ebay question for sellers
 

Hi all,

Here's are two "what would you do ?" questions for sellers.

I sold a $30 card on ebay 12/30/18
Received payment on 01/01/19
package dropped at P.O. 01/02/19
First scanned on 01/03/19
last update to the USPS tracking number was 01/07/19 (In transit to next facility)
Buyer opened a case on 01/11/19; he checked "haven't received item" his comment was "what's going on here? no progress on tracking number since 1/7"
I responded politely including this one:

I mailed quite a few packages on that same day (12 to 15). Most have been delivered, but there are still three including yours that say "in-transit" since 01-07, and a 4th that said "in-transit" since 01-06, and finally arrived at the next post office on 01-11. Still not delivered, but I expect it to be soon. So, hopefully it's just a matter of time for the other three. Thanks for your patience! I've been on your end many many times - I know it's frustrating. Enjoy your saturday!

We traded a couple of reasonable messages. He hasn't demanded a refund yet.

As of today 01/17/19, still no updates to tracking. Of the four I mentioned that were "in-transit" quite a while, his is the only one that hasn't re-surfaced.

My questions for you are:

first, what is a reasonable amount of time to allow a package to "shake loose " and resume it's path to the recipient? (I'm thinking One month on this $30 card)

second, what do you do if you issue the refund, then later see that the USPS finally delivered the package, and the purchaser doesn't offer to "pay again"? (I'm thinking I'm at his mercy at that point, and have no real recourse)

I suspect this situation isn't uncommon, curious how you handled?
thanks in advance for any opinions!

Assuming you have excellent feedback and knowing your reply was courteous and sympathetic, I would have no problem waiting 30 days for relatively cheap card. If the refund is issued and the card shows delivered later on, I would contact Ebay, you should not lose money in that situation.

A lot of "In-Transit" packages have been disappearing off the face of the earth the last couple months or so, only to eventually show up a couple weeks later. I've even noticed a couple "Out For Deliveries", just go missing for awhile, and then end up delivered days later, or breathe a sigh when I get a "thank you for the package" from the customer, while the tracking is still showing it in no-mans land for some reason.

Wish I could give you a better answer then, just do what you think is best. :confused:

I have had this happen several times. I let the buyer decide when they have waited long enough and give a refund. Then weeks or months later when it does show up I have never had a problem with the buyer then paying for the card.

Card from 1/4 from CA, bounced around and still in transit from 1/10 in NJ here to NY. Meanwhile, priority package get to Hawaii in 2 days

You can also go to PO and have them track at counter. They seem to be able to get more detail on where it may be...

Depending on the buyer's patience, 2.5-3.5 weeks is a reasonable time frame to wait . Most of the time, the misplaced package I have had end up arriving within this time span. At least twice after the mailing showed up months later, I received a note from the buyer offering to send another payment. For $30 if it has not arrived not and the buyer has no patience, I would refund.

Thanks Tim,
Hadn't thought of that but I may give it a shot in a few days....

He wasn't patient..... last thursday I sent him another message to ask if he'd mind waiting till Jan 31, then I'll send a refund if it hasn't arrived.

He didn't even respond.. went straight to eBay within an hour asking to resolve the case. Within 2 hours they had refunded his money.

Oh Well, I was perfectly willing to refund if he didn't receive the card, just wish he'd been more human..... even a response of "I think I've given enough time. Please refund. If it shows up I'll pay you back at that time" would've been okay with me.

no problem there are a lot of different personalities in the world.

That is the truth...... and it looks like with ebay they have less patience than buyers with slow shipments. If this package does show up as delivered to the seller within 30 days of the original payment date, I would contact ebay and see if they will provide you some sort of a credit for their haste to write this shipment off.

I'm planning to contact eBay to find out why they didn't credit my final value fee like they said they would.

Gonna wait till the 30 day mark first tho!

Hopefully the package will surface, be delivered, paid for (again), and my faith in karma and humanity will be restored!

**commences holding breath**

The problem is that you are grouped in with mental midgets and an e-bay return system that allows sellers to mark NO REFUNDS on their listings. You have to wait 10 days minimum after to even open an effin case. then if you call, you get the pleasure of speaking with a nimrod in the Philippines, where requests and good sense go to die.

e-bay's return policy is a complete joke and when i used to get tripped up by sellers, i would ram it right back down their throats with ANY problem PERIOD . Especially when they mark no returns. Even if it took me a month to get my $$$ back, which it usually does. Look at Amazon. Click a box and shove the crap back in the box and it's returned.

