I never send anything without a tracking # either. I spend 85 cents for a delivery confirmation sticker,on all my out going parts.:biglaugh:
This is great to keep ebay/buyers happy, at least they have proof it was sent, but it in no way ensures USPS won't lose it or break it. I had a DC'ed box get lost once, never arrived, tracking # hadn't updated, buyer was getting impatient. Who knows where the box went, it never got to the buyer, it was never returned to me (sometimes "lost" boxes will show up back at my address a few weeks/months later). Ended up having to refund the buyer and was out like $80 from USPS fucking up. I went to the PO, and asked what they would do if a DC package wasn't delivered. Answer: nothing. You have to buy
insuranceto protect against lost. DC is simply a tracking number, not a guarantee of delivery.
I always kept the DC numbers for ebay items, in case the buyer later claimed they didn't get it, but rarely uploaded them to the listing unless the buyer specifically asked for it.
A little communication goes a long way to keeping both parties happy. Sellers that just ignore buyer messages, especially when they know something isn't happening as fast as expected, are just asking for problems. Buyers then assume you're ignoring them on purpose and immediately get suspicious, with good reason. A few times I didn't ship items as fast as I should have, or one just "slipped by" I forgot to ship. When I realized the mistake I'd always send the buyer a message explaining the delay(item went out of stock, I just missed it), and would usually give a token of goodwill like refunding the shipping cost.
I had 100% positive feedback, Top Rated seller status, and was a bronze powerseller. I know it doesn't take much time to fire off a quick message explaining a delay or apology for a fuck-up on my part....or even explaining that USPS lost it. Customer service is #1. While it wasn't my fault the box got lost in the mail, it isn't theirs either. I'd take the hit and refund the money, rather than take the easy was as most sellers do and just say "tough crap, I proved I sent it not my fault". So when I buy stuff and it doesn't arrive on time and I don't get word, I send a message asking why. If I get a response(usually) with a plausible explanation that gives some hint they care and want to fix the situation I let them fix it, and then positive feedback/5 star DSRs. If they don't respond, or give some BS not-my-fault excuse, I have no hesitation leaving negatives and 1-stars. There's been listings that have the long whiny paragraph about DO NOT LEAVE NEG FEEDBACK, we will make it right, yadda yadda I'd had a problem with, messaged them, and they said well it was shipped so-and-so, usps must have lost it, we're not responsible. Too bad. Neg. Then once they sent me this nasty message afterward about why I had neg'ed them (apparently it was enough to make them lose the powerseller or something). I said they didn't resolve the situation to my satisfaction. They said something like "what, you want us to give you a refund because USPS lost it, that's not our fault"
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