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eBay

If you buy or sell items on eBay, you will find tips and advice on this forum.

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Original poster

buyer says items not arrived???help plz x

21 replies

sazm · 18/01/2011 10:27

hi all,
i have been selling on ebay for a while,and never had any problems.

i sold a baby sling on ebay and it was posted on 20th of dec.
i posted it 1st class,but didnt send recorded so didnt get a tracking number.the lady in the post office said it was covered for up to £25.
the buyer opend a dispute on 1 january saying she hasnt received it,i replied straight away,but have heard nothing back from her or ebay,it says the dispute is still open and paypal have took the money back.
does anyone know how long the dispute stays open?and what is likely to happen,will they refund her?and will i be left without the item and the money???

thanks xx

OP posts:

WhyHavePets · 18/01/2011 10:29

You need to contact the post office. ALWAYS get proper proof when selling on ebay as, if you have no proof, paypal will always refund to the buyer.

I have never heard of insurance on first class and am pretty sure this is a load of rubbish. Contact the PO and do whatever ebay and paypal are asking you to but, chances are, you will have to write this one down to experience.

Original poster

sazm · 18/01/2011 10:33

i have the receipt from the post office with the postcode and weight of parcel on it,as far as i have been told this is classed as proof of postage???

when i post they always ask if the value is more than £25 as thats what general parcels are covered for?

ebay and paypal arent asking me to do anything,the buyer has opened a dispute,i have replied,but she hasnt (my reply to her was on 1st jan),paypal took the money out my bank last week,

OP posts:

WhyHavePets · 18/01/2011 10:38

You should have heard stuff by now, it is usual for you to say that you have proof of posting (although I think they actually ask for proof of receipt) and then they will ask you to scan in your evidence and email it to them.

TBH if they ahve taken the money from your bank then it sounds like it has already been attributed to them... have you logged into paypal and looked at the dispute? There should be a blow by blow account of everything that has been done up until now.

Original poster

sazm · 18/01/2011 10:45

they havent asked for a copy of my postage proof yet,
they take the money from the paypal account as soon as the dispute is opened,my paypal account was empty so it has taken until now for it to come off my bank account.

the only thing logged on the dispute is that the buyer opened the dispute on 1 jan saying she hasnt received the item,i replied an hour later,and it says its still awaiting the buyers response. i have sent another message,
am SO annoyed,the sling cost me £50, it was new when i sold it,and it only sold for £12.99,the postage cost me £4.but that has been taken from me so its actually cost me £66.99!!!!

OP posts:

WhyHavePets · 18/01/2011 11:02

In that case there is nothing you can do, you ust need to ait until the next instructions appear from paypal don't you?

TBH I am now pretty unclear what your question is as you seem to know exactly where you are with it all.

The fact is that Paypal usually side with the buyer. You should always get recorded or recorded signed for but even then paypal have benn known to side with the buyer. It is crap but not much to be done there I am afraid as we are forced to use them.

FabbyChic · 18/01/2011 11:07

YOur item is covered to £41.00, you should refund your buyer as soon as possible, disputes opened against you count against your seller non performance.

do not allow the dispute to be escalated to a claim, refund closing the dispute.

your buyer should never have to open a dispute, once she told you it had not arrived you should have refunded.

Original poster

sazm · 18/01/2011 11:41

whyhavepets - i checked the dispute on ebay and it states the dispute will remain open for 10 days,then a descision will be made by ebay if its not been resolved,but this has been open 17 days now,and they havent even asked to see proof of postage,i dont know what to do,if i refund i will be left with nothing at all,and probably the buyer has the item?can i claim from the post office?

fabbychic - so you are saying that the post office should refund me?

you say the buyer shouldnt have had to open a dispute?
so i should refund everyone who says their item hasnt been received,even though i have proof i have posted it?
sorry just not quite sure what you mean??

