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?

[momcqueen]

Frankly, I think this situation exceeds the Community level of expertise while at the same time I don’t think I’d trust it to your average Customer Service rep.

How much was the part worth? Is it past the USA de minimus? Is it possibly not importable into the USA as a restricted item?

I think we need to call Tyler or happy—pidgeon.

[winner188]

Not a restricted item, part sold for $110.00 plus $50.00 for shipping.

[momcqueen]

Hmm. Is there any way the parts could be misconstrued for something else? Like nefarious?

Has the buyer opened a claim, or just yelled at you via messages?

If he’s being truthful, I understand the reason he’s upset. He bought, he paid, it’s been stuck en route so long that now he says he doesn’t need it.

But unless you botched your export declaration, the Customs delay isn’t your fault.

What to do next depends on what sort of case, if any, is open or opened.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

You could try phoning Canadapost customer service. They are available until 11:00 PM eastern and see if someone could help you find out what's holding your item up and if they could speed up delivery. As for the return really depends on how difficult your customer is.Phone number for Canada Post is 1-866-607-6301.  It also helps if you have your customer number and tracking handy.

-CM

[winner188]

Thanks for your assistance.

[esclyons]

personally i would believe the customer, is irresponsible for buying a car part , and then selling the car shortly after.. at this point i believe it would be a remorse return, no longer needing the item.  so if they want to return it, they should have to pay to do that, not the seller.  Depends on how the buyer opened the claim, if it was simply item hasn't  arrived yet,  then you may receive a defect for it being late, but there would be no refund required if it does get there....

[winner188]

Yes the buyer did message me before the estimated delivery date and stated he had sold the car.

Buyer purchased item April 11
Shipped item April 11
April 22 Buyer messaged me saying car sold.
Estimated shipping delivery date - April 24

[momcqueen]

It's a Remorse Return, no question about that, but the problem is that the buyer might go straight to Item Not Received. 

[momcqueen]

And I don't know what policy ebay has on INRs that sit in Customs.

An order may not be claimed as INR under the MoneyBakc Guarantee if the buyer chooses to refuse it due to reluctance to pay their import fees, that I know, unless the seller over-declared the value of the item in question. 

It's all in the MBG. https://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html

The issue of stuck-in-Customs is not specifically addressed. There are nuances to that, so subtle that I don't quite trust the average CSR to handle it correctly. 

Hence, a call-out to tyler@ebay and/or @happy_pigeon for assistance. Can you help us with this? It's a situation any seller stands the potential to face with delays at Customs. 

I have a suspicion of what would happen with an INR being filed but I don't really want to post my assumption as if it is fact. 

[ricarmic]

Wow what a mess for sure.

If it turns out you do have to call a CSR, make sure to call in main working hours so you get the North American CSRs.

I usually wait to call at 11:00 or after 1:00 preferably (I'm in EDT).

(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....)

[marnotom!]

Just feel it needs to be stated that you don't know for sure that the item is stuck in customs. That's simply the last place it got scanned. It may have moved on from there without a scan--either legitimately or illegitimately.

What customs processing center did the item go through? Some are better than others.

[winner188]

Thanks

[reallynicestamps]

He paid .

You shipped.

You have a trackingnumber.

The item is in the USA but has not arrived.

EBay's last estimated delivery date was April 24.

The buyer has been demanding a full refund and return shipping.

Has he opened a Dispute?

Without a Dispute, I would suggest telling him to be calm and wait for the item to arrive. Then refuse it.

Tell him that when you receive the part back you will refund in full.

I agree that this is Buyer Remorse and he should be paying return shipping.

But he is also, frankly, impatient and unwilling to take responsibility for his own stupid actions . (Buying a car part and then selling the car.)

Being a nasty-minded and cynical old woman, keep in mind that you only have his word that the car is sold.

If he opens a Dispute, and the part is obviously not in his hands (because: tracking) you have to refund.

And if the part arrives the next day, he doesn't have to return it.

Just install it on the car he has not sold, and laugh at your innocence at being taken it by his bullying.

Keep an eye on the tracking, try to shake it loose by calling Canada Post, and try politely to keep him from opening a Dispute until it has been received. Ask him politely to wait until Friday or Saturday for delivery. And again tell him that you will refund in full when you get the part back.

Also let him know that Canadians can now buy USPS (and other American) Return Shipping Labels through Shippo. If you send a RSL and he doesn't use it, you will not be charged for it.

I don't trust bullies.

[pjcdn2005]

@winner188

You do have the tracking number uploaded to ebay..right? If there has been a fairly recent postal scan you can phone customer service and ask them to put the case on hold to give the item more time to arrive,  if they will do that and the item arrives you can ask them to close the case.  If the buyer then wants to return the item, they can open a return request.  In that situation, I would not refund until the item was received back.  

If there hasn’t been a scan for a while, cs may not put a hold n the case...I’m not sure what to suggest then because if the buyer escalates the case before you have refunded you will have to refund anyway and you will get an unresolved case defect. 

[happy_pigeon · Accepted solution]

This is a tough one, as others have pointed out... I doubt it's anything that the seller did to cause it to be caught by customs--it happens sometimes. A couple of months ago, a watercolour paint kit I ordered from a seller in the UK was stuck at customs for weeks. Watercolours! (In this case, I was just patient, and rode it out. What is the seller supposed to do?)

When we order anything internationally, there should always be the awareness that an item can experience further delays outside the seller's control because of customs. In fact, many of the websites I order from have small print to this effect.

There are really two options here. Let me be clear that I'm not officially sanctioning either of them (though I'm sure, as you know, officially, eBay always suggests that you err on the side of whatever provides a better customer experience):

1. Handle it as you would a remorse return, and recline to accept a return. The buyer will likely open a case with either eBay or PayPal, and this is where you need to be very careful to provide that exchange about selling the car before the EDD to whomever is collecting evidence. The buyer kind of outed themselves there.

1a. Treat it as a remorse return, but accept the return, only if the buyer pays for return shipping themselves. Personally I think this option is the most fair to everyone involved.

2. Be a customer service superstar, accept the return, and pay for return shipping.

Ultimately, it is your decision as a seller. I think 1a is probably the best option, but your mileage may vary!!

[winner188]

Thank you for your excellent repose. I hope the package starts moving again soon so I can resolve this problem.

[winner188]

Buyer has opened a claim as - Item Not Received

[fashionoutletdeal]

Call Canada post and open a ticket provide the custumer with it .

This is your most important back up.Then write him / her that tghere is an investigation and he need to cooperate with Canada post .After all insure him/her that you will refund them in full once you have the investigation done by Canada post .

Dont forget he need to cooperate with Canada post .

This way you will get your money from Canada post ansd you will refund the customer 

[reallynicestamps]

I agree, but include the USPS Postal Inspectors in the message.

The two systems work together.

And sketchy Americans are scared of the USPS postal inspectors.

Still suspicious of the buyer's story about the sale of the car.