Buyer claiming item has not been received.

[dale13bruce]

I stupidly allowed an item of mine to sell to a new account. He received feedback from one other seller and it was Good. I assumed he was a legit buyer and I wanted/needed the money (Didn't realize Ebay and Paypal would take 100 dollars altogether for fees but that's another story)

The buyer didn't want to pay a lot for shipping, so I printed off a label for a Small package with Canada Post. The lady who did it for me told me that on the receipt, was the tracking number.

It wasn't the tracking number, Small Packages do not get tracking numbers. It was too late at that point, the item was gone. I told the buyer that it would take 4-6 weeks to get to him(He lives in Israel and has a suspicious address, but the other seller messaged me back and said she didn't have a problem. 

Well, now, after three weeks of silence he emails me and opens a claim requesting a refund(He also can barely speak any english) saying the item was not received. The item was sold for 363 dollars in October on the 14th. I am thinking he is lying about not receiving the item, but my question is.. is there ANY way to figure out where this package is by using the receipt Canad aPost gave me? It's the weekend and I can't contact them until Monday morning. 

[dutchman48]

I feel for you but in all honesty, your money and item are gone. No tracking means no proof of delivery, means refund.

You are a fairly new seller and personally, should not be selling higher priced items internationally. Very high risk and lots prey on newer sellers.

It is up to you to determine where you sell to and how you ship, not up to the buyer to tell you how to ship.

As I said, I feel for you but consider it a valuable lesson. Stewing over it will not make a bad situation any better, probably worse

[dale13bruce]

Kind of figured..going to go to the post office anyway just in case, as it's really their fault.. for saying it had tracking when it didn't.

[dutchman48]

Sorry, but it was actually your fault for not knowing procedures. If you sent it light packet, you could have put insurance on it through Shipsurance depending on what the item was.

High risk theft items are extremely difficult for new sellers as they are a magnet for scammers.

The buyer may not actually have received it but you have no way of knowing.

[dutchman48]

I assume it was the Nintendo with games?

[dale13bruce]

Yes. I followed the instructions of the woman at the post office. I assumed SHE knew the procedures for me. She was the one who entered the information when I gave her the print out of the address and info. I assume I will be stuck paying back the fees that Ebay took from the item as well. The only lesson I learned here, is not to sell on Ebay when Kijiji is here. THAT was definitely my fault.

[dale13bruce]

Yes, the Nintendo, it's the only item I sold with this account. Insurance would have been a good idea and I was going to do that but thought the tracking was good enough for whatever reason.

[momcqueen]

If the person working at the postal counter promised you tracking on an untracked service, you will have to lodge a formal complaint with her supervisor and then, probably, Canada Post. For all the good it will do you, it might get her fired but that is about it. CPC will claim it is your word against hers but if you call there, you never know. 

Painful lesson. I hear you. One should assume the people working behind the counter know their business but most of them are retail employees of the store, they just happen to be standing behind the counter that says Canada Post instead of deli meats or in perfumes. 

As to your loss.... well. It's probably gone. Canada Post might refund your postage but I guarantee they won't accept responsibility for the missing item claimed not received.

To start, cross everyone but buyers in Canada, USA and maybe the places handled by Tracked Packet from your list of would-be buyers. Canada Post Tracked Packet covers the USA plus 31 other countries. Don't ship without tracking. If you want a list of places you can send mail tracked starting at about $35 CAD ($12 to $13 for USA) it is:

Austria
Australia
Belgium
Brazil
Croatia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Hungary
Italy
Ireland
Iceland
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Netherlands
New Zealand
Poland
Portugal
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom
USA

There are weight restrictions, as well as size and also a limit on liability with those. 

Best of luck as you carry forward. 

[pjcdn2005]

Assuming you mailed it within a day or two after purchase, it has been 7 weeks so the buyer has been patient so far. Did you send it by small packet air or surface?  I've never used surface because of problems like this but I've heard that it can take up to 3 months so it's quite possible that your buyer does not have the package yet. For their holiday mailing deadlines, Canada Post has that surface mail to that part of the world should be sent out by Oct 9 in order to be there by Christmas so that gives you an idea of how long it can take.

If you sent it surface, you might want to tell the buyer when you refund that you were mislead and that it generally takes much longer for shipping by boat and that you would appreciate if they could let you know once they receive the package so that you can send them invoice.  I would probably put it in a nicer way than that though.....one of the posters here 'ricarmic' has a form letter for situations like this so hopefully he will read this and tell you how he words it. 

Many sellers in Canada always ship without tracking and without any problems and some ship with tracking only if an item is over a certain amount. You have to decide how much of a risk tolerance that you have.

[momcqueen]

Can you confirm that you used Small Packets Airmail or Small Packets Surface? I think that we're all assuming that you did. Does your 'tracking' number begin with an LM or LZ or something, or does it start with a UR00000000CA?

[dgour98]

In all honesty, after so many years of selling and shipping thru Canada Post, i know more than "the lady at Canada Post" does.

