eBay item lost in the post
I recently sold an item on eBay. I packed it up, trotted down to the post office and posted it. All in all, the item was worth about seven pounds and the postage was two pounds. So, that's the end of it, I thought. I'd made a very slight profit (after eBay fees and PayPal fees) but at least it was better than nothing.
Then I got a message from the buyer, that he hadn't received the goods. I think this is the message that every seller dreads. So, I thought, well, that's OK, I made sure I got a proof of postage certificate and had hung on to it. So, I asked the buyer to wait one more week and then let me know. Quite often the post is slow and things do eventually turn up.
No luck though and this was after three weeks. The buyer wanted a refund. I checked with eBay and apparently my certificate of postage meant nothing and only I had a few days to refund or they would 'escalate the claim'. SO I had to refund all the cost of the goods and the postage.
It seems to me that the buyers have far more rights than sellers do these days. I've since realised just how easy it would be for someone to say they had not received the package. That way they keeps the goods AND get a refund. The poor seller has then lost the goods, paid for the postage and then had to refund. Is recorded delivery / registered mail the only way?
eBay graciously say that they will refund the listing fee and PayPal fees. Very good of them, I must say!
Now my only recourse is to get a refund from Royal Mail which could take quite a while and there's the inconvenience. Also, they'll presumably have to contact my seller to check with them that they didn't receive anything.
A proof of postage certificate as evidence...
Why doesn't eBay accept a proof of postage certificate as evidence that you've sent something to the buyer? I can understand proof of delivery (recorded delivery and registered mail) for high value items, but for items worth a few pounds shouldn't a proof of postage certificate be enough?
By: Disgruntled eBayer
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I've just had that problem. eBay refused to answer my messages properly - just standard guff - and they still held onto my cash even after I'd sent proof of sending to the buyer with her post code printed on it - as correct.. In the end eBay told me to escalate the matter up to the resolution centre because the buyer hadn't conceded that they were in the wrong for bidding on an item being sold recorded delivery (non trackable) instead of meeting the higher postal cost of special or registered delivery (proof of delivery and trackable). In the end I got in touch with the buyer and told her I would take her to the small claims court if she didn't resolve this issue and that I would not allow eBay to intervene any further let alone make up their own mind whether I deserved my money back. Of course, I also pointed out that CCJ's could affect her credit rating and possibly choice of career too. This evening she emailed me back and said that she had closed the case and now my money is being released back to me. She still claims she never received the item. More like she realises she has too much to lose by boggaring me about like that.
Well, thanks very much eBay. Don't I just love you treating my own money and bank account as though it is your own.......NOT
No more selling on eBay for me. Strictly a buyer from now on. If I need to flog a few goods, then I'll use more seller friendly portals. There are plenty of them out there. eBid, PreLoved - to name two.
Well, thanks very much eBay. Don't I just love you treating my own money and bank account as though it is your own.......NOT
No more selling on eBay for me. Strictly a buyer from now on. If I need to flog a few goods, then I'll use more seller friendly portals. There are plenty of them out there. eBid, PreLoved - to name two.
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I only offer recorded delivery on Ebay items now, as otherwise a seller has no re-course in the event of non-delivery.
Postage prices are obvious before the buyer bids - if they don't like the P&P charges, don't buy the item - simple as that.
Postage prices are obvious before the buyer bids - if they don't like the P&P charges, don't buy the item - simple as that.
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buyers will still try and dispute receipt of goods, even if they've actually signed for it, as has happened to me in the past!
Parcel lost in post recently, and Ebay's rules state that it is my responsibility as seller to refund fees and deal with Royal Mail.
Parcel lost in post recently, and Ebay's rules state that it is my responsibility as seller to refund fees and deal with Royal Mail.
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I don't bother buying or selling on ebay anymore, there are far too many dishonest people out there! I recently purchased 2 duvet sets on ebay - the postage was only £4.95 which I thought was fairly cheap. Unfortunately when the goods arrived they were faulty so I contacted the seller who said I had to return them at my cost and they would refund me the purchase price - I think I deserved a full refund as the goods were faulty but was told that the seller was within their rights and if I wished to pursue the matter I could but would have to sue the seller in a small claims court. I ended up returning the items which cost me over £10! So not so sure whether its all for the buyers, in my case it was all for the seller!
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Seems you don't understand the contract that is generally formed between a buyer and a seller under distance selling regulations? The buyers rights have always been the same!
