Failed delivery - who pays for re-postage?

[hickoz_bro]

Hi all, 

I have a parcel being delivered internationally that was not successfully delivered, and is being returned to me. I suspect the address provided by the buyer was not recognised by the local postal service, though this is yet to be confirmed. Another possibility is that the address was correct, but the postal service failed to deliver it for some unknown reason.

The buyer has indicated that they would still like the item, and do not wish to receive a refund. This means that the item needs to be re-sent (once the address has been confirmed).

Who's responsibility is it to pay for the send postage attempt? International postage for this item cost about AU$70 which is more than I would make from the sale, so I hope to make the buyer pay for the second postage attempt.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[padi*0409 · Accepted solution]

You have no idea if when you resend the item that it won't be rejected again.

I would wait until the item is returned to you and you've inspected it, then refund using "problem with buyer's address" - you will get all your fees back as well.

I think you should also consider blocking them in case they try to buy again and the same thing happens.

[pnc75]

Good advice, padi.

[curraone]

It's not for Canada is it?

[lezned-toycollector]

I wouldn't do anything until I receive the return and get to the bottom of why it wasn't delivered.

If it's due to an error on your part (eg. writing the wrong street number), you need to eat any loss on postage and re-send at your own expense.

If any other reason applies, the buyer is responsible for postage charges on second delivery.

Assuming the first reason doesn't apply, if you refund using "problem with buyer's address" (as padi suggests), make sure you deduct the original postage charge and any associated fees from the refund amount.

[hickoz_bro]

Hi, Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I intended to wait for the returned parcel. I expect the buyers address is the problem - I checked their address using an online validation tool and it couldn't be found, however google maps did find it. I've asked the buyer to confirm their address in any case.

I didn't realise there was an option to provide a refund that allowed me to get the fees back too - that's helpful to know.

The address was in Poland for what it's worth, the format the buyer provided is foreign to me, but I assumed it would be understood locally.

Anyway, thanks for the responses.