Ebay Situation- Need Advice: Updated
cmerlo1
Posts: 7,932 ✭✭✭✭✭
UPDATE: The coin arrived today, and I issued the refund via PayPal as promised. Looks like the package was never scanned by USPS. Thanks again, everyone. CORRECTION: I noticed this morning that while the buyer supplied a tracking number to eBay, it was nowhere on the package I received, so it was never used.
Apologies in advance for the length of this post.
I have a situation with some unusual behavior by a buyer that I need some advice on. I guess I've been lucky in my 21 years selling on eBay that I haven't had a lot of issues and have maintained 100% positive feedback that entire time. I've had several returns and have always happily handled them. I am a Top-Rated Seller and have been for years.
This buyer was the high bidder on a coin that was sold a few weeks ago. Payment was received via PayPal not long after the auction, and I shipped the coin.
A few days later, I received a message thru eBay that the buyer was having trouble paying by PayPal, and asked if I would accept another form of payment. I told him I had received payment and the coin was on its way.
The coin was ultimately received by the buyer. I got another message saying he was still having trouble paying and had returned the coin. eBay did not show this, so I asked him to please handle the return thru eBay, and as soon as I received the coin, I would immediately refund his money, reminding him again that the money was there.
I finally got the notification from eBay that the coin was being returned. The canned reason was 'I didn't like it', which is totally fine- the coin is part of a hoard I'm slowly dispersing, and 1 return in the hundreds I've sold is a pretty good average. In the comments, he added 'I don't remember ordering this coin', which to me is odd since he was the high bidder on it in an auction and paid for it not long after the auction had ended. I let him know I had received the return notification and would issue the refund as soon as I had the coin.
Now, a week has gone by, and the tracking he provided is still saying 'pre-shipment', with no scans in the USPS system.
I sent him a message this morning, politely asking if he'd shipped the coin, as it hadn't been scanned by USPS. I also politely told him that by by asking to go outside eBay/PayPal for payment, then initiating a return with no communication outside of eBay were raising some red flags for me as a seller. I also told him that I really wanted to make this right for him, but told him I needed his help in getting the coin back to me and keeping the communication going.
Meanwhile, he hasn't left any feedback, so my first negative in 21 years is twisting in the wind... hoping I can make him happy and it won't come to that.
Comments
I'm not sure what advice you're seeking. I think you've handled it fine if you get the coin back refund him if not cross your fingers that you don't hear from him again. If he never sends and demands refund hope that ebay or paypal takes care of you.
If the address is intact on the label but barcode/number not then it may be on its way and just not scanned in. Alternatively, you may have a dementia case on your hands. Good luck.
I don't see any issues with how you handled this, as we have seen in multiple threads the USPS is having issues recently so its possible that he mailed it but just not showing any movement. Its also possible that he decided to keep it, all I can suggest is to hold tight the ball is in his court now.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Nothing to do but wait
Do what you need to do - then step out.
He has the coin, you have the money.You have been made aware that he is returning the coin but until you receive it do nothing.
Many sellers will use any excuse to make a return. Knowing they will lie to do so is why "accepting returns" is probably the way to go with your listings, because even if you don't "accept returns" they will return it anyway as an tiem not as described which can easily be based on a lie. Accepting returns in your listings gives you a wider buying audience.
The price of gold is set by faith, or lack of, in the currency it is priced in.
Agree with all the above.
The guy may be a high volume flipper or an Ebay addict, but in any case you have done everything by the book.
He may have initiated the return but never followed thru. Who knows.
Thanks, everyone, for the great responses. I wanted to make sure I was doing it right, and was not falling into a known scam of some kind. I'll check in on the tracking from time to time if I don't hear back from him.
Until the tracking shows the coin has been returned to you, it seems highly unlikely that eBay or PayPal will credit the funds back to the buyer. I would have ceased communication with him after the first missive asking him to handle the return through eBay. Whatever happens until you receive the coin back should not be of your concern. If he chooses to leave a neg, it sucks, but some people are just as petty as they are unreasonable.
EBay gives them a set time frame to return the item or the return is closed. I don’t recall what that time frame is.
Ebay will send you a message when and if it's time to do something.
The price of gold is set by faith, or lack of, in the currency it is priced in.
Just stay within the eBay and PayPal guidelines and you should be fine. When this is finally over, block the bidder.
You are doing everything right in my book. You just have to wait it out...and by wait it out, I mean wait on the other party and the coin to safely arrive. Keep everything within eBay and PayPal like others have said. I also like the idea of blocking the person after everything is done. Best of luck!
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
How's the buyers feedback rating? How long have they been on ebay?
It's normally around a week. Right now it's a month due to possible issues people may face getting a package out. It wasn't well advertised that they made this temporary change.
ttt
I'm a Postal retiree and I can say there's no excuse for not scanning an item and especially missing multiple scans. I think I'd raise a little hell about this.
I have an item I won that was shipped via priority mail 2 weeks ago. It had no scans for 10 days, then was scanned several days ago at a distribution center in Alabama, the same state the item was originally shipped from. It now says 'in transit to next facility'. I have no idea where it is. I think the PO is in chaos right now due to COVID. I also noticed my local PO has been PACKED all day for a few weeks now. Not sure why, but I'm thinking everyone is overwhelmed, and scanning is not a priority right now.
COVID-19 has affected most of us. The PO is no exception. But it should have been scanned at least once along the way. I'm wondering if your package might have been found in "supposedly empty equipment."
As far as the coin goes, I figured it out. He provided a tracking number to eBay for the return, but then shipped the coin without using it. So, this is now easily the strangest transaction I've had on eBay in 21 years. Either way, I have the coin, he has his money back, and I can sell it again.
As for my other package, I'll give it until sometime next week for another scan, then reach out to the seller:
I would file a missing mail form online now. They almost always locate it in 24 hours or so after filing.
Last week a customer contacted me to say it looked like the post office lost the package. No movement in 6 or 7 days. I filed a missing mail form and it started moving the next morning and was delivered the following day.
Thanks for this. I just completed the missing mail form and submitted.
Glad to see it all worked out....Some of these cases sure do get tangled up.....Cheers, RickO