Buyers are able to say item has not arrived before sellers can open a claim with Royal Mail
This is in my opinion a technical issue with how the website handles these claims. A seller is not able to put a claim in with Royal Mail and confirm if the item has been delivered or not until after 10 working days of when the item was due to arrive.
As such, sellers are forced to refund orders without confirmation due to the 3 days a resolution must be made and by the time a seller can make a claim, the item may have arrived and the seller is unable to claim through Royal Mail.
9 comments
jonatjonatjonat
·1 month agoShow me a marketplace site that allows 10 days grace and I think we’d all go there.
Note it is your choice to use Royal Mail 2nd class and not simple delivery, especially in a market that is liable to attract fraud like Pokemon cards.
pok-e-mon
OP1 month agoYou really do get dwellers everywhere, I thought they'd died out but here we are.
I can tell you one right away... Whatnot marketplace. There it requires you to wait 14 days before submitting an item not received claim, I'll see you there shall I?
boundarycoins
·1 month agoIt’s not comparable to custom postage here. All they are doing is protecting themselves and the courier by extending the timescale so whilst you have a point, it is for their own benefit and can be jarring as a buyer.
The platforms I am on vary a lot when it comes to opening INR cases. On Vinted it can take 6 weeks worst case if something gets lost, I think they have taken it too far it becomes unfair on the buyer and seller and says a lot about how they view users there.
eBay are at the right end of how to do it but I would like to see the current timescale extended by a few days. I don’t think the Royal Mail rules on a claim is the right way to go for eBay as it leaves buyers hanging far too long. This is coming from a seller who has been stung by it but overall the system here has to be buyer friendly. In reality most buyers are pretty sound anyway and won’t go straight to opening a case, some will wait out most of the 30 day eBay money back guarantee if they can see it has been posted.
pok-e-mon
OP1 month agoI'd have to disagree that it's jarring, maybe it is to those who are impatient. Yes it's unfortunate that things do occasionally go missing but I've only ever had 1 item not arrive from buying on eBay and a lot of what I purchase uses custom postage. When I compare that to how many people claim that their item hasn't arrived despite me posting it with valid proof of postage I do wonder how many people are abusing the system. Everyone else ends up paying the price. I've had confirmation from Royal Mail multiple times that the item has been delivered after I've had a strike added to my account for not resolving it with the buyer and I need to go through an appeal process to get the funds back.
With the current set up, I could open a new account, purchase a load of cards that I can see are likely to be posted using 2nd class untracked and then claim every single one never arrived even thought they did and get a refund before each of those sellers can confirm and claim with Royal Mail. Rinse and repeat that with different addresses, phone numbers, card etc and can very quickly get a lot of money. That is a big flaw in the system.
Yes, tracked delivery solves the issue but delaying the resolution requirement means it can be investigated properly and stop it from happening without requiring a single trading card under £10 being sent via a tracked service which costs almost £3. eBay make money off simple delivery as it makes the buyer protection easier to manage and also the kick back they get from Royal Mail etc so I doubt they have any reason to change this.
boundarycoins
·1 month agoI’d be reluctant to send things untracked in your category to be honest I think it’s higher risk than most categories I am in.
What I would do in your boat is have everything listed as simple delivery. For the very lowest priced items, it will lose you sales as they may seem expensive but that will also encourage multiple purchases and eventually things will sell in bundles.
You mentioned Whatnot so I’m sure you will see this, once the buyer pays for that first item and covers the postage they keep bidding as postage becomes free. As much as it is a different vibe here, I’d apply that method and treat the lower value items as a hook, if they don’t sell for ages it’s fine they are indirectly getting you views on other other items so they are still useful. If you don’t see it that way that’s fine but that’s how I’d view it. It takes so long to put RM claims in and deal with those eBay issues it’s not the worst thing to shed that stress off your account.
pok-e-mon
OP1 month agoThat is a fair point regarding multiple items in one order, and I'm genuinely considering it. I've just had another email from Royal Mail with the outcome of another case which they have confirmed delivery of so I now have to use my time to speak with eBay to have them reverse a refund and remove the strike against my account as a defect order.
**peaseblossom**
·1 month agoIf you use ebay's Simple Delivery ebay pay refunds themselves in case of loss or damage in transit as long as the buyer opens the correct case. Seller keeps the payment.
pok-e-mon
OP1 month agoFor low value trading cards, that would mean they just wouldn't sell hence why they still allow non-simple delivery methods for this category of item.
podlingsmum
·1 month agoI would buy the postage from click and drop and pay the extra 30p for collection rather than just going via a post office and getting a receipt of posting. The labels brought on collection are 3D barcoded and usually the delivery to the buyer is scanned. Use the ref number given in your collection email as the tracking number. On occasion that the item misses being scanned at delivery, and you get a item not received claim, it is easier claiming from Royal Mail online.