Buyer messaged me to say item not received - what to do/ timescales?

[IwishyouaMerryChristmas]

Buyer bought a DVD on 2nd December and I posted it 2nd class (not recorded) on 3rd December.

They messaged today to say that they have not received it.

I have not had any other postage problems so this is all new to me.

Any tips on the best way to proceed would be appreciated.

I've had exactly the same thing,jacket posted 3/12 2nd class not rec yet.I asked at the post office and they won't class it as lost until 15 working days have passed.I emailed my buyer telling her what the postie had said and also mentioning that he'd suggested checking with neighbours/looking in case a card had been left.I also asked her if she was ok to wait a bit longer to see if it arrived,but if it didn't I would,of course refund her,and apologised.I've no heard back so am hoping that she is ok to wait a while.I think most people are reasonable as long as you keep them informed.Good luck.

Right. Thanks for that. I'll get back in touch and let them know that. Good idea to ask them to check with neighbours too.

97% of second class mail arrives in 3 working days except in december

for second class I would wait a week for date of payment before enquiring,

I think in run upto Christmas a bit more patience is required, at least 10 days, technically you can make buyer wait the 15 days, they can not start a dispute until day after estimated delivery as per ebay order details, you then have 7 days to respond by that time 15 days would be up anyway

if new to ebay with low stars you may need to refund earlier

that said most people are reasonable if you are, please note you have to refund her and claim from royal mail yourself not the buyer

I think most people are willing to be patient if you ask nicely, we all know the post is slow this month.

I bought something on 23 November that still hasn't arrived & seller ignored my last message .

Phew it arrived today!

Could I have claimed from Royal Mail as it wasn't sent recorded?

You only need a postage receipt to claim from
royal mail, it doesn't need to be recorded delivery.

That's useful to know. Thank you.

yes but you need proof of value, they are getting a bit sticky about ebay if you have original purchase receipt it helps

you will always get 6 x 1st class stamps. more if they accept value

yes but you need proof of value, they are getting a bit sticky about ebay if you have original purchase receipt it helps

you will always get 6 x 1st class stamps. more if they accept value

Ok. Proof of value could be pretty tricky with most of the things that I've sold on eBay.

Still worth knowing though!

On the couple of occasions I've had to claim I've just printed off the eBay item page and PayPal receipt and received a cheque for that amount, it takes weeks for them to process it though. I don't think they would refund your purchase price for eBay stuff seeing as its usually second hand and only worth what you sell it for.

Oh, no. Another buyer has contacted me today saying the same. It's from the same batch as the other buyer - both were posted the same day.

Finegers crossed this one turns up too.