USPS "unable to forward" package

[uzumakey]

Recently had a package returned because USPS was "unable to forward". Buyer hasn't messaged me to ask about their package and hasn't replied to my messages regarding this.  What should I do?

[lja440]

Message them ONCE. state that the item arrived back to you UTF (unable to forward). 

Give them some time to respond. If they do not then refund their money minus the postage and fees.

Quite a few people move without putting in a change of address.  And many that do never notify their senders of an address change and when their COA expires their mail starts being returned to sender unable to forward.

[robot-hands]

You do  nothing.

Absolutely do not refund, that's the one of the worst possible things you could do

[takikawa4]

It's the RIGHT thing to do. You can't just keep the item and the money.

[robot-hands]

Actually the right thing to do is keep your address updated if you are buying on ebay.

They don't have to keep the item; they can donate it, throw it away, leave it in the street, shoot it from a cannon...whatever they like.

OR

Offer to re-ship it at the buyers expense.  If the buyer deosn't care enough about the item to have it re-shipped...the seller shouldn't care enough to engage the buyer any further.

[alturiaoct7_9]

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@robot-hands wrote:

Actually the right thing to do is keep your address updated if you are buying on ebay.

They don't have to keep the item; they can donate it, throw it away, leave it in the street, shoot it from a cannon...whatever they like.

OR

Offer to re-ship it at the buyers expense.  If the buyer deosn't care enough about the item to have it re-shipped...the seller shouldn't care enough to engage the buyer any further.

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So youre saying the seller should keep the money and the item...isnt that stealing?

[kattinsanity]

Buyers are allowed to keep items AND get a full refund~~wouldn't you call THAT stealing?  If the seller just refunds the buyers money they are most likely going to get a defect on their seller account.  They should wait for the buyer to file a INR case, supply the tracking info showing the item was returned as undeliverable back to them and THEN offer the buyer a partial refund (their payment minus the seller fees and postage they paid).  The seller should not have to shoulder a defect due to the buyers address problem.

[robot-hands]

I am absolutely, 100% and with no ambiguity, saying the seller should keep the money.

It's theirs.

What they do with the item is up them. 

[7606dennis]

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@takikawa4 wrote:

It's the RIGHT thing to do. You can't just keep the item and the money.

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Actually, that is not entirely accurate.  I would suggest messaging the buyer advising them of the situation and request their instructions upon how they wish to proceed.  I would then secure their property and await their response.

If they respond and want to have it reshipped they will need to pay the cost. 

If they respond that they want to cancel the transaction.  I would refund their full invoiced price.

If they don't respond, I would securely store the item until such time as local statutes say it can be considered abandoned property and then dispose of it as I see fit.  Keeping the money already paid as the storage fee for the item for that time.  However, I would probably refund the original buyer in full if they contacted me later with a reasonable explanation for the long delay.

[glgaquaplants]

I would message the buyer about the situation and until the buyer send back the message with the correct new address, have them demand to pay shipping. Or be nice and pay out of your pocket. 

I had two buyer telling me situation where they forgot to update their address before I shipped off the package. They apologize, since they were the first to tell me about it, I was nice enough to resend new plants out of my own pocket. I gotten back nice feedback because of it. 

[postingid2017]

No, it is not "stealing."

[kattinsanity]

Why would you refund the total invoiced amount?  They buyer is the one responsible for it not being delivered to them~~supplied the wrong ship to address.  Why should a seller pay for the original shipping out of their own pocket for a buyers mistake?  The buyer deserves to have the original shipping cost deducted from the refund they receive.  If the item comes back damaged due to bouncing around for a long period of time before being delivered back to the seller the buyer gets NO refund.

I sent a big heavy platter to a buyer in CA. and it bounced back and forth between CO. & CA. for about 2 weeks because the buyer gave a wrong address.  By the time they got it, it was in a million pieces.  They took the entire blame for the breakage.  That was a stand up buyer in my opinion.

[7606dennis]

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@kattinsanity wrote:

Why would you refund the total invoiced amount?  They buyer is the one responsible for it not being delivered to them~~supplied the wrong ship to address.  Why should a seller pay for the original shipping out of their own pocket for a buyers mistake?  The buyer deserves to have the original shipping cost deducted from the refund they receive.  If the item comes back damaged due to bouncing around for a long period of time before being delivered back to the seller the buyer gets NO refund.

I sent a big heavy platter to a buyer in CA. and it bounced back and forth between CO. & CA. for about 2 weeks because the buyer gave a wrong address.  By the time they got it, it was in a million pieces.  They took the entire blame for the breakage.  That was a stand up buyer in my opinion.

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Ordinarily, I give the buyer, even ditsy ones, the benefit of the doubt.  I would consider the initial shipping cost as just PR cost.  Of course, I was only explaining my policy and what I would do.  However, if the buyer filed an INR dispute, I'm not sure eBay wouldn't give them back the original S&H anyway.

It's good to hear that your had such an upright customer.  Alas!  There aren't as many of them as there use to be.  Geez!  I miss the days of doing business with nothing more than a handshake to seal the deal.