What is your best policy guess on a return package lost in transit?

[richard1rst]

We all know that from time to time a package gets lost in the mail. Tracking gets to a point then stops and the buyer never sees the package.

BUT

What about a return? I had a buyer mail a return by Priority Mail on 10/12. The last track was at a sorting facility on 10/13 then nothing. Today being the 23rd even if it never got scanned it surely would have made it to me by now.

SO what is the refund policy if I never get it back? On the one hand he is entitled to a refund, but on the other hand if I never get it back ????????

[hurryagain]

Yeah, it sucks...he sent the item back so I believe he gets his refund...GRRR...

He sent it back PM...was it in a flat rate box? First $50 free insurance included... I have a bad feeling you are going to tell me that the item is more than $50 in value.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Since it was mailed via Priority, it automatically includes $50 of insurance coverage. I hope that your item was not valued at more than that.  

Check the usps.com web site and file an insurance claim as soon as possible.  USPS policy states that if both the sender and recipient file an insurance claim, then the sender will get the payout unless the credit has already been issued to the potential package recipient. In this case, your buyer is the sender.

[richard1rst]

---

@hurryagain wrote:

Yeah, it sucks...he sent the item back so I believe he gets his refund...GRRR...

He sent it back PM...was it in a flat rate box? First $50 free insurance included... I have a bad feeling you are going to tell me that the item is more than $50 in value.

---

No it wasn't that expensive and given the shape of the item it was not a flat rate box. But if he is the one who mailed it then he files for the insurance claim. We all now how much fun that is. And no doubt he would object and maybe assume/accuse of just getting a runaround.

[hurryagain]

@nobody*s_perfect 

Thank you for all the specifics as to the steps required and who the priority precipitant would be given the circumstances.  

[johnrj1226]

Our PO folks  say  that USPS does not  consider a  package "lost"  until after 3 weeks.  There is  an 800 you can  call to see if USPS  can help you.  Don't be in a hurry when you call.

As for a SWAG I can't venture even a SWAG - some package falls of the  conveyor some where  & stays hidden until some one  sees it on the floor,  they  put it  back on the conveyor and it  get moving again.  You can filling the  blanks as  to the average time frame this might  take.

[nobody*s_perfect]

---

@johnrj1226 wrote:

Our PO folks  say  that USPS does not  consider a  package "lost"  until after 3 weeks. ....

---

It's always best to consult a primary source rather than a random USPS employee.  In this case, the usps web site page about filing insurance claims says that the wait time for filing a claim for lost Priority Mail is 15 days. I wouldn't wait any longer than that.  

https://www.usps.com/help/claims.htm

[nh7235 · Accepted solution]

---

@richard1rst wrote:

SO what is the refund policy if I never get it back? On the one hand he is entitled to a refund, but on the other hand if I never get it back ????????

---

Long ago, brian.t@ebay wrote about returns lost or damaged in transit:

The person that pays for the label is responsible for what happens in transit. If the seller provides the funds for the buyer to purchase, the seller is still responsible. If the buyer paid for return shipping then we would close the case in the sellers favor. If the seller paid for return shipping then it would close in the buyers favor. This is how we have decided claims in the past and that will continue going forward.

[1stufftobuy]

Refunding the buyer

When you agree to give the buyer their money back, or once you receive the returned item, you'll need to issue their refund within 2 business days. To do this, simply go to the case in your Returns dashboard and choose Refund buyer. If you don't refund the buyer within 2 business days of receiving the item, and the buyer has uploaded return tracking, we may automatically issue a refund to them on your behalf.

Looks like a reverse INR.

No, you do not have to refund until you receive the returned item?

Hard to say if eBay will follow their own policies for sellers as they do for buyers, hence the “?”.

You May be the first to answer this question.

Read posts of sellers whose items were lost by USPS.

See the “blues” responses.

You should be able to make the same case they have.

I believe the sender of a package must be the one to file a claim with USPS.

[1stufftobuy]

USPS now allows sender or receiver to file a claim.

Who can file a domestic claim?

Either the person sending the mailpiece (Mailer) or the person receiving the mailpiece (Addressee) may file a claim for a damaged or missing article.

So @nh7235 is correct.
You will end up refunding and filing a claim.
You may, or may not, get reimbursed by USPS in 3 to 6 months.

[kensgiftshop]

---

@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

Since it was mailed via Priority, it automatically includes $50 of insurance coverage.

---

I didn't think returns come with insurance, unless the buyer bought the shipping label them self.

[richard1rst]

As Paul Harvey used to say “And now the rest of the story”.

Today is the 29th and I still have not received the package back. I called CS and the solution was that eBay would give them a courtesy refund out of eBay’s purse (not mine) because as she put it “it was our label that got lost in the mail”.

So the buyer got a refund, I kept the original sales money and my account did not get a ding.

Sounds good to me.