What if you purchased something from Amazon, would you expect them to say, well we sent you it, here's our proof of postage. tough luck you didn't get it?
No, you'd expect them to sort it out. And contract law says you as the seller are responsible to ensure that the goods are delivered or a replacement or refund are given if the consumer/purchaser does not receive the goods.
You have an initial contract with Royal mail as the carrier, if they mess up it is you as the seller that has to sort it out with them.
However you shouldn't feel threatened by calls to refund any earlier than the stipulated period after posting that Royal Mail decree that an item is lost which is currently 15 working days after postage (within the UK)
Whilst it is a hassle to sort out, the law is the same for everyone.
In any case you still end up with the full gross sale value plus your postage cost refunded AND you haven't had to pay the ebay selling fee nor paypal fee as you've refunded that from the original payment. So you'll end up with more than if the item had being delivered, plus if you find an identical item for sale as proof of the intrinsic value then you may get back more (if you are asking to be put back in the position you were to start with)
Either way financially you will be better off.
What if you purchased something from Amazon, would you expect them to say, well we sent you it, here's our proof of postage. tough luck you didn't get it?
No, you'd expect them to sort it out. And contract law says you as the seller are responsible to ensure that the goods are delivered or a replacement or refund are given if the consumer/purchaser does not receive the goods.
You have an initial contract with Royal mail as the carrier, if they mess up it is you as the seller that has to sort it out with them.
However you shouldn't feel threatened by calls to refund any earlier than the stipulated period after posting that Royal Mail decree that an item is lost which is currently 15 working days after postage (within the UK)
Whilst it is a hassle to sort out, the law is the same for everyone.
In any case you still end up with the full gross sale value plus your postage cost refunded AND you haven't had to pay the ebay selling fee nor paypal fee as you've refunded that from the original payment. So you'll end up with more than if the item had being delivered, plus if you find an identical item for sale as proof of the intrinsic value then you may get back more (if you are asking to be put back in the position you were to start with)
Either way financially you will be better off.
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I totally agree with you on everything you have said (great article by the way).I believe some buyers are now buying withe sole intention of saying they have not recieved the goods so they can get a full refund and keep the goods (when they do not have to sign for delivery).This type of scam is very up setting for the sellar,indeed I am going through it the moment and I know the buyer has recieved the goods
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Yep, you'll have proven you've sent something somewhere.
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I have the opposite problem. Recently I have bought some technology at pretty good prices, I don't know why anybody else was bidding but it was not my fault.
On one occasion the seller told me he had dropped it and smashed the screen, I'm keeping an eye on his sales to see if it resurfaces.
On the recent one the seller assures me it was sent 3 weeks ago and I have genuinely not received it. He has offered me a refund but I'm sure that he thinks he will get £20-30 more when he relists it. Again, I will watch his listings.
On one occasion the seller told me he had dropped it and smashed the screen, I'm keeping an eye on his sales to see if it resurfaces.
On the recent one the seller assures me it was sent 3 weeks ago and I have genuinely not received it. He has offered me a refund but I'm sure that he thinks he will get £20-30 more when he relists it. Again, I will watch his listings.
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Why are the fees so high, Ive listed two items with reserved price on ebay none of them was sold, the other one was not reserved but someone wanted to buy it for peanuts I didnt want to let it go at this price!1 then now ebay just charged me!! now ebay have charged me 17.97 I don't know why>
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Michael. r EBay & Paypal are flawed systems. They only work at the level they do, due to the fact that there is so much business available. I believe that once a bit of proper competition ,IE competition that is not smarta*s* Nerd managed, things will get better.
PS I am barred at the moment, they have been taking money of me with a so called recurring bill that I do not understand. They now say I owe them £1, 70p, but you cannot go into dispute with them, because you are always wrong.
PS I am barred at the moment, they have been taking money of me with a so called recurring bill that I do not understand. They now say I owe them £1, 70p, but you cannot go into dispute with them, because you are always wrong.
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No doubt there will be many hundred replies to this, as I have just had a very similar experience to you. The buyer has sent me many e mails and even threatened violence. ( a 20£ item). I have informed the police with no response. I have claimed on the royal mail and no response after 2months. I have made every effort possible to trace the item, and the buyer has a copy of the postal receipt and the claim form. Ebay have refunded him as he says he does not have the item. frankly I do not believe him as the royal mail postal office are adament that the mail has been delivered, although no proof.
