eBay question...

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Need some input...



Last week I've had three complaint filings with eBay from customers stating they didn't receive what they ordered.



However, each of the packages are shipped with tracking information and each of them show "Delivered" status from the Post Office. When I called the post office on these they say they only way for a "Delivered" status to be assigned to the tracking info occurs when the post office indeed delivers the package as they bar code on the package gets scanned.



I can't open an Insurance Claim on them and I sure don't want to send them again and be out of the postage and the product. Or, do I suck it up and send it again with Signature Confirmation Request?



Thanks,

SST

 

[Heather Rueckert]

Thats why I hate the postal service.. I prefer UPS, Fedex Ground, or DHL because with them you can file a claim on something like that and get paid. I run a shipping business so I run into this problem all the time, and have to explain it to our customers, that they get what they pay for.



FYI: I did recieve my decal! Thanks -Heather

 

[Dreman]

It's always bothered me that packages can get delivered without any confirmation that the other person received them. You are completely at the mercy of their honesty.



I don't have an answer for you, but I do appreciate your problem!

 

[Kevin Palmer]

As unfair as it is, you have a business and a name to uphold. No matter how honest you are, it will look bad to other sellers. It puts you in a bad spot when things like this happen. If it is not going to cost you a lot I would re-ship. Using the Post Office itself is not a bad thing. I do it often with my e-bay stuff. However, for anything worth more then $10.00 I get tracking as well as a signature from someone at the other end.



I would try to contact the buyers again and see if they happen to get it today. If so, great. If not, agree to ship again with signature requirement as well as agree to remove the negative comment from e-bay. You can mutually agree to do so from what I have read. Once the comment is gone then I'd ship..

 

[Richard L]

SST,

I use the post office and ship everything I sell on my LeverLift Company insured Priority Air Mail with Delivery Confirmation. Ebay and PayPal accept the tracking number and delivery confirmation as proof of shipping and delivery. If you are not insuring your shipments, that's all you need to do. The cost is very minor and you can add that to the shipping charges the buyer pays.



I have been using the post office for nearly 4 years and they have never lost or damaged any package. Only one item was delayed and for some reason took about 10 days. Most deliveries are completed in 2-3 business days (including Saturdays) and I have had a few deliveries that were done overnight! I tried using UPS the first few weeks I started shipping LeverLift kits, and I had 6 orders with delivery problems, out of the first 10 orders I shipped. That included packages that were never tracked, packages that were torn open, and packages that just disappeared in transit? As soon as I switched to USPS, the problems stopped immediately!



While it's possible that your shipments could have been delivered to the wrong address, I don't think it's the post office's problem in that many cases.



To prevent misrouting or address errors, I cut and paste the shipping address directly from the ship-to address on the order, so I can't make an error typing in the address.



I think your non-delivery problems are more likely the characters you are dealing with on ebay.



To keep your record clean on ebay/PayPal, resend the items with insurance this time, and Insure all future shipments and pass that cost onto the buyers.



...Rich

 

[Sed Thompson]

As a customer I say send it again. The last thing you want is unhappy customers. Also the post office screws up alot. I ordered a $600 telescope for my wife once and they delivered it to the wrong address. They showed delivered on it, but to the wrong house. Luckily the people were friends of the family and we got the product, but what if. Point is don't always go by the P.O., they make mistakes.

 

[Johnny O]

Also you don't know what kind of neighborhood you're sending stuff to. Could be it got dropped off on a doorstep, homey comes by and says "Hmmm I could use that box at my house" and it's gone. In my 'hood it's cool to leave stuff but you can't say that everywhere.

 

[David Johnson 2]

Packages are marked as DELIVERED even if noone is there to get them. They could be left at the door, and not just the USPS does that. I have had FedEx, UPS, and DHL all leave packages at my door. Usually it doesn't bother me, since my neighborhood seems nice enough. However when I have a box with a new $2000 computer sitting by my door and then it starts raining before I get home, then I am not happy.

I would suggest always using Signature Confirmation, regardless of the shipper. Unless of course the buyer doesn't want it, or the item isn't worth adding the extra $2.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Dreman says:

It's always bothered me that packages can get delivered without any confirmation that the other person received them. You are completely at the mercy of their honesty.

Though I understand and agree with you to a point, I have to say that living in a neighborhood where the UPS, USPS and FedEx guy can "just leave the package on the porch" and it is waiting for me when I get home is a GREAT convenience.



I HATE it when something gets sent "signature required" because it means either a trip to the post office, or setting up a time with the UPS/FedEx folks for delivery, and that is like waiting for the cable guy,



Oh, and SST, send it again, but this time with signature required. Yes, it will cost you extra, but it will guarantee it gets delivered. Also, check the feedback of the buyers and see if they have a reputation for difficulty receiving packages. If they do, then blacklist them.



