crazy-dazey (sorry -- it doesn't look like replies are tagged directly to the latest post message)
re: Opening more unpaid item disputes than ever.
It is the only recourse. I spent today trying to figure out my protection for sending via email a manual on doll repair I'd written, which the buyer kept saying she never received [in the mail]. At one point, she was complaining that she never received the materials [which are for her to buy on her own, cheap and w/o postage for heavy liquids and gels]. She'd paid for the manual and I had written numerous explanations that it was an electronic file attachment, and had sent it twice.
I spent most of today trying to find out what eBay would do in this case (I had sent it via Yahoo mail, which doesn't have a return receipt feature). Now that I've gotten my Vista problems resolved, I'm back on my newer computer and able to use Windows Mail.
Just a few minutes ago, I heard back from her and she had finally found the file: I think the Yahoo format had made it impossible for her to find where it had been attached.
Nearly a whole day, though -- not to mention all the other times I was trying to walk her through the process of receiving the file.
It is resolved -- I sent it with a red exclamation high priority mark, a return receipt requested, and a cc to eBay customer service. That, combined perhaps with a more visible means of an attachment, finally solved this big problem.
Nonetheless, it seemed that the only recourse I would have had would have been to refund her money, after wasting a bunch of time on the transaction and after having sent two copies of the manual to her in email -- it could easily be a fraudulent claim.
CAVEAT: send all with Delivery Confirmation to protect yourself. Keep copies of all messages. Get return receipts (which the recipient can also refuse to send back, you probably know) for any electronically delivered merchandise. CYA
Choo Choo Guy raises another problem: in sending overseas mail, it is harder to make sure we have records that we did indeed send something. There is a Certificate of Sent Mail that costs a dollar or two that we can use to show a package was sent overseas. Unfortunately, on the last package I sent, I forgot to get one. Getting everything ready for international mail is a lot of work.
We should all have CAVEATS on our listings for overseas buyers that we are not responsible for non-delivery of items outside of the US once we have mailed a parcel, as the tracking systems are different.
. . . and to any suggestions? about an alternative to ebay: Overstock.com auctions. The more of us migrate there, the better it will become, and it is a good reliable site with good policies and national exposure and an auctions tab at the top of their web page.
. . . and to how long? must one wait for a check in the mail, eBay's policy is that our policy needs to be on our listing. Ten days is the "norm," and we can just write "Mailed payment must be received within ten days of close of auction" in the section at the bottom of the page about payment and shipping. In the same section, it helps to state also that items will be relisted if no contact is made within three days.
I have that statement and then can leave it flexible, depending on people's track records or how I feel or other variables.
Those statements protect the seller in the case of a demanding buyer who takes three weeks and still is getting the check in the mail and your hands are tied by the spectre of negative feedback. Ten days is a good long time, and you can extend it if the buyer has a good explanation. Most people pay immediately through PayPal, so the CYA statements just provide some security and protection against oddballs.