need some help..anxiety through the roof

[ninaswfc68]

I sold a mobile phone on ebay (reluctanctly) but needed the money.  I got proof of postage and proof of delivery to a click and collect Argos store.  5 days after delvery the buyer messaged and asked if id sent the phone.  Told him it was waiting for him at the Argos and sent him proof.  He came back to me the next day saying the phone wasnt there and the manager had informed him it must have been stolen and to go back to the seller (me) for a refund.  The next thing i know hes put in a case with Ebay for a refund.  I sent off the proof of postage and delivery but now Ebay have gone with the buyer and granted him a full refund. It was £335 and i dont have that kind of money.  I have put in an appeal.  I just want to know where i stand on this.  I did my part, got proof of postage and delivery and i only have his word that the phone is not in his possession.  Any advice gratefully received

[m25jet]

In addition to the advice that has already been given in relation to this query, if you have a tracking number and have added it to the case by now then keep tabs on that tracking number and make sure that this isn't just an attempt by the buyer to screw you over by pretending that the parcel never arrived at the Argos store, as there have been cases documented on the forums in the past of buyers opening Item Not Received cases and then collecting the item after eBay have issued them with a total refund.  eBay are too quick to refund buyers the moment they make allegations of non-receipt unless the seller can prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the buyer has definitely received the item, and for that you need full tracking that shows successful delivery to the address provided on the PayPal confirmation of payment e-mail, and ideally a signature upon delivery of the item.  If you had that as evidence to use against the buyer then you'd be able to blow the buyer's allegations of non-receipt right out of the water and eBay would decide the case in your favour.  The buyer would also not be able to leave you any feedback if you won the case, and even if he/she left you negative feedback before a decision had been made on the case, if eBay closed the case in your favour then you could get rid of the buyer's negative feedback by contacting eBay as quickly as possible after winning the case and asking them to remove the buyer's negative feedback in relation to the transaction.

Although this next piece of advice is not going to be of any use to you with regards to this transaction, if at any time in the future you sell anything else for a similar price on eBay then post the item using a service such as Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed By 1pm, as that way there's a greater chance that the item will get to the buyer sooner than would otherwise be the case and in the event that something did go wrong you would stand a better chance of being awarded a decent level of compensation (up to £500.00 in compensation, if I remember correctly), as opposed to just receving something like a book of postage stamps by way of compensation, which is probably all you'd get if you had used an alternative but less expensive Royal Mail postage service and ended up having to put in a complaint to Royal Mail that the item ended up getting lost in transit.