TJR

 

[Kevin Palmer]

In conjunction to my above post I would put the options to the buyer. Offer one rate for the standard I'll put it in a box and ship it. And another for I'll put it in a box and insure it. And yet another for I'll put it in a box, insure it and send it signature requested.



In most cases they will choose one of the first two options. As a result, they have inherited the risk of not being able to prove they did not get it....

 

[Gerald Pierce]

Only real thing you can do is resend with signature confirmation. Did they leave feedback first? If so, leave them some stating your side, ie delivered with confirmation by post office....



I had a guy screw me one time, delayed shipping for 19 days, would not answer email, etc untill I threated to report to ebay. I left NEUTRAL feedback saying it was three weeks but other than that it was a good product. He left me horrible feedback saying I was impatient, blah blah, couldn't do math (3 weeks vs 19 days).



I have seen folks have in their ad "contact for resolution before posting neg feedback or neg feedback will be left" and something along the lines of "if you want a resolution, dont leave neg feedback"..... I wont deal with these folks. I try to give the benefit of the doubt, and if post office blows it, I expect the seller to reship at their expense.



It's your business, but I would resend.... it's better than negative publicity.....

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

All good feedback. I sent them again with Signature Confirmation. One guy called and I told him no problem and we will send it with Signature Confirmation. He was a little shocked I would send it this way...



Thanks,

SST

 

[Kevin Palmer]

It helps keep people honest.



Too bad, but it is what it is.

 

[Michelle Widell]

I had ordered something that was shipped out via USPS in a tube. The postman apparently decided to lean it up against my mailbox post, instead of getting out of his truck and leaving it on my doorstep (I had a covered patio area - lots of stuff has been left on my porch). I didn't find it until days later, when it was discovered stuck in a snow bank in the middle of my yard (it was windy in my area).



If your decals are sent in tubes, maybe you are getting lazy postmen... I'll agree that you may want to consider sending it by other means - since they can't put their deliveries in the mailbox.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

I suspect that folks are just messing up when they install the stickers. and then claim they didn't get them, so they can try again.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Contact eBay Give them the tracking number that says it was delivered. They will take care of it. Theresa is going through it right now.



FWIW, if you see someone selling something cheap and then charging alot on shipping, report them to eBay. They will get their auctions pulled. I have done it many time. A car charger for a cell phone for 1 penny, but the chipping charges are $10.00. Wouldn't you know it, the following day that same person have the charger for 7 dollars and the shipping was 3.



They do that to get out of paying eBay fees and eBay will nail them on it.





Tom

 

[Jeff C]

I do that....



on a side note...my mom had me order a game for my little brother. $12, no s/h listed. I win, and a week later he sends me an e-mail that says s/h is $7, im like, okay, not my money, fine, my mom got the package, and s/h was $1.29, and she's ticked b/c I won't leave negative feedback b/c I don't want to get negative feedback. It kinda sucks.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Yeah, Jeff C....retaliatory feedback is a bitch.



I use toolhaus.org's (see link below) tools to check all the negative and neutral feedback of sellers, especially power sellers where it can take forever to weed just through a few weeks worth of feedback. The toolhaus program tells you the true story more often then not for such sellers.



I typically won't buy from anyone that has slow shipping or is unresponsive to problems, and most definately won't buy from anyone who gives retaliatory feedback (especially Negs on a Neutral).



You aren't going to make a dent in a power sellers feedback. And, the little guys tend to not gouge in the S&H dept.



Oh, and if is any consolation, you really shouldn't bid on something before you know the S&H and have determined for yourself if that is fair. And, remember, many eBay sellers like to comment on the "handling" part of S&H...they have to pay for boxes, tape, bubble wrap, and their time (though I think that's often a lamer excuse for high S&H fees).



I sell misc stuff on eBay now and then, and have a pretty good feedback rating on my account. Because I was getting hassled on my last few purchases on eBay, and the buyers surely would retaliate, I opened a new "bidder only" account and am buying through that. As long as it's feedback doesn't go neg, I can continue to buy AND give real feedback, and still protect my seller account's feedback.



TJR

 

[Michelle Widell]

Cool tool Tom.. I'll be using that.



I have one negative feedback, one neutral, and I have 1298 positive feedbacks. (I guess I'm doing pretty good!)



I checked the person who gave me a negative, and she has 12 negatives out of 120-something feedbacks. That woman was a b*tch. I was pretty pissed when she left that negative - totally uncalled for.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Michelle,



Just curious, what do you buy/sell on eBay?



TJR