****ing Ebay

[L3nny]

Sold something on Ebay, sent it to the buyer non recorded, as in the description.

Buyer said he never received it, he probably did, now ebay have refunded him. The money had already been withdrawn from my Paypal account and now ebay are saying i owe them. It's only £40 so not the end of the world but I have no intention of paying it.

I assume after 90 day ebay will close my account, but what are the chances they will come after me for the "debt"?

Anyone had any experience of this in the past?

[Ninthbike]

You have the buyer's address. My reaction would be to pay him a visit to establish whether or not the goods really did arrive. Alternatively, you could put in a claim to the Post Office who usually just refund the money (but you might need proof of posting)

[maviczap]

Always send stuff by recorded delivery & factor that into the postage. Its not Ebay, its dodgy buyers.

I've had 2 disputes recently.

Sending it by recorded stops this scam, or if not makes it easier to claim of the post office

[Littlepeahead]

I recently sent a screen to another GS forum member by Myhermes at his suggestion as he said they are cheap, he uses them lots and we can both track the progress of the parcel. Under £5 for a Givi screen signed for, not a bad price at all. And they collected from me at work.

[21QUEST]

Not good :(

But personally, as a general rule, I always send out items I've sold on Ebay(and most places for that matter) using a 'signature required' or 'recorded delivery' service.

In fact, I think to be protected by the 'Ebay/Paypal seller protection scheme' , the seller should use a tracking service when posting.

I also try to make sure most things are properly insured to give myself a another layer of protection.

Ends up costing the buyer more in postage costs but with Ebay/Paypal decisions favouring the buyer even in cases where it's obvious , it shouldn't, that's what has to be done and any potential buyer has the option not to buy, if not happy with the postage costs.

There are quite a few 'chancers' on Ebay...like everywhere else I suppose...who never miss an opportunity to take a punt at having a free item. And they know they'd win in situations such as yours.

[pookie]

if you havent got funds in your paypal account chances are they will try your bank account if you have registered one with them ( esp if you have ever transferred money out of paypal to another account) or your credit card.

[21QUEST]

Good point pookie.

It's good practice to have an account that's used solely for Ebay, for this very reason.

edit: That said, they can still request the money from the bank account and with no funds in the account, you are likely incur fees for a failed 'direct debit' .

[Spank86]

Always use recorded delivery, both paypal and the distance selling regulations are pretty clear. No matter what you say or write the goods are your responsibility until received by the buyer, and you need proof of that if asked.

Otherwise we could all make a fortune selling stuff that doesn't exist and claiming it was lost in the post (proof of posting is not proof of delivery).

[DJ123]

all you need is proof of postage. Proves the goods were sent. It also gives you up to £30 of insurance too.

[Spank86]

all you need is proof of postage. Proves the goods were sent. It also gives you up to £30 of insurance too.

With the post office or with Paypal, because that's certainly not the legal position.

[pookie]

I have to ask for proof of posting at the post office before they give it to me. I guess they will try anything to not payout , I imagine without it you dont have proof and since they dont give it to you as default hence they dont have to fulfil their insurance.

The local mafia always try the special delivery mantra because they cant guarantee it "wont get lost! " and one time it took 3 weeks to arrive ;). It really doesn't instill confidence in their ability or their service :).

Our post person is ace though !

[Specialone]

Did you send it from the post office? Still got the receipt? That receipt should prove to eBay you sent it at least.
It's also the post offices responsiblility to find it if it's lost, that receipt is vital.

[L3nny]

Dunno if I still have the receipt, I sent the item 5 weeks ago and they have only just closed the case.

[jambo]

The distance selling act puts the burden of proof with the seller in these circumstances. You may not trust the buyer and you may well be right, but the law is on their side. If the boot were on the other foot and you'd ordered something that had not arrived you'd expect a refund.

Jambo

Sent without a real keyboard

[L3nny]

The problem with Ebay now is it's not the "community" it used to be.

When I started using it 12 years ago it was an online garage sale with private sellers getting rid of stuff to private buyers and it was based on trust and the feedback system.

Now the feedback system is pretty much useless and 90% of the stuff on there is overseas sellers hawking junk they've made in their sweatshops for a profit.

[PyroUK]

They didn't even contact you!? That's taking the ****!!

I just bought a puncture repair kit off eBay, paid a wee bit extra for first class.

After a week it hadn't arrived so I politely messaged them and asked for details of the address and when it was sent. We sent a few messages back and forth and they very kindly said they would send a replacement.

I wasn't expecting a replacement or a refund nor would I necessarily expect you to give one Lenny as an individual seller.

But as a buyer I would think you would get further and more options by contacting first!

[L3nny]

No, they buyer never contacted me, just raised a dispute. I had a chance to put my side of the case forward, which was ignored. The buyer was then given 2 weeks to respond, which they did on day 13, they were then refunded straight away.

[PyroUK]

Man that is a real ****ty way to do business with someone.

[Redmist]

Sorry for your situation, sadly that's the world we live in!

Another plus one for myHermes from me, I've sent 10 items with them now, no issues at all.
And now they have a £2.50 price for items of less than 1kg. £4.50 ish for 2kg.
All recorded and tracked. Drop off at your local shop or have it collected from your house. Easy peasy.

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

I feel for you, a very expensive lesson learnt I feel, I never trust anyone, always send recorded but do factor it into the selling price.

[EssexDave]

I did have something sent to me which *did* get lost and so I can on occasion have sympathy with buyers.

Saying that, always send it recorded. If anybody disputes it, it's on you to prove they got it. Only way to do that - proof of postage.

[Heorot]

My partner run an online business and uses MyHermes as an option for customers to choose, mostly for larger items. In the last 3 years, there has never been a complaint of lost parcels. However, it takes from 3 to 5 days to arrive.

[phi-dan]

Thanks for the MyHermes tip, that makes life a lot easier.
I've been lucky with the stuff I've sold, but have had to chase a number of sellers claiming to use tracked delivery.