popnrock
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posted on November 28, 2003 12:52:32 PM new
Back in October I shipped several packages to Europe to different bidders. Now I am getting emails from everyone saying they never received their item. The items have insurance on them. They went air mail which I understand can't be tracked. I have also been told it's near impossible
to get any claims paid by the post office.
Most of these bidders are very angry and I don't blame them but the cost to replace all of the items is going to kill me. Most of them do not want to wait the 30 days before I file a claim.
I guess what is bugging me most is the people who start telling you "you ripped me off" blah blah blah. I respond to them with the standard line "go look at my feedback" Look at my repeat customers"
In the three years I have been doing this, I have never had a major problem with missing packages.
Need to get that out. Thanks for listening.
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stopwhining
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posted on November 28, 2003 01:29:13 PM new
if you shipped in october and now is almost decemeber,you can file claim now .
i think you have to ask the post office how you should proceed-they could be getting the claims from their post office.
which countries do you ship them to and are you sure they are air shipping??
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
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auctionACE
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posted on November 28, 2003 01:29:21 PM new
Why buy the insurance if it's impossible to collect when a package goes missing?
From what I've learned in other international shipping threads here is that many packages get hung up in customs and that is the cause of many delays.
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
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max40
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posted on November 28, 2003 01:32:16 PM new
If you shipped in October, the month wait is almost up for insurance claim.
I'd just try and assure my buyers that they haven't lost any money, and that the insurance will handle it. Maybe email them copies of your postage receipts.
Life is not a dress rehearsal
P.S. I know alot of you ship internationally, and I did try it for awhile. It turned out, for me anyway, that the little extra in bidding just wasn't worth the hassle.
[ edited by max40 on Nov 28, 2003 01:48 PM ]
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stopwhining
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posted on November 28, 2003 01:48:03 PM new
the way i understand is that the buyer post office will pay the claim,but the question is who initiate the paperwork,you or the buyer and whose insurance form is appropriate??
air shipping to europe should not take a month,unless the address is non deliverable and it is on its way coming back to the seller,or it could be stolen,but kind of odd that all buyers claim no receipt??
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
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Roadsmith
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posted on November 28, 2003 01:58:08 PM new
You did keep copies of your postal receipts? That will help the buyers. The other thing is that they should contact their local customs office to see if the item is hung up there.
Good luck. What a hassle for you! Could you tell us what you're selling, and are your customers for the product(s) in one particular age group?
What I remember from last fall and winter is that there was lots more trouble with the mails, national and international. I'm hesitating selling anymore until January because of that.
But I've never lost an international package--or a US one, for that matter. The item usually does show up. Unless there are multiple scams going on over there, which seems very unlikely.
___________________________________
Junk: Stuff we throw away.
Stuff: Junk we keep.
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CBlev65252
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posted on November 28, 2003 02:01:21 PM new
I know what you mean about late shipping. I sent a package to Canada (ya, I know) almost 3 weeks ago and it has yet to arrive. I emailed the buyer a copy of the customs form. Since it was a large package, I had to use the large form and it was stamped by the post office I took it to. Don't know if that's helping him or not. I suppose Parcel Post Air takes longer anyway. Good luck!
Cheryl
http://tinyurl.com/vm6u
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popnrock
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posted on November 28, 2003 02:06:28 PM new
I have all the receipts. I have given my customers they numbers so they can check with their customs office. All of these "lost" packages were heading to all over Europe.
I think I am going to back to Express Mail only. Bidders balk at the high cost but at least it can be tracked. I really want use UPS, Fed Ex or some other carrier but the cost for the customers is really high.
Has anyone sucessfully received a refund from the post office?
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sanmar
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posted on November 28, 2003 02:06:28 PM new
I feel really sorry for you, I hope you can get this resolved. I had sveral problems with Europe, Germany & France. No longer ship ou opf USA.
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pointy
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posted on November 28, 2003 02:07:54 PM new
That does seem like an exceptionally large amount in a short time. Can you tell us how you were paid? Also, what countries did they go to. All the same product? All won around the same day? And exactly how much per package?
..
.
.My understanding of insurance is that International claims can take up to a year? You are under no obligation to pay off your buyers before you get reimbursment, if you do. You can show them your copy of the insurance slip and tell them you'll pay when you get paid. Don't tell them it could take a year. All you can do as a seller is properly buy insurance, and follow the customs regs for each particular country.
