Is there a time limit to 'Item not Received' complaint?

[howtair]

I just received an 'Item not Received' complaint this morning. The item was dispatched on September 10, so it has been just short of three months, which seems overly long to me to raise a complaint.

The buyer lives in India, but uses a UK intermediary, as indicated by the address provided by eBay. I am due to fly tomorrow and am busy packing and tidying, so this is not a good time, which is why I am putting this up on the board.

I would also like to know whether it is worth seling abroad, as there are so many complications and the risks are greater (higher fees, higher postage costs, 2 postal administrations involved, customs regulations, etc). By the way, I deal in stamps as a private seller (selling my collection beforre settling abroad).

[**peaseblossom**]

Buyers have 30 days from the estimated delivery date on the listing to open viable claims with ebay.   After that they can still open one but will not be able to escalate it to ebay and it will eventually expire.

Unless you find a big increase in sales by selling overseas I would say it is more complicated these days and may not be worth it.   Try UK only for the time being and see how it goes.

[4_bathrooms]

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@howtair wrote:

I just received an 'Item not Received' complaint this morning. The item was dispatched on September 10, so it has been just short of three months, which seems overly long to me to raise a complaint.

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There are three types of "case" that this could be: an eBay MBG case, an eBay "request" filed after the MBG period ended or a payment dispute (chargeback) the buyer has filed with their payment instrument provider.

Before going into which one it may be do you have tracking that shows the item was delivered to the delivery address provided in the sales record? If you do you only need to provide the tracking/reference number to whatever type of case this is.

[kyanyama]

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@howtair wrote:

I just received an 'Item not Received' complaint this morning. The item was dispatched on September 10, so it has been just short of three months, which seems overly long to me to raise a complaint.

The buyer lives in India, but uses a UK intermediary, as indicated by the address provided by eBay. I am due to fly tomorrow and am busy packing and tidying, so this is not a good time, which is why I am putting this up on the board.

I would also like to know whether it is worth seling abroad, as there are so many complications and the risks are greater (higher fees, higher postage costs, 2 postal administrations involved, customs regulations, etc). By the way, I deal in stamps as a private seller (selling my collection beforre settling abroad).

Hi as bathrooms has advised if you posted your item to the intermediary and received delivery confirmation then your buyer has to raise the issue with the intermediary who was responsible for forwarding the item.  Add the buyer to your blocked list.

I stopped selling abroad - problem with an item to Italy, problem with a buyer in Germany, formalities sending to Canada.  Altogether too much trouble, too much anxiety and too expensive to pay for return if you come across a scambug who raises a return expecting the seller to refund without a return cos it's too expensive for refund postage.  But everyone has to make up their own minds.

Have a great trip!

Every day is a school day!

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[howtair]

Hi,

Sorry, I don't have tracking information as item was sent by second-class post, being worth just over £9 (beaten down from £10, I think).

What's MBG? I think it's the buyer rather than the bank that is requesting the refund, though I don't really     know how chargeback works in practice.

[**peaseblossom**]

MBG = money back guarantee.   If it's come through ebay then it's an ebay claim.   Buyers won't necessarily know to contact their payment provider but if they do they normally have 120 days to do it.

[kyanyama]

Did you at least obtain a proof of post?

[4_bathrooms]

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@howtair wrote:

Sorry, I don't have tracking information as item was sent by second-class post, being worth just over £9 (beaten down from £10, I think).

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If you purchased the postage via eBay, online from Royal Mail's website or at a Post Office counter and the item was Large Letter size or a parcel you should have a reference number that you can enter into Royal Mail's website to see whether the item was delivered or not. eBay will accept this reference number as a tracking number that you can enter into the case. It is only if you used stamps and/or the item was standard Letter size that you would never have received a "tracking" number.

Buyers have 30 days following the latest estimated delivery date (EDD) to file a Money Back Guarantee (MBG) claim for not receiving their item. After this time the buyer can open a "request" via eBay for the same reason up to 90 days after the latest EDD. If it is a request and not an MBG case you will have an option to simply close the case.

