I am located in the US and recently shipped an item to another area of the US. The person claimed they never received it although the delivery confirmation said they did. When they contacted me I told them to contact their local Post Office which they did. They simply said that the post office stated that maybe it was delivered to the wrong mailbox and to check with their neighbors which they said they did not want to do.

Then I contacted my local post office to start an investigation. At this time the customer got upset saying simply ship another item to them (video game). I told them I can't do this since an investigation was on. They then stated that tell the post office to just send the item back to me when found. I stated that I could not do this since the post office stated if the item is found it most likely will be delivered to them. They stated that I had 24 hours to ship another game or the credit card company will be called and they'd dispute it.

Sure enough a couple days later (about a week after the item arrived) I get the chargeback. Out of 460 items shipped this was my first chargeback. I contacted the credit card company to dispute it. I gave all email correspondence to them including proof of delivery. Unfortunately I was told that the delivery confirmation does no good and I need a signature or I will lose any chargeback where a person claimed they did not get the item.

I was puzzled because I had the idea that a delivery confirmation is fine and that a signature confirmation is only needed on items of $250 or more so that is how I handled it, only signatures on $250 or more. I think a signature confirmation is around $1.85 so I can't afford it on all items. I think anything of $100 or more I'll put it on and not the others figuring it's a cost of business.

I just am posting this to get opinions from others. How have you done with chargebacks such as these? Do you usually ship another item or is there another way to fight it? I am concerned customers will get upset if every package, no matter how small, requires a signature plus some may simply not accept the pkg (for example if they are not home) and I may get too many returns.

Rarely have I had people not accept a package because of needing a signature. I also use UPS for most of my shipping because the signature is included in the shipping service.

I would still put in for a dispute of the charge back with what you have... The person you talked to may not be the 100% authority on the charge back.

Chargebacks are that little dark secret that no one tells you about when starting a business. Not even the credit card/merchant companies. It's only when you start receiving them, that you realize how dangerous they can be.

You have to document everything, when you are in the mail order business. This includes signature deliveries, emails, invoices, etc. And keep on file for at least 3 years.

If you receive anywhere from 2-5% (each bank is different) of your sales volume in chargebacks, the bank will shut you down your merchant account, and then black list you by reporting to the Mastercard BATCH file list - a very dangerous list to be on. It's almost impossible to be removed from this list. Only the bank who put you on the list, can remove you, and even then, it's hard to get them to remove you, even if there are no unresolved issues. Unlike a negative credit report listing (7 year auto-removal), your name is on here forever! Yes, I said FOREVER.

I've noticed, they even count disputes that you have won, against your file. Again, very dangerous these Chargebacks.

This does not mean don't fight them. Fight them with everything that you have. Send them EVERYTHING! Don't worry about what the bank rep tells you. She's not only trying to minimize her workload, but also your bank only has 1 chance to submit a rebuttal/dispute on your behalf. So make it good, and provide all the necessary documents.

I know it's hard to pull an extra penny out of a customer to cover the cost of a signature guarantee, but it will be well worth trying. You can include the cost by adding it to your shipping rates - done very easily in CRE. If you charge $1.85 for media mail, increase it to $2.15 or similar. It's still pretty low, and your protecting yourself.

Also, with UPS shipments, they now have the option to request and ADULT (18+) signature. This is good to do because you don't want some 13 year old signing for something which he is not liable for (a person under 18 cannot enter into any contract without parental consent). When they sign, they are essentially entering into an agreement, confirming that they received the shipment. But it is void, if the person is under 18. Useless.

US Mail... garbage when it comes to disputing chargebacks. That delivery confirmation number they give you, is useless. Doesn't really help. Signature delivery is your only protection.

Hope this helps some.

- D

double posted. sorry.