Hello -
I sold a book (50 euros) on eBay and the buyer tells me he received something else entirely. A rather bulky device when my package is tiny, the size of an envelope and not thick.
I bought the label myself from Mondial R. I don’t know who to turn to. I think eBay will tell me to sort it out with the buyer, meaning give up and issue a refund (too bad the book is 50 euros and not 5 euros). So either the label was re-glued or it’s an attempted scam.
Is it up to me to conduct the investigation by asking for photos, etc.
how would you proceed or how have you proceeded if this has already happened to you? Thanks
Hello @mlamiche
Are you on a Pro or Personal account on Ebay?
Did the buyer open a dispute on Ebay or did they just send you a message to indicate they received a different item?
What does the Mondial Relay tracking show?
We’ll try to help you 
Thank you, that’s kind - I’m on a personal account and so far he hasn’t made an official complaint. The tracking for MR only indicates that the item has been delivered.
Here’s what I would do in your place…
I would reply to his message with a response like this:
Hello,
I am sorry to hear that you received a different package than the one I sent you.
It seems there was an error during the transit of the package I sent you.
Could you please send me a photo of the package received, its contents, and the Mondial Relay shipping label properly attached to the package?
This will allow me to send this information to Mondial Relay’s claims department to report this malfunction.
They will contact you very quickly, likely by phone.
Thank you in advance for your reply, and my apologies for this inconvenience.
Best regards,
You’ll see if he replies, but I think he’s trying to scam you.
Most of the time, they didn’t reply to me!
In any case, your message (your reply) will be visible to eBay services if he makes an official claim.
You will then be able to easily contact eBay customer service and provide proof of your shipment via Mondial Relay.
Check if you have the package tracking on the order line in « My eBay > My Sales ».
It should say « Delivered ».
Good luck…
P.S.: Next time, use eBay’s shipping service, it’s cheaper than going through a personal Mondial Relay account.
Plus, you get the label directly, and it’s deducted from your finalized sale.
Thank you very much - I’m wondering if I should ask him to make an official claim, which he doesn’t seem very keen to do.
He says:
Hello, I picked up the package and upon opening it, I found that it does not contain the book purchased, but rather a computer device « Digital Audio Splitter! » How do I return this device and receive my book?
I don’t sell computer devices, so I would be hard-pressed to receive a computer device, and of course, I no longer have the book.
If this is not a scam, it would be a label change, but for what reason? In principle, I read somewhere that MR is able to state the weight of the package at departure and arrival. I don’t know if that’s true.
I don’t trust the eBay shipping service.
@Aco - Thank you for your valuable help. Here is the buyer’s response:
""Please excuse my carelessness. I just found the book: it was indeed inside the cardboard box marked « Digital Audio »!
Proof that it is sometimes better to laugh about it! (it doesn’t make me laugh).
Thank you for your understanding and again sorry for this little confusion. Everything is perfectly in order now.« »
A nice attempt following my request for photos.
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It’s normal 
As if by chance, he finds it now? 
Well, I’m delighted for you… (Case closed )
Good luck for the future
There, a proven attempt to swindle, given how it was miraculously found.
By clicking on « generate a shipping label », you’ll only pay €2.32 on eBay, which is cheaper than on MR’s site (€2.99 with the eBay import, €4.19 for standard purchase). Knowing that eBay must have a very good contract with MR because I have absolutely NEVER had a single problem.
Collissimo is also much cheaper. Shop2shop is also not expensive, €3.34 and €3.50 for 1kg. But it doesn’t necessarily appear directly, you have to click on Packlink to see the options.
Why? They just act as a gateway; they don’t have their own delivery service like Vinted. Whether you buy it on the MR site or on eBay, it remains an MR label.
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I did the test after reading your post, I also got €2.99 by going through Packlink, how did you get €2.32?
Hi
Regarding the eBay shipping service, I read on Reddit, I think, numerous accounts of overcharging after the fact, with Packlink claiming the package weight wasn’t respected, which leads sellers to take a photo on the scale before shipping. True or false, I don’t know.
yes, but that’s normal, if you select 500g and send 5kg, it will obviously raise a flag. You can also experience this when using the MR website. And what’s more, if you go slightly over, it’s accepted.
It’s still crazy that people complain about this, and there are even warning messages to inform them 
The difficulty with eBay is that the site is old and has several layers, so you shouldn’t click on Packlink, but just on « get a label » and you will land on the new page that has been around since early June.
and on this same page, Colissimo is also unbeatable (€4 and some change, 5 bucks for 1kg).
