Sold ipod touch, poated last week but buyer says not received

[lisbapalea]

Aargh. Really worried I have made some massive mistake or someone's trying to scam me.

I sold an unused ipod touch last week on behalf my niece. Postage was set based on others I saw for sale on ebay, which wasn't recorded or anything, just standard royal mail 1st class. The ipod was unboxed and in a small jiffy bag so I imagine it went as a large letter. My niece and my mum posted it together and got proof of postage.

I have just received a message from the buyer saying it's not been received!

What do I do now??

[divingoffthebalcony]

You can submit a claim with Royal Mail since you have proof of postage.

www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/P58-Inland-final%20april%2012_0_0.pdf

[lisbapalea]

Thanks diving. I haven't had a chance to check that claim form yet but do you know if that will still work if the value is c.£95??

[lisbapalea]

Oh bollocky bollocks.

[monkeyfacegrace]

I think they only pay out £20 ish.

Sorry but you were mad sending it without tracking. Lesson learnt for furture I guess.

[lisbapalea]

I just did what I saw other ebayers doing with the same items, which is the approach I usually take when working out postage. Guess I shouldn't be such a sheep.

[jendot2]

This absolutely should have been sent tracked no matter what anyone else was charging. You can claim about £20 from Royal Mail ....if you have the original purchase receipt.

[Jacksonville14]

yep always send tracked - the buyer probably did receive it but as no proof of delivery they have a free item. And as a seller you have no way of knowing if a buyer is honest or not. Cynical maybe but losses are pretty rare.

[itiswhatitiswhatitis]

It does sound like you've been scammed but without paying for recorded delivery they will get their money back. Tbh if I bought an I pod and someone posted it in a small Jiffy bag I wouldn't be impressed.

Always send things recorded and charge buyers for it. There are so many scammers on there

[Jacksonville14]

Standard signed for does not guarantee a signature, nor would it cover an item of that value. It would have had to be Special Delivery or courier to be adequately covered for any loss.

[itiswhatitiswhatitis]

That's true Jacksonville I rarely uses Royal Mail any more so can never remember which one to use!

[19lottie82]

When did you post it? I give items a week before I count them as "lost".

Get the buyer to confirm the delivery address and check it against the one you received with the PayPal payment, that it should have been sent to.

Has the buyer opened a case yet? If not tell them to do so and inform them that you will conduct your own enquiries, and they may be contacted by Royal Mail to confirm some details (this may scare them off if they are a scammer). At least that way you will get your fees back.

Appreciate this is not a nice lesson to learn, but if anything is valued at over £20, please send it tracked in future.

[19lottie82]

Also, you need to wait 15 working days before you can file a claim with Royal Mail. If you do it any sooner they will just reject it and you will have to start the whole process again.

[lisbapalea]

Thanks Lottie - this is really useful advice and I am going to do what you suggest with the buyer.

The item was posted on the 27th Aug, which is 9 working days ago. So, long enough to be 'lost' but I will wait until next week to make a claim with the Royal Mail.

[lisbapalea]

Sorry everyone - more help needed! This is the latest from the buyer after I followed the above instructions to get them to open a case with ebay:

im just looking through the opening a case part and it says that it is for if the buyer and seller dont agree on an outcome, and that once the case is open you have to wait again before it is 'escalated' to customer support. Is it possible to just do the refund through paypal or does it have to go through ebay?

Can anyone help with this? I have never been in this situation before so I don't know what the most straightforward course of action is.

[itiswhatitiswhatitis]

Definitely tell her it needs to go through eBay

[Jacksonville14]

you can refund without the need for a case - and you don't want a case to count against you as a defect either. And yes once opened the buyer can escalate after 8 days for eBay to intercept if the seller doesn't co-operate.

[19lottie82]

the buyer doesn't NEED to open a case, but there are so many scammers out there, it's often worth encouraging them to open one as it sometimes scares them off (again, make sure you mention investigations with royal mail etc.).

also, if you don't open a case, you will still have to pay the final value fees on the sale which will be about 10% of the sale price

[Redglitter]

Definitely get them to open a case. If they're at it then they may have a history with eBay of this.

I've sold a few phones on ebay and most recently a set of concert tickets. i always charge for Special Delivery that way you can see exactly where the parcel is and you're well covered if it disappears

[Jacksonville14]

And buyers opening a case can count as a defect on the sellers account

And you can still get your fees back after refunding so don't take any notice of that statement.