OP posts:

sixlostmonkeys · 18/01/2011 11:57

proof of postage is not the same as proof of delivery. paypal only accept proof of delivery as evidence otherwise they will refund the buyer.
If you can't prove delivery then it is best to refund the buyer rather than let them open a dispute as this will affect your seller performance (you are going to have to refund them anyway so you may as well do it without your account suffering.
Paying the extra for rec del is worth it if only for when you get a buyer trying it on.
You can get a form and claim from royal mail as Fabby says.

Original poster

sazm · 18/01/2011 13:27

ok so i need to go to the post office for a form then?

cheerz all x

OP posts:

FortunateHamster · 18/01/2011 13:37

Proof of postage should get you a refund of up to £41 from the Post Office (recorded only offers the same value but has the added bonus of being trackable) but it's up to you to sort out, not the seller, so I would generally refund buyer, then go to Royal Mail myself. Good luck.

FabbyChic · 18/01/2011 13:58

You can download the form from their website.

The post office will refund you but your buyer should not wait until you get your refund.

Refund your buyer and claim from RM>

Original poster

sazm · 18/01/2011 13:59

the reason i didnt refund immediately is that our post office was basically closed over xmas due to the weather here,i did tell the buyer that before i posted it so she knew to expect a delay.(a friend just got an xmas card last week that was posted on 3rd dec)
thats why i didnt refund as soon as she messaged me because the first message she sent was complaining it wasnt there only 4 days after i posted it.(post office says standard time is 3-5days)

ok will go to post office in morning,do i need to take proof of the transaction with me??

OP posts:

ledkr · 18/01/2011 16:27

This happened to me twice op.Worse thing was with the second item the buyer added a one word feedback that said "recieved" e bay nor pay pal would accept that as proof,i had not sent the items recorded as they were only under 20 pounds,the buyer knew this as i stated it on my advert.The buyer opened a dispute and then never ever responded to any correspondence from e bay pay pal or myself they still found in her favour.It would seem that you can indeed buy something,open a dispute then never ever respond to questions about it and hey presto you got a free item.I have never used e bay since,id rather eat my own eyeballs.

Original poster

sazm · 18/01/2011 16:45

thanks ledkr, did u claim through royal mail?how easy was this?

i used to love ebay,but recently its been nothing but hassle with non-payers and the last thing i sold i had a lady who won the item (a £60 buggy) by using buy it now,when the auction had 8 hours to go (and i had 12 watchers)and messaged me a minute after to say she had no money to buy it and wanted me to retract the buy it now bid??
i didnt and reported her,but it took ages for me to get the credit for it,and i lost out on the sale,as i couldnt re-list it until she had responded to the case - which she didnt!

OP posts:

ledkr · 18/01/2011 20:07

I didnt know i could claim,was ages ago but i have never used it since,i was so angry esp as the woman said it had been recieved,i basically paid her to have some shoes?!
I feel like ordering some nice boots and then just say i never got them launch a dispute and get them free,its ridiculous you cant speak to anyone its all automated and they just keep asking for a tracker no,i mean who uses recorded for small items?

Original poster

sazm · 18/01/2011 20:25

well thats it,i didnt know i should have it tracked - the postman here just leaves my parcels whether they were sent tracked or not,so a tracking number would only help if they actually make u sign for it!

OP posts:

sixlostmonkeys · 18/01/2011 20:27

"who uses recorded for small items?"

you from now on?

ledkr · 18/01/2011 20:34

haha yres,but i cant b arsed to use e bay now,im stil alive its not hurt me.Seriously tho,if everyone did that would the post office even cope?

maxybrown · 18/01/2011 22:17

I always use recorded - I donlt see how it is anymore hassle to you as you always incorporate that into your advertised postage price.

If you posted it on 20th there is a good chance it wouldn't have got there til into the new year, we had loads that came later.

Original poster

sazm · 19/01/2011 12:14

thats what i said to her maxybrown, problem is she openedd the dispute on the 1st - but it wasn't expected to be delivered by then - thats why i didnt refund her.
and she wont reply to let me know if she has it yet or not!!!
this is why im unsure of what to do!!

OP posts:

PurpleFrog · 19/01/2011 12:30

I don't send low-value items recorded but I always get a certificate of posting so that I can claim if necessary.

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