eBay

Anonymous · ‎03-16-2013

I sold an item and shipped it off immediately.

I found out the buyer didn't get it and discovered it has not cleared customs.

It has been 3 months and the buyer wants his money back.

I just don't know what to do, I will end up without the coin or the money?

I do want to keep a good record. HELP

rosscd57 · ‎03-16-2013

If it has been three months - don't sweat it there is nothing the buyer can do. He can't leave feedback or start a dispute.

However, if you want to delve into it with a view to some sort of resolution: how do you know it was/is stuck in customs? How do you know it was not delivered? Was there any tracking - how does anyone know it is in customs with tracking there is no way to tell? I don't even think you can find out if it is customs with tracking.

Give us some more information.

__________________________________________________________

Old enough to know better. Young enough to do it again. Crazy enough to try

rose-dee · ‎03-16-2013

Some details need clarification:

1) What was the value of the item, and what shipping service did you use - fully insured & trackable?

2) How do you know it hasn't cleared US customs, as opposed to being lost or stolen -- or is this what the buyer is telling you? How does he know?

3) Where was it shipped -- US or overseas?

4) Did the buyer just contact you now -- after 3 months?

Something seems fishy here, but without more information, it's hard to know. 3 months is too long to just be "customs delay". Is it possible the buyer has the coin, and now hopes to get money too?

For a transaction that's 90 days old, he'd be past the cutoff to leave FB anyway, so FB retaliation is not a worry for you. He (and you) may also be out of luck on insurance expiry times. Doing nothing may be the best answer at this point, unless you feel compelled to send him a refund.

Leave a few more details here, and maybe someone has run into this situation or has a better suggestion.

toby_le_pue · ‎03-16-2013

If it has been three months - don't sweat it there is nothing the buyer can do. He can't leave feedback or start a dispute.

IF the buyer paid with a credit card there is a possibility they can do a

chargeback.

brandeentertainment · ‎03-17-2013

No chargeback after 90 days I think ??

More details needed

toby_le_pue · ‎03-17-2013

No chargeback after 90 days I think ??

More details needed

There has been cases that have been posted where chargebacks have

been successful after 9 months.

Different credit card companies have different policies.

toby_le_pue · ‎03-17-2013

From paypal help site

Why do some chargebacks occur long after a payment has been received?

Certain laws and credit card issuer policies allow buyers to file chargebacks weeks or months after the original transaction took place. If a buyer waits and files later, you may encounter a temporary hold on funds in your PayPal account, relating to a transaction from long ago.

2005samp · ‎03-17-2013

a little confusing , your question that is...need more information...I couldnt read all the replies....So here i go with my attempted answer

....either way if you are canadian sending out to the us?.....or vise versa?

Your first step Contact customs and ask them what needs to get done....if you are the shipper...simply ask for the item to be sent back to you(if you need be pay for the shipping charge to return it pay them the shipping expense charge to get the item back to you first off)They should not give you grief about getting the item back. its your property!

Now i dont know where you live but i run into border issues all the time...crossing the border for me is a 2 minute drive on the bridge...I bring the parcel to the us postal outlet and ship it from thier as i am canadian...if you are US...Then you need to do the same if shipping to Canada...but if you shipping internationally, you need to indicate in your auction, that any duties, customs charges etc are the responsiblity of the buyer ...make it in big letters in your description.

I hope this helps....customs issues can be very stressful but if you do it properly, it goes extremely smooth

2005samp · ‎03-17-2013

oh one more thing...FOLLOW UP . and CONTINUATION TO MY ANSWER....

WHY WOULD YOU LET THIS SIT FOR 3 MONTHS?.....what have you done beside letting the forum community know?..i bet the package is probally now lost, missing or whatever...its been 3 months....about your reputation?...well, if i were the buyer, i would insist on a refund...and paypal would grant it....But letting it sit around for 3 months is I am sorry to say, foolish...I am not trying to be sarcastic or rude...but you need to take responsiblity here......but please...come on 3months and no action if any on your part?????????!!

again, i am not trying to make you feel bad or anything of that sort...i am just trying to make you realise that waiting this long has caused you alot of stress for nothing to say the least!!

inuk_the_polar_bear · ‎03-17-2013

I, too, would like to know why you think it is stuck in Customs. if you are going by "tracking", that is a mistake. There is no such thing as tracking. It does not work, never has, never will work.

rosscd57 · ‎03-17-2013

I, too, would like to know why you think it is stuck in Customs. if you are going by "tracking", that is a mistake. There is no such thing as tracking. It does not work, never has, never will work.

Where are you coming from on this/ Tracking works just fine and has saved my but on more than one occasion.

The long and the short on this one is: if I had an email from a buyer after three months that an item was not delivered, I simply would not believe him/her. Who is going to wait three months before making this claim - answer: nobody that's credible.

I notice the OP has never made a comment on this after the fact - without more information, there is just too many holes in this story to really be probable.

