Buyer claimed item never arrived despite telling me they received the item

[junio-silv]

Okay, the buyer from Germany ordered my item on August 22. I shipped it on the same day. This is standard European delivery by the way, so no tracking. On August 31, I reached out to the buyer to confirm if he received the item. And he responded saying that he received the order, and thanked me.

However today, I noticed he sent me negative feedback, claiming that the item never arrived didn't get his money back. I was wondering what to do. I reported the buyer to eBay because I know I sent the item (I have the proof of postage), and I have the email where the buyer said the item did reach him. Plus, he didn't reach out to me about the item not arriving, so I think there must be some misunderstanding. I haven't contacted the buyer yet, but what should I do.

UPDATE. The issue is resolved. The buyer made an error on the feedback. It was for someone else. The feedback was revised.

[tobiasd4 · Accepted solution]

Buyer should have opened case for not received, but nothing in feedback ebay will remove.

Ebay will ignore message about receiving item, as buyer could have made a mistake.

All you can do is try & sort with buyer & then send feedback revision request.

TBH. As it is in German, most bidders would ignore it.

[junio-silv · Accepted solution]

I decided to reach out to the buyer. I asked him if he can confirm if he did receive his order. I mentioned the negative feedback, and the message from earlier saying that he received his order.

[junio-silv · Accepted solution]

Okay, he came back to me, saying that he never intended to send negative feedback, and that he did indeed receive the item. I told him I'm going to revise the feedback.

[junio-silv · Accepted solution]

The feedback was revised. He said that the feedback was for another person.

Thanks for your help.

[rusticrye]

Never, ever contact a buyer to see if they've received their item. That just puts ideas into people's heads. If a buyer doesn't receive their item, or isn't happy with it, they'll let you know soon enough, believe me!

Proof of posting is of no interest to Ebay. You need proof of delivery. Your POP is for you, so that you can lodge a claim with the carrier for loss or damage in transit.

It's possible that the buyer confused you with another seller when you messaged him to ask if he'd received his item. Or it may be that he's confused you with another seller since, and left feedback for the wrong seller. As he was expecting a refund which apparently never arrived, and which he's never approached you for, or opened a case for, this is the most likely reason. Contact him to find out.

If you can't get to the bottom of it, report the feedback to Ebay (via the 'report' button on the feedback page), explain that the buyer has never contacted you to say the item never arrived and to ask for a refund, and has in fact messaged you to thank you for the goods, and request its removal. Ebay may remove it, they may not.

@junio-silv 

[junio-silv]

Okay, I'll keep that in mind from now on. I just want to confirm if it did arrive.

Anyway, I reached out to the buyer again, and he confirmed that he made an error on the feedback. Now it's sorted, the feedback is revised. Apparently, the feedback was for another person.

[rusticrye]

I suspected as much. Thanks for the update. 🙂

[junio-silv]

You're welcome.

BTW, I have already changed my other listings so that if shipped outside the UK, orders are now tracked. The reason I asked the buyer was because I was worried about if my item made it safely. I didn't realize this would potentially give them ideas.

Even if it was an error on feedback, I don't want to risk potential negative feedback over orders not arriving if I ever potentially end up in this situation again had the feedback not been an error.