Item sold, despatched, attempted delivery twice, what next?

[xsquared]

No communication from buyer, but I believe they are genuine as they have been on eBay for a long time with over 400+ feedback.

What happens next if they are yet again not in on the third attempt to deliver? The item requires a signature so someone has to be in!
I understand the parcel gets returned to sender but what happens in terms of the eBaying process? Do I cancel the transaction? I don't have the funds yet so if they tried to get a refund, then eBay would be sorting that out.

Have you contacted the buyer? (I know you say they haven’t contacted you but wondered if you’d msgd them re attempted deliveries). And what company is doing the delivery? Only asking because DH and I are currently having a blitz and selling loads, we decided to go with Hermes for delivery as it’s easier this end and cheaper than RM. Anyway we had exactly the same issue a couple of weeks ago, Hermes claimed to have attempted delivery twice and were returning the parcel, when we msgd buyer they said they’d not had any communication from Hermes (and again it was a good buyer with years of feedback). I’m assuming the Hermes courier in their area is shoddy and so we sent it back to them via RM this time. All sorted now. If that’s not the case then I guess refunding the payment and msging them to that effect is all you can do.

You can still initiate a refund btw even if you’ve received the payment from eBay yet.

Hermes delivery? They do this when they are out of time, they haven't attempted to deliver at all. Not sure where that leaves you with eBay though.

Yes, I have contacted the buyer but buyer has not responded.
Hermes have uploaded a photo of today's attempt.
I won't initiate a refund until the item comes back to me, then I might give buyer another chance to buy or just relist it, which is a shame.

Generally it will be delivery attempts, then a period of time to allow for collection before being returned.

I would send a message via eBay messaging with details of the tracking and a remark that it’s for their information in case they have not had a card etc.

If it ultimately comes back as undelivered/uncollected with no response then I would return on the basis of item cost not postage costs.

I did some messaging when there were a few packages showing attempts to deliver on the tracking.
One buyer came back to me saying thanks for the info, but it was just the convenience of a day for them to collect
Another buyer (of a suit) never got back in touch, my sad assumption is that they died.
I ended up just processing a refund of the item cost

Had an update from the buyer who tells me she won't be in and that well just go through the motions of third attempt.

She would like it to be resent without the signed for. I'm okay with this but I think I'll opt for Royal Mail this time!

Has anyone ever had something returned and then resend?

I did - ebay item sent through Royal Mail was returned to me as wasn't collected after attempted delivery. The buyer was lovely and very apologetic - she'd recently had a baby and collecting the parcel just got overlooked until it was too late. She offered to pay for postage to get it resent. I asked her to send the exact postage via PayPal as "sending money to friends/family" so that she wouldn't have to pay any additional amount over the costs.

I'd be wary of sending anything to an ebay buyer without proof of delivery, particularly if it's a high value item.

@xsquared

Had an update from the buyer who tells me she won't be in and that well just go through the motions of third attempt.

She would like it to be resent without the signed for. I'm okay with this but I think I'll opt for Royal Mail this time!

Has anyone ever had something returned and then resend?

A better option is for them to use ‘redirect’ etc getting it delivered to someone who will be in Waiting for it to come back and then be resent without a signature required is additional unneccesary expense

www.myhermes.co.uk/faqs/receiving-a-parcel/can-i-collect-my-parcel

I would return on the basis of item cost not postage costs.

Unfortunately you also need to refund postage costs if an item in not delivered, even in these circumstance.

@19lottie82

I would return on the basis of item cost not postage costs.

Unfortunately you also need to refund postage costs if an item in not delivered, even in these circumstance.

Not necessarily

Presumably the item has been correctly posted as per the advert (and also eBays terms)
The buyer has been unable to take delivery on two occasions, and expects also to not take delivery on the third attempt
Hermes have done their job of attempting multiple deliveries
The seller has done their job of posting
Hermes have been paid for postage, eBay have had their cut of the postage costs in fees
If the seller refunds the full amount then they get their fees refunded as well - but are out of pocket having paid Hermes
If it’s resent then the seller pays the postage twice

Each case should be dealt with on its merits, there’s nothing in the details to justify the recipient having the privilege of being able to mess about the seller
With Hermes you can change the delivery, getting items sent elsewhere or to collection points

If fault lay with Hermes for failing to attempt delivery then the seller would have a claim against them
If fault lay with the seller for sending to the wrong address etc then the buyer would be eligible to a refund including postage or resending at the sellers expense
In some cases a returned item would be taken back into a retailers warehouse, and a net refund given less the postage and also less a restocking fee

Tommika not bet ebays rules. If a buyer claims non delivery, then eBay will refund in full (inc postage), even in situations like these.

by ebays rules, not bet.

Well, I've just been paid by Ebay, but checking the Hermes website, the item is on its 5th attempt at delivery!

She would like it to be resent without the signed for.

No way would I send it without tracking!

Do not send without tracking!!!

Isn't Hermes tracked anyway without having to sign for it?

UPDATE: It's been delivered! What a relief after the waiting around.

Now, let's hope the buyer is not a PITA and decides she doesn't like the item and return it to me!

@19lottie82

Tommika not bet ebays rules. If a buyer claims non delivery, then eBay will refund in full (inc postage), even in situations like these.

If the buyer claims a refund for non delivery then they would be asking for a full refund.

But this is the buyer failing to accept delivery.
I’d pre-empt with comms, and offer the options - including partial refund less delivery expenses……… which is what I have done in the past

If the buyer claimed for non delivery and I have the tracking with all the delivery attempts, then I’d be disputing a full refund on that basis