eBay question

[Pinkelephantintheroom]

Hi
I sold an item on eBay (I'm a private seller not a business) on Friday last week. The listing said it would be posted second class. I posted from post office at 17.07 hrs. I got a message on Wednesday from the buyer to say the item hadn't been received. I sent them the postage certificate which stated they'd aim for delivery within three days. Explained that and hoped it would arrive the next day. Just had another message to say the item has not been received. What can/should I do in this situation? The postage certificate stated the building number and post code the item was sent to so I do have proof of postage, but no way of tracking the item but it does have a reference number.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. The item was £40.

Thank you

If you didn’t send it tracked, then am afraid you could lose the item and money as people tend to say they haven’t received it when they really have, I never would send anything without sending it tracked
Hope it goes ok

You may end up having to refund and claim back through Royal Mail as lost post.

When this happened to me I raised it with eBay and showed proof of postage, so I didn’t have to refund…. This was a couple of years ago.

I have literally just had this happen to me as a seller! I am convinced it is a scam as I’ve never had anything go missing before and the buyer refused to then communicate with me.

After a torturous conversation with eBay it turns out I have to refund the buyer if I didn’t send it tracked. If you don’t refund them and the buyer asks eBay to step in, eBay will automatically find in favour of the buyer unless it was sent tracked. And eBay will then refund them on your behalf. So basically you have to refund them.

I am livid. It’s so weighted in favour of the buyer. Great way to get free stuff. I can’t believe in my case that the buyer could raise a request like that and then ignore all further communication - and yet that’s somehow ok. Not sure I’ll be selling on eBay any more.

That’s a lot of money to lose and I really hope the buyer gets the item or that they’re not a chancer. As otherwise eBay will always find in their favour if there’s no tracking. I would rather pay the extra £2 to get a tracking number.
I rarely sell things but I remember selling a competition leotard for a similar price last year, I sent it tracked but it was during the third lockdown and posts were taking longer than usual. The buyer already opened a case on eBay but I gave them the tracking number so nothing came out of it. It was eventually delivered anyway. But I can imagine how hard it’ll be to claim from Royal Mail if it wasn’t tracked.
As the sender, it’s seen as your responsibility to ensure the item gets delivered or if it’s not delivered, you refund the buyer and claim from the courier. The courier will not even take a claim from the buyer because they are not their customer, the sender is.

If the item was sent as a parcel, the reference number will show whether it’s been delivered or not.

Update the ‘tracking’ on eBay with the reference number, and check it regularly to see if it shows as delivered. If a case is opened against you, (and it’s shown as delivered) ebay will find in your favour.

I sent an item first class a couple of weeks ago, it took 5 days to be delivered. Buyer opened a case, ebay found in my favour with the above.

Thank you everyone, lesson learnt. When creating a new listing eBay suggests the postage etc. I know you can amend but I always think if you up the postage it'll put people off bidding, but I realise now I should have just paid the difference.

I can track it through the track and trace site, and it is saying it'll be updated when delivery is attempted. That said, I posted a similar item the same day and that is saying the same. I contacted that particular buyer who confirmed delivery after only two working days so Royal Mail never updated their system. Kicking myself now about not sending it signed for. I can make a claim for compensation with Royal Mail after 14 days but will only get £20 back. I doubt I'll sell on eBay again, it's not worth the hassle.