# Item Lost In The Post On Ebay :-(



## Thomasr (Oct 11, 2011)

sent an item lat week first class. and it has not arrived. the guy payed with paypal but has asked for a refund. do i agree or do i make hi get it form paypal?


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## stew1982 (Aug 24, 2012)

Won't paypal just take it from you, and you'll have to claim it back (max Â£43 I believe unless you insured it & you'll need the receipt/proof of posting)


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## tall_tim (Jul 29, 2009)

If it was anything below RMSD, if it was a watch you won't get a penny from Royal Mail I'm afraid - been there done that!


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

I'm not sure how it works, it might depend on your add... I sold a couple of watches on ebay and clearly stated that I was only responsible for the watch as long as they were being handled by Portuguese mail. Once they were off, I had no way to handle things (outside the EU customs and stuff). I don't know if that makes a difference or not or if it's a valid point to ebay policy but that's what I stated on the add.

Personally, and if no such safeguards were stated on your add, I would make a full refund and complain to RM. They lost it, let them find it. Sometimes stuff gets out of place and might be still be delivered when it turns up (some one sold a Luminor homage last weekend that showed up at his door months after), so make sure you contact RM to get your package back if this is the case. If not, the buyer might end up with his money back and the watch!


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

If you get a proof of postage receipt, don't you get 100x the value of the stamp insurance?

I won't send anything not recorded or RMSD, it's peanuts for the signed for delivery and inusrance.


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## tall_tim (Jul 29, 2009)

MarkF said:


> If you get a proof of postage receipt, don't you get 100x the value of the stamp insurance?
> 
> I won't send anything not recorded or RMSD, it's peanuts for the signed for delivery and inusrance.


If its a watch, they will only refund the cost of the postage. Their terms state that jewellery (watches included) must be sent RMSD to be covered.


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## stew1982 (Aug 24, 2012)

tall_tim said:


> MarkF said:
> 
> 
> > If you get a proof of postage receipt, don't you get 100x the value of the stamp insurance?
> ...


Good point - I'm sure Ive read that before!

- in fairness the person has asked for it to be sent 1st class, then I don't think you should be responsible! (I always offer insured or un-insured postage at buyers risk/discretion). It also depends on the value if it's sub Â£10, your eBay feedback might be more valuable to you than taking the hit?


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## tall_tim (Jul 29, 2009)

stew1982 said:


> tall_tim said:
> 
> 
> > MarkF said:
> ...


Very true and think that's half the problem. Some buyers know that your feedback is valuable and so ask to send 1st class, they can then say it didn't arrive and effectively blackmail you into refunding.

I don't sell on eBay but think if I did, for low value items I would always send recorded as its only a matter of pence more expensive. Tricky one for you now though.


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## stew1982 (Aug 24, 2012)

I remember eBay in the good old days - stuff was cheap, and every other seller wasn't a from The far east (admittedly not always a bad thing - just the sheer volume of cheap tat) or out to con you!

Well I'm guessing the moral is - make sure th postage charge covers insured delivery of some form! I'm guessing we all get that lesson eventually!


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## harryblakes7 (Oct 1, 2010)

Yep been there sadly, you have to get a P58 form from the Post Office counter to claim money back, compensation is up to Â£46, usually have to give it a long time to arrive before it's officially lost, something like 3 weeks from memory? The Post Office has a special claims dept just dealing with lost post from ebay senders

But agree with whats already been said that usually watches are sent RMSD............... I guess even recorded delivery you might have got it tracked? Sadly there are a few folks on ebay who have the item then say it never arrived there, I had that on one, and when i e-mailed him a copy of his signature he shut up!!

I hope it all works out for you though......... Good Luck!!


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## Thomasr (Oct 11, 2011)

so im going to lose the meney i made then? B*******ks


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## stew1982 (Aug 24, 2012)

You may as well look at it as though you will, but ensure you make him make the claim through eBay/PayPal. As then there is a slim chance you might not nd up out of pocket, plus regardless you'll at least (I believe) get your fees back!


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Thomasr said:


> so im going to lose the meney i made then? B*******ks


Remember that there's also feedback to loose... I avoided bidding on plenty of sellers with refund problems and stuff like that. Plus, there's the future fees that go sky-high if your feedback gets below 5 starts...


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## PhilipK (Sep 23, 2011)

Kutusov said:


> I'm not sure how it works, it might depend on your add... I sold a couple of watches on ebay and clearly stated that I was only responsible for the watch as long as they were being handled by Portuguese mail.


Totally pointless, I'm afraid. eBay's Terms & Conditions say that it's the Seller's responsibility to get the item to the Buyer. Regardless of what it says in your listing (or what you've agreed with the Buyer by email), if you cannot prove - by a tracked delivery method, or courier - that the item was delivered, and if the Buyer raises an INR (Item Not Received) claim, then you will be forced to provide a full refund.


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## stew1982 (Aug 24, 2012)

Kutusov said:


> Thomasr said:
> 
> 
> > so im going to lose the meney i made then? B*******ks
> ...


Did I miss that? - wasn't aware that fees increased if you got below 5 stars!  - ebay is becoming one big con these days!


