I’m worried about protection too, especially my rating.
In my case I domestically sold $8 cards to about 30 customers, two of which let me know the cards were over a week overdue, allowing for expected coronavirus delays. The first customer I sent a new card and gift with tracking, and the second I simply refunded because I was sold out. The first customer then received the original product a few days later…
That being said, without tracking/signature, unscrupulous buyers are a possibility.
In future, I will tack on the dollars for tracking, and for expensive products signature.
I’ve been lucky so far, but it’s stories like yours that make me think post insurance is a good idea.
I’m the buyer in 3 international situations right now. I ordered 3 different items, one from Sweden, one from Austria and one from Italy. I’m in the US. And it appears all packages haven’t updated since around the 4th. Pretty crazy but I guess the international shipping now is just terrible. I haven’t opened any cases or anything but I am starting to get concerned about the packages coming. My peace of mind is that it’s all the packages I ordered so goes to show there’s an issue going on.
eBay will never take the money back from the buyer once refunded. What they will do however is refund the buyer and if it was deemed delivered later well then you have to fight eBay/PayPal for your money and they pay you out. Buyer never has to get involved again. However with current times I know there is a big extension for delayed package times that PayPal/eBay are allowing. If anyone is caught up in this situation it’s best to get in touch with your shipping company open a case and relay all info to eBay/PayPal so everything can be worked out correctly. And yes everyone should ALWAYS ship with insurance. I only don’t insure $50 or less items because priority mail insures $50 for free. I have used my insurance money many times and all the claims have worked out. Insurance is definitely a must.
I was actually about to post a very similar thread… I send a card to Belgium back in March. It’s been stuck in Chicago since March. Buyer escalated a claim against me… I’m assuming PayPal isn’t going to side with me. So frustrating. Probably the last time I send anything international. RIP $250.
@yz2428 Thats my thoughts exactly hopefully eBay goes out of business for a better company to take over. There should be some type of post office verification of acceptance of package and what’s inside. Once item is at post office you should be paid. If the post office loses a item or a employee steals it post office should be responsible. And delays should also be put onto post offices list of problems. As a buyer all you do is pay. As a seller you simply deliver to post office or fed ex. Everything in between should not be held against the seller. And the buyers should be getting their items everytime or it should be a rare case. Packages going missing is common. I seem to lose 1 out of every 50 or less orders I put in. Clearly there is employees stealing. I also read about a case of a post office worker that had been arrested for simply not being able to deliver all the mail so he stacked mail in a storage locker or house I can’t remember which for months on end before he got caught Edit: Here’s a link to the story. It’s recent too www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/01/29/us/postal-worker-hides-mail-storage-unit-trnd/index.html&ved=2ahUKEwiyp7-ezMbpAhULRKwKHdfODOkQFjACegQIDBAN&usg=AOvVaw145xQAjXhGsNb8risjPNCs&cf=1
Never ever ever use goods/service then you should be fine.
Plus, I tell all buyers that “I waited from March 10 to May 5th for an order that was only updated once on March 18th so CHILL OUT AND DONT SWEAT THE TRACKING. Most outlets will only scan if the labels are exposed. They won’t touch the packages. If you’re a nervous Pervis, don’t buy from me.”
This statement hasn’t discouraged a single buyer.
Dont most buyers want to use G&S to protect themselves from scammers?
I get buying from you isn’t an issue. But a new seller who isn’t a huge name in the hobby might have trouble getting people to accept that. It seems when I started collecting again 2-3 years ago everything I read was use G&S.
Yeah it helps being me for sure. If you’re an unknown seller then of course it’ll hurt you. So what I’d do as a newer seller is guarantee delivery IF they pay full insurance and if international, full insurance and actual value on customs.
As a buyer, ask for references. I get this all the time where a buyer asks if I know the seller.
The only advice I can give anyone is if you aren’t okay with losing the value of the item being shipped ALWAYS insure it. I’ve been having extreme delays with a package I sent to a buyer. It’s probably nothing more than a late package, but if all else fails, and the package is lost, I have $300 insurance on it, and I think it cost me $4.
I am on the flip side of things and haven’t received my items for months but I am understanding of everything going on but reached out to the seller anyways. As a buyer, I am not sure what a realistic time frame is during this time. Possibly 3-5 months? It is frustrating on both ends but yeah, it’s messed up if they get a refund and the item. I would hope the buyer would do the right thing…
I just asked what a realistic time frame I should wait. All of it is coming from Japan, they know more than me if they start opening again. Also, it kind of helps me keep track because I’m afraid I’ll forget lol cuz my purchase history is quite large and I got to scroll and figure out what I’m still waiting on.
Same as me, every month I check and after a while I write to the seller, I’ve never asked for a refund for delay right now. In this case I will wait until august and then ask for a refund…
Family and friends is not protected, the buyer can claim unauthorized transaction and then you are screwed. Goods and services should be used and is required by paypal. If you get charged with an unauthorized transaction PayPal will ask for your tracking info as long as it shows delivery then you are good. Family and friends wont protect you here the buyer will obviously pull their card if they never received anything as they should. However waiting is very true and people should have patience and allow the buyer to work it out with the shipping company if its been multiple weeks
Reach out to the seller to get in contact with the shipping company and make a claim for a missing package. I Always ship priority, after 5 days no delivery you can call USPS and file a claim (package is insured of course) you’ll be surprised but it always gets delivered right after the call lol. Of course international is different and this is why I choose to only ship domestic
