Euro Buyer opened Item Not Received Dispute w Paypal

[flights_of_fantasy902]

A European buyer has opened a INR depute against me on paypal. It has only been two weeks since I shipped item and buyer paid for small packet surface rate. Is there anything I should do or am I basically SOL?  From experience, I know this can take 4-6 weeks. Buyer has feedback in the tens of thousands and runs a store so he must know packages take longer than two weeks. I opened a non-paying bidder alert against him, as almost a week went by with no payment, so I suspect this is retaliatory. 

And love how paypal immediately grabs the funds from your account :(. NOT!

[block36]

It may be retaliatory, but we should remain cool and polite.

I would post a comment on PAYPAL saying that in accordance with buyer's choice the item was shipped by SURFACE and the applicable delivery time is 6 - 8 weeks and you would appreciate his/her patience.

You may win some time...

For all packages and letters that I ship, I send immediately the letter advising about approx. time for arrival and I indicate that delays for different reasons occur sometimes.

Also, when European buyer pays for SURFACE shipping and this is a new buyer to me, I

immediately write to him saying that I appreciate his decision understanding the financial reason, but I want him to know the shipping's duration, so there will not be further dissatisfaction. If this duration is not acceptable to him, I suggest he pays the difference between AIRMAIL and SURFACE shipping.

Quite many people instantly chose the lowest shipping option, and they do not realize the duration of the shipment. 

I wish this case will be resolved peacefully.  Good Luck!

[fatdane]

Never never never offer buyers outside Canada & the US a surface shipping option. It always takes longer than Canada Post says it will, and the buyers all seem to be impatient. If they really want an item they will payfor airmail shipping. If you lose some overseas sales because you do not offer a surface shipping option it is probably for the better. In the time it is going to take you to deal with the impatient buyer you could have been doing a lot of productive & profitable work.

[dipmicro]

I usually post a note assuring buyer the item is on the way and it takes 4-6wks and please close the dispute and be patient. Don't beg, don't send angry messages, don't get drawn into pissing contest, no reply is better than wrong reply, short one sentence reply is better than novel.

Don't refund unless dispute is changed into claim. PayPal gives plenty of time  and sometimes buyers just need to feel "protected" so they sit on open dispute and close it when item arrives.

[rose-dee]

I usually post a note assuring buyer the item is on the way and it takes 4-6wks and please close the dispute and be patient.

Just wondering if you, or anyone here knows -- if a buyer in this situation closes a dispute, can he still open a dispute again later on the same item and escalate it to a claim?  I may be wrong, but I thought it was a one-time option.

I'm not sure I'd suggest this to a buyer unless I knew he could restart the dispute later -- it might make for a very angry buyer.  I'd rather just let him sit on the open dispute then close it once the parcel arrived. 

I agree with the earlier poster, I never offer surface shipping to Europe, or even to the U.S.  Far too risky and uncertain.  

[dipmicro]

The dispute can be opened only once. But it does not matter, I don't need PayPal breathing on my neck to do what's necessary. I have refunded buyers way after dispute window, also some who claimed INR and tracking was showing "Delivered" - because I believed them.

On the other hand I also have refused to refund to thief who did open dispute and just let Ebay/PayPal take the money by force because it was against my principle to pay him off.

[bbtreasures2011]

I shipped several large items to Australia from Ontario, Canada. The Customer elected to choose Surface Mail. Saved over 180.00 in shipping cost vs. Air. Did inform the customer it would take between 8-12 weeks to arrive by boat. After 12 weeks the customer stated the parcel did not arrive. Good for me I had tracking info, it was still in transit. And the parcel actually sat in Vancouver for 30 days before the ship headed out for open seas.. Seemed like the ship was at sea for another 30 days. Customer emails again, no item. Supplied tracking info again. Just by chance the day of his email, the parcel arrived at the Australian Postal service. Attached was an estimated delivery date of another 15 days.

So I always let customers know about Surface Mail. Slow delivery times.

[toff3]

Never never never offer buyers outside Canada & the US a surface shipping option

I never offer surface shipping to Europe, or even to the U.S.  Far too risky and uncertain.

The way Fatdane and Rose-dee go on, anyone would think we eBay Canada sellers enjoy the luxury of forgoing surface mail in favour of airmail.

The fact remains, Canada Post overseas air rates for any mail piece weighing more than 250 g are way out of line. The very fact that CP still offers surface mail overseas when the USPS, acknowledging the always uncertain and frequently interminable delivery times, abandoned it years ago is an admission that CP air rates are, for practical purposes, unaffordable.

And BTW, Rose-dee, CP no longer offers surface service to USA - all part of their master plan to jack up the cost of mailing any way they can. Lastly, believe me, overseas surface shipping is no more risky than air.

Tom