Tracking says the order was delivered, but the buyer is saying they don't have it

[EdelweissKC]

It's rare, but I'm sure everyone deals with buyers that say their items haven't arrived.  
This buyer said she went to her old address to pick up the package and it wasn't there.  Though tracking said it was delivered a few hours prior to a parcel locker.  She asked for a replacement of the order.  Unfortunately, I do not have any more of the items that she ordered.   I recommended she wait 48 hours to see if the package shows up.  
It's a $288 order, and as a small business owner, the idea of refunding this loss is just a bummer.  Usually my orders are just around $30-$45.  

I was reading that Etsy can refund orders up to $250 if you follow all of their policies.  But if it exceeds that, then you're on your own. 

Just seeking opinions on this.  

[cutebutton]

I would go ahead and refund the person in full because if they open a case with etsy, etsy will see what you are selling, refund the buyer in full AND likely shut your shop down completely or worse you could end up in a financial situation you wouldn't want to be in.

[OneEyeCatStudio]

And in the future, be sure you put your licensing agreements in every applicable listing. 

Most sports teams, and even the U.S. military, do sweeps now and then and this will also keep your listings from being deactivated.

[WildflowyrSpirit]

That's ridiculous.  Don't refund the buyer, have Etsy do it.  That's what buyer protection is for, that's what the fees you pay are for!  

[CarpetCollectionAU]

Actually @WildflowyrSpirit It is not ridiculous. The Buyer did not receive the parcel.

Do you not realise that the program is called Purchase Protection? If the Buyer opens a Case and Etsy refunds, the Money will not come from Etsy. It will be taken from the Seller's account.

What is ridiculous is to consider the "fees" paid to Etsy as buying "insurance".

If Etsy covered all of these "non delivery" Cases, can you imagine how much our "fees" would increase? "Someone" has to pay for these "refunds" and that "Someone" is, certainly, not going to be Etsy. 

[BeJeweledByDEBORAH]

It is the customer's responsibility to assure that the correct address is on an order. If you shipped it to the address on the order, and Tracking says "Delivered", you've met your obligation. However, you do have options. You can call her local PO for the GPS coordinates of exactly where the package was delivered. If it is no longer in that location, have the customer ask neighbors if anyone mistakenly received it. If still no package, have the customer file a police report for a stolen package. Keep all communications with the customer in Etsy convo so that you have evidence of your attempts to assist. Unfortunately, if she does open a case in which she prevails, Etsy will take the money from your funds since the order was more than $250. So, it is in your best interest to assist the customer in trying to locate the package, but you are not obligated to refund or send a replacement.

[cutebutton]

@BeJeweledByDEBORAH 

in this case etsy would take the money even if it was $1 due to what is being sold. 

The $250 issue is irrelevant as to what etsy will do here. 

[HazelsSewingSupplies]

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[WildflowyrSpirit]

 @CarpetCollectionAU, I've had the following experience:  I've had many "non-deliveries" over the past few years and Etsy has refunded all of them, no questions asked.  With the Etsy Protection Plan it  certainly does NOT come from the seller's account, at least in my shops it never has.  And I use it, oh yes.  Sorry, but I'm not covering the post office's mistakes. It comes from Etsy when an item is not delivered, or the buyer claims it's not delivered.  It's under the PROTECTION PLAN and non delivery refunds come from ETSY, NOT the SELLER. That's why Etsy fees have increased, to cover such things.

And that's MY experience.

[JustMeToo]

@EdelweissKC   I would refund her right away to stay under the radar.  You probably don't want etsy to know what you're selling, I wouldn't think.  If the buyer opens a case, they will. 

[cutebutton]

@JustMeToo 

I'm guessing etsy knows now.  

I don't personally report listings or shops but there are a lot of people that do. 

It likely would be in the OPs best interest to go ahead and shut it down to get out ahead of it. 

[JustMeToo]

@cutebutton   I used to report shops but I've stopped.  I was policing etsy's site for nothing - no pay and no results.  Every shop I reported is still up and running, years later.  Etsy has no vision for the future of the site, sadly.  It's just ending up with a lot of junk, claimed as handmade, so lying to customers, and that seems to be okay with etsy.  It's losing buyers one by one when they see they've been fooled.