Shop2shop doesn’t appear, you have to click on the orange Packlink which takes you back to the old page.
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Actually, if you don’t want to have problems with Ebay, you simply have to be serious, upright, thorough, and honest. (and show it)
You enter the weight and dimensions of your package in advance on the listings, and in 2 clicks you get the shipping label according to the carrier chosen by the buyer.
If you respect the package weight (more or less), in increments of 500g, you will NEVER have problems, as indicated by the people complaining on Reddit.
It is certain that if these individuals want to cheat to pay a lower price for shipping, they get caught, and then they complain.
I think that from the moment one does not respect the rules, one has absolutely no right to complain, as they do.
Furthermore, Ebay has implemented a « seller status », meaning it assigns a kind of rating to sellers.
Top-rated sellers benefit from a number of advantages, notably increased visibility for their listings, a badge, and enhanced protection in case of a dispute, for example.
Concretely, you have a history of your actions, and you are rewarded if you are honest, and punished, in a way, if you do things haphazardly.
So in my opinion, the people who are complaining should look in the mirror and see if they are always thorough or not.
Yes, you are probably right. It is true that buyers on Vinted often ask for a reduction in shipping costs (for a difference of 40 cents!!). The only times I « tweak » things a bit are if I sell a piece of tableware that weighs less than 1 kg and I am forced to select the 5 kg option. Then I change the category.
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Thank you, on the other hand I get €2.78 on the same view with a similar weight/dimensions. Would this be conditioned by the type of product or the profile status?
And concerning the overcharging with Packlink, this is a case that I have seen reported quite a lot, with sellers who have to justify the weight of the shipment when they are charged for 5kg instead of 500g for an envelope.
It’s because they’re « navel-gazers »!
They complain but don’t look at what they’re doing wrong.
Sometimes they even think it’s normal to try and cheat.
It’s exactly like those on Vinted who complain about being « banned », who hold multiple personal accounts, who have made more sales than most Professional Sellers (who declare them), and then cry because they have a restriction. Worse, they don’t understand why…
In fact, if you play, you have to know how to lose sometimes… well anyway!
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Yes, I think there are sometimes differences of a few cents depending on the number of sales you make and the status you have obtained. These are some of eBay’s small rewards for serious and squared-away sellers.
There isn’t really any communication about this, but I have lower rates than colleagues who have been on the platform for less time. It comes down to a few cents or tens of cents.
Regardless, the rates offered by eBay are more advantageous than if you go directly through the carriers.
Up until now, I was using eBay’s import for Mondial Relay, but the prices were still higher. For Colissimo, I use second-hand postage to offset the costs, since La Poste’s rates increase by 10% per year.
Vinted covers that, it rarely causes problems. Plus, they set limits (stupid ones) that leave no choice. For me, it’s a maximum of 2kg even for bundles. One time it went up to 12kg, via Colissimo, and it still went through (but I wasn’t relaxed).
But as Aco explains, eBay is straightforward, so if you are too, there are generally no issues. In fact, for me, they really manage their platform well compared to Vinted because they have processes that make the person who does things right feel comfortable on the platform, but strangely, the « tinkerers » have more difficulty finding their niche there. In short, the opposite of Vinted. Frankly, if eBay could suffice for me, I would ditch Vinted immediately.
I can’t say, I’m a professional seller, have a shop (the intermediary for 10,000 listings) and have the Top Seller Reliability Plus badge, so indeed, if there are rewards, I should be well-positioned.
It was €2.99 since last year after a significant drop that changed the game in the comparison with Vinted (who are now the most expensive with MR, as LBC has renegotiated their prices), but now they have decreased again.
However, for international shipping, it’s better to use the import option, especially since they have finally restored the connection with countries that were causing problems (Italy, Spain) for example.
Frankly, given the new rates, it’s hard to complain. Now I can offer free shipping without inflating the base price and thus obtain top reliability (which gives a 10% discount on commission, which is also not negligible) and offer an international price that seems low (since there’s already free shipping, I just charge the supplement, rounding up to make a small profit).
Well, personally, I’ve never had any issues, but it’s true that for a while now, I’ve been using the import option on the site. There’s already €50 of insurance included, and it’s also much easier to manage if an shipment needs to be canceled (e.g., if the buyer realizes in the email that they haven’t selected the correct relay point).
these people are … unbearable 
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