ITEM STUCK IN U.S. CUSTOMS

[winner188]

My package is stuck in U.S. customs for several days now, customer is not happy, demanding a refund.

Item is a auto part, customer sold car and no longer needs part. Messaged me April 22 saying car is sold and demanding refund.

Demanding refund again because item hasn't arrived by expected delivery.

Shipped APRIL 11 same day payment received (expedited USA).

Case has been opened by buyer in EBay.
Customer wants full refund including shipping and once money is received he wants more money to ship item back to me.

what do I do here?

[pjcdn2005]

You’ll have to deal with the inr first.  Have you asked cs to put a hold on the case?

[momcqueen]

If the OP has to refund the buyer for the INR, is there a method to reversing the direction of the parcel? So that at least he can get it back to resell? It’s unethical for the buyer to gain his money back and the item simultaneously.

[sylviebee]

There is always the possibility that the item is lost and will never arrive.  That happens sometimes and it would be your best case scenario:  One in which you'd file a claim with CPO for non arrival.

[fashionoutletdeal]

No there isnt such an option 

[ricarmic]

The PO rule is very very firm that once you drop it off it can't be delivered anywhere except the addressee.

I found this out years ago when I got double zapped by a scamish buyer.

The 2nd package was en route when it became apparent there were payment problems with the first package. I did my best to try to get the PO to send it back or at least hold it at the destination PO (which was about an hour and a half drive but package was worth $700) so I could get it. Received a very firm no go from every angle I tried. Lost the 2nd one too...... but PAYPAL at least paid me back for that one (I put up a very long saga thread about this a few years ago)

Having said this if one happens to have a very helpful PM in one's own office, I suspect one could get it back as long as it hasn't left on the truck out of town.....

[momcqueen]

I was able to get a FedEx package returned. It was as a result of the debacle where Canada Post lost the first which was supposed to be handed over to FedEx for Priority service to the USA. They were able to grab it from the last possible point before it went out for delivery. I think I paid return postage. It's unfortunate that postal carriers cannot provide the same level of service. 

I think the OP is being dealt a dirty deal here. 

Hopefully, ebay Customer Service can do something to keep this fair. 

[travis7s]

Not totally related but one time a buyer accidentally gave me a rural USA address that couldn't be delivered to. I only noticed this once the tracking number said it was being returned to sender. I managed to track down the phone number to the nearest post office, and they actually had it there, and they actually let me reroute to a few towns over at no charge. It was amazing and a little bizarre how easy it was.

[reallynicestamps]

DotCOM members mention this quite often-- that a sender can recall a tracked package from USPS.

It seems to be possible from couriers too.

Canada Post-- nope.

If Canada Post does intend to become the first choice for shipping parcels at least within Canada, this would be a good service to offer. Not too obviously, but available in emergencies.

On the other hand, Canada Post is the first choice for shipping, not just by eBay sellers, but by the couriers who subcontract awkward addresses to them.

[winner188]

Item has started moving again, package has been released from customs.
Buyer still demanding a full refund for item not received.
Buyer sent over thirty messages between 1:30 am and 2am demanding refund of $163.0
This is stressful.

[momcqueen]

Have you spoken to Customer Service? This feels reportable to me. How long do you have before the Item Not Received case gets escalated?

[marnotom!]

---

@winner188 wrote:

Item has started moving again, package has been released from customs.
Buyer still demanding a full refund for item not received.
Buyer sent over thirty messages between 1:30 am and 2am demanding refund of $163.0
This is stressful.

---

I can see this being stressful, as you have absolutely no control over this.

Obviously, this buyer isn't exactly a poster child for good mental health.  You may have to keep this development in your back pocket along with the buyer's statement that they sold their car.

[momcqueen]

Thirty messages over 30 days would be considered excessive by anyone's standards. Thirty messages in 30 minutes is, well, a word that's impolite to use here. 

I think the time has come to call Customer Service on this character. He or she needs to be reported. You know how this is going to play-out now, right? The order will arrive before the Item Not Received case closes, thereby rendering his case invalid, and he will immediately open a Not As Described in order to force you to fund return postage. (And send you another 45 messages about it.) The time has come to nip this in the bud, I think. 

[pjcdn2005]

I would be stressed too, the buyer sounds like a jerk.  

If you haven’t done so, you still need to phone ebay to ask then to put a hold on the case.  Otherwise the buyer can ask ebay to step in 3 business days after opening the case. If they do that then they will likely get an automatic refund because the item isn’t shown as having been delivered.  If they put a hold on the case, the buyer can’t escalate it yet.

[winner188]

Thanks, I feel this customer is not going to give up and will find a way to force me to provide a full refund.

I called EBay customer service and they said I am not responsible for the customs sgipping delay and buyers should understand when buying international delays are possible.

[pjcdn2005]

Regardless of whether you are responsible or not, when the buyer asks eBay to step in, no one is going to look at the tracking and say hmmm...buyer is being impatient, it’s not the sellers fault the item is still on its way...

 What is more likely is that a computer will see item has not been delivered and it is past the delivery date and they will refund.  Once that’s done it’s totally up to the buyer on whether or not they send the item back.  

IMO the only way to prevent that is by putting a hold on the case.  Perhaps you asked and eBay refused but I would ask again.

[momcqueen]

Yeah, Customer Service needs to be summoned to intercede. 

It's fine for the buyer to get his full refund.... when he ships it back to you as a remorse return on his dime due to it clearly being a case of Buyer's Remorse here. Obviously, the car part has value and it can be sold again. Just not to this particular individual. He/she needs to be added to your Blocked Buyer List pronto if they are not there already. 

[winner188]

Yes customer service has extended the case for another 5 Days.
I have encouraged the buyer to ship the package back to me at his expense and I would then refund cost of the item.
Buyer will not agree to this anf is demanding a full refund.

Thanks again for all the help

[snoopwiz]

(I've so far found the CSRs to be great, but I have an anchor store and a special phone number so I may have special CSRs too....)

You do have access to specially trained CSR's because of your anchor store.  It was part of their "Added Value" spiel when they raised the store price from $200 to $300 a month. (yes, I know, they upped the listings to 10,000. Great if you could use it. Sucked it you couldn't. Ask me how I know)

Although I have the same, I always felt it unfair. I am quite sure there are oodles of sellers with the "Mid-Grade" store who sell a lot more dollar-wise than I (and many others anchor store owners) yet they  don't somehow "qualify" for top-notch CSR!

[ricarmic]

Actually it was the special CSRs that helped me decide to go Anchor way back when because my listing volume size was just barely at the cusp of being worthwhile to go Anchor, but I've always believed it is worthwhile paying extra if you can get good support.... so far I've been happy in that regard!

[momcqueen]

---

@winner188 wrote:
Yes customer service has extended the case for another 5 Days.
I have encouraged the buyer to ship the package back to me at his expense and I would then refund cost of the item.
Buyer will not agree to this anf is demanding a full refund.

Thanks again for all the help

---

Your buyer is going to have to suck it up. The INR case will close in your favour when tracking shows it is delivered. When the buyer ships it back at his expense, however, you may be obligated to refund the purchase price in full, including original shipping. There was talk this would be changing, I cannot recall the current status of it. Customer Service should know. Other users here will too. 

If and when the buyer attempts to open a Not as Described dispute, you will have to cite all their 30+ messages including that they said they 'sold the truck and don't want it anyway' to prove an attempt to file a false claim, and I expect your case with ebay in that respect is fairly strong. Plus, the 30+ messages in 30 minutes yesterday makes them highly irrational and unlikely to be taken seriously by anyone concerned. Folks like that don't do themselves any favours when they act that way.