[NancyQstudio]

I've personally had an order marked as delivered which wasn't.  It did show up two days later.  This isn't uncommon.  I've also had customer deliveries accidentally delivered to a near by address which were found.  So I wouldn't refund right away.  Instead, ask the buyer for a short window of time to try and resolve the issue before automatically refunding.  Let them know you'll try  to get GPS tracking from the carrier to determine if it was actually delivered.  While you are doing this ask them to check with neighbors.  And share that it's possible the shipment may be delivered within the next two days.  

Even though Etsy does not cover $250 on up orders, I feel we still should be handling these as we normally would and offer customer support.  If a case is opened, I'd contact Etsy and ask for time to try and resolve the issue with my buyer. If I found GPS shows delivery to the designated address I would ask Etsy to take this into consideration because the order went into a parcel locker.  It is highly unlikely porch theft could have taken place.  It is very possible the delivery driver accidentally marked it as delivered yet didn't have time to physically do so.  Unfortunately, there is also the possibility the carrier placed it in the wrong box.  Regardless, it can't hurt to try and work with both the customer and Etsy on this one.  I'm so sorry to hear you are dealing with this situation.

[HazelsSewingSupplies]

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[NancyQstudio]

After seeing other posts on this thread  I peeked at the shop.  It may be best not to involve Etsy due to what is sold in the shop unless licensing agreements are in place.  

[OmasFabricStash]

If a case is opened you will need to refund in full. In order for Etsy to cover it everything in your shop has to be set up correctly.     
You are selling items that are infringing.       
You sell to the EU and the UK but your policies are not correct for them. 
Your order has to be under $250. 
These are problems I saw at first glance so there might be others. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@EdelweissKC: It appears that since you are not including your licensing information (or the usually required attributions and disclaimers) on the listings which are using others' Intellectual Property, your larger exposure is that Etsy could consider them as counterfeits and a buyer could file a 'not as described' case and get a full refund and keep the merchandise, regardless of whether or not they received it. https://www.etsy.com/ca/seller-handbook/article/1075628311049

Selling what appears to be counterfeits could also get your shop shut down. You should review your licensing agreements to see what you need to include in your listings so that there is no question that they are both legal and Etsy-legal.

[TBQSC]

@EdelweissKC  -- "This buyer said she went to her old address to pick up the package and it wasn't there."

OLD ADDRESS?!?!?  This sounds problematic!  If she doesn't live there, then why have items shipped there???  SCAM!

Could this be a prearranged scam ... buyer knows Etsy Seller Protection amount, and knows items are IP infringing, and knows they can easily file a case and get instant refund without having to return items. 

Sorry, but wishing you best of luck!

[nineteen27]

never-mind.

[AAANativeArts]

My first step is always to call my local Postmaster. If you google your local post office, you can usually find a number that is answered by a real person after it goes through a bunch of options. The last one is to talk to a person. I always ask for the Postmaster because she is the senior employee in charge. 

Give her the tracking number and ask her to verify the address where it was left. If it was the correct address and the package got stolen by porch pirates (very likely especially if no one is living there), that is a matter for their local police and not your responsibility. You do not have to replace the item.

If it was delivered to a wrong address (it doesn't happen often, but it does happen rarely), then you are responsible and would have to replace or refund even though it was the post office's mistake. If you contact your Postmaster soon enough, they can sometimes retrieve it and get it headed to the right address. If they can't get it back, you can file an insurance claim for a lost package. They will initially deny it because it says it was delivered, but if you appeal their decision and explain what happened, they will often reverse the original decision and pay you for it.

Anytime I ship something over $200, I send it Signature Required, so someone has to sign for it, and valuable packages aren't left on porches for anyone to pick up. It often annoys customers, but I don't care. At least that way, I am protected. Or they can make arrangements to have it shipped to their place of work, or a friend's house that is home during the day, or make arrangements to pick it up at the post office, but the post office won't leave it out in the open.

If your customer filed a forwarding address when she moved, it may show up at her new residence in a few days.

[TBQSC]

The problem with requiring signature does not always work ... USPS account customers can elect to have "electronic signature on file", which means postal employees are allowed to leave parcels w/o actually having someone physically sign for it upon delivery.  Having this option in place can get tricky should a claim ever need to be filed.