eBay issue - advice please

[Alberto]

I sold an item for 90eur. On top of it the buyer paid 6eur for registered postage. When it came to buy postage, surprisingly eBay let me chose which postage to use, and I made the greedy stupid mistake to select not-registered, because cheaper, 4eur instead of the 6eur the buyer paid.
eBay confirms the item has been shipped (doesn't say it's arrived though).
Now 10days later the buyer is saying the item has not yet arrived and is asking money back.

I don't want the buyer to lose out because I made a stupid greedy mistake. I know I am at fault.
On the other hand, how do I know the buyer is being honest and the item has not yet arrived? Or else, what if after I refund the item gets delivered?

I'll probably refund them, because I know am at fault. But still asking opinions....
Thanks,

[Eric7]

Mark it up as "experience" and never send anything again without tracking and insurance.

Lots of unscrupulous people out there unfortunately.

[Alberto]

Mark it up as "experience" and never send anything again without tracking and insurance.

Yes, I think this nails it.

[Fraufruit]

I say Karma - you cheated the buyer out of 2 measly Euros which he paid.

[snowingagain]

The worst is, it could still arrive but you will not know.

I sent 3 things a few weeks ago all to Hamburg. One (very urgent) express DHL same day or overnight Cost 26 euros for small package. Took over 4 days.

One per Einschreibung (mit Einwurf) so just an extra 2.50 ish. Took 3 days.

One totally normal package: it arrived the next day, under 24 hours.

[kiplette]

That's nuts. So of the three you posted, the normal one was quicker by far. Sheesh.

@alberto, I'm with FrauFruit on this one - the amount paid by the buyer for postage is paid by them for the service they chose, just like in an online shop. You don't get to give them a cheaper service and keep the rest, it's essentially stealing at that point.

[Alberto]

@alberto, I'm with FrauFruit on this one - the amount paid by the buyer for postage is paid by them for the service they chose, just like in an online shop. You don't get to give them a cheaper service and keep the rest, it's essentially stealing at that point.

Yes, I know what I did was wrong.

[Robinson100]

A stupid situation, but I guess I would just refund the money and tell the guy to let you know if the goods eventually do turn up.
Whilst there are a few "dodgy" characters on Ebay, it most certainly isn´t all of them, and you might just get lucky.