eBay item not received case: what to do in each situation, step by step

What is an eBay item not received case?

An eBay item not received case starts when a buyer tells eBay that a parcel they paid for has not arrived. It begins as a request to you, the seller. If you do not resolve it, the buyer can ask eBay to step in and decide. Under the eBay Money Back Guarantee, buyers can report an item not received within 30 calendar days of the estimated delivery date, and sellers must respond within 3 business days.

Every case comes down to one question: can you show the parcel reached the buyer's address? The answer decides what you should do next, and the sections below take each situation in turn.

What should you do first when a request arrives?

1. Open the request in Seller Hub, under returns and requests, and note the date it was opened. Your 3 business days run from then.
2. Open the tracking on the order and on the carrier's own website. Note every scan: accepted, in transit, out for delivery, delivered, and the date and place of each.
3. Check the address on the order against the address on the label and the delivery scan.
4. Read any messages from the buyer. Sometimes they have already said where they looked.
5. Decide which situation you are in, using the table below.

Which situation are you in?

Tracking says delivered but the buyer says it is not there

This is the situation where you have the strongest position, and where tone matters most. Most of these parcels are found. Reply quickly with something like:

Hello, I am sorry the parcel has not reached you. The carrier shows it was delivered to your address on [date] at [time]. Could you check with neighbours, anyone else at the address, and any safe place or porch box? If it still cannot be found, please let me know and I will help you take it further with the carrier.

Give the buyer a day or two to look. If they come back and still cannot find it, you have a choice. With a clear delivery scan to the right address, you can let eBay decide if the buyer asks it to step in; eBay usually weighs a valid delivery scan heavily. If the item is low value, or the scan is unclear, a refund may still be the better business decision.

When a signature or photo exists

Some services record a signature or a photo at the door. Download it and keep it with the order. It is the clearest evidence you can offer if the buyer asks eBay to step in.

Buyers who report missing parcels often

Now and then a buyer seems to report every parcel as missing. You cannot refuse to sell to someone on a hunch, but you can protect yourself. Send future orders to that buyer with a signed for service, keep every scan and photo, and if the pattern continues, report it to eBay with the order numbers. eBay can see patterns across sellers that you cannot. You can also add the buyer to your blocked buyer list so they cannot buy from you again.

Tracking has stalled or the parcel is lost

If tracking stopped in transit days ago, the parcel may be delayed or lost. You cannot prove delivery, so you are unlikely to win if eBay steps in. Your goal is to resolve the request before the 3 business days run out.

1. Contact the carrier and ask them to investigate. Note the reference.
2. Message the buyer: tell them you are on it, and give them a choice of waiting a few more days, a replacement or a refund.
3. Act on their choice, through the request in eBay, the same day.
4. Pursue the carrier's compensation separately. Never make the buyer wait for the carrier's answer.

International parcels

Parcels to other countries often go quiet for days while they pass between carriers or through customs. Before you treat one as lost, check the destination country's carrier using the same number, if the tracking says it has been handed over. Tell the buyer what you can see, and explain that international tracking updates more slowly. If the estimated delivery date has passed and there is still no sign of it, the same rules apply as for a domestic parcel: resolve the request inside 3 business days.

Agreeing to wait

Some buyers are happy to wait a few more days once they know you are dealing with it. If they agree, confirm it in the request or the message thread, with a date on which you will refund or replace if nothing arrives. Do not let that date slip, and do not rely on a promise made by phone.

A worked example: what each choice costs

Example, with hypothetical numbers. You sold an item for £36 including postage. The item cost you £22 and postage cost £3.50. Tracking has not moved for 8 days.

• Refund now: you return £36 to the buyer. You have lost the item and the postage, £25.50 in total, before any carrier compensation. No case closed against you.
• Replace now: you send another item at £22 plus £3.50 postage. The sale stands, and your total cost doubles to £51, against £36 of income.
• Do nothing: after 3 business days the buyer asks eBay to step in. eBay refunds £36, recovers it from you, and the order counts as a case closed without seller resolution and a transaction defect.

The money is similar in the first and third options. The difference is the defect. On eBay UK, cases closed without seller resolution are capped at up to 2 cases or 0.3% of transactions, whichever is higher, under the seller performance policy.

Claiming from the carrier

Carrier compensation is a separate matter between you and the carrier. Each carrier has its own claim process, time limits and evidence rules, so check them on the carrier's website and keep proof of posting, the value of the item and your receipt. Refund the buyer first, then claim. The buyer's experience should not depend on how fast a carrier answers you.

Items without tracking, and items sent by a supplier

Without tracking, you have no delivery scan to show. Proof of postage shows the parcel was sent, not that it arrived, and it rarely wins an item not received case. For untracked orders, the practical answer is usually a refund or replacement, offered quickly and politely.

If a supplier sent the parcel, get their tracking and their help immediately. You remain the seller of record and the request is yours to resolve. eBay's drop shipping policy allows fulfilling orders directly from a wholesale supplier, but not listing an item and then buying it from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your customer, and in every case the seller is responsible for safe delivery within the time in the listing.

Wrong address given by the buyer

If the parcel went to the address on the order and the buyer had typed it wrongly, show the buyer the address they entered and the delivery scan. Help them contact the carrier. If you sent it to a different address from the one on the order, the responsibility is yours.

A checklist to prevent the next case

• Use tracked services for anything you would not want to refund without a second thought.
• Add tracking with the right carrier the day each parcel goes.
• Copy the address from the order exactly, including flat numbers.
• Watch for parcels with no scan for several days and message buyers first.
• Answer every request on the day it arrives.
• Keep carrier references and compensation claims in one place.

For the rules behind these deadlines, read our guide to the eBay Money Back Guarantee for sellers, and for tracking eBay can read, see why eBay says a tracking number is not valid.