What to do about problem buyer?

[touch_it_you_die]

I usually post over on the coin forum but this is a more general eBay problem and I'm after some advice.  Here's what's happened.

1.  We sell an $11 item to buyer on 27 May 2010, later in the day same buyer buys two more of the same item at $11 each.  (total sale, 3 items at $11 each)
2.  We invoice buyer for $33 plus $4 for regular postage.  He pays on 28 May via paypal.
3.  Items are shipped via regular post on 31 May.
4.  On 6 July buyer files an item not received dispute via Paypal with absolutely no prior correspondence with us.
5.  We try to contact buyer via eBay and direct email with no response.
6.  We decide to ship a second lot of three items to the buyer via registered post, these arrive on 9th July 2010 and buyer cancels dispute.
7.  Once dispute is ended the buyer starts responding to our emails.  He now has six of our items for the price of three.

When the dispute was filed we examined the buyers feedback and we can see 6-8 'items not received' related feedbacks that he's left in the last 2 months.  That's a heck of a lot of items not received.  And then today a very well known eBay coin seller that we know has had YET ANOTHER item not received dispute put in place by the same buyer.  He may come unstuck this time though because there was registered post involved.

As far as I am concerned what we have here is a buyer who is stealing, plain and simple and using the Paypal buyer protection system to hide behind.  What can we do?

Mark

[*wheels*]

Touchie, there are some 'unlucky' buyers who seem to have a lot of lost mail when buying on eBay. Either that or they have discovered PayPal's No Questions Asked policy and file claims for Item Not Received as soon as they realise that sellers have sent items without trackable post. Can you claim through Aus Post for the lost item or is your item on their exclusion list of valuables that is not covered for the standard $50?

What has been your buyer's response to emails? You could email the buyer and ask them to sign a stat dec stating that they have not received the first shipment so that you can make a claim for compensation. Sometimes this helps in the location of missing parcels. 

You could also try contacting the other sellers and together contact eBay and PayPal. They may take notice if there is enough evidence from enough sellers.

[Liisa-Sx]

Touch, as Wheels has stated, if a parcel has gone missing DO report it and file a claim with australia post, if possible contact the other sellers and urge them to also submit claims with Australia Post, enough missing items from one person sends up red flags and AP do an independant investigation will ask the buyer to "please explain".

Certainly some buyers are unlucky but sadly on the other side of the coin so to speak there are those that see a'scam' worked once so they run with it hopefully your buyer is merely unlucky.

Were the first lot of coins sent registered or regular postage?

You could also 'bluff' and email the buyer informing them that you had noticed that the buyer had a lot of items going missing of late and you have asked Australia post to instigate an investigation and would they be willing to sign a Stat dec..(good thinking wheels) because sometimes it does prompt the buyer to suddenly have better luck lol

[touch_it_you_die]

They were not coins, they were coin holders and they were sent as a large letter via regular post so an APO claim is not possible.  The sad thing is that now people who want to buy our holders will have to pay $5 postage on an $11 item if they want to pay with Paypal.  No-one wins.

[Liisa-Sx]

Touch, ANY lost postage item is available for a compensation claim up to $50, (it does not have to be sent registered for under $50) you will have to show  a print out of the ebay invoice and the payment by the buyer, include any emails from the buyer stateing it was lost and you will be compensated.

I ONLY register items over $50 as I know AP will compensate for any lost or missing items under $50.

[touch_it_you_die]

OK thanks, my postage guru and business partner seems to think differently.  I'll talk to her about it tonight.

[Liisa-Sx]

Hi again Touch,
 
I and many others have had to claim unfortunately but have successfuly filed a lost item claim, one for me was a large letter size and the other a medium sized boxed item, another was an ap 'tube'. I was compensated for all three, they will ask you for a post coded reciept showing the recipients postcode ( I keep all mine for three months and write the name and ebay item number on the back), so if you have the reciept I have every confidance you will be compensated.

You can call AP on this number below to file a claim this is from the AP website.
For compensation claims please call 13 13 18

The search takes about 3 weeks to complete, but the refund will arrive within 7 days of the ccompleted search and takes the form of a cheque to the seller.

They will as i mentioned ask for additional details, so print out the eBay invoice, message from buyer saying they didnt get goods etc, the postage reciept you got from the post office.

Regardless of whether parcel is registered or not, you can still go to the PO and fill out a missing parcel form.

The following is directly from the AP website:

Compensation

"Australia Post is not liable for any loss or damage for letters carried by the letter service, but in some cases (never known anyone to have a claim knocked back) you may be entitled to compensation of up to $50 for loss or damage caused by Australia Post to uninsured articles within Australia or overseas.
You may be able to purchase extra cover through our postal outlets to protect more valuable articles. Please inquire in our postal outlets as for a small fee you can add substantially more cover to your items.

