My package has yet to arrrive at buyer's location

[asimau]

Hi Helpers,

I sold an item and posted it to Germany via Economy Air on 29/7/2019,.

The buyer emailed me yesterday saying it had yet to arrive and asked me to insert the tracking number into the tracking number box on my listing; there is no tracking number issued by Aust post for Economy Air or Registered mail though there is anArticle ID.

I have filled in the AP Missing or lost item form but don't have much hope, is there anything else that I can do?

Thank you

[kopenhagen5]

It's still early days. (Only 18 working days so far)

It can take 3-4 weeks to Germany sometimes.

[asimau]

Thank you kopenhagen5, I am so worried about the parcel but now I can slow down on the worried-ness

I have emailed my buyer and let her know that her parcel may be later than Aust Post says (10 days)

[padraicpaul91]

I would suggest, if using non tracked postage, to give all international customers a realistic estimate of delivery time. Add a week. Three elements of international postage are often longer than estimated: clearance here in Australia (up to 5 working days, customs at the other end (who knows how long), and delivery.

I use tracking for all international sales and see these times. Given the lower dollar, complaints about our high costs of postage have not occurred for me in a long time.

[gutterpunkz05]

Unfortunately it is very well known, among international buyers, that if an item is sent without tracking, (Australian Economy Air).  The buyer only has to claim item not received and they will win an ebay/paypal claim and receive a full refund every time.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you can probably kiss your item and money goodbye.

[asimau]

Thanks you all for your help, even though some is depressing, though realistic.

I will just hope the package arrives soon and that my buyer is honest

[eol-products]

A high percentage of buyers are honest and economy airmail does take longer than normal airmail.

[purplemon18]

I assume the item in question is the ashtray? With the value of that item, the buyer would be required to pay inport customs fees before they can receive their item. Which means that their item will not be delivered and they will have to go down to their local post office to pay the fees an collect their item.

Couple of things to note, first, as others have mentioned, the delivery times are often longer than those quoted, and a month would not be surprising.

Second, sometimes things slip through, so it is possible for the item to get delivered without any customs fees being charged, but they are supposed to be charged.

Third, the german post office is supposed to drop a card in their mail box letting them know about the item awaiting customs payment, but the card doesn't always get left. So there is a possibility that the buyer's item is waiting at the post office and the buyer doesn't know it. If it were me, I wouldn't go check at the post office yet, I would wait another week to give it plenty of time to arrive though.

Fourth, there is the possibility that the customer has been informed by the post office that there are customs fees, but doesn't want to pay them. In which case they could claim non-delivery on ebay to get their money back. Problem is that without tracking, there is no way to prove that, so you will just have to give the refund The good news is that in this situation, you will eventually get your item back (maybe by the end of the year if you are lucky).

Fifth, customs fees are the buyer's responsibility, not the seller's.

I just wanted to mention the other possible scenarios, but the most likely answer is that it just hasn't arrived yet. If it hasn't arrived in another week, then the awaiting customs fees becomes more likely, but the customer should get a card.

This is why most sellers don't ship without tracking when the item has enough value (usually $15-30). Some sellers charge higher postage, some just pay for it out of the profit from the sale.

I hope the item turns up in the end, and good luck with your next sale.

[jellybirddesigns]

Sending to Germany requires a copy of the invoice to be placed on the outside of the package so that Customs can easily access it.

I usually use a small ziploc bag for this purpose.

I have found that in the past when I didn't know about this requirement, the parcel would take much longer to get to the buyer.

[philb264]

You are totally correct regarding the tracking on international parcels. I have experienced first hand on numerous occasions ebay's handling of these situations. I offer both standard/economy air and international tracked as postage options. You would think that should a buyer select economy air at checkout they would have to accept some of the responsibility should an item not arrive. I retain post office receipts and a photograph of the barcoded customs declaration of all transactions on file for such disputes. Unfortunately it makes no difference, buyer gets refunded. I also believe, following protracted emails and conversations with ebay, that even if there is tracking and the parcel has not been delivered, the seller is still responsible. Sucks!