Unclaimed package, return to sender

[618unicorns]

Hello,

I need help.  I've never had this situation so I'm not sure how to proceed.  Sent buyer their items purchased, was delivered on 11/20 to a parcel locker as the tracking shows.  Buyer never claimed the package so the post office returned the package to me.  It was marked Unclaimed, return to sender.  What do I do at this point.  I have not heard from the buyer, they fully paid for the items and the shipping cost.  Do I just keep the items and put them back in my store or try to reach out to the buyer?  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thank you

[jayjaspersgarage]

Since you have the item back and haven't heard from the buyer I would send one email and wait a week.  In the meantime I would issue a full refund and not relist it until you have waited a week to hear back.

That way you have held the item for a while and gave them or their family a chance to respond.  They could have had an accident.  I have had customers contact me as much as a week after falling.

Good luck.  I am sure other seller have had this happen and might respond.  I always issue a full refund if an item gets returned regardless of why it was returned.

[a_c_green]

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@618unicorns wrote:

Sent buyer their items purchased, was delivered on 11/20 to a parcel locker as the tracking shows.  Buyer never claimed the package so the post office returned the package to me.  It was marked Unclaimed, return to sender.  What do I do at this point.  I have not heard from the buyer, they fully paid for the items and the shipping cost.  Do I just keep the items and put them back in my store or try to reach out to the buyer?

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Well, you know it's not right to keep both the item and the money paid for it. As they are evidently not reading messages, you could try phoning them once. Although the buyer's encrypted email address disappears from the Order Details page after two weeks, their phone number remains indefinitely.

1. Go to your All Orders page: https://www.ebay.com/sh/ord/?filter=status:ALL_ORDERS 
2. Click the Down Arrow in the Actions column on the row showing the item you sold.
3. Scroll almost to the bottom of the little pulldown menu, and click on "View order details." (Do not confuse it with "View payment details," which is higher up.)
4. In the Sales Record page that appears, click on "See buyer info" in the Purchase Details section on the left side to uncover the phone number there, and/or try the one in the Shipping Details section on the right side.

If still unsuccessful, I would refund the original payment, and move on.

[dhbookds]

I would not refund shipping cost if you can do a refund that way.      

[farmalljr]

Under eBay's rules you are under no obligation to refund or resend the package. It was delivered as far as eBay is concerned. 

What you ultimately decide is up to you. If you decide to refund, I would withhold the shipping and fees. eBay will not refund your fees on a partial refund. 

[antiquaria2]

Can you show me this in the eBay TOS? Im currently going through this currently.

[wastingtime101]

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@antiquaria2 wrote:

Can you show me this in the eBay TOS? Im currently going through this currently.

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Better to start a new discussion than revive an old one as processes and policies change over time @antiquaria2 . Info about buyer coverage can be found on the Money Back Guarantee page.

This is my standard advice for RTS (returned to sender) packages. Take the parts that are relevant to your situation.

You have a few options. You should decide which route you'll be taking and communicate with the buyer, but wait until the item is returned (and delivered) to you before you take any of the following actions.

• You can refund the buyer the item cost minus original shipping and minus a portion of your eBay fees (fee credits are prorated on a partial refund so you won't get back fees on the shipping amount you withhold). Go to your orders page, find the transaction and select "send refund." On the next page enter the amount. After that, relist the item and if you still want to work with this buyer you can tell them to repurchase it with the correct name/address.
• Have the buyer sort out their address issue then pay for re-shipping. Send them an invoice through PayPal or give them your PayPal e-mail. This is post-sale so it's OK to exchange e-mail addresses. It's also OK to ship to a different address because it's technically not tied to the original transaction. You would not purchase the shipping label through eBay or upload tracking to the transaction. You would purchase it from an alternate site like pirateship.com or paypal.com/shipnow and you can send the buyer the new tracking # through e-mail or eBay messages.
• A different way to accomplish buyer payment for re-shipping is to create an eBay listing for the shipping cost (bumping it up to factor in eBay fees) and having the buyer purchase it, entering their correct address at checkout. You could purchase a shipping label through eBay for that transaction.
• You can cancel the transaction "problem with address" which will trigger a full refund to the buyer and your FVF would be credited.
• You can do nothing. The buyer's MBG protection is voided when there's a package delivery attempt. I don't recommend this because even though you'll win an INR (item not received) claim on eBay, there's nothing stopping that buyer from going to their credit card to file a dispute and why deal with all that? I also think handling it before it gets to this stage with a partial refund is the "right" thing to do if you're not going to make reshipping arrangements.
• You might also want to direct the buyer to this page so their address is updated for future purchases: Account Settings: Addresses

[antiquaria2]

They're asking me to resend it again when I get it back at my expense. The buyer paid $10 for the item and I paid $5 for shipping the first time.

[kh-stanley1]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.