eBay problems, resolutions, shenanigans, questions and info (not bike finds)

No it didn't arrive, and tracking has stopped updating.
I think the seller's expecting it back, which probably wont happen!

Free P&P & sent using cheapest option possible, He_mes.
What could possibly go wrong?

I have a ‘no sympathy for sellers that use Hermes Herpes’ policy.

Get a PayPal claim started.

Edit: policy also extends to users of Yodel.

Paid using Apple Pay, where do I stand now?

It’s linked to either your PayPal or a bank card, and either institution should give you cover for purchases that weren’t fulfilled by the seller. I’d give them 3-5 days before raising a fraud complaint with PayPal or your bank.

Be aware that banks can be overzealous, so think of it as a sort of nuclear option. Bad comms within my own bank once caused a major hassle with a complaint that I had desisted from, and it ended up with the seller having their bank accounts frozen (no £ in or out) while they were investigated for fraud.

Have asked Ebay to step in this morning, expecting a refund.
Seller deserves a neg!

So I paid @lazysuperhero for a rim (fnarr) on Saturday, and it’s showed up in his account as “on hold”. My account shows it’s gone thru ok. I paid friends & family, so it should be ok. Any ideas?

Sold something and sent through eBays portal to send with Royal Mail. It hasn’t turned up. Is this a issue to bring up with eBay or with Royal Mail?

If you sent it through ebay, they’ll have to sort it. The buyer will have make the claim and chances are they’ll be refunded fairly quickly but royal mail will take about two weeks to cough up and for you to get reimbursed. That’s been my experience anyway...

Thanks. Assumed ebay must have some responsibility as you pay them to send .

Buyer started a claim day after expected delivery date. And eBay standard position was to offer a full refund straight away.

Buyer seems a bit of a bed wetter anyhow. Was selling off all my old original Star Wars figures. Just sent messages as ‘***NOT received ***’ despite my lengthy message of Royal Mail delays Covid/Christmas.
You’d think as likely he lives with his mum she’d taught him some manners. If he goes on like that I’ll tell him so.

What's the standard process in this situation:

I sent off a package tracked, insured, requiring a signature.

It's been marked as delivered, yet the buyer claims to have not received it and apparently the post office are showing that the package was certainly not signed for (I'm yet to pass by the post office to verify that).

So the buyer is making a claim for a reimbursement through ebay.

At this point I'm not sure where I stand but perhaps that'll clear up a little once I got to the post office (it's cold outside and I really can't be bothered :/ ).

Should I just accept the refund to the seller straight away via ebay and then deal with the post office? Or the contrary, the package was apparently delivered so I've upheld my part of the transation so do I need to respond at all?

This is ebay so the buyer is always right, I'm guessing there's no escaping having to refund.

I'm guessing at some point ebay/paypal will just pull the funds from your account regardless.
Push RM for proof of delivery. I wouldn't expect much luck from your actual post office. Contact them online or on the phone.
Ask the buyer to wait patiently whilst you check with RM

I wouldn't expect much luck from your actual post office.

This. It's my experience that once it's off their premises, they don't give a fuck.

No parcels are being signed for at the moment (least none that I've gotten) so that might be why it doesn't show as signed for?

If you suspect the buyer is being dodge then might be worth to drop paypal a call, they seem to be quite understanding if you can actually talk to someone rather than the blanket 'buyer is right' that you get from dealing with them electronically.

Do not accept the refund. Wait for this to play out. As others have said contact Paypal and then show them the proof of delivery. This happened recently to me and the post office delivered the parcel to the wrong address (no signature just dumped on the doorstep)

New one. Buyer has raised a case for a thing they never paid for that eBay has already cancelled the transaction on and issued a final value fee credit for. WTactualF?

Recently sold a few items on eBay, sales ended Sunday night. One buyer has bought two brand-new garments, and hasn’t paid yet, but reminders sent, inc me sending a revised invoice with combined shipping.

Looking at their profile, can now see it’s super sketchy - address is the postal centre in Jersey, joined 2020, one bit of feedback says ‘time waster, never paid’. Drop shipper?

Anyway, with these alarm bells there’s no way I want to sell to this person; what’s the best way to make sure this doesn’t happen? Do I still have to go through the process of reminding seller, 4-5 days?

Sent a derailleur up to Scotland on 1 December 1st class without tracking and the buyer has messaged to say it hasnt arrived. I've checked the receipt I was given for the box and it doesn't have a reference number. Are the Post Office likely to give me the reference number if I took my original receipt down to them? I know they generally don't do this.

If not I'm guessing that I have to just hope it turns up and if not then refund?

Last chance offer or immediately re-list.

Cancel sale saying cannot contact buyer?

Your receipt is a proof of postage so you may get £20 or £50 compensation from the post office

thanks for that Howard, MicroDosed; will pull asap. Just wanted to check it's not going to come back on me

Royal Mail is all over the place at the moment. It seems to depend very much on local circumstances and I assume thats due to volumes / pandemic staff shortages. In my experience post SE to Scotland seems to be a particular problem at times. I had two buyers complain their items were late (Actually one was a day late, the other wasnt), and leave positive feedback but with negative comments. I followed up with both and they apologised. Some people are just unaware of whats happening outside their front door.
The next item I sent, I messaged the buyer to warn of delays. The buyer was cool. The item arrived the next day (2nd class!).

Now I have increased my despatch timescales to 4 days, put a big warning in red ink about possible delays on all my listings, make sure I post everything same/next day and message the buyer to warn of possible delays.

The parcel post boxes make life so much easier (what a time to be alive!), although high value recorded delivery items I am still taking to the post office so despatch is recorded.

I would contact your buyer and ask them to be patient. If that isnt acceptable to them, ask them to raise an "item not received" case. They have to wait 7 days before refund and the item may well turn up.

Edit: Just to add, whilst there have been delays, my experience is Royal Mail very rarely lose anything. I cant remember the last time something went missing. Hermes however are dreadful. Stopped using them because about 1 in 20 items was going missing.

Here is a question..

What is with eBay users buying and reselling for more?

I recently sold my bike, on the listing I mentioned that there was a dent and therefore sold it for cheap. I saw it relisted at a higher price from the buyer a couple days later with a sticker over the dent and no mention of the dent in the description.

I've also seen the same bikes been relisted by different users for higher price so I suspect something similar has happened there.

Annoys me so much!

Thanks for the detailed response. I've advised of the delays, the seller seems fairly chilled about that so I hope it turns up. Hoping that its just delay. Cheers!

Any tips for what to do if I was refunded and seller doesn’t reply when asked for return postage info?

I was refunded last week by eBay after purchasing a buy it now item that didn’t show up, from a seller who never replied to my follow ups. I just opened the door to a lady in a normal van, who delivered a box with Royal Mail stickers (with my correct address) on it containing the £70 item I had ordered. I’ve now opened the (unsealed) box, and the item has damage so I’ve messaged the seller to send it back.