As regards posting the only way that ebay will accept delivery proof is if the item is sent by trackable signed for service ( guaranteed delivery ) be warned that recorded delivery doesnt guarantee delivery.
Ebay seem to cover themselves very well even the office of fair trading cannot seem to help, in my case 27 emails 3 telephne calls to Manila where the resolution centre is has not resolved anything. They do not listen to any complaints and only threaten cutting of your service.
Ebay have now refunded the buyer, and I the seller have to reimburse them.
The interpretation act 1978 is interesting. on the basis of this I am now preparing to sue the Royal Mail. firstly in the form, of an invoice, then proceed to small claims court if not paid.
As regards posting the only way that ebay will accept delivery proof is if the item is sent by trackable signed for service ( guaranteed delivery ) be warned that recorded delivery doesnt guarantee delivery.
Ebay seem to cover themselves very well even the office of fair trading cannot seem to help, in my case 27 emails 3 telephne calls to Manila where the resolution centre is has not resolved anything. They do not listen to any complaints and only threaten cutting of your service.
Ebay have now refunded the buyer, and I the seller have to reimburse them.
The interpretation act 1978 is interesting. on the basis of this I am now preparing to sue the Royal Mail. firstly in the form, of an invoice, then proceed to small claims court if not paid.
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Hi
I can understand you, I am a user from E-bay myself and will admit I have had Issues with the Postal service, to be honest I have always asked for the sellers to send Items by Recorded Delivery as where I live Post gets stolen by Postmen, last year a local Postman got 18 months in Prison for stealing Mail, also the advantage of Recorded Delivery is you can then provide Evidence of the Item Posted to E-bay Paypal etc, which can prove the Item has been sent/delivered, however even Recorded Items do go missing in the Post when this happens you can fill a P58 “Lost damaged or delayed inland mail claim form” and submit it to Royal Mil with Photocopies of the Recorded Delivery Form to Claim compensation. but be aware they seem to take months to resolve a Claim (took me 3 months to get compensation for a Parcel I sent by Recorded Delivery to a customer.
I can understand you, I am a user from E-bay myself and will admit I have had Issues with the Postal service, to be honest I have always asked for the sellers to send Items by Recorded Delivery as where I live Post gets stolen by Postmen, last year a local Postman got 18 months in Prison for stealing Mail, also the advantage of Recorded Delivery is you can then provide Evidence of the Item Posted to E-bay Paypal etc, which can prove the Item has been sent/delivered, however even Recorded Items do go missing in the Post when this happens you can fill a P58 “Lost damaged or delayed inland mail claim form” and submit it to Royal Mil with Photocopies of the Recorded Delivery Form to Claim compensation. but be aware they seem to take months to resolve a Claim (took me 3 months to get compensation for a Parcel I sent by Recorded Delivery to a customer.
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Royal Mail Hater - 13-Jan-11 08:56
I see your point, and it clearly is frustrating, but this is a financial transaction. The buyer has paid for something which he/she has not received (in most cases - I believe that people are honest). If that happened at a shop, or say you had bought a fridge from Currys online, and it hadn't turned up, you would be able to get your money back.
Sh** happens mate. It is nasty when it does, but there you go.
Oh, and don't forget the other side to this. If the buyer pays for something, what is to say that the seller has actually posted it to the buyer! he could have posted any kind of junk, or in some cases nothing at all.
The biggest criminal of them all is ROYAL MAIL!
Sh** happens mate. It is nasty when it does, but there you go.
Oh, and don't forget the other side to this. If the buyer pays for something, what is to say that the seller has actually posted it to the buyer! he could have posted any kind of junk, or in some cases nothing at all.
The biggest criminal of them all is ROYAL MAIL!
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AM being hounded by Ebay's "Debt Enforcement" arm Iqor for refusing to repay the two illegal refunds ebay gave on my behalf to numpty buyers with timeshare braincells.....
1st one was a COURIER delivery - Signed for on collection at depot which the buyer claimed he never recieved - Courier issued a refund of postage fees and a claim for the item was made through insurance no problems, they even posted the money DIRECTLY to the buyer with no hassles - and Ebay promptly refunded him again!!!!! - I have all the paperwork to prove he had his item, then his money back and then his money back again!!!! - Neil Crossland - This is YOU!!!!!!
