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UK - Huge increase of 'item hasn't arrived' claims when using untracked
Summary: pok-e-mon discusses an issue with an increase in 'item hasn't arrived' claims for untracked postage on eBay, leading to refunds before they can file claims with Royal Mail. They express frustration with eBay's system and are looking for solutions that avoid charging a high delivery fee. tobiasd4 emphasizes eBay's buyer protection policies, stating that using tracked postage is a way to ensure delivery confirmation. ile136yz shares a practice of using Royal Mail's Click and Drop service to obtain scan confirmations, which has reduced defects for them. The discussion highlights the challenges of balancing cost and protection in online sales.
Hello all,
Before going into this - I'm aware I can go straight to using tracked postage, but for trading cards under £5/£10 it increases the cost a lot and either take away from what I get or make the buyer pay more.
I have recently noticed a huge increase in the number of claims when I use the untracked 2nd Class Letter as a shipping method. Some claims buyers have made have even been confirmed by Royal Mail as delivered when I've made a claim with Royal Mail. I'm not sure how they're able to do this but by the time I'm able to do this the buyer has been refunded by eBay as they've had to 'step in' despite me telling the buyer I've got to wait 10 working days in order to claim through Royal Mail.
Unfortunately, eBay do not have a time limit when the buyer can begin the claim which directly conflicts Royal Mail's policy of 10 working days AFTER the item was due to arrive. This means the buyer can put a claim in and let 3 days pass in order to get eBay to step in and refund them before I'm even able to make a claim. Perhaps it is Royal Mail's fault and I'm barking up the wrong tree but I've tried different post boxes, using a post office or asking my partner to post them in another city where she works but it's all the same experience where nearly 1 out of 4 or 5 packages that are untracked are 'lost'.
Has anyone found a way to combat this as I don't want to slap every order with a £2.85 deliver charge.
I'm aware eBay doesn't even listen to feedback or suggestions but it would be great if eBay enforced a 14 day period where the buyer must wait to put in a request. This would not only allow sellers to actually put in the relevant claims but it would put users off trying to abuse the system as I've had countless low feedback / new accounts purchase things, claim it's not arrived and then asked eBay to step in despite me asking to be patient. eBay seems to be getting worse and worse for scams or people abusing the system, damaging items to get refunds or claiming packages never had anything in them.
Many thanks.
ile136yz
Mentor1 month agoHi,
When I received a couple of defects on my eBay records in Sept & October 2025, I changed to buying Large Letter 2nd class postage with RM Click and Drop, & post at PO to get them scanned so it will show delivered on ebay's records. No defects in the last 9 months.
pok-e-mon
OP1 month agoThis was the information I was looking for, thank you and I will look into that.
tobiasd4
Mentor1 month agoEbay are not going to change MBG.
Buyers don't want to wait 14 days before opening case.
Unfortunately unless you can prove delivery, you always have refund if buyer claims not received.
pok-e-mon
OP1 month agoSome other places make you wait before you're able to. Let's me honest here, this isn't about the sellers or the buyers, it's about ebay forcing their Simple Delivery on every user. They take another slice of the funds for postage and makes their job easier because it has tracked postage. If they reduced the buyers protection if tracked postage is used, I wouldn't be so bummed about it.
tobiasd4
Mentor1 month agoBuy protection fee has nothing to do with postage.
Buyers have always been covered by MBG.
If anything BPF offers more protection to sellers,
If you had used tracked SD, ebay refund buyer for non delivery.
pok-e-mon
OP1 month agoIf you don't have an answer to: Has anyone found a way to combat this as I don't want to slap every order with a £2.85 deliver charge.
Then I wouldn't waste your time replying again , cheers :)
tobiasd4
Mentor1 month agoThis is an ebay member forum.
We can only reply with ebay policy.
Ebay makes the rules, not us.
pok-e-mon
OP1 month agoIs it? I didn't realise... thanks for clarifying that.
You don't have to just reply with ebay policies - I'm not breaking any policies by simply asking if users have used any creative ways, other than use simple delivery, to stop so many users from filing cases. It's as simple as that... so if you're going to regurgitate stuff I know, please carry on as you're not even a seller on eBay by the looks of things.
tobiasd4
Mentor1 month agoSome of responders on this forum like me have posting accounts and have a separate selling account.
As I said earlier, SD is not relevant, buyers are protected for non delivery by eBay MBG.