how long do you need to keep proof of post/tracking certs for?

[robin64]

I have a drawer full and need a clear out but wondering when is the cut off for getting rid..3 months? is that long enough? Just had a zero fb buyer open an INR after a month with no previous contact gggrrrr!!! so have been retrieving her pop cert from the PO from drawer and thought I could cut down the pile a bit.

[glammanana]

robin64 I will now keep my receipts for 180 days (6mths) as that is the latest time buyers can make a claim through pay-pal with ebay it is 30days (may be wrong but think so) You never know how the buyers mind works once they realise they can get a refund if they get fed up with an item ? its not fair but just the rules at the moment.
I keep all mine in monthly envelopes and just pop them in my ebay box so they are to hand if like yourself I get a complaint.

[ragged]

I think Paypal will let disputes be opened as late as 6 months, so yeah, I'd go for that. I actually end up keeping mine about 1 yr. Just in an envelope, no biggie.

[Dumbledoresgirl]

Oh gosh, I used to keep mine for 2 weeks! on the reckoning that no-one would leave it more than 2 weeks before disputing whether something had been posted or not.

I recently decided to up it to a month. I can see I have been naive.

If you receive positive feedback from a buyer, which obviously indicates that they have received the item, do you bin the proof of postage then? I am guessing you don't, but again, that has always been my practice.

[millymae]

I have a box full - about 2 years worth. Thankfully I've never had to retrieve one and have become a bit lazy. At first I used to write the buyers name or the item on, and get rid once feedback had been received. Nowadays I just open the lid and fling them in, hoping that they will stay in some sort of date order. I do occasionally think that it will be a long job if I ever have to find one, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

[nauticant]

Your post made me feel faint Dumbledoresgirl.

I keep my dispatch/delivery documents for 1 year to be comfortably over the 6 months Paypal claim period. They could still claim in the small claims court beyond the 1 year but that's overthinking the matter.

Positive feeback means little/nothing in terms of how ebay or Paypal might handle a case opened against you. You might think this seems mad but remember that they want a Computer says "no" process and will often limit their checking solely to "online confirmation delivery available? Yes/No". "Yes", sellers wins, "No", buyer wins.

[currentnameinuse]

you should send everything tracked anyway - and upload the tracking info to eBay when you post an item. Anything else is leaving you wide open to a claim and you will never win a case, plus it is part of the agreement that you send with proof of delivery. They even tell you that when paypal email you to say you have been paid.

[Dumbledoresgirl]

I'm sorry to cause you such alarm Nauticant. I do tend to have a devil-may-care attitude to many things others worry about.

TBH though, I don't really understand. If someone leaves positive feedback - I'll give you my last piece of feedback as an example: 'Lovely item, I'm very happy with it.Thank you.' It was a dress which the buyer paid £8 for. That is actually quite a large value item for me to have sold, more usually, it would be under £5. Right, so they leave that feedback, then surely you no longer need the proof of postage slip? What are they going to do? If they come back in 2 weeks time saying there is a rip in the dress, having a proof of postage slip won't help my case. If they come back in 6 months saying they did not receive the item, surely the evidence of the positive feedback would be enough.

I admit I have been careless throwing my slips out after 2 weeks but I genuinely thought (before reading threads here) that no-one would wait longer than 2 weeks to get in touch and say their item had not arrived. I have been buying and selling on ebay for nearly 9 years and the only times anyone has contacted me to say their item had not arrived (it has happened all of twice) on both occasions they contacted me after about 10 days.

I accept all the legal arguments, and I suppose I have been lucky that people are generally honest (in both cases, the item was returned to me as undelivered showing that the buyers' claims were genuine). I suppose the bottom line is, my items are not valuable enough for me to worry if one rogue buyer decides to scam me.

[currentnameinuse]

Positive feedback means nothing if they file a not received claim. It is not proof a buyer received an item. Trackable delivery is what you need. Nothing else will suffice.

[Dumbledoresgirl]

Legally, maybe, but what on earth would ebay think their feedback was all about if they then turned round and claimed not to have received the item?

Or is the whole claims process run by a computer as opposed to real people?

[currentnameinuse]

don't you think folk would just say they left feedback in error?

It doesn't matter if you have a signed letter from the Pope - no tracking = buyer gets a full refund.

[nauticant]

It's OK Dumbledoresgirl I've recovered now and am feeling robust enough to post again.

When you ask "what on earth would ebay think their feedback was all about" the truth of the matter is that in dealing with Non-Delivery cases ebay have a process that involves as little thinking as possible and simply involves a person looking for delivery confirmation and if it's there finding in favour of the seller and if it's not finding in favour of the buyer. They're just not interested in anything else.

If you think in terms of "why would ebay do that" or "ebay shouldn't do that because it's not fair" you hurt your brain. They just do what they find convenient.

[robin64]

Thanks everyone. I have tightened up my ebaying and now add tracking to the transaction as soon as I get back from PO so I know it is done. Your good housekeeping has spurred me on and I am going to sort into months and file that way. Tracking is the only way to go for me now - such a hassle otherwise. It makes sending abroad costly for buyers but ebay CS said why not try Global shipping programme - anyone else tried it? what did you think - CS assistant said you just pay the UK tracked cost then they send the rest of the way.

My problem buyer has not responded to my message sent 5 days ago and ebay now say message once more and if no response they will close case in my favour on Tues. So we will see. This person opened an INR case 28 days after purchasing item with no other message previous to that. I responded on day they opened case then never hear back. Wish I could block 0 feedback buyers tbh. This problem has meant I have not got the 100 free listings this weekend so I am annoyed.

[currentnameinuse]

I wouldn't message that buyer again - just leave it.

[robin64]

Think I have to message as CS said it would mean they have had a final chance to respond. Just all very odd.

[currentnameinuse]

No I don't think that's right at all? Weird advice to give you I think.

[glammanana]

Robin re your thinking of Global Shipping Programme I decided to opt out as I wanted my items to go straight to buyer not to a sorting hub where there is the added chance of it being lost (even though it would be covered by ebay) it was just something that I didn't fancy doing and there have been some teething problems with it according to the ebay boards,so I'd leave well alone if your parcels are arriving on time. (except the problem you are dealing with)

[robin64]

Thanks. Well the buyer has closed the case the evening before ebay said they would escalate to close it for me. No message from buyer just closed the case and ticked item received. Eye roll!! Does anyone know if defects are automatically removed? It says the hold on the funds has been removed so I now have the payment anyway.