2nd Item - Sold as COMPUTER SPARES - No returns accepted. Ebay placed a hold on the funds for 21 days - but I had to send the item anyway - On the day the funds were released (21 days AFTER the buyer had had the item) the buyer emailed to say he wasn't happy with the parts - they didn;t fit his system - and wanted to return them... Ok, after much ebay shinanigans, accepted return - then he sent me HALF THE PARTS back - got his refund from ebay and was on his merry way...
EBAY BUYERS, Bunch of scamming no good theives. (In my humble opinion!)
1st one was a COURIER delivery - Signed for on collection at depot which the buyer claimed he never recieved - Courier issued a refund of postage fees and a claim for the item was made through insurance no problems, they even posted the money DIRECTLY to the buyer with no hassles - and Ebay promptly refunded him again!!!!! - I have all the paperwork to prove he had his item, then his money back and then his money back again!!!! - Neil Crossland - This is YOU!!!!!!
2nd Item - Sold as COMPUTER SPARES - No returns accepted. Ebay placed a hold on the funds for 21 days - but I had to send the item anyway - On the day the funds were released (21 days AFTER the buyer had had the item) the buyer emailed to say he wasn't happy with the parts - they didn;t fit his system - and wanted to return them... Ok, after much ebay shinanigans, accepted return - then he sent me HALF THE PARTS back - got his refund from ebay and was on his merry way...
EBAY BUYERS, Bunch of scamming no good theives. (In my humble opinion!)
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Masked Marauder - 17-Dec-10 10:42
by the way I heard of someone who tried to buy a car through eBay and the seller was a con artist. they are now £30,000 out of pocket.
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mardi gras the candyman can - 5-Nov-10 23:44
the trouble with eBay is that it is made up of ordinary people, not all of them trustworthy. eBay is fine if you are just buying small items however if you are buying a car or something you are better off making the purchase by some other means.
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mardi gras the candyman can - 5-Nov-10 23:43
er dude...
For small value items you use 2nd class reordered, that ways it is both insured and signed for at the other end. So if the buyer tries to pull a fast one, you have proof he/she/someone at their address signed for it. And if it all goes wrong then your insured against loss/damage etc.
regards
For small value items you use 2nd class reordered, that ways it is both insured and signed for at the other end. So if the buyer tries to pull a fast one, you have proof he/she/someone at their address signed for it. And if it all goes wrong then your insured against loss/damage etc.
regards
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fellow ebay hater. - 16-Oct-10 01:16
I have bought & sold on E-bay for many years & to be honest have encountered very few problems but I will always send via recorded delivery even if it's a small item as where you may make a decent profit on one item will counteract the small extra you pay for peace of mind. The main gripe I have with E-bay is the obvious scams that go on and they take so long to look into it by that time lots of poor unfortunate buyers have the unenviable task of trying to get their money back. I've reported more than I care to remember I think it's about time they paid me for doing a job they should be **** hot on!
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I sell loads of stuff on Ebay and Amazon!
When any of my customers say they have not received a package, I have tell them im putting a claim in royal mail and disclosing their address, if they are honest they have nothing to lose but if they are keeping the goods and try it with other sellers then they can be prosecuted! I wont let them get away with it!
When any of my customers say they have not received a package, I have tell them im putting a claim in royal mail and disclosing their address, if they are honest they have nothing to lose but if they are keeping the goods and try it with other sellers then they can be prosecuted! I wont let them get away with it!
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I recently bought an item on eBay after searching for a UK only site. The following dat the seller sent me an email and it became obvious the item was coming from South Korea and could take up to 2 weeks to arrive. As I wanted it within five days at the most I got in touch and asked them not to send it. However they sent it anyway and as it was no longer of any use I returned itand asked for a refund. After a two week holiday (and this now takes us to 4 weeks after the purchase date) I got in touch again as no refund had been given. I contacted them as eBay recommend and got into a back and fro circus of emails with one excuse after another. When I eventually realised a refund was not going to appear I started a dispute only to be told that I had missed the 45 day cut off. I checked feedback for the seller and in the last 12 months there are almost 100 negative comments. The majority are concerned with the fact that purchasers have been duped into thinking the items are in the UK or other European countries and / or have not received refunds. I have written to eBay expressing my concern over the fact that the seller is allowed to trade on this basis. I have also searched for the item again and found 3 identical pages but with different seller names. I feel eBay are turning a blind eye to an obvious scam.
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