Buyer Claims Item not Received - What to Do?
When you sell on Amazon, it is only a matter of time before you encounter a buyer who claims they didn't receive their purchase only for you to check the tracking and see that it clearly says the item was delivered.
The Best Way to Resolve Item Not Received Situations on Amazon
When faced with the above situation many sellers, new sellers in particular become very agitated and immediately assume the buyer is lying and trying to get a free item by claiming it was not received, while in reality it was.
Don't do this. It is unhealthy. Even if the item was stolen, chances are it was not stolen by the buyer.
Instead, do this:
1. Say that you are sorry the buyer hasn't received the item.
2. Point out that the tracking shows it as delivered.
3. Mention that delivery guys often place packages in very hidden places and customers have a hard time finding them (this is absolutely true!).
4. Ask them to look for the item again and see if they can find it. Suggest they call the shipping carrier to ask where the delivery guy left the package.
You will find that in most cases the customer will be able to find the package.
There will still be cases where the customer still says the item can't be found, and then you need to do the following:
5. Ask them to file a search request with the shipping carrier.
6. File a search request with the carrier yourself.
7. Inform the buyer that if the item isn't found, you will issue a refund or send a replacement, whichever they prefer.
The point of the search request isn't so much to find the package, which is unlikely to happen, as it is to inform the shipping carrier this address is potentially not safe to deliver to or that there may be someone stealing packages at that specific shipping carrier office (also happens!). If an address gets enough of these, the shipping carrier will stop delivering at the doorstep or mailbox, and start requesting pick-up dues to unsafe location.
This is the best course of action for INR Claims. If you go on the offense and start explicitly or implicitly accusing the buyer of lying chances are that they will not cooperate with you, not tell you, even if they find the package, and may file a claim or chargeback against you. All things you want to avoid.
