Item on hold in destination country

[maxamillion2k]

I shipped an item out via Canada Post to Germany back in Feb. It cleared customs from what I can tell on Feb 9 and has been in a 'item on hold' status since Feb 12 at "85748, Germany"

Neither I or the buyer know where that is. The buyer opened an item not received ticket so I opened a ticket with Canada Post for more info. Resolution date from Canada Post is expected by May 31, 2019 LOL (someone needs to put Canada post out if its misery)

Anyone have any ideas on what I can do to get the buyer his item?

[marnotom!]

Just a wild but semi-educated guess. The Zollamt (customs office for) Garching-Hochbrück is at that post code. German customs stops and assesses taxes and duty on pretty much all qualifying postal imports and the recipient has to pay and collect at the Zollamt.

Either your buyer somehow missed a collection notice or else for whatever reason, they're hoping this will go away.

Have you tried tracking the item on the Deutsche Post website to see if there's more detailed info?

[retroman_studios]

You can also contact eBay and show them tracking so they can put an extension on the case. That should at least give you some breathing room.

[maxamillion2k]

Thanks actually just did that. Seems like it is at customs and waiting collection.

"The shipment will be handed over to the customs office responsible for the recipient. The recipient can collect the shipment from there once he has received notification from customs."

[maxamillion2k]

How would I do this? The ticket only lets me add a comment, add tracking (already there), or issue a refund.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

This seems to be a recurring problem with shipping to Germany with International Tracked service. I have a shipment that arrived in Germany in 2 days from Calgary and has been sitting in customs for 12 days with no updates since it arrived. I had another shipment go to Ireland after that shipment that had a higher value and has already been delivered. If you use the following link you start an investigation into what is happening with your item. Only requires the tracking number and date of shipment and should take approximately 3 business days for some sort of follow up. 

https://www.deutschepost.de/sendung/simpleQuery.html?locale=en_GB

-Lotz

[sylviebee]

It's not really crystal clear if the item is waiting at the PO for the buyer to pick it up, or if the PO has held it up for some reason and it's not available to the buyer yet.

Your buyer is telling you that there was no notice for pick up but sometimes buyers get confused about these things.

BIG difference in how those two scenarios would be handled by eBay and PP.

[reallynicestamps]

Yes, what the OP should be trying to pry loose from German Customs is a new (second?) notice.

Without slandering the customer, there have been reports of non-delivery similar to this, where once the refund is made, the customer toddles off to the customs office, pays the duty and retrieves the purchase, without paying asking price + international tracked shipping.

OP -- you can PHONE eBay through Help and Contact  at the bottom of this page. Have the transaction and dispute numbers handy as well as your tracking number

Apparently eBay is also available through facebook and twitter, although I don't see how that would be at all private.

[reallynicestamps]

Oh dear.

An occasional seller, with purchases from sellers of games, records, electronics and other high fraud items.

And shipping internationally.

Oh dear.

[maxamillion2k]

Thanks I called eBay and the seller agent didn't seem concerned as she said once a case is opened and tracking is provided the onus is on the buyer to pick up the item

[momcqueen]

Germany never fails to collect its customs fees from citizens importing. 

Your buyer will need to report to a government office to pay his fees and then the item will be released back to the German Post. 

That is the whole reason it is 'on hold'. It awaits the payment of tariffs.