will Paypal find in my favour.. *DELIVERED!! OMG!*

[Cool.Breeze]

Someone from Australia bought a plush from me in mid October off eBay and I had to send it via Surface (cheapest option with tracking). It still hasn't arrived and she opened up a case against me which leaves my Paypal in the negative over $70 ($25 of that was profit). I called Paypal and made sure they knew there was tracking, I added the tracking number to the Paypal case, and also linked the buyer to the tracking page in my response to the case. She's not budging and is not going to close this case. Now, Christmas is coming and I need my freaking Paypal ;__; I tried tracking it using Australia post, but it wont recognize the number. Now, this case has up until the 16th for her to make a full claim, so my question to you is- will Paypal find in my favour, even if the tracking number doesn't show the item as being delivered yet? I checked the number on a global site, and it tells me the number is expired I'm now worried it may not even update if the item does arrive in time. I really want to escalate and let Paypal take care of it, but I'm scared they'll find in her favour if the tracking number doesn't show the item as being delivered yet. Surface can take up to 6 weeks or more and I'm terrified to be out such a large amount for the little profit I made! I wont get those fee payments back, either. Can anyone put my mind at ease on this one?

[NovelNerd]

I believe if the tracking number doesn't work and it doesn't show as delivered they will go in her favor. I'm not absolutely sure though.

[Cool.Breeze]

Oh man... my heart is sinking reading that.

[MikeysGrrrl]

I would suggest calling paypal and discussing it with them and see what they suggest. Sadly because it was sent surface, it's going to take forever to get there, It probably wont update until it reaches the destination country.

In your correspondence to the buyer via paypal, you could write something like this:

Spoiler

Dear Buyer,

I can understand your frustration and concern that your package has yet to arrive. Rest assured your parcel was sent out on _________ and the tracking number is ____________, as you know surface mail can take up to 6+ weeks. I would appreciate it if you could kindly wait another 10 days for the parcel to arrive, if it hasn't arrived by _____________, I will refund your money.

The thing is, if you provide the tracking and it still doesn't show anything, paypal will side with her, so you're better off trying to remain civil and understanding, keeping in mind how you would feel if roles were reversed. If she has until the 16th to escalate it, explain that you understand that she opened a case to protect herself and her money (understandable), and then just ask her to please give it some more time.

That's what I would do anyways.

[Unicorn_pops]

Sorry sweetie but if it doesn't actually show "delivered" they will side in her favor. I recently had to open a case on ebay because mine never got delivered to me. I'd been tracking it and it even showed "Out for delivery" on Nov.8th but never came. I even went to my post office to make sure they weren't holding anything for me. I never got a notice either. I felt horrible opening the case because I know the seller shipped it! I waited right up until the 45 day limit. But my local PO told me they didn't have it and if it hadn't updated since then, it was likely sent back so hopefully she will at least get the pony back. Address or something had to be written wrong.

[Shenanigans]

Oh man, I hope everything works out That's a lot of money

[Cool.Breeze]

Thanks, Shenanigans! And thanks to everyone who replied. It is not looking good, but I don't think she's going to escalate the claim until the last day so we'll see -__- I'm never, ever shipping via surface internationally again. The next option up was expedited at $95 (no 'airmail' option with tracking!) so, yeah. Canada Post is freaking crazy >.o I thought I'd learned my lesson by simply making sure every item I ship has tracking. Not so much :C

[MikeysGrrrl]

Surface doesn't come with tracking does it? It's cheaper than airmail and takes 4 weeks longer minimum

Hopefully she doesn't escalate and she gives it a chance to arrive. I'm sure it will turn up soon

[lovesbabysquirmy]

This method is the only way to ship internationally with Canada Post, I have found:  Xpresspost™ – International

It has tracking, it gets there in about 2 weeks, it's ensured...  The $20 or so price difference is totally worth it to not be stressed. 

[ponylady]

I am so sorry and I hate to be the bearer of bad news  But if the item shows that it has not been delivered by the time she escalates, they will side in her favor. I just recently had a case with a $100+ MH doll, she waited but then escalated and they found in her favor within 24 hours. I was devasted! 

I would at this point just keep good communications with her and assure her that it will arrive. It is super rare that a package ever truly goes missing. It has to just be caught up somewhere. Can you ask her if she could possibly check with her PO?

[Cool.Breeze]

I am so sorry and I hate to be the bearer of bad news  But if the item shows that it has not been delivered by the time she escalates, they will side in her favor. I just recently had a case with a $100+ MH doll, she waited but then escalated and they found in her favor within 24 hours. I was devasted! 

I would at this point just keep good communications with her and assure her that it will arrive. It is super rare that a package ever truly goes missing. It has to just be caught up somewhere. Can you ask her if she could possibly check with her PO?

I'm actually in the process of working with Australia Post to try to find it. I filed a claim with their department that handles international deliveries, and I'll also be calling them out of pocket tonight to see what the deal is. I really hope they can at least tell me /where/ the parcel is! I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you recently, Ponylady that's so much money to lose out on. Thankfully this buyer is being incredibly patient, and I'm so grateful. More than anything else, I want her to get what she paid for (but the being out money isn't very nice around the holidays, either ). Lovebabysquirmy- Agreed, lesson definitely learned. No parcel leaves my hands without knowing it will be to it's buyer within the 45 day window, tracking is not the safety net I thought it to be. I'll keep on hoping! Thanks for all of the replies everyone, I always appreciate the strong support I get here when I'm encountering sales issues

Post Merge: December 03, 2013, 12:11:04 AM

Good news, everyone! I heard back from Australia post with confirmation that the parcel has arrived in Australia (the tracking number now shows this information as well). They told me that the parcel will be in the hands of my buyer within the week With 13 days left to go on the dispute, I could not be more relieved! I'm so glad she'll get what she paid for safe and sound and I'll have full access to my account again in good time ;^^ Talk about a lesson learned!! No more surface parcel to international locations >.< Thank you again for all of the support

[Cool.Breeze]

It was delivered today!! Oh my gosh I feel like dancing!! The case hasn't been closed yet, but I'm a lot more confident I'm not going to be out any money now! Thanks to everyone who replied I'm definitely not going to be sending any parcels by surface internationally again, lesson learned. That was stressful :<

[MikeysGrrrl]

That's great news!

[Buffy]

Fantastic news!!!

[Galactica]

Wow that is good news!  Maybe you could follow-up with the buyer and let her know that tracking now shows delivered- so could she please close the case ?