Advice Needed: South Africa Postal Strikes

[Maniah]

Hi there. I have a bit of an unusual situation.. WildLace and I recently had a transaction.. She bought me some MH dolls to ship to me from South Africa, and she shipped them out on Feb 15th. Currently tracking shows them as sitting in a bag ready to go out, but when she checked on why they haven't moved, they told her it was because of an illegal strike.

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation? I was wondering if she might be able to get them to give her the package back and refund her shipping till the strike is over, but I sort of doubt they will.

I'm still well within the 45 day limit to file a claim with paypal, but the thought of it coming to that makes me unhappy, because this isn't her fault at all. Will paypal buyer and seller protection cover us both in this case?

I'm just really at a loss and I know that strikes can last months sometimes. Any advice on how to handle this going forward will be greatly appreciated by both her and I.

[ponylady]

I think honestly you will just have to wait it out.  I am sure as soon as the strike is over, mail will resume.

I found this on their website though:

http://www.postoffice.co.za/newsarticle.aspx?ID=153

I suppose you could keep checking back for updates and if it looks like it may drag out past your Paypal deadline.  She could reimburse you your money and then you repay her when your package arrives.  Other than what I have suggested I am not sure what else you can do??

[Maniah]

I thought of the money bit, but Im worried they may lose the package if the strike is causing any sort of chaos. I would feel bad if she wound up out money for it. That;'s why I was hoping Paypal seller protection would help her out, while the buyer protection helped me out also. I know its much to hope for, but you never know till you ask, right?

[kitkatvintage]

Unfortunately I don't think Paypal will reimburse both parties in one transaction. if they did that, Paypal would lose money. I think you should wait it out & if the package never arrives, maybe you could each take 1/2 the loss. It's not your fault & it's not hers either, so splitting the loss might be more fair than one or the other taking the full loss. Hopefully the package will arrive safely after the strike... crossing my fingers for you both!!