posted on October 18, 2004 09:35:36 AM
I have a buyer in Australia who bought a jacket from me at least a month ago. I sent the jacket out a few days later and, without having the exact date in front of me, I know it was 3-4 weeks ago. It should definitely be there by now in any case.
The buyer wrote to me today saying that she's upset that she hasn't received the jacket and that if she doesn't get it by Wednesday, she will have no choice but to contact PayPal and tell them there was nothing received. Her total for the jacket was $100.00 and I did purchase insurance, but I have never gone through the process of trying to get an insurance claim through on an international package.
What should I do in this instance? I am happy to refund as I purchased the insurance, but she's giving me an ultimatum and I'm not sure how to handle this. Should I just refund as I'm sure that if she notifies PayPal that will not be good. How hard is it to get money from an insurance claim? And how long does it take? In any case, I can see some major headaches in my future. Any advice would be appreciated.
posted on October 18, 2004 09:58:32 AM
tomwiii is right. Anything other than Global Priority (for which they pay a pretty penny) can take a long time, especially to Australia. She needs to have more patience. You can check with your post office. They can give you an estimate on how long it should take to get there. I once had an International Parcel Post package take 6 weeks to get to Canada. She hasn't waited long enough. On her end, she can check with customs.
What I usually do in these instances is email the customer and tell them you are going to look into it. Tell them to check on their end as well because things do get held up in customs from time-to-time.
Oh, and one more great piece of advice - don't accept PayPal for international orders.
Cheryl
. . .if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist- I really believe he is Antichrist- I will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend.. . - War and Peace, Tolstoy
posted on October 18, 2004 10:05:38 AM
Firstly how did you post it.? W as it by airmail.? economy type mail. or surface or what we call sea mail. find out how long it takes for each service to reach australia.
I just received a parcel from the usa to australia, and it was sent by sea mail. it took 14 weeks.
if you want some help over here let me know via email where they are and i may be able to help by talking with them. some people certainly do not understand that some mail takes a fair time.
posted on October 18, 2004 10:15:09 AM
agate18- Wow, thank you so much for the offer. I would appreciate that immensely. I'm going to get the paperwork together as I'm not at my office and let you know where the buyer resides. And I sent USPS Air Mail. It was a big box, 24" x 12" x 3", so I'm not sure offhand if that is Parcel Post? It went Air/Priority, though.
posted on October 18, 2004 10:51:51 AM
Plus...you can't have any sort of tracking to Aussieland.
Global priority should not take more than a week or week and a half. I just sent an item out. It took longer for the guy's payment to arrive by airmail than my package took to get to him.
posted on October 18, 2004 11:37:01 AM
make up your mind -either it is global piority or regular air mail??
How much did you pay for postage??
If you use the box provided by USPS,there is a number on the box,if you have that number,USPS may be able to track it.
It does not take that long to ship something by air to Australia.
Did you include the customs form??
if so,which one??
Your insurance form also have a number,USPS can track it for you.
You can either call or go to the local post office and they can tell you what happens to your package using your insurance number,i assume it is the blue form.
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on October 18, 2004 01:11:31 PM
Sorry again for all of the lack of info... I have all of the paperwork, now.
Okay, I used the big white customs form and checked Airmail/Priority. Postage was $29.35 which includes $90.00 insurance. I do have a copy of the white customs form as well as the blue insurance slip. This was sent 10/01, so it hasn't even been 3 weeks. This buyer is being sort of unreasonable, don't you think? She should give it at least another week or two, no? I guess if she decides to refute the charge through PayPal then I'm out of luck. I have to try to get her to cool it for another week at least.
posted on October 18, 2004 01:17:44 PM
USPS should be able to tell you where your package is if you call them with the blue form number.
In the mean time,stall this buyer from filing paypal complaint for one week,i believe 30 days past ,she can no longer file complaint with paypal.
Of course she can file chargeback with her cc issuer and you will lose 110 dollars (10 for chargeback fee).
Anywy,be nice to her as you will need her co-operation to file claim.
Ask USPS what is the procedure for filing claim in aussieland,either she gets the form form aussie post office or you get the form from usps and mail her with the insurance form,either way she should get paid .
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on October 18, 2004 01:33:14 PM
stopwhining- thanks for the help. I am being extremely nice to her knowing that the ball is her court. I'm trying to stall her. Hopefully the package gets there by the end of the week and this is all good. I'm waiting to hear back from a message I just sent to her. What a headache. Thanks again for all of your help. I'm off to the PO so I'll see what I can get them to do.
posted on October 18, 2004 01:35:52 PM
What ME-N-RALPHIE would do:
1) GOTO PO with the GPM number (NOT the CUSTOMS# although bring it along) -- ye cannot track it at yer HOME PC, but I believe the PO COUNTER-PERSON CAN???
2) ASK about the procedure for filing LOST claim with USPS INS -- there is at least a 30 day waiting period...
3) EMAIL yer buyer & just be UPFRONT, listing the steps you're taking on your end to help with HER problem
4) SELL her a snarky pic of David Beckham (just kidding)
5) IF YE have the receipt from when ya mailed her packie, scan it & send her a copy to assuage her paranoid delusions...
6) DO NOT LEAVE FEEDBACK 4 HER UNTIL THE TRANSACTION IS COMPLETE...
7) More than likely, the packie is sitting in customs while the convicts are trying to tie me kangeroos down...
posted on October 18, 2004 09:45:12 PMPostage was $29.35 which includes $90.00 insurance.
Still not enough info. How many pounds? How big was the package?
Wait, I just figured it out. Your package weighed 4 pounds and was shipped out parcel post air mail. It must have been a larger package.
Sounds like to me that there might be a problem with customs. Most likely the form wasn't filled correctly and they are holding it until they can confirm the contents.
Usually air mail is the best way to ship. Just another thought, did the postal clerk put on the air mail stickers on the package? If not, then it didn't get shipped air mail. http://www.rense.com/general51/dump.htm
posted on October 19, 2004 04:10:10 AM
Everyone has given you great advice. It does sound like your package may be hung up in customs. It's not unheard of. I was lucky with my Canadian customer. He was a college student and was able to find out that his package was hung up in customs. It was an OLD camera. He was very understanding of the whole thing. I'm willing to bet that is exactly where your package is. Tell her you will do what you can on her end and ask for her help on her's. Most of all, be very apologetic even though this is something that's beyond your control! Sometimes telling people you completely understand their position goes a long way. When people are mad or frustrated, they just want someone to blame and sometimes we have to take the brunt of it.
Cheryl
. . .if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist- I really believe he is Antichrist- I will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend.. . - War and Peace, Tolstoy
