
The package came back to my Post Office a week after I shipped it. USPS put a label on the package showing:
"FORWARD TIME EXP., RTN TO SENDER" and it shows the buyer's name with a different address in a different state. I had a 30 minute phone wait to talk to USPS to find out this means the buyer moved over a year ago, USPS will only forward mail for one year.
I called ebay and the rep did not have any suggestions on how to handle this except to say "contact the buyer", which of course I did a "Contact Buyer" message on the completed item page and explained what has happened. But the buyer has not replied. The buyer has not made a claim or complaint. Weird.
It seems to me that I owe them the amount they paid for the item, but not the shipping charges as the Post Office will not refund that to me, and it was the buyer's fault for not updating ebay/paypal with their new address. Thankfully I don't do "Free Shipping".
USPS is very generous, they would have forwarded it for up to a year, and this buyer still has not changed their ebay and paypal shipping address. They had to have seen the wrong ship to address when they processed the paypal payment to me. Very weird.
Maybe they're too embarrassed to reply; they should be.
How do I process a refund for the item price through ebay less the original shipping charge?
Ebay phone support has no suggestions other than "try to contact the buyer" What a PIA. I think ebay wants me to just keep the item and the money so ebay can keep the final value fee. Very dishonest, I can't do that.