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

I wouldn't do anything just yet, 'last week' is not enough time to declare it lost yet..... But you have to trust your buyer to be telling the truth ....


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

PhilipK said:


> Totally pointless, I'm afraid. eBay's Terms & Conditions say that it's the Seller's responsibility to get the item to the Buyer. Regardless of what it says in your listing (or what you've agreed with the Buyer by email), if you cannot prove - by a tracked delivery method, or courier - that the item was delivered, and if the Buyer raises an INR (Item Not Received) claim, then you will be forced to provide a full refund.


Thanks Phil, I wasn't sure about that. Seems a bit unfair to a seller as we have no control over the courier but I guess ebay is more focused on the buyer and, of course, it's not his fault if an item gets lost.



stew1982 said:


> Did I miss that? - wasn't aware that fees increased if you got below 5 stars!  - ebay is becoming one big con these days!


They increase a lot but I'm not sure if it's purely based on the number of stars or a more complicated equation. Anyway, that's why you sometimes see in some professional sellers on ebay a message saying "Please give us 5 stars rating or contact us if you are not fully satisfied". Dropping below 5 starts severly affects their profit margins and so the prices they must sell their stuff for.


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## IAmATeaf (Dec 4, 2011)

Don't people find it strange that the buyer has asked for a refund straight away, normally I buy an item because I want it and if it didn't arrive then I'd still want it. The only exception to this for me would be if I got the item as a present in which case time/delay would be the deal breaker.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

IAmATeaf said:


> Don't people find it strange that the buyer has asked for a refund straight away, normally I buy an item because I want it and if it didn't arrive then I'd still want it. The only exception to this for me would be if I got the item as a present in which case time/delay would be the deal breaker.


Yes, if it's a professional seller with more items in stock but Thomas is a private seller, he probably couldn't replace the lost item with another... a refund is the only option the buyer has.


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## IAmATeaf (Dec 4, 2011)

Kutusov said:


> IAmATeaf said:
> 
> 
> > Don't people find it strange that the buyer has asked for a refund straight away, normally I buy an item because I want it and if it didn't arrive then I'd still want it. The only exception to this for me would be if I got the item as a present in which case time/delay would be the deal breaker.
> ...


Just shows how soft in the head I'm getting as that didn't even occur to me but now that you mention it it makes perfect sense.


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## Thomasr (Oct 11, 2011)

He received it just over a week after I posted. A relief but a bit poor on the postal serviced part when it was posted first class from Northants to Yorkshire. Lesson learnt, Always recorded postage from now on!!!


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## IAmATeaf (Dec 4, 2011)

Thomasr said:


> He received it just over a week after I posted. A relief but a bit poor on the postal serviced part when it was posted first class from Northants to Yorkshire. Lesson learnt, Always recorded postage from now on!!!


That's a relief and here we were thinking scam, scam. 

Also, I'd personally go with SD rather than normal recorded as normal recorded is worth scat.


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## MattTheBass (Nov 25, 2011)

I have had the opposite of the OP incident today. A parcel (thankfully not a watch) was sent to me RM 'recorded signed-for'. I'm pretty sure it was from an e-bay purchase. They couldn't deliver so left me a card and took the parcel back to the sorting office. When I went to collect I was told it had been mislaid by the Postie en route back.

I assumed that I would be the one having to get compensation from RM (the seller having proof of purchase), but it looks like its the seller's responsibility. I guess I now have to make a claim through e-bay/paypal to get my money back and pass on the info from the post-office to the seller. I won't find that a pleasant thing to do, its through no fault of the seller after all, but I guess there is not much choice.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

MattTheBass said:


> I have had the opposite of the OP incident today. A parcel (thankfully not a watch) was sent to me RM 'recorded signed-for'. I'm pretty sure it was from an e-bay purchase. They couldn't deliver so left me a card and took the parcel back to the sorting office. When I went to collect I was told it had been mislaid by the Postie en route back.
> 
> I assumed that I would be the one having to get compensation from RM (the seller having proof of purchase), but it looks like its the seller's responsibility. I guess I now have to make a claim through e-bay/paypal to get my money back and pass on the info from the post-office to the seller. I won't find that a pleasant thing to do, its through no fault of the seller after all, but I guess there is not much choice.


That sounds pretty unfair for both buyer and seller... and how on earth did the postie lost the package en route back?? Either he though it must be something very nice inside the package or he just went "I'm not carrying this stuff back no more!".


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## tall_tim (Jul 29, 2009)

Kutusov said:


> MattTheBass said:
> 
> 
> > I have had the opposite of the OP incident today. A parcel (thankfully not a watch) was sent to me RM 'recorded signed-for'. I'm pretty sure it was from an e-bay purchase. They couldn't deliver so left me a card and took the parcel back to the sorting office. When I went to collect I was told it had been mislaid by the Postie en route back.
> ...


Not unheard of. I sent a Tag down to a member to be bead blasted. They weren't in so a card was left. The Tag was never seen again!


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## Pjam (Oct 18, 2012)

More time required I would say. And Ebay are very little help with such matters.

I was once on the other end of things. Though on this occasion the seller re sent the new item and about 3 days latter the original turned up ........... of course!


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