Buyer says item not received

[Ups15-60]

Advice please! About 10 days ago I sold 4 items through to a buyer I met on Facebook, he specifically asked that I didn't send the items by signed or recorded mail as he was too busy to stay home or pick them up from the post office (I have screenshots of this) i posted the items the next day and have proof of postage from the post office plus pictures of the parcel as sent, 3 days ago he messaged me to say he hasn't received them yet, as of today still hasn't, he hasn't asked for a refund yet or opened a claim but I'm worried what will happen if they don't arrive, will PayPal refund him if he opens a claim as they were posted to the address he specified and straight away! There worth £250 so can't afford to lose the money, I feel bad if they don't turn up, but it's not my fault! I've done as he asked, anyone with advise please? Thanks in advance

[kernowlass]

@Ups15-60

In the event of an item not received dispute the ONLY way Paypal know if the buyer did get their items or not is if the seller provides trackable proof of delivery.

Tracking is for YOUR protection and not the buyers, of course the buyer will opt for the cheapest option as if you can't provide tracking they get a refund anyway.

You don't have to send trackable but if you don't then you lose your seller protection.

It is your fault unfortunately, proof of postage is just proof you posted it and not proof he received it.

If you bought something from Amazon and it did not turn up would you be happy if they turned you down for a refund because they can prove they posted it?

[Ups15-60]

@kernowlass Thanks for your advice, I feel bad about the items possibly going missing but I don't see why I should have to refund him as parcel force losing a package is beyond my control! And he specifically said not to post tracked! Just checked on my account and he paid as a "personal payment" Would he be able to open a claim on this? Thanks

[kernowlass]

@Ups15-60

No but if you are accepted friends / family payments for sale of goods then its against paypals rules and can lead to your paypal account being limited.

Also its your responsibility in getting the goods to the buyer or refunding. Then YOU claim from any postal service you used, if you didn't send trackable and can't claim from that postal service then that was your choice.

Also if he funded his paypal payment via a credit card and issued a chargeback you would have no seller protection and be forced to refund anyway.

[Ups15-60]

@kernowlass I didn't ask him to pay as friends or family, I honestly didn't even know there was a difference till tonight as I've only sold through eBay before, they won't freeze my account will they?? Honestly I did everything as he asked/ wanted, i really hope they will be delivered but I think its unlikely

[kernowlass]

@Ups15-60

Not for one transaction but you should know if you get a f/f payment as you don't pay a fee on it and also you normally don't get the persons address details.

You really should read up on seller protection before you start selling. If you are not going to refund buyers who's items go missing then you won't be selling for long.

Also if he paid via f/f ie personal payment then he could not have gone via Ebay checkout so again you broke the rules by going outside of Ebay to be paid.

I can't see your selling career going on for long if you don't actually read up on the rules to protect yourself and your buyers.

Good luck.

[Ups15-60]

@kernowlass This wasn't from eBay, it was a collector I met on Facebook, who wanted to buy an item we talked about(not even listed on eBay) he said just to give him my email address to pay and then sent me his address, so thought everything was ok.I've sold maybe a 150 items on eBay, never Had any problems