Hi,

I need advice from veteran Ebay sellers.  I sold a Lego set on Ebay, shipped it via USPS parcel with signature confirmation.  The buyer was not there to sign for the delivery.  USPS left a note which she never responded to.  So the set was sent back.  Now she opened a case against me wanting a refund.

1)  what recourse do I have, if any, since she was responsible for not being available?  In my ad, I said I would use signature confirmation, which requires an adult to sign for the package.

2)  the tracking shows that my returned package has been stuck at some USPS location in my city for more than a month.  How do I go about chasing that down?

This is the first case opened against me on Ebay.  Your advice is much appreciated.

Was there any communication before the case was opened? Did you write to this buyer when you received the shipment back? I would have offered to refund purchase costs (minus shipping costs) when I received the package back - no need for the buyer to initiate.

I have not had a case like this, but I would still extend the same offer (potentially with a 20% restocking fee) and just treat this like a return.

Ad 2), do you actually have the package, or does it currently reside with USPS? For stuck packages, just going to the tracking page and requesting email status updates magically unclogs the USPS pipes in most cases (that was one hell of a pro-tip when it was posted a few months back) - or you can call that USPS location and check with them. A month is a long time to wait though - I would have acted sooner.

Process the refund and take the shipping costs out of your restocking fee.

thanks for your replies.

I should have added that I intend to offer the refund minus the shipping.  I'm asking the hypothetical of what if the buyer rejects that and wants a full refund.  Would Ebay side with the buyer or me?

also, I never knew that the package was returned until the case was opened, and thus the one month limbo.

38 minutes ago, Phil B said:

2), do you actually have the package, or does it currently reside with USPS? For stuck packages, just going to the tracking page and requesting email status updates magically unclogs the USPS pipes in most cases (that was one hell of a pro-tip when it was posted a few months back) - or you can call that USPS location and check with them. A month is a long time to wait though - I would have acted sooner.

 

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The package is in some facility in my city.  I never knew about it until the case was opened.  I will try as you suggested.  Thanks.

 

Edited April 14, 20169 yr by Dkc

I'm not offering a refund until I have package back in hand....and I specify that on my item descriptions.  On returns, I also specify that the buyer pays return shipping.  

Without knowing the details regarding the vibe of communications - I would suggest that you use caution when you consider the value of shipping costs vs the potential negative impact of a buyer who might feel wronged (whether justifiable or not).

It sounds like you already have an email thread started with the buyer trying to work things out. This is your first course of action.

I assume that the item was larger and of higher value since you used signature confirmation? Keep that in mind during this process.

+1 to Phil's advice on getting email update status on your package from usps.com. I've had good luck with that.

Feel free to let the buyer know: "The post office will attempt to deliver a package 3 times. After the 3rd attempt it will hold it for pick-up for approximately 3-5 days. After that time period it will be returned to the sender as undeliverable. "

If the buyer still wants a full refund and you've made a reasonable attempt to try to resolve the matter then I would contact ebay. In this instance you as a seller have done nothing wrong and have adhered to ebay's terms and conditions etc. as a seller.

ebay will side with you on this one and will more than likely prevent any negative feedback being applied to your account.

good luck.

 

 

 

usps offers free returns if sent via priority mail.If sent via parcel select you must pay for the return shipping. They hold the item for 30 days at your local post office for you to pay return shipping and pick it up After 30 days they salvage the item and destroy it.

1 hour ago, river41 said:

usps offers free returns if sent via priority mail.If sent via parcel select you must pay for the return shipping. They hold the item for 30 days at your local post office for you to pay return shipping and pick it up After 30 days they salvage the item and destroy it.

really?  I didn't use Priority mail.  I didn't know about this situation until the buyer opened a case.  The tracking now shows that it is being returned to my local post office.  Hopefully I can just go pick it up.

Don't forget to add the buyer to your block list. And I would take the maximum allowed time to issue the refund. Not saying you should do that, but I would.

My sales volume is low enough that I just have a bunch of tabs open in my browser with the progress of each package I send. I don't close them till they show delivered, and refresh them every day. That way, no surprises.