eBay - new to selling and worried I'm being taken for a ride...

[happygelfling]

So I've just started selling off baby and maternity things on eBay to try to reduce the clutter at home.
All is going well until today I had a message from a buyer asking when I posted her item, do I have proof of postage and/or a tracking number.
I posted it by second class mail and have no proof of anything except a copy of the postage that I paid for through eBay... It wasn't an expensive item so didn't seem worth using a sign-for service.
I just feel very disappointed. I'm worried that the buyer might demand her money back (which is fair enough if the item really didn't arrive) and that she might give me bad feedback. I'm a bit sceptical about it failing to show up, but there's not a lot I can do, I suppose.
Any advice gratefully received!

Not helpful for the item you've already sold,but for future things you post, when you rake them to the post office ask for a receipt- they note the postcode you sent the item to so yoy can prove you sent it

You're right, that's what I should have done.
I think that to get PayPal's seller protection I would have to choose a "sign for on delivery" service too...
Would Royal Mail pay out if the item went missing and I had proof of postage but no proof of delivery?

I've been stung by this before unfortunately (I'm still sure the buyer was just lying to me). This will probably be long, but bear with me...

You can claim through Royal Mail, but you do need proof of postage. The problem is that it takes forever. I know for 1st class it's 15 days; not sure for 2nd.

In my case I explained to the seller that I'd go through the Royal Mail claims process and give her a refund as I got mine (as I wasn't really in a position to refund her straight away). She said that was fine, and then the next thing I knew (literally a day later) she opened a dispute with ebay. They gave her a refund and then chased me for the money, with a charming email stating if I didn't pay in 30 days they'd pass it to a debt collection agency.

So, long story short: if she asks for a refund, you'll have to give her it. It's the seller's responsibility to ensure the item is delivered (which is excellent considering how reliable Royal Mail can be ).

These days, I only ever send things recorded delivery. If people don't like it, tough!

Thanks Avocado, that's helpful advice. Sorry to hear about your experience.
Well big surprise today - the postie turned up on my doorstep with the missing item. They had tried to deliver, without success, then the buyer hadn't collected it from the sorting office. (Whether she missed the card, or they forgot to give her one, I can only guess at.) At least I have the item back!
Can I charge her additional postage if I resend it? The same thing could happen again I suppose...

I'm not sure to be honest. I suppose you could message her and explain and see if she wants to pay for it recorded delivery?

Or it could even be worth getting in touch with ebay directly to get their take on it.

Have just been through similar with an item of mine that turned up damaged (in the post- basically the package got wet). Unfortunately eBay and paypal always seem to favour the buyers side. However, I sent it by signed for post, and he did sign for it. He opened a dispute. I refused to refund. Paypal decided that he could have a refund BUT they paid him not me! They only agreed to this because of the postage method I had chosen. Doesn't help you I know. 99% of the time it all works well but every so often you get a problem or someone tries it on.

My oh bought something that 6 weeks later still hasn't arrived. It took 10 weeks to arrive. It must have got lost in the post office. Seller refunded us , we then contacted them and paid them again.