Buyer claims item wasn't posted fast enough.

[Lamu]

I sold a BIN item when I was on holiday. I failed to mention that I was away. In actual fact I'd forgotten about the listing as it had been re listed a few times.

On my return last Sunday I picked up the email saying i sold the item, the buyer paid on the Wednesday. I emailed to say i'd be posting first class on Tuesday morning. I didn't receive a response so I figured it was all ok. Now she's emailed that I didn't post it on following day after she paid therefore she wants a refund, I had said in my listing that I post on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Given that she's received the item an exact week after payment what will eBay say when she opens a case?

did you send it with proof of delivery? If so you are ok. Otherwise she could claim not received and you won't have a leg to stand on.

Tell her if she wants a refund she needs to return it to you.

Did you say in your listing that you 'usually' post Tuesdays and Thursdays?

I have a bit at the bottom of my listings saying I post on those two days. However I've set my settings to post within 4 working days, usually post sooner than that. I sent the items recorded so I don't doubt she'd received them.

Given that I sent her an email saying sorry they haven't been posted yet and I'd post them first class. She could have said at that point that she wanted to cancel the transaction or she wanted next day delivery. I wouldn't mind refunding but then I'd be down £4.30 plus packing.

Hmmm. If you knew you were going to be away though, you should have amended your listings to tell prospective buyers. Sometimes people buy because they want an item urgently, and if the seller says they will post the item on such-and-such a date, it is not unreasonable for the buyer to expect it before a week is out. If a buyer wants something fairly urgently and is promised the item will be sent out the day after payment and it isn't and they receive it a week later - well, you can expect the buyer to be a bit cross.

Don't refund before she's returned the item, but you'll have to suck up the P&P. It is your fault that you didn't post when your listing said you would.

add the tracking number to the item in eBay now - and check it did track as delivered.

But of course you don't refund unless the item has been returned in the condition in which it was sent.

It was delivered and signed for yesterday at 10. Anyway she's now given negative feedback saying item wasn't posted as stated. You win some, you lose some.

Challenge her feedback - she left it without giving you a chance to resolve the issue. Ebay can remove negative feedback if it has been given unfairly (although they make the judgement call, so it isn't guaranteed, but worth trying!)

I would add a calm, measured and polite response such as "item received within 1 week however sorry you were disappointed in the delivery time".

You come across as pleasant and reasonable, she comes across as a bit weird and ultra complaining. If I saw feedback like that, I would block the person who left that feedback because with buyers like that you can never ever win.

Who the hell leaves a negative because something's a bit late??

I'm just a little miffed about it all. My gut feeling on it is that she received the item and it wasn't quite what she was after so she tried it on to get her money back. She recieved the item on the 6th day after payment was made. If she wanted a next day service why didn't she request it before checking out. I admit I was at fault for not posting the following day and I would have been happy to cancel the transaction on the Sunday evening had she responded to my email.

I'll contact eBay and see what they say about the feedback.

As an experienced eBay seller I can say for definite that Ebay won't remove the feedback as it's factual, even if a little unfair.

It would be a lot fairer if sellers weren't able to leave negatives without giving the seller the opportunity to resolve the situation, but sadly that's not the case.

The only time I have had feedback removed is on 2 occasions when buyers have left feedback saying items never arrived, even though I refunded them as soon as they told me. Obviously this is Royal Mails fault, not mine, and as I have refunded in full (before the feedback was left), ebay have removed the feedback.