Only a licensed moron seller would have NO RETURNS. It is Insane over there. Don't take it personally, just complete jerk off sellers on e-bay and everyone knows it....followed close behind are the idiot buyers.

But after all that, can you tell us how you really feel?? Lol, jk!

Well, it took the package 16 days in transit to get from ATL to New Jersey,
but it made it to the next stop on 1/23. Delivered about 30 minutes ago.

I'll give the buyer a day or two to see if he contacts me to make payment again.

A little over 3 weeks, USPS is getting faster all the time.:)

Glad to see it arrived for you and the buyer. I can't blame the buyer for wanting the refund and hope that since it has now arrived they quickly pay you.

I am one of the licensed moron, jerk off, mental midget sellers who has no returns on some of the items that I sell. Those items can be easily filtered in an eBay search so you don’t even see the listings that don’t offer returns to help you avoid future problems.
The reason I have no returns on certain, mostly newer cards is that the prices can be extremely volatile. Take the case of Jeremy Lin a few years ago. He was one of the hottest stars in basketball and some of his cards were selling for thousands. Then in a couple of weeks they were virtually worthless. If you gamble on a card - you gamble. You don’t get to return it if you guess wrong. If the player does well and the value goes higher - buyers are not going to try to return it.
Online returns are expensive. They frequently leave the seller with a shipping bill one or both ways. A lot of times the back and forth shipping can cost more than the item itself. I had this last month when a buyer purchased some card holders and bought the wrong size. I clearly gave the measurements of the holders but he ordered the wrong item and “thought it would fit”. As a seller I have to protect myself from absorbing unnecessary costs through no fault of my own. By the way, postage rates just raised for all 3 major carriers.
I go out of my way to make sure a buyer is satisfied after the sale. I hsve had shipping delays before. Sometimes a couple of weeks. Usually that is a USPS issue and they are usually very good about finding the package and letting me know that it may be delayed for a few days. Those words help to put the buyers mind at ease. I have also had the buyer file and get a refund only to have the item show up later with no offer to pay. They get a free item and the seller gets the shaft. Constant communication will help, but not always.

excellent points here

I agree.

I now have also learned never to accept returns on an auction - the hard way. A couple months ago I sold a card by auction that went for $120. It was a ridiculous price for the card where 2 bidders got carried away. The buyer paid, item received and he quickly filed for a return with the reason ‘changed my mind’. I put the item back up and got $40. There is no other auction house on the planet that would accept a return for ‘buyers remorse’. An auction atmosphere where returns are allowed - other than fraud - is the opposite of what an auction is about. If you want to place bids for an item, you have to pay for it and keep it. Otherwise, leave the bidding to the adults.

Once again, agree wholeheartedly where cards are concerned. Actually returning a card is pretty stupid for that reason. I have never even attempted to try.

Not every seller on eBay is a huge dealer with some crazy, massive inventory where a few returns here and there aren't going to make a difference. Some of us are just fair-to-midland collectors who ocassionally list items to sell to pay down something we've bought recently, or who move cards through that format due to a desire to change collecting focus or something like that. Personally I'm thrilled I even have the option to do something like this today; back in the 80's and 90's as a kid if you wanted to get rid of certain cards you had to go to a dealer where you would get a certain "percentage" of Beckett (the God-like Authority, cross yourself as you reference their name...) based on what they thought your stuff could be flipped for themselves.

I digress - I don't think it's unreasonable at all to clearly state that you don't accept returns. I do that with graded vintage cards where what you are getting and the standards should be pretty obvious for all. Graded, at least unlike raw vintage is more of a commodity. If you get a card and for whatever reason you aren't happy with it, in many cases it's not difficult at all just to flip it yourself. The good thing about eBay is that whether you think a return policy should be mandatory, or (like me) you could often care less - is there are plenty of options on both sides to choose from.

If tracking shows delivered, you can call ebay to appeal their decision and you should be compensated. I had this exact situation happen over the holidays and ultimately got paid.