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

Original poster

New to ebay - item not received and postal receipt gone missing too

20 replies

babedia · 12/04/2007 21:04

Hi, I'm fairly new to ebay. I only have 10 transactions. I was very unlucky on two items I bought on the same week. The first one arrived fairly quickly but the item was not as described and it was compatible with my PC. I asked the guy for a refund, he ignored me and I just left a negative after a few days. The item itself was only £2 plus postage so I didn't think it was worth opening a dispute.

Same week I won a bid for some children's clothes. It failed to appear and the seller says she posted it immediately 1st class. She then says she'll send me the postal receipt that proves she posted it so I can claim it from the post office. Well, now that's gone missing too. She says she posted it on 3 April 1st class. Again it was a small amount of money, I think just over £5 including postage. She's offering a 50% refund as a good-will gesture.

So would you accept the 50% refund? And would you then leave positive feedback? Can one not leave feedback at all? Or perhaps I should leave neutral feedback.

I feel like a right idiot with this whole ebay thing. Maybe I'm just being unlucky.

OP posts:
sixlostmonkeys · 12/04/2007 22:15

It is the seller's responsibilty to to use the proof of postage to claim a refund from the royal mail - not the buyer's.

She shouldn't have sent you the receipt and if she sent it normal post and not recorded then she has no proof. The responsibilty still lies with her. The fact that she made the mistake of posting her only proof is just tough on her tbh.

An item isn't considered lost in the post until after 15 days. The seller must refund the buyer in full and then claim from the royal mail.

Stick to your guns with this - it is a clear cut case for you. Have you contacted your local sorting office and your neighbours just to check if teh parcel is there?

Ask for the full refund (including the P&P) and simply explain that it is her responsibly to make the claim.

If she does all this nicely then a factual but pos FB would be ok. If not then a neg. Feedback is of course optional - don't leave any if you don't want - but the prioirty here is getting your full refund

CarGirl · 12/04/2007 22:20

we did once have a dvd go missing in the post that then turned up about 10 weeks later - after we had received the refund from royal mail and passed it onto our buyer - and what an honest buyer to tell us!

Don't lose out hope - is the seller sure she has used your correct address??????

I would be asking for a full refund as she has no proof that she's posted it to you.

sarahlou1uk · 13/04/2007 10:42

Agree with sixlostmonkeys. It is always the SELLERS responsibility to claim lost in post from the Post Office. The Post Office won't deal with a buyer - it has to be the sender. Don't accept 50% refund - open a dispute if you paid via paypal and claim all your money back. Tell the seller you will co-operate with any info that the po require. I buy and sell on ebay regularly and do have a few items that get lost along the way. I have always refunded my buyers and claimed from the po. Don't get fobbed off.

Original poster
babedia · 13/04/2007 13:24

Thanks all for your advice. Before I saw your posts I replied to the seller saying I'd accept the 50% refund but would only leave neutral feedback or no feedback at all. She thinks that's really unfair as that will tarnish her 100% positive feedback. She insists that most sellers don't accept responsibility for items lost in the post.

I think I might open a dispute. It'd be ridiculous for me to leave positive fb having not received the item!

Thanks again.

OP posts:
saltire · 13/04/2007 13:26

IMO she's taking the p*ss because you are new to ebay.
Tell her again it's her responsibiltiy to trace it with the PO< and then go ahead nad open a dipute if you need to

juicychops · 13/04/2007 13:43

i thought that everything posted through the post office has up to £30 insurance anyway. So she should be able to sort it out at the post office and put in some kind of claim therefore pay you the full amount back

Original poster
babedia · 13/04/2007 14:03

Well, she can't now claim it from the post office because she says she posted the receipt to me and that has also been lost in the post. (What are the chances of that?!)

We've checked that she had the right address for me. The postman doesn't normally leave stuff with neighbours around here, and I get quite a lot of cheques, etc on the post, so I would have noticed by now if there was a problem with delivery to my house.

I hate confrontation and she has been quite friendly about the whole thing so far, although the tone of her emails definitely changed once I mentioned I wouldn't leave feedback.

