Held in Customs

[ericsells75]

Good Morning,

So, this may turn out to be nothing but it's a new situation for me so wanted to ask about it simply to be prepared in case....

I am the seller. I have an item that has been stuck in "Held in Customs" for about a week now. I only checked on it this morning because it's a bit of higher value item for me.... of course... The estimated Delivery Date is the end of this week so not yet due. But, i've never had something held up in Chicago before. Since the delivery date is approaching and it's a high value item i'm going to assume the buyer will open a case, I know I would. so I guess my questions are, do you think the item will get moving soon? Any idea why it would get hung up? and if i do have to refund and then it arrives later do i have any recourse since the issue is out of my hands? Agian, like i said, no problem yet, but it's a new scenario for me so just want to be prepared in case it plays out the way it looks like it might. 

[ricarmic]

Are you checking Canada Post or USPS?

USPS will tend to have more current updates than CP.

ALL tend to have the odd one that doesn't have updates for a while then all the sudden a bunch show up (for several days worth of activity).

This is why it is best not to watch items, almost always it causes unnecessary stress! (These are much easier words to say than exhibit, I too have felt compelled to watch HV items in transit and so far 100% of the time it has only caused me extra, eventually unecessary stress because of weird updates like this, or non delivery, RTS etc... and all were eventually delivered....)

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@ericsells75 wrote:

Good Morning,

So, this may turn out to be nothing but it's a new situation for me so wanted to ask about it simply to be prepared in case....

I am the seller. I have an item that has been stuck in "Held in Customs" for about a week now. I only checked on it this morning because it's a bit of higher value item for me.... of course... The estimated Delivery Date is the end of this week so not yet due. But, i've never had something held up in Chicago before. Since the delivery date is approaching and it's a high value item i'm going to assume the buyer will open a case, I know I would. so I guess my questions are, do you think the item will get moving soon? Any idea why it would get hung up? and if i do have to refund and then it arrives later do i have any recourse since the issue is out of my hands? Agian, like i said, no problem yet, but it's a new scenario for me so just want to be prepared in case it plays out the way it looks like it might. 

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@ericsells75 

If you check the sold details for your listing you will see something like this for international orders (Canada - display varies from a USA to Canada perspective). 

Delivery:

Estimated between Mon, Sep 16 and Mon, Sep 23 to 90210

Please allow additional time if international delivery is subject to customs processing.

There are no guarantees your buyer will see this disclaimer. Customs holds are really no control of sellers. Why it is so important that when customs has issues they have a way of contacting the seller...and in some cases buyer. Unsure how ridgidly eBay applies this rule to anything considered late. This is why the window for US to Canada orders appears to be much larger for some reason.

devon@ebay  Can you confirm with these situations if customs holds are applicable in late situations?

-Lotz

Note: These disclaimers and where they are seen by both sellers and buyers have changed a number of times in the last 10 years. 

[recped]

Delays in Customs processing at the Chicago ISC are not at all unusual, not an every day thing but still common. Similar issues with Incoming International shipments coming through Jamaica NY (mostly incoming from Europe).

If the delay continues and if the buyer opens a Request you might want to contact eBay to get an extention which they will do if the tracking shows it's in customs.

Last Monday was a holiday so that may be at least part of the root cause of a delay.

[reallynicestamps]

Do NOT contact the buyer.

Just cross all your fingers and toes.

If your buyer contacts you, give them the tracking number and respond that the last estimated date for delivery is September 32nd (or whatever) and that it should be there by then.

If they open a Claim, personally add the tracking number to the Claim manually yourself.

Do not trust eBay to do this for you.

[vtwinparts2015]

We ship to the USA all the time. Once in a while it gets held up at the customs sort center. We even notice it could sit there for 6 to 8 days. Most cases the item is sitting in the Trailer and it is in Que to get unloaded. We find once the item is in Processing it moves thru pretty quick. What I suggest is to comunicate with the seller and let them know you are watching the movement and will keep them informed. This is the best way to win over the buyer and put them at ease. 

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

This is normal. It doesn't always happen, but it isn't outlandish.

Once you refund the buyer, they are not obligated to pay you back when it arrives. They SHOULD pay you back, but within the mechanisms of eBay there is nothing stopping them from ghosting you. 

If the buyer opens a case, I would reach out to eBay directly using the AskeBay Twitter or Facebook. Give them screenshots and links to the tracking directly on the USPS website. Explain the issue is not that the package is lost, but that it is held in customs. Ask them if they will extend the INR case. I am unsure on what the exact policy is, but eBay has given extensions in the past. 

There is no guarantee that the buyer will open the case right away so that might buy you some time. 

If this persists, you may also consider opening a missing mail request with USPS: https://www.usps.com/help/missing-mail.htm

USPS has no control over customs, but there is a small chance that it is with USPS and simply hasn't been scanned after leaving customs. Regardless, whenever something funny is happening, a missing mail report usually gets the package going to the right place. 

[hockey-kong]

Just an FYI, really have no idea if this applies but just read a story online about a trucking company contracted to USPS for all mail deliveries to and from the Chicago mail sorting center. Apparently they went bankrupt and shut down in a matter of days, laid off all drivers, parked all trucks. This might explain some delays coming from Illinois postal centers ?

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

I will also add that through the missing mail request link that I included in my previous post, there is an option to have the package returned to sender if found. 

YMMV on whether they return it to you or send it. Also, USPS return to sender can sometimes take months to Canada.