buyers getting refund for item not received case leaves sellers open to abuse by dishonest buyers

[Anonymous]

I have been getting a number of buyers claiming that their item has not arrived, however, unless I have a business account or pay for tracked service via royal mail I cannot prove the items have been delivered. This i feel leaves the private sellers open to abuse by people who are dishonest. I do not believe that there are that many of my packages that get "lost" in the post!

I recently had a case where a buyer opened an item not received case for each individual item they bought, when I asked them to confirm their name and address so that I could look into the matter with the royal mail, mysteriously they closed the case. This to me either means the items arrived that day or they were being dishonest. 

I sell on ebay as a hobby and only make a small amount of profit after eBay have taken their greedy amount of fees. I cannot afford to become a business seller. This means that each time I have to refund someone whether they are being honest or not, I lose money. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

[sextons-sweet-deals]

always ship with tracking even if it costs extra. Roll the cost into your listing price or shipping cost.

It's just the world we live in today. You have your honest people, but it seems there are more and more who want something for nothing.

[jayjaspersgarage]

Sorry to hear you are learning that people will lie, cheat and steal their way through life at the expense of ebay sellers. It is unfortunate to have to use tracking 100% of the time but this is what I started doing within months of starting on ebay in 2010. I got ripped off a few times and figured out how dishonest many people are.

I sell small unbreakable collector items that do not cost much with tracking so the cost of the shipping often exceeds the cost of the item. I advise my customers to buy multiple items because the cost of the shipping is the same with tracking for up to as many as 50 of my matchbook covers.

The good news is that if you use ebay shipping labels with tracking you generally are protected from most dishonest buyers. Plus you will get a postage discount if you sell enough volume. My discount is around 17%.

[jojoba_boutique]

YES!!! I am just closing down my ebay because of this exact experience, except the scammer (I can't leave them neg feedback because they did this after it was no longer an option for me) has been paid back for everything so far and other items are still awaiting their scam refund claim. I was new to ebay and didn't track small (uner £20) items when posting. They bought numerous small items, didn't ask for combined postage and now claim they have not received any of them. This is the only person to not have received any overseas delivery. Ever. It is also a dubious address. I have alerted ebay, they have been awful. If the computer says 'no' they don't help you. They also tried to pass me onto Paypal to 'get me off the phone' (Paypal's exact words when I called and they had no idea why). The system is set up to support scammers and frauds. I know now but was naive back then. I have a choice not to sell on platforms like this so am going elsewhere where I have protection, because a policy like 'Guaranteed money back', means small sellers are exposed to fraud and will always lose out. Scammers love this type of policy because at the end of the day, they will always get their money. I know that we should accept this is the world we live in, but ebay shouldn't support it. They could support sellers but won't because they also make money from the scammed seller. So they enable scammers. All I can do is take my business to an ethical, supportive company.

[one_collector_to_another]

Definitely recommend shipping every item with tracking. On high ticket items, its best if you hand deliver them to the shipper, obtain a receipt, insure the item, and/or require direct signature. Always ship to the address provided by the buyer during checkout otherwise you will lose your Seller Protection. Also good to charge shipping separately, otherwise you risk having to refund both the price of the item and paying double in shipping. Hope this helps! All the best!

Always better safe than sorry.

[jayjaspersgarage]

On expensive items I add signature required for customers with low feedback scores or if they previously asked a shady question about getting free shipping or an unrealistic discount.

[glyph01]

Where I sell, no offers, everything price as is, don't like it, keep it movin'. Very rarely do I give d-counts. Shipments are always del-con'd and if high valued, its insured. I choose the shipping method, even if they request a faster method. I don't be messing' around. Have to be on it. Read all the terms and conditions, know it like an encyclopedia, know like your life depends on it; the back of your hand, better than the reps themselves. Know how the site's mechanism works as I see some folks in here do, and can 'splain it. No joke out here with these fools robbing you blind. Nuh, uh.