So I’m new to selling on ebay and this is the first problem I’ve run into. I was hoping it wouldn’t be this soon lol… I’m not sure what to do here. He said the deadline was today (according to ebay) and if he doesn’t receive the card by tomorrow he wants a refund. In my experience ebay EDT is wonky and is usually best ignored. There’s no tracking so I know I’m not protected. I shipped the card by lettermail 10 days ago, so it’s possible that it just needs more time. How should I reply?
If I do end up refunding, how do I avoid one of those double refunds that I’ve read about? Do I let him open a case and get it that way or just do it myself and it should be fine?
I would ask the person if they’re comfortable waiting another couple of days to see if it’s lost or if the postal service is just taking their sweet time. Have them ask for a refund through eBay if they don’t want to wait.
It was the most expensive card I’ve sold as of right now at $26 lol. But I’m not one of the business or rich guys on here, so it stings a bit especially since I just started and have only made about $65 so far from 5 sales. I mean I’m not gonna lose sleep over it, but it’s discouraging for sure. I tried bundling cards together because I also never liked the idea of shipping untracked, but I’ve had no luck selling them yet and I’ve heard it’s best to just take the inevitable loss sometimes. The cheapest tracking option in Canada (that I know of) is like $13, so it’s not a reasonable option for a lot of the stuff that I sell. I expected this would happen eventually, just not so soon.
anyways, sorry for the mini rant It’s still possible that they’ll get the card.
Contact the buyer and tell him that due to holidays (Easter) delivery times can be delayed and the eBay system doesn’t calculate these in. Also point out that eBays does nothing more than estimate it. Of course be polite and ask to give it a few more days, let’s say till Tuesday next week. This because deliveries in the weekend can always be bad.
I’ve tested a bunch of different package weights/dimensions through the Canada post website and cheapest tracking I could find is 11.08, which is standard lettermail under 30g ($1.19) and to have it “registered” costs $9.50. Afaik anything that isn’t considered some kind of lettermail automatically comes with tracking, and from what I’ve tested on the site nothing comes to under $13. Businesses get discounts, so maybe they just split the tracking cost with buyers on items over a certain amount, or maybe I’m missing something lol. I’ll ask about it next time I’m at the post office.
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I actually forgot about Easter myself, so I’ll ask them to consider this.
Edit: buyer opened a request case* before waiting for today’s delivery like he said he would
Either the seller is paying the difference out of their own pocket or they live near the border. $13 is about the minimum it costs for any sort of tracking.
Ebay’s ETA has always been screwed up. I have tried to get them to fix it but just don’t… even made an ebay video guide showing everything. I bet I have called in 20+ times bringing up the issue. Every single time they call me about recommending something or a new promotion I always start into my conversation on how I would like them to fix the delivery dates they show before we talk about anything else. Now I just have everything listed as 3 business day handling time - I did 5 for the longest time(even though I am usually same business day). I also explain the true estimates in the description even though buyers rarely check that. Even with that I still have items that show guaranteed delivered via fast n free in 3 days… which is ridiculous. How can an item via economy mail guarantee delivery the same day I am suppose to ship? Good luck with your buyer, I would simply explain the actual estimated time of delivery, also explain it is an estimate not a guarantee unless you buy something like express, and also talk about how mail is super heavy around Easter. Be as polite and understanding of their situation and you may avoid a negative. In their defense ebay does tell them in highlighted print the exact day they are to get their item. At least the buyer is talking with you.
It still also could be a scam though. I have had several buyers pop up lately who have been opening refund requests the first day possible and demanding a refund. Some have been kicked off ebay, others got away with it.
I honestly don’t think it’s a scam. He just seems to be impatient and takes the ebay times very seriously. He opened a case and said that I’m unreliable and I’ve been his only problem on ebay since he joined in March. A bit harsh I’d say… Excluding Easter Friday/Monday, he’s waited a whopping 8 business days. I’ve asked him politely to consider Easter and wait a few extra days, but I feel he won’t agree. I also have to communicate with him through google translate since he only speaks french, which makes this even harder. I was suspicious about the buyer at first because I have a best offer option yet he still decided to buy at full price, but he is new so I figure that’s why.
Lmao so he has been on eBay for a whole one month and acts like him having NEVER run into an issue in a matter of four weeks is some big deal?
Honestly, this buyer sounds like a pain. I’m not sure how he can call you “unreliable” because of ETAs that eBay states. You are not in control of eBay’s ETAs nor are you in control of the post office.
Hopefully, he ends up agreeing to wait a bit because, well, that’s what normal people do.
Like, has this guy ever dealt with the post office before? Delays literally happen all the time. This is nothing new.
The problem here is that he can demand a refund and, when he inevitably receives the item, keep the card for free.
If you’re new to cases on eBay, here’s how this will play out:
When a buyer requests a refund due to not having received the item, the case will be put on hold for 3-5 days after the estimated date of delivery. If the other party receives the item and closes the case within this period, there’s nothing more to worry about. If after this 3-5 day time period passes the customer chooses to go back into the case and choose ‘Escalate this issue to eBay customer support’, you will probably be sent a message by customer support asking if you have a tracking number available. Since you don’t, eBay customer support will rule in the buyer’s favor and issue a refund on your behalf. Even if the buyer receives the item, they can choose to get their refund via this method as you have no proof that you sent the item without a tracking number.
Unfortunately for you Canadians, because tracking is so expensive, you really have to make a calculated decision about whether the risk exposure to bad actors is worth the savings of untracked shipping. Anecdotally from my time selling on eBay, I noticed that lower-priced items generally had a higher risk of interacting with unsavory eBay buyers. Eventually I ended up just selling my lower-priced items in bundles, which solved both of the issues above. I.e., I could factor the cost for fast, tracked shipping into the cost of the bundle and generally the buyers were a bit more reliable.
So even if I respond to his case with a message right away, they still have to wait a few days before escalating? Would it be in my best interest to wait until the last day before refunding?
I already took my cheaper stuff down about an hour ago because of this and I’ll figure a way to bundle them with tracking later.
There is no good answer. We don’t know if it is an impatient but honorable eBayer who will close the case if/when they actually receive it or some slimeball planning to refund it from the start.
In either case you kind of need to push it along a few days to give it a chance to arrive. In either case saying the wrong things can net you a negative feedback as well.
It’s still possible that they’ll get the card.