Refunded a buyer in full but haven't received the goods back

Hello Mike. Wow, that's a lesson learned the hard way. You never refund until you have the item back in your hands!

Firstly, how long has it been since your last contact? Don't forget at this time of year many people are on holiday and in wind down mode. Hopefully it's just a case of the buyer not being glued to their device and it will all work out.

Is their other feedback generally good? That could give you an idea of if they are dishonest and have done this deliberately.

They wanted me to pay shipping before they would send it. I emailed last Friday to advise payment had been made and confirming our return address and when I heard nothing back I emailed again yesterday. Communication prior to this was good so I'm hoping it's just a case of them being on holiday.

The account was only made in November (something I didn't notice till after) and the limited feedback they have so far has been positive. 

Yes, hopefully that's the case. I'm guessing you already checked for a phone number? Quite often buyers will add it to their original delivery address. A quick search on "socials" can get more contact results too. Especially for more unique names.

If you still haven't heard from them middle of next week or so you might want to consider reaching out to Trade Me directly to see if they can help nudge things along for you.

From your first post I assumed you had refunded them in full. Do you mean you just paid the return shipping cost? If so, that's not so bad I guess. But still, the idea is you pay them the total (item cost + shipping) only after you get the item back.

No I haven't checked for a number yet, I've got a name, bank account and address. 

I've refunded them what they paid and paid for shipping, my mistake, in future I'll just pay the shipping and pay the rest once I've received my stuff back but I'm hoping there is no next time!

If you accurately described the item and did not mislead the buyer, as a private seller you are under no obligation to accept a return for any reason, let alone to pay for return shipping.

If you are "in trade" then as long as it's not faulty and you describe it correctly... you are not obligated to accept a return. 

"Didn't fit me", "don't like it", "bought the wrong part"... are all change of mind, not your problem.

If for whatever reason you do agree to accept a return of a purchase, do not refund **anything** until the item is back with you and checked, then you can refund the item price and reimburse their shipping if necessary.

With the Exception being Not as Described, as below...

Kia ora Mike, sorry to hear about this, I've sent you an email to get the ball rolling.