Buyer didn't pay import fees, now the item has been returned. Who is liable for shipping costs?

[robrickshaw]

Shipped a bike from Australia to the UK.

Buyer didn't pay import fees in time and the bike has been returned to me.

The cost to ship the bike there, then return postage cost, then the possible cost of shipping the bike back is a lot of money.

Who is liable for these costs? Ebay has paid me out the entire amount however, I have paid all these postage fees. I now don't even have enough money to send the bike again.

I'm looking for links to Ebay policies outlining who is liable as well as consumer laws which may be relevant in this situation.

[twyngwyn]

Are you seriously considering re-sending it? OMG....get your money back and sell in Australia only....this has DANGER written all over it

[davewil1964]

I think you misspelt danger. The correct spelling is SCAMMER.

They allegedly paid duty after the item was no longer in the UK system. RIIIGHT!

[twyngwyn]

Well......that could be another story....I look forward to the next installment

[jellybirddesigns]

It makes zero sense that a buyer would pay duties 3 weeks late. They knew the item was on its way and everybody in the UK knows there are duties to pay. The buyer has told you they paid, but that is just words on a message, not actual fact.

DO NOT RESEND THIS ITEM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

Refund as mentioned with deductions.

No idea why you would give a random buyer such a huge discount on postage and take less profit for yourself either? Their Pound is worth so much compared to our Dollar, it's not a hardship for them to pay proper postage, especially on an expensive item.

This is a hard lesson to learn and one should not sell anything they are not prepared to lose money over.

At the end of the day, the buyer decided that the duties were too much to pay, so it was easier to have the item returned. By shipping anything with a courier, you risk incurring additional postage costs, as you have found out. 

[robrickshaw]

Thanks so much for your input everyone. I really appreciate it. The bike is quite a rare and sought after frame so that checks out. I was cc'd into all the email correspondence between customs and the buyer so I have the payment receipt they made to customs. I think they were genuinely unaware that import taxes existed... I don't know. I won't send the bike again. Obviously a mistake on the buyers end to pay so late. Also weird that FedEx would return the bike 3 days after that payment was made. Oh well!

[ohmygodineedanick]

You need to draw the line. "A customer who doesn't pay is not a customer".

Firstly, for the item to have been returned you must have ticked the box on the declaration form. All international parcels require a completed declaration and it states - return undeliverable parcels or dispose of undeliverable parcels.

Personally I do select dispose of. I have sold the item, received payment and posted - the rest is the responsibility of the customer.

At this point, I would not be sending it back to them. How can you be assured they will not pay duties late again? Moreover, if they couldn't pay duties on time why would they have funds to pay for the bike again + more postage + more duties?

Their refund should be the dollar value remaining once postage costs and fees are taken out. You cannot be held responsible for the customers actions. Stand firm!

[robrickshaw]

It seems like the buyer wants to fight this one. They have opened a case to get a full refund which has put all my payments on hold. I'm going to have to ask Ebay to step in and resolve this one.

[repentatleisure1952]

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Whoops... wrong thread.

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[justkidzbiz]

Dont ask eBay to « step in », they will simply refund the buyer in full.  Go to the help pages and request a call back where you can actually speak to someone and from there explain the situation and ask can you deduct full shipping costs including the return shipping.

Come back and let us know the outcome!

[ohmygodineedanick]

So what ended up happening?