__________________________________________________________

Old enough to know better. Young enough to do it again. Crazy enough to try

rose-dee · ‎03-17-2013

I, too, would like to know why you think it is stuck in Customs. if you are going by "tracking", that is a mistake. There is no such thing as tracking. It does not work, never has, never will work.

Canada Post does offer tracking that is quite detailed, depending on the level of shipping service purchased, but it will not specifically tell you when a parcel is "in Customs". However, once a parcel is shown on the tracking as leaving Canada, if there is a sizeable time gap between that and "JFKA", the landing point in the U.S., you can assume it's in the hands of US Customs.

Regarding this comment:

"WHY WOULD YOU LET THIS SIT FOR 3 MONTHS?.....what have you done beside letting the forum community know?",

As a seller I have to say that if a buyer leaves no FB and makes no contact or complaint whatsoever after the sale, there is no way to know the item has never been delivered if the buyer hasn't purchased fully trackable shipping. After about 30 days most sellers would assume all is well. Having a buyer suddenly pop up after 90 days seems bizarre, especially if he/she claims to know the parcel is "stuck in Customs" -- not likely!

I'm assuming from what "readingrose2012" initially said, that the buyer did NOT pay for Xpresspost or Expedited, which would at least have given the seller a means of checking to see that delivery had been made.

More information is needed to make sense of this.

inuk_the_polar_bear · ‎03-17-2013

if there is a sizeable time gap between that and "JFKA", the landing point in the U.S., you can assume it's in the hands of US Customs.

That is not true. It simply means it was not scanned. There is no obligation to scan when it is Delivery Confirmation. Even then, it is up to the delivering postie to adhere to policy, which, reading Seller Central dot com, is not common.

rose-dee · ‎03-17-2013

if there is a sizeable time gap between that and "JFKA", the landing point in the U.S., you can assume it's in the hands of US Customs.

That is not true. It simply means it was not scanned. There is no obligation to scan when it is Delivery Confirmation. Even then, it is up to the delivering postie to adhere to policy, which, reading Seller Central dot com, is not common.

As I said, the level of tracking depends upon the service purchased. Tracked Packet and Xpresspost show step-by-step handling, Expedited does not (delivery confirmation only). The OP hasn't told us yet what shipping service the buyer purchased.

007steveb16 · ‎03-17-2013

oh one more thing...FOLLOW UP . and CONTINUATION TO MY ANSWER....

WHY WOULD YOU LET THIS SIT FOR 3 MONTHS?.....what have you done beside letting the forum community know?..i bet the package is probally now lost, missing or whatever...its been 3 months....about your reputation?...well, if i were the buyer, i would insist on a refund...and paypal would grant it....But letting it sit around for 3 months is I am sorry to say, foolish...I am not trying to be sarcastic or rude...but you need to take responsiblity here......but please...come on 3months and no action if any on your part?????????!!

again, i am not trying to make you feel bad or anything of that sort...i am just trying to make you realise that waiting this long has caused you alot of stress for nothing to say the least!!

Heyy!!! Take it easy Turbo!!

That's a pretty hefty, assumptive answer to make considered how much information is lacking in this case.

Anonymous · ‎03-19-2013

I sent the item out via Canada Post Registered. They never told me the US Postal Service does not do Registered Mail. It was shipped out of Canada according to tracking on

Dec 29th.

A followup was sent to US and Canada Post indicates it is stuck in Customs. They just have to wait till they get a reply from Customs.

Anonymous · ‎03-19-2013

I have been dealing with Canada Post tracking and have to wait for a reply from

US Customs to them.

It was a coin US valued at $40.

Anonymous · ‎03-19-2013

I can only go by what Canada Post tells me. I paid for Registered, expecting

the US to handle Registered the same as Canada does.

It isn't a matter of retaliation, I feel badly.

He would like a refund and indicated if the coin shows up, he'll pay once again!

rose-dee · ‎03-19-2013

I can only go by what Canada Post tells me. I paid for Registered, expecting

the US to handle Registered the same as Canada does.

It isn't a matter of retaliation, I feel badly.

He would like a refund and indicated if the coin shows up, he'll pay once again!

Your buyer sounds like he might be an honest person after all, just very slow to let you know the item hadn't arrived.

You know, I think if I were in this situation, if you really feel your buyer isn't trying to scam you, send him what information you have up to now from Canada Post and tell him that US Customs is looking into it, will be replying to Canada Post, and you'll let him know as soon as they contact you. Be apologetic (you sound like you are already, so that shouldn't be hard), and see if your buyer will wait a little longer.

If you feel really badly, you could refund him, then if you get an update from US Customs, perhaps you can ask Canada Post to have them send the coin straight back to you???

Good luck with this - let us know how it turns out, as this could happen to anybody.

inuk_the_polar_bear · ‎03-19-2013

I get what you are saying. However, saying it is in US Customs is not necessarily true. All that can be stated is that it has not been scanned since leaving Canada. The Americans do not always scan at Customs.