They are just the middle man and after all these years thru trial and error i know their system. They do not know when packages arrive but i do thru feedback or replies from happy buyers.

I sometimes even get prices that do not make sense from them, and then tell them try "small packet" for example and get better prices depending on the weight. I know before going in what the costs and options are.

On a side note, i shipped an item a couple of years ago to Vietnam. Tracking was impossible because the costs were crazy so i shipped a very huge box surface mail. What i did was take a picture of the box in the Canada Post office with the lady and postage stuck on the box with the address clearly shown. While it may not be enough for ebay"s or Paypal's policy it did help when i sent the buyer that picture when i shipped. Knowing it was going to take months to arrive i tried to protect myself as much as possible.

Might help in situations such as yours.

[gifts_of_elegance]

I have shipped lots of times to Israel without any problems.  Their Customs is slow, so chances are its just delayed.

I have experienced a lot of problems with postal employees and I am talking about the ones in our main post office.

We no longer take anything there, we use a local variety store postal outlet without any problems.

I put instructions on the upper corner (where the postage goes) as to the type of service I want.  "Small Packet" or "Light Packet".

I guess the girl can't read, because she still puts "Light Packet" through as "Small Packet".  I stick "Airmail" stickers on every

side of the package.  Still, she sent a package to England by surface.  

When I call Canada Post to file a claim, often I am told I am too late (over 30days since mailing) and can't file.  The other day I was told I can't file until 30 days have passed.  Also, delivery is guaranteed but they claim its not their fault it got held up in Customs and refuse to enter a claim for postage, even though it says right on their site that if item does not arrive as scheduled, cost of postage will be refunded.  

i have been hit this month with six lost parcels, to the tune of $800 USA.  One of them has been sitting in Chicago (Customs) since November 18th and the postal worker did not want to take my claim.  

[pjcdn2005]

That is a lot of lost parcels, I feel for you.

I know that the small print on delivery guarantees for Xpresspost USA does mention that they aren't responsible for customs delays.

3.4.1 On-Time Delivery Guarantee
On-Time Delivery Guarantee offers replacement service or
credit equivalent to the shipping charges if the published
delivery standards are not met. The addressee’s name and
telephone number must appear on the shipping label. The
On-time Delivery Guarantee does not apply to post office box
addresses, food items, nor to items mailed to U.S. territories
and possessions, United States Army Post Offices (APOs) or
military installations and will also be void on any shipments
that are delayed by Customs or by any other regulatory
authority. Exceptions and conditions apply

[dale13bruce]

It was Small Packet Surface. Sorry for the delayed response, I forgot how to get back to this post then forgot I even made the comment.

How long do they have before they can't actually get a refund? He made the Claim on the 3rd of December.. now it's the 20th and he never made a response until tonight, saying it still hasn't arrived and if I had a tracking number. Canada Post won't help, I talked to them a few times, they say they really can't do anything except apologize because it was passed the alotted time frame. The buyer is being patient, aside from requesting the Refund, though, that never amounted to anything yet.

[momcqueen]

Surface! Never, ever send via Small Packets Surface. It takes months. They say usually four to six weeks but double it. A claim can be opened via paypal up to 180 days later.

[dale13bruce]

Ugh.. It's been 97 days now. Like I said above, I'll never be selling anything else via Ebay anyway. This was a one time thing because I needed the money at the time. I didn't even get the money at the time I needed it, Got it 24 days later, which was 15 days too late.. plus I only got 3/4 of the full payment due to the fees..anywho..I guess I'll just email him back and tell him what you guys have said and hope he will try waiting a bit longer yet.

[momcqueen]

Small Packets Surface is the worst, I'm sorry. The first few things I sent overseas I used it without knowing too. UK mostly and they almost all EVENTUALLY arrived but the buyers were more than kind to me to wait it out. This was a long time ago when Canada Post still honoured an item lost in transit. Today, they don't. Did the lady at the counter know what was inside? It must be declared, of course, but did she ask as to the contents?

[dale13bruce]

She did ask, yes. I had it on the packing slip what it was anyway. The only issue really is that she said there was tracking and there wasn't.

To make matters worse.. we live in a small town..if I WERE to make a formal complaint against her and she loses her job..

[momcqueen]

I hear you. On Friday, I stood behind a guy who told the woman working at my local counter that he was mailing a FIREARM and it was very obviously in a box that either held a rifle or a shotgun and I'm almost 90 percent sure she did not follow the rules for mailing firearms. The customer was laying on the charm fairly thick and she was batting her eyelashes so fast, I could feel the breeze. I now wonder what happened to that firearm. He also said it was worth about four thousand dollars but left it at $100 insurance. It seems like the sort of thing that's more closely monitored than just throwing it into the mail.

[zee-chan]

Sorry to hear about this expensive loss. I haven't mailed surface in ages, and the only time I do mail surface is via my own website (where I set my own rules) and have the customer agree that they are willing to wait 3 months for it. Everything sold eventually arrived (I never sel things that are super expensive anyway that I'm not willing to eat the loss) but yes it's a long dreadful wait for the buyers.