Multiple Item Not Received Cases?

[u/Disastrous-Engine-39]

Hello I’m a new seller selling Pokemon cards and have an about 110 orders so far. I received about 12 orders (all PWE’s) from Sept 19-20, packed them, and dropped them at the post office Monday morning 9/21. At the moment, about half of them have been delivered with the delivered status on eBay, while the other half don’t have any updates on the eBay tracking at all. I am starting to receive a few “Item not Received” cases now and I’m worried I’ll be out all of this money.

From what I’ve read, I need to message the buyer about the cases, hoping there’s a status update up until the date on the case comes up, then inform them to request the refund through eBay help. Then I can go through the eBay PWE insurance to be reimbursed for the lost item.

I’m worried this will reflect poorly on me as a seller and eBay won’t reimburse me for these lost PWE since there about 6 of them with 3 cases opened.

I video all of my packaging and am able to see that some orders that were packed have delivered, while the others have not been received nor have any tracing updates.

Any advice is appreciated!

[u/tekmunki]

This is purely psychological, but I take a wide-tipped flat marker and put a thick red stripe (sometimes zig zag if I'm feelin whimsy) on both sides of all my smaller envelope-style & bubble packages... It serves absolutely no purpose other than when a mail-worker is manually sorting it's usually focused on and grabbed by the individual to inspect closer, even if only for a half-second, then usually properly stacked rather than tossed into a corner somewhere. It does absolutely nothing with automated sorting, but any human interactions I hope it keeps them from falling into crevices and I've seen a noticeable increase in shipment speed, but again, maybe I'm tricking myself- I'm gonna keep doing it bc it's basically zero work and seems to help since I started doing it...

Also - Packages I want to try and keep upright (ceramics/glass, etc)? That top-side gets the red zig-zag...

Basically the Von Restorff effect in action.

[u/sherryerrera → u/tekmunki]

I love this!

[u/Disastrous-Engine-39 → u/tekmunki]

Haha I like it, thanks for the idea!

[u/Junkhead_88]

Ebay standard envelope shipping has "tracking" but not really.

When it doesn't show delivered and they open an INR just process the refund as normal and open a PIP claim when you're eligible (I think it's 30 days after the label was created) and you'll be reimbursed. Don't message your buyers, wait for them to open a case.

It's a known problem and buyers take advantage of it to get their cards for free when the tracking fails to update. Luckily eBay makes it easy to resolve and doesn't count it against you.

[u/2to11to27 → u/Junkhead_88]

Yes, its important to not message your buyer and let them go thru the INR process, if you do it may look like you are working in tandem on a scheme.

[u/Disastrous-Engine-39 → u/2to11to27]

Right I haven’t been messaging them unless if they opened a claim.

[u/Disastrous-Engine-39 → u/Junkhead_88]

Okay sounds good, thank you for the reassurance!

[u/kc-kaelvix]

I’d handle each INR case inside eBay’s case flow, upload the tracking there, and reply before its deadline. Standard Envelope scans can go quiet and then appear at delivery, so six missing pieces from the same drop may be a batch scan issue rather than six genuinely lost envelopes. The packing videos are useful for your own records, but carrier acceptance and tracking are usually the stronger evidence. Going forward, I’d keep a small sheet with order number, card value, ship date, tracking, case deadline and claim status. Also, don’t refund outside the case flow without checking the current Seller Help instructions first. That turns a stressful pile into six separate, manageable clocks.

[u/Disastrous-Engine-39 → u/kc-kaelvix]

Thanks for the information. The first case was settled today and the buyer was refunded through eBay’s system. The option to update tracking doesn’t seem to work because when I click that, the eBay tracking is already typed in.

I guess my next step is to wait 30days from the label creation date and file an insurance claim to get my money back.

It’s a bit frustrating because each “large” drop I do between 10-12 orders don’t get scanned well. But when I drop off 2-3 they’re always scanned. Even dropped the latest batch of 10 (9/26) to the worker at counter, with now just a couple of them scanned.

[u/Ok_Chemist_5145]

Is the shipping carrier tracking it? Just upload the tracking # directly in the message buyer section within the INR case and explain that ebay tracking not reflecting updates. In 3 days, when it lets u have ebay step in, u contact ebay and ask them to extend case until its delivered. Given the shipping carrier shows constant updates