Buyers can also file disputes (chargebacks) via their payment instrument provider. UK and EU-issued credit and debit cards normally have a limit of 120 days from the date of the transaction to do this whilst PayPal allows 180 days from the transaction date. If it is a payment dispute the message from eBay will specifically state that your buyer has opened a payment dispute.

If you have the option to close the case it is a "request" and I suggest you do that. However, if you don't have or can't find a tracking number you are guaranteed to be held responsible if it is an eBay MBG case or a payment dispute. If there is no option to just close the case you may as well issue a refund as there will be no point trying to fight it.

[howtair · Accepted solution]

I used stamps, so I guess I have no comeback. The item was a set of stamps, so no need to go beyond letter size.I do photo each letter  before I  drop it in the letter box.  ebay now says it's reviewing the case.

I've had 2 items not received on around 400 to 500 postings, though about 40 or so would be Tracked 48 (if item exceeds £20 in value). Is that average?

[4_bathrooms]

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@howtair wrote:

ebay now says it's reviewing the case.

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That's unusual. A buyer can only escalate an MBG case three business days after filing it; did you click the "Ask eBay to step in" link?

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@howtair wrote:

I've had 2 items not received on around 400 to 500 postings, though about 40 or so would be Tracked 48 (if item exceeds £20 in value). Is that average?

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I have no idea if that is average or not as I rarely use Royal Mail but a failure rate of 0.5% or less actually sounds outstanding for RM; even by their own published standards. 

[howtair]

Latest news is that the case is closed without my needing to refund.   eBay says that I was not at fault and that 'This item isn't eligible for the eBay Money Back Guarantee'.  Thanks to you all for your support.

I think I'll definitely exclude foreign buyers when I  come back on eBay next month. Too much trouble for not much gain.

[papso22]

It was not eligible because it was outside the 30 days.

[eastern-lights]

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@howtair wrote:

The buyer lives in India, but uses a UK intermediary, as indicated by the address provided by eBay.

I would also like to know whether it is worth seling abroad,

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What you describe doesn't count as selling abroad.

[howtair]

Can't remember if there was an 'ask eBay to step in' link. What I did was to try to contact eBay directly, got one of their AI agents on chat, described my problem and was informed that the case was under review. I got an email a bit later telling me the case was closed.

[neovass0]

I am glad this has been resolved in your favour. As people have said above, it was highly likely due to the fact it was outside the standard thirty days for them to register a problem. I'll also add the fact you said the item was posted to an UK intermediary, who presumably would forward it on to them in India. Your only obligation is delivery to that UK address, not what happens after that. I know you said there was no tracking, but given how long it took them to raise the issue in the first place, I suspect it found its way to the UK address, and was then lost in transit on its way abroad. This happens to all of us, often they are hoping for the seller to just refund them, to avoid the hassle.

[solentcityguy]

I also sell stamps. Although I have nothing listed at the moment due to being away from home. I stopped selling abroad a few years ago due to the number of buyers who claimed their items were not received. Italy and China mostly.

Since then I have been selling to the UK only without any problems. A lot of my sets sell for just a few pounds so they are not a magnet for scammers. I just send by Royal Mail 2nd class but like yourself if someone buys several sets and it comes to £20 or over I send by Royal Mail tracked 48 when I can upload a tracking number.

I have found that if I price my items at a sensible price then they will sell. Hope this helps.

[howtair]

I don't believe it was lost in transit at all. Another eBay seller emailed me last night, disclosing that he also had an 'item not Received' complaint on the same day from someone in India. He actually gave me the iusername of the Indian guy, and it matched with my own case.

[eastern-lights]

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@howtair wrote:

I think I'll definitely exclude foreign buyers when I  come back on eBay next month. Too much trouble for not much gain.

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I'm not sure you can, not the ones that use a shipping agency. There is a setting in selling preferences "Block buyers whose primary postage address is in a location to which I don’t post" which I have ticked but I still get the occasional order with a shipping agency address.

And if you check all your sales and cancel ones you think are overseas buyers using shipping agencies, you risk negative feedback.

I think you may have been unlucky, I have never had any issues with them.