In the event you need to lodge a compensation claim, please call the customer relations centre on 13POST or submit a claim via your local outlet. You are also entitled to refer the matter to the Postal Industry Ombudsman's office if you are not satisfied."

Good Luck!

[bnwt]

I can confirm what Liisa-Sx says is correct

in fact I received a compensation money order from Australia Post just yesterday for a parcel that went missing

you need to fill in the green complaint form at the Post Office .... then supply them with a copy of the eBay invoice and the postage receipt

don't expect the funds over night, it normally takes 4 - 6 weeks

[*wheels*]

Touch, ANY lost postage item is available for a compensation claim up to $50, (it does not have to be sent registered for under $50) you will have to show  a print out of the ebay invoice and the payment by the buyer, include any emails from the buyer stateing it was lost and you will be compensated.

I ONLY register items over $50 as I know AP will compensate for any lost or missing items under $50.

Sheesh, I'm way too slow! I head off to the Aus Post site to get you some more info and I get lost going round and round in circles in their unhelpful help pages.

There are some exclusions to Aus Post $50 compensation rules with valuables not being covered eg jewellery, coins, banknotes.

I finally found the right guide - see pages 62-65
http://auspost.com.au/media/documents/general-post-guide.pdf

[touch_it_you_die]

OK, I remember now, regular post, large letter, she mailed it into a mailbox so no receipt.  Oh well.

[Liisa-Sx]

Oh! Darn, touch, then I am at a loss, sorry

I always make sure I get a receipt for every single item I sell otherwise I could potentially lose as you did, might be worth a call to them anyway? You never know and you have nothing to lose at this point..

Poor Wheels, Yes the AP website is as clear as mud for finding things easily lol

Odd that jewellery is excluded on the website as another seller I know claimed for Jewellery ($30 value) and was compensated lol

Really got to dash now I'm late for the banking!

[*wheels*]

Touchie, I would still submit a claim form. You do not have to have lodged a letter/parcel over the counter to make a claim.

Do you have any receipt for the purchase of stamps in the last few weeks/months? Print out a copy of your eBay listing/invoice and a copy of the PayPal Item not Received claim and a copy of your Reg Post slip (explaining that the Reg Post item was posted as a replacement for the original lost item) and attach it together with a receipt for stamps (if available). You've got nothing to lose.

 

[bnwt]

and I would let it be known that you are a "full time eBay seller" believe it or not they want to look after eBay sellers

[The Purple Penny]

Touchie is my business partner and we have been scammed by this guy.  I have already left positive feedback.....grrr

The thing here is that it's not really AP's fault, I believe they delivered the package.  It was delivered to a c/o PO, not a street mailbox or anything.  I would like for Paypal to investigate how many claims have been raised by this seller as a threat to steal items from buyers.

[Liisa-Sx]

Touchie is my business partner and we have been scammed by this guy.  I have already left positive feedback.....grrr

The thing here is that it's not really AP's fault, I believe they delivered the package.  It was delivered to a c/o PO, not a street mailbox or anything.  I would like for Paypal to investigate how many claims have been raised by this seller as a threat to steal items from buyers.

Hi Purple, yes this was exactly my reasoning regarding submitting a claim, in doing so AP will investigate the Buyer and check historical records regarding previous lost packages, not sure if all losses were Australian though? None the less it cannot hurt to do so anyway, on the other hand albeit unlikely given the scenario the buyer may have succumbed to AP's sometimes erratic postal delivery system in which case you have no way of knowing at this point either way and would be fully justified in claiming.

On the subject of feedback that is unfortunate and one of the reasons I sadly no longer leave feedback until I have heard from the buyer and they have left feedback to indicate all was well with the transaction.

[pra666]

http://feedback.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&ftab=FeedbackLeftForOthers&userid=splattbluelight&iid=-1&de=off&items=200

[wyzeguy60]

thanks for that Pra - checked and sure enough he is on my blocked bidders list already, not that I sell on ebay anymore though - lol. Appalling record of non arrivals and if you look carefully further down he even alludes to the fact that non registered post leaves you open.

To touch & PP. Some years ago I went from stamps on envelopes to receipted post code delivery. A strange thing happened almost immediately. From about 1 in 600 to 700 items going missing with stamps affixed it dropped to an amazing 1 in the last 3 years.
You see unscrupulous buyers are smart. They know that if they see stamps on a parcel or letter that you as the buyer has no hope of winning a paypal case / missing item claim.
Food for thought indeed. You IMO have been scammed by this buyer.