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popnrock
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posted on November 28, 2003 02:15:23 PM new
Most of these people paid with Pay Pal so does that mean they will refund them from my account? I do not have seller protection for international shipping.
The emails from these bidder started coming in last week. Some patient and understanding others demanding a replacement or full refund.
In my three years my customers from Europe have been just wonderful. They buy more often than the USA.
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popnrock
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posted on November 28, 2003 02:30:25 PM new
Update, this bidder is now going to Ebay to report me for ripping him off. I told him fine go ahead.
Should I just refund his money? I am sick of his whining.
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stopwhining
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posted on November 28, 2003 02:38:00 PM new
paypal said file complaint within 30 days,so their chance of getting their money back is gone.
what did you ship??
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
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popnrock
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posted on November 28, 2003 02:45:27 PM new
Sell collectible framed art. The cost to me to refund is: $137. I just pray the other bidders are not as nasty as this one.
I had a thought, I am willing to bet he never contacted the customs office or didn't pay the duties due.
I had a woman in Canada pull this on me once. However I was holding all of the cards. She wanted the item and her money back but luckily the express mail form showed it had arrived. She was unwilling to pay the tax on it.
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popnrock
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posted on November 28, 2003 02:50:59 PM new
Hey, he paid with Bid Pay. Does Bid Pay get into the act now?
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max40
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posted on November 28, 2003 03:07:04 PM new
If he paid with Bidpay, he basicly bought an on-line money order. They don't guarantee delivery.
Life is not a dress rehearsal
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popnrock
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posted on November 28, 2003 04:16:24 PM new
I have had with this bidder. I am refunding his money less shipping. He is calling me every name in the book. I have turned him into Ebay. Do they even bother doing anything about it?
Can the post office find out where the item is if it was send by air mail?. I have the receipt and the customs number. I hate to find out that this jerk got his money back and has the item too. This thing has been missing less than 30 days! if he has the item, is there anyway to make him pay for? Is it considered postal fraud if he has the item? He is all the way in the UK.
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CBlev65252
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posted on November 28, 2003 04:30:56 PM new
If it were me, I would not refund his money. I state clearly in my auctions that I am not responsible for items that are "lost in the mail". Once the item leaves my hands, how can I be responsible for postal screw-ups? To make sure I have proof of shipping, I make sure I keep all my paperwork for any item I mail especially customs paperwork. This buyer needs to check with customs. I'm willing to bet if he doesn't already have it it's hung up there. I bought some items from India and for the first time ever it took 2 weeks to get here via Fed X and there were signs the item was opened before I got it. There's no telling what customs in the UK is doing right now.
Cheryl
http://tinyurl.com/vm6u
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ohmslucy
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posted on November 28, 2003 04:35:18 PM new
Your local post office might still have the customs stub. Supposedly they keep it for 30 days.
I *think* they can track those. Not online but I do think there's some way they can look it up. Might be able to establish when it left the U.S. or got to the U.K.
At least it's a start.
Lucy
Watch the donut, not the hole.
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kiara
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posted on November 28, 2003 04:43:10 PM new
popnrock, I wouldn't refund his money now. I've had two packages go to the UK that were late and when the bidders finally got around to checking with their Customs they managed to locate them. Tell him to be sure to check with Customs.
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greatlakes
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posted on November 28, 2003 05:08:52 PM new
So sorry to hear about you troubles.
I would check at the post office where you mailed the packages.
Make sure that the packages didn't get pushed aside or returned to your own PO.
Keep in contact with your bidders and keep your emails calm and professional.
Before I refunded $137, I would phone the buyer's Post Office in the UK and inquire about the package.
You can look up the address and phone number on one of the international phone/address search sites.
I've had packages go missing and I've always had to do all the searching and make all the inquiries.
Buyers seem to prefer to yell and scream rather than do something constructive.
I received one of those raving, your a theif, emails just a few months ago.
I found that the package was being held at the buyers PO, and that the PO had already sent him 2 pickup notices.
He only had to ask his Post Office, but no, he thought it better to email threats accusations to me.
If you do refund, make sure that it's traceable. You need to have some kind of record showing what the refund was for and that the buyer accepted it.
You need to have something to show ebay if the buyer proceeds with his complaint.
