I've lost my money because Royal Mail didn't deliver!

[k3112]

Last Sunday I sold my BlackBerry on ebay. On Monday I posted it first class with proof of postage and transfered the money from PayPal to my bank account. The buyer messaged me to say she hadn't received it and has now opened a case against me on ebay. My PayPal balance is now minus funds as i'd already withdrawn the cash.

In my  opinion, i've done my bit and royal mail have failed to deliver. I am worried that i will be forced to refund the money which ive already spent on bills. I thought PayPal insured sellers for problems like this but i can''t  find anything online.

Will I be down my Blackberry and £100 or will PayPal see that this isn't my fault?? It's only been a week so Royal Mail won't look into the lost parcel just yet.

[kernowlass]

Seller protection is not for items lost in the post that is your responsibility.

Tracking is for your benefit not the buyers. And if you bought something from amazon and it didn't arrive would you be happy if they just said sorry but we have proof we posted it???

When i sell anything over about £25 i send trackable then if it gets lost in the post i refund the buyer and claim from royal mail.

Anything under £25 I take the risk BUT its my risk not the buyers and if they say the item has not arrived then of course i refund them.

If you don't have tracking that shows delivery  of the item to the buyer then you will have to repay paypal or have your account limited until you do. Any sales you make will be used to pay off the debt.

Would you as a buyer pay £100 for something and when it didn't arrive the seller shrugs their shoulders and say not my fault i posted it???

[k3112]

I understand what you're saying and as a buyer i would be peeved, but as the seller i think that no one should lose out. I don't know what i can do in the mean time to stop myself losing out; the reason i sell on ebay is to earn money. I do have proof which shows delivery but at the moment says "accepted at post office local" whatever that is.

And no i wouldn't pay £100 and then shrug it off, but i did think that as a buyer i could claim that from paypal. I wouldnt expect money from the seller as i would think they were honest and reliable.

[kernowlass]

The buyer does get a refund from paypal if you don't refund, but then paypal will expect you to pay them back. 

It is you that is responsible in getting the item to the buyer not paypal.

You would not lose out at all if you sent trackable cus if the item went missing you could refund the buyer and claim from royal mail. 

To be honest i can't believe you sent a £100 item standard post.  

[greystones]

Same thing happened to me -- actually worse!  I purchased an Ebay item which was fake.  Seller said she didnt know and promised refund.  I returned first class - parcel never arrived.  (Or did it?)  Absolutely nothing I could do and lost £99 exactly.  Proof of posting is worthless - might as well just throw it away!  In future I am going to put a disclaimer, as I see many sellers do, stating that proof of posting will be obtained but not responsible for lost parcels.

Royal Mail have a lot to answer for - it should be a 'risk' for goodness sake! but the alternative is paying 30% more for recorded post.  On another note I have a deficit balance at the moment and cannot use paypal unless I clear it.

This is due to an unscrupulous buyer who has opened a fraudulent case against me.  When it closes I will immediately close this account.  I will never allow total strangers the power to mess around with my personal finances like this again!