INR case on GSP sale before the delivery is late
Summary: boundarycoins is experiencing a problem with an eBay Global Shipping Program (GSP) sale where the buyer is impatient and has opened an Item Not Received (INR) case before the estimated delivery date. Despite reassurances and explanations, the buyer persists with complaints, and boundarycoins is unsure whether to upload domestic or international tracking information to the case. marco@ebay from eBay confirms that the seller is protected under the GSP and advises them to wait for three business days before eBay can step in to help resolve the issue. The seller is advised to communicate this to the buyer and to provide the domestic tracking information.
I have an eBay GSP sale that is turning into a headache.
Order: Tuesday 25th August 9pm
Shipped by me to eBay’s Global Shipping Centre on Wednesday 26th August
Parcel delivered to GS Centre Thursday 27th August
Buyer starts querying where the parcel is on the 28th August so I explain the GSP process. From there I am being mithered by him, messaging me at midnight the past 2 days. Whatever I say he will not acknowledge the estimated delivery date, he already believes it is running late. He is saying eBay are telling him that I am responsible for the shipping process including the international leg which seems to have made the situation worse.
The EDD is 3rd-9th September. He was already trying to get a refund on the 2nd and managed to open an INR case just after midnight on the 3rd.
Last Pitney Bowes tracking update: 2nd September Shipped from GSP to destination. It is en route and no reason to think it won’t be delivered by the 9th. The bank holiday has maybe caused a slight delay with it but nothing about the tracking is unusual.
On the INR case it is giving me the option to upload tracking or refund the buyer. Am I supposed to upload the domestic tracking or the Pitney Bowes international tracking?
If I upload the domestic tracking and the case closes he will be complaining again and I think will try to talk eBay into stepping in so I don’t know what to do here.
On my eBay home page it has the notification: ‘paid - post now’ for this item. Clicking that leads to no results as it is shipped but that may be a glitch that is leading eBay to allow an INR case so early as it could suggest a problem with the delivery.
eBay CS said I could do nothing and they could step in after 3 days which seems like advice which would backfire. I haven’t been able to get through to a rep in Ireland yet.
marco@ebay
Hi @boundarycoins , thanks for your post.
If you post from the account the transaction was placed, and confirm the item number from there, I can take a look for you no problem and send it for review if needed. However, please note that we can only send it for review, and from there the team can only action the case based on the evidence given on the case. Just clarifying this as I cannot guarantee the case will be resolved in your favor, and it is not us directly actioning the case.
Thank you,
Marco
stecomedia
·Sep 3, 2026 at 3:31 PMThanks Marco
The item number is 366334436589.
Buyer has since sent me a screenshot of part of a conversation he has had with Pitney Bowes that has only muddied the waters further.
If nothing else can be really done after review if you could advise which tracking number it is advisable for me to add to the INR case I would be grateful as I don’t really want to ignore that like eBay CS were suggesting.
marco@ebay
Thanks for your relply, @stecomedia .
I won't be able to send this for review as of now since the claim was only filed yesterday, we cannot step in until 3 business days have passed. However, I can see that tracking confirms delivery to our hub, and since this is a GSP order, you will be protected there.
We cannot confirm outcomes in advance for obvious reasons, but you should be safe here. Should we confirm that the item wasn't delivered to the buyer, the GSP will cover you and we might refund the buyer if neede. Again, we have to wait until we have all evidence before we can confirm any outcomes, but you should be fine here.
While I understand this can be concerning for you, and that the buyer might be putting pressure on you, there isn't much more that you could do at this point. Feel free to refer the buyer to us, but again, we won't be able to step in for them either until 3 business days have passed.
If after 3 business days this is not resolved for you, please feel free to let me know, and I'll send it for review no problem then. If you could tag me as well, I'd appreciate since I didn't get any notifications for this reply.
Thank you,
Marco
stecomedia
·yesterday at 2:04 PMThanks, will do. I will see where things are by the 8th.
marco@ebay
No problem at all, happy to help!
And yes, should you need further assistance, feel free to let me know.
Have a lovely weekend,
Marco
boundarycoins
OP2 days agoSpoke to eBay CS again. Buyer can open a case from the 3rd apparently that is allowed and nothing has glitched (ridiculous for an international sale with the EDD given).
To explain the paid, post now notification they tell me to uninstall the app and it might refresh and that should have no bearing on anything.
Again told I don’t need to upload any tracking to the case as they can see it anyway. I am told I need to ring on the 8th which is the date that I have to do something by and they will ‘step in’. So let me get this straight the buyer can open an INR very early and then potentially get a refund a day before the latest EDD if he badgers and gets the right agent on the phone. Or which he will probably do, get straight onto the eBay chat bot at midnight before I can speak to eBay and get an automated decision in his favour. Agent says no if we can see the tracking is moving we won’t necessarily refund on the 8th. I’ll believe that when I see it.
sml192
·2 days ago · EditedYou don't need to actually contact eBay. Just respond to the buyer that under the terms for GSP that you are not responsible for items lost or dsmaged in transit after it has arrived at the UK hub and then either leave the buyer to escalate to eBay on the 8th or do so yourself when the 'Ask eBay to step in and help' option appears.
boundarycoins
OP2 days agoThe eBay email I received suggests they are treating this as if I haven’t posted it. Something isn’t right, I can’t ignore the notification on the homepage telling me to ship it along with this email. It has wrong eBay decision written all over it.
I want to upload tracking here I just don’t know whether to add the domestic or Pitney Bowes one:
sml192
·Sep 3, 2026 at 3:56 PMIt would be the domestic tracking as the international part of the journey is nothing to do with you.
stecomedia
·Sep 3, 2026 at 4:22 PMThanks. That’s how I was leaning but I’ll leave it until the 7th.
If it closes the case or triggers another message from buyer today I haven’t got the patience to deal with it.
Buyer hasn’t used eBay before. He is very critical of them and everything is either disaster or not adding up in his mind. Won’t acknowledge the EDD. He either genuinely expected an international delivery in less than a week or he is just using that as an excuse to force a refund before delivery but it appears to be the former.
boundarycoins
OP2 days agoBelieve me I have tried to talk sense into this buyer and I’m getting aggravated with him now so I’m not replying to him again today. This is one reply he sent me to the explanation about GSP:
boundarycoins
OP2 days agoJust to add, the sale is on my other account I logged into the wrong one to post this. If the eBay community team are able to look into it I can re-post or DM the details from the affected account.