eBay Seller - advice needed

[GasFree]

Hello there everyone,

I am just looking for a bit of advice really. I have recently sold a lot on eBay, actually I sold 3 lots at the same time while 2 parcels arrived at their new home quickly I have been contacted buy the buyer of the third (and most expensive) lot saying that she has not received her parcel.

Obviously I feel bad and now regret not using tracked postage but in my listing I did advise that they could choose an alternative. Being naïve I assumed this and proof of postage would be sufficient to cover myself but after looking into the details and calling eBay it seems this is not enough, they say that if I didn't use a tracking number then the buyer will be entitled to a refund.

Again I really feel bad but in all my time buying and selling I have never once had a parcel go missing now I'm going to be out of pocket £50 which is money I was putting towards ponies from a very nice seller on here (feel even worse now as I have to tell her I can't buy her ponies after them being put on hold for me)

Anyone else have something like this happen before? The next step is for me to file a claim with Royal Mail but I don't know if I will get any compensation for them as it was standard 2nd class postage.
At least there are two things I will take away from this - I will never send items untracked and secondly I will never ask a seller to post untracked again.

By the way the buyer is being really sweet so want a happy ending. I thought I would try and send doubles to replace the missing ones but thought maybe just cut my losses and refund.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Galactica]

Oh dang- yeah, you are out of luck if you don't have tracking. 

I can't give you advice on filing a claim with the Royal mail, but I know that ebay will not cover you if you did not mail with tracking.  If the buyer files a claim, they will require that you refund the full amount unless you can offer proof of shipping, and a receipt is not going to do it. There has to be tracking showing that it was actually mailed, and accepted by the post- 

I guess I would recommend trying to see if the buyer will wait a little longer to see if the package turns up. Sometimes the mail IS slow- and you can agree to send them a full refund if another week goes by and nothing shows up.  Hopefully that will keep them from filing a claim...

[GasFree]

Thank you Galactica, as I say I have proof of postage from the post office but no tracking number. I suppose I will just have to take this as a learning curve.
Still bothers me that there is a parcel floating around somewhere with a lovely lot of ponies! Some of them rather liked and didn't mind having doubles, I was just trying to be disciplined so that i could find my next purchase.

[LadyMoondancer]

How long ago did you send it?  I'm assuming it was First Class International, or the Royal Mail equivalent?  Perhaps it's still on its way?

The buyer is covered by PayPal for a looong time, so you might see if they are amenable to waiting a bit longer and seeing if it arrives.

[Loa]

Where was it heading too?

This feeling is awful, I think we've all had it.

[Ringlets]

Is the item being sent to someone  who is also in the UK? if not then international shipping times vary so much I wouldn't be worried yet and I'd ask your buyer to hold on a bit longer. Actually reading what you wrote again if you sent it second class then its also in the UK right?  but how long has it been since you posted the parcel? second class can take..a while.. It know its usually pretty fast but even within the UK I've had items take 2-3 weeks to arrive. I thought they were lost. The paypal deadline is longer now as Ladymoondancer said either way so hopefully your buyer will be willing to hold on a bit longer
It *is* stressful though for both buyer and seller.  If the worst comes to the worst, Royal Mail will give you a refund if you make a claim with them. You have to fill out a form, give them the ebay auction listing number and some other stuff. I've had to do this maybe  3 times in 10 years, but in each case they refunded me pretty fast and without issue. You can get a claim form from the PO. You may even be able to do it online now but I'd have to check  The only problem is that now your automatic free insurance is not as much as it used to be. A few years ago they would have refunded you up to £46 ..but now they've lowered it so that unless you have sent by a tracked/signed for method I think the included insurance is only around £20  - which isn't much fun if the missing item is worth £50   I would definitely recommend sending your items with tracking or at least signed for in the future. I do that with all my items now, even the cheap ones - just incase something like this happens
Please let us know how it goes   I hope the parcel arrives safely

[GasFree]

Hey all
Thank you so much for the feedback. It was sent locally here in the UK..from Stratford upon Avon (Shakespeare's Birthplace lol) to Manchester do not all that far.
The buyer has agreed to wait another week so hopefully they will arrive by then.
Ringlets you post is so helpful, many thanks. Depending what happens I will definatley make a claim. At least getting a small refund is better than nothing.
Really thank you so much for your replies everyone 

[Ringlets]

You're welcome hun   I'm glad your buyer is willing to wait a bit longer too