Item not received dispute

[shape000]

Hi guys, just wondering where I stand with this.

I posted an item to a buyer in Canada on April 26. He has today lodged an item not received dispute and asked for a refund. The item was $199 Australian plus postage.
Postage to Canada is very expensive so I sent it economy mail. There is an article ID but it's not really a tracking number as far as I know. Tracking and registered was going to cost nearly $100, far more than he paid.
Aussie Post said it would only take a week or so to arrive. I've asked him to wait one more week, which will take it out to 4 weeks since I posted it.

Any idea of where I stand on this?

I've been selling on ebay for over 10 years and have more than 500 positive feedbacks.

I'm really annoyed by this.

PayPal have also put my account into the negative as they await an outcome.

Scott

[shape000]

I emailed Canada post and got a short reply basically saying they can't track the number, which I'm not surprised about. It's not really a tracking number, some sort of article ID.
I won't ever send without tracking and registered again and don't think I'll be posting to Canada again either. Way too expensive.

[jellybirddesigns]

In item worth $199 is going to attract a fair amount of Customs fees, so it's entirely possible that your buyer has rejected the item.

For the future - anyting to Canada over about $25.00 attracts duties. Other countries with very low thresholds include the UK.

Whilst it is the the buyers responsibility to pay these, I have educated myself on which countries are a problem and I always advise the buyer upfront that they will incur charges.

Some items do take a long time to get to their destination - I had something from Israel which took 5 weeks to get here and there were no customs to contend with!

Lastly, even though postage was expensive, for that price I would have sent it tracked and adjusted the postage upfront before anybody purchased. Tracking is there for YOUR protection, not the buyers.

Unfortunate;y without tracking your only option is to refund. 😞

[shape000]

Yes, I know. From now on, everything tracked.
I actually marked the value at his request at about $20 to $25.
I contacted Australia Post and was told they would consider a refund to me after investigating but I have to wait three months from the time I sent it, so there is some glimmer of hope I won't be out of pocket.

[shape000]

For the shipping anyway. I meant to say.

[padi*0409]

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@shape000 wrote:

I actually marked the value at his request at about $20 to $25.

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Not a good idea to admit to marking an item down from$199.00 to $20 - $25 on a public forum to evade customs duties.........................

[lyndal1838]

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@shape000 wrote:
Yes, I know. From now on, everything tracked.
I actually marked the value at his request at about $20 to $25.
I contacted Australia Post and was told they would consider a refund to me after investigating but I have to wait three months from the time I sent it, so there is some glimmer of hope I won't be out of pocket.

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Never ever undervalue a parcel....especially if the buyer requests it.

It is illegal to do so and if there are any queries at Customs you can bet your boots you will be the loser.

If you ever make a postal claim on a missing parcel they will only pay out the amount that was declared on the Customs form, no matter what you say it was.

Canadian mail has always been painfully slow and very expensive.  It used to take up to 6 weeks for a small package to be delivered from Sydney....we were forever getting irate phone calls from my father in law that my OH had forgotten his mother's birthday or Mother's Day or whatever.   We ended up sending money to OH's brother in Seattle to get something in the US and take it with him to his parents in Canada.   We just airmailed a card about 8 weeks ahead.

[imastawka]

I had a Canadian buyer buy something on the Thursday night prior to Good Friday.

On Easter Monday was demanding to know where the item was.  They hadn't received it.

It was the last straw.    Canada is waaaay too much trouble.

Too many refunds.  No-one ever repays when they get it.      Won't post there now.

Who says they're polite?

Many apologies Lyndal.

[jellybirddesigns]

I dropped Canada as a shipping destination a while back.

OP - never, ever change the declared value of an item for the sake of a buyer or mark it as a gift - seriously illegal stuff and you can expect huge trouble if discovered. You don't owe the buyer any favours and it's a real risk YOU take when you try bend over backwards for the sake of a sale.

[lyndal1838]

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@imastawka wrote:

Who says they're polite?

Many apologies Lyndal.

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No need to apologise to me Stawks.

I am married to my husband, not his family, thank goodness.

Let's just say I did not shed too many tears when the parents in law died and I am very glad that the family members who have lived in the USA since the 50s are half a world away.

I don't have any contact with any of them since OH's brother died 8 years ago (he was very nice, even if I could not understand his accent on the phone)....I refuse to have my whole life plastered all over Facebook, which is the only form of communication that they seem to recognise.

[collect247]

Yes those French Canadians are hard to understand haha