This is what it says in the 'small print' of her items:
"Insurance for all items under £30 is included in the price and I always get a receipt of posting and will supply this to you if you need to make a claim for anything lost or damaged in the post. "

She says that her policy is very clear and therefore it's not her responsibility to chase it. So does stating her policy mean that she's right on this?

OP posts:
Wotzsaname · 13/04/2007 14:08

It is nonsense. What else is she selling?

Wotzsaname · 13/04/2007 14:17

sixlostmonkeys has some good advice.

Her policy can not be outside of ebays T&C's and her proof of posting bit is wrong.

Otherwise you could put anything in your policy!

juicychops · 13/04/2007 14:21

if it says insurance for all items is included in the price then thats saying she is insured for her items so she needs to refund you!

Original poster
babedia · 13/04/2007 14:27

I've been looking in ebay, but I can't find the page where it says that the seller has to refund the buyer in full for items not received. Can anyone send me the link so I can show the seller? If she doesn't then offer the full refund I'll start a dispute.

watzsaname - it's children's clothes that she sells and her feedback is very good.

OP posts:
Wotzsaname · 13/04/2007 14:43

The post office will not consider post as lost until after 15 working days. It is abit early to start a dispute.

But for any online ebay help, go to ebays' help and type in the search box 'items not received' or similar.

Original poster
babedia · 13/04/2007 15:02

Yes, I just read about it being 15 days. It was sent on 26 March so I'll wait at least until Monday before I do anything. Thanks.

OP posts:
sixlostmonkeys · 13/04/2007 17:17

Be careful about saying you won't leave feedback or will neutral etc as ebay don't take take this lightly - I think it's only when you threaten NEG Feedback tho.

Inform her now that you require her to make you a full refund and you longer will accept a partial refund.

Tell her that her claim that most sellers not accepting responsibilty for items lost in the post is tosh, and any seller who believes he is not responsible is severely misguided. ALL sellers are responsible.

Inform her that her small print is totally wrong and any other such smallprint along these are meaningless.

Forget about feedback for now - ebay is about buying and selling items not about collecting feedback.

sixlostmonkeys · 13/04/2007 17:22

Imagine....

you go into argos and order and pay for something.
You go to the collection desk and wait.

Your item doesn't arrive so you go back to the cashier. they say oh yeah Charlie the stockroom boy must have lost it, you can have half your money back if you want.

Would you accept half the money and walk out saying well I'm going to tell my friends that argos isn't a very nice place?

They proceed to back up their claim that they are in the right to offer you only half because they have a small sign on the door that says if your item gets lost in the storeroom they will give you Charlie's name and you can go chase him for it if you want?

Would you be happy?

Ebay is just like any other buy and sell place - same rules, same laws and same amount of common sense (and occasionally the same amount of con artists)

Original poster
babedia · 13/04/2007 18:08

Thanks for all the info - interesting points. I'm just a newbie so I thought I might be wrong on this. I'll get in touch with her see if we can resolve this amicably before opening a dispute.

OP posts:
PeachyChocolateEClair · 13/04/2007 18:22

We did a craft swap on here ages ago, I posted mine and it got lost. OCuldn't find receipt. I swallowed my pride and replaced it- it was the right and correct thing to do.

Dh trades on Ebay, probaly every fifteenth item (techinical stuff) gets postal damage. Dh always repairs, or refunds if he can't (subject to checks on what caused the damge- you get some idiots set it up wrong then try it on, but very few and they usually back down after a straight of course if you send it to me I will replace or refund, as soon as I check it hasnt been oeverloaded)

PeachyChocolateEClair · 13/04/2007 18:23

Do remember if you leave her negative she can do the same for you, and it will affect you mroe than her i guess as it is shown as a prercentage. It shouldnt work like this.

nightowl · 13/04/2007 18:23

sorry for gatecrashing but ive been selling a bit on ebay recently and was thinking about this.

i always get proof of posting and had decided that if an item went missing i would scan in the proof, email it to the buyer and give them a refund. then i would chase it up with royal mail to claim the money back. does that sound reasonable? is that the right thing to do?

PeachyChocolateEClair · 13/04/2007 18:33

nightowl yes, that is the right thing to do I think. After all, its not the buyers fault is it? Or yours indeed but ykwim.

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