____________________________________
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. --Will Rogers
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photosensitive
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posted on November 28, 2003 05:58:02 PM new
You say you mailed several items on one day that have not arrived. I would suspect that they are sitting somewhere in a US facility. I once mailed two small packages on the same day, one to Canada and one to Switzerland. They were padded envelopes with photographs in them. The post office said they were too light to need a customs form although that did not seem right to me and that for the airmail postage I had quoted there was no tracking or insurance available. Weeks later I got very nice communication from both buyers asking when the items were mailed. I went into my post office and filled out some forms although they said there was little change of finding them. A week or so later both packages arrived within a day of each other in Canada and Switzerland. I am convinced that they were both setting together in my post office or in a US sorting station and were not sent until I rattled their chain. It just seems unlikely that they could both be lost in different foreign postal systems and arrive on almost the same day.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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pointy
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posted on November 28, 2003 07:04:01 PM new
I would strongly advise against a refund. If you refund you're basically giving away $100+, you'll obviously never see the money again, and you'll likely never see the goods. They may be sitting somewhere, already with buyer, simply lost, or "stolen". In anycase, your only chance of recovery would then be the insurance, and why should you be the one to wait on this uncertain result. You did everything you're required to do as a seller. You're not responsible for post office problems. If the buyer reports you to Ebay, you're fine, as long as you have postal receipts, if Ebay even asks for those. They are a venue, and do not get involved in buyer/seller disputes, except in cases of multiple obvious fraud, and even then it's always a pleasant surprise when they take the appropriate action. The fact that you're a good little Ebayer will help you with Ebay. They can see your feedback and they have a their own rating for you. Tell the bidder to trace on their end, and you will trace on your end. File the insurance claim. Then if the bidder is still abusive report the situation to Ebay and have no further contact
with bidder....Unfortunately you accepted Paypal. This you should never do on International transactions if the amount of the loss will disturb you. Chargeback can come possibly months later and you have no seller protection.
[ edited by pointy on Nov 28, 2003 07:08 PM ]
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amber
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posted on November 28, 2003 07:20:50 PM new
I am English, but live in Canada. My sister-in-law sent my husband a package in August for his birthday, airmail, it took 9 weeks to arrive. A buyer of mine in Western Canada wrote last week saying I had sent her the wrong package, when she saw the size of the box at the post office, she knew it was not the teapot set she had purchased. I was so worried, until she wrote back and apologized saying it was an item she had purchased from England 3 months ago! Since 9/11, packages are checked more often and more thoroughly at customs, and things can get on the bottom of the pile, also at this time of year, there is a huge increase in mail for Christmas, mostly packages to and from Europe, and it really slows things down. I think you should explain that to your buyers, and ask for patience. One package can get lost, several is unlikely, unless there is something very odd here.
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fenix03
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posted on November 28, 2003 11:23:41 PM new
DO NOT REFUND! Insist that he contact local customs. Also what I am betting your bidder did not mention is that right about the time it sounds like your package would have been hitting the UK they had a Postal Strike. I'm thinking he may have failed to mention the rather substantial backlogg they had, especially with package deliveries. Give him the customs number, give him the number forhis local customs office, do not give him a refund.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
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whatnot3
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posted on November 29, 2003 09:54:55 AM new
If your post office forgot to put the blue airmail stickers on the packages, there is a good chance that they went in with the surface mail. If so, you can expect them to get there about 2 months after mailing.
I had one take that long to Germany once. I think that is what happened.
They told me that you have to wait 60 days before filling out any tracing forms for international packages.
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stopwhining
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posted on November 29, 2003 10:41:15 AM new
the mailer is supposed to put the blue airmail labels on the package.
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!
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whatnot3
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posted on November 29, 2003 10:07:41 PM new
And where do you get them? You can't order them. (if you can, how?)
If I ask for them at the post office, they will give me a few but they don't last long enough to be worth asking.
I just scanned one of them and put it in an endicia layout so it is at least on the label. (in black and white only though)
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popnrock
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posted on December 1, 2003 07:36:55 AM new
I want to thank everyone who responded to my post regarding the bidder from the UK. I decided to not refund him until we find out what happened to his package. He sent me an email telling me that he has reported me to Ebay. So that is the end of my contact with him.
Also I want to thank the person who told me about the postal strike in the UK.
Today I am going to the post office to inquire about some packages that have not arrived in Europe. I am thankful my bidders are not the hothead this person.
Thanks for listening.
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tomford
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posted on December 1, 2003 12:28:20 PM new
we had several overseas customers say they never received their Air Mail packages a couple of weeks ago...but all pacakges finally arrived. most took over 15 days.
one of our customers emailed us saying the delay was due to a Postal Strike in the UK...i think the strike is over now...so you packages still might make it.
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