Buyer in China hasn't received item yet--advice?

[Mismatch]

Good morning, ponies,

So I shipped some items to China on August 26 via airmail.  I received notice today from Paypal that my buyer has opened a Paypal dispute over payment on the basis of parcel not received.  I then scrolled back through my messages, and realized she sent me a short message a week ago about it that I hadn't responded to.

It's totally my fault that I didn't respond to the message. 

I am a Respiratory Therapy student with med school aspirations.  In concrete terms, this means I get up at 4:45 AM every day, bike 8 km to the hospital regardless of weather (and I live in Canada), and work an 8-12 hour shift.  On the days when I get out early, and weekends, I bike another 8 km across town to the local college to work on the emergency response team and with the local Humane Society.  I get most of my messaging done in between waiting for emergency calls to come in, and studying. 

This is no excuse for failing to read my messages more carefully, but I hope it does put it in context.  I rather wish the buyer had sent me another message before escalating it to a Paypal dispute, but oh well.  In the interim, I can only hope she responds positively to the message I sent her. 

Beyond this?  I asked one of my Chinese friends about the address the buyer provided me, and he suggested that it might be missing a postal code.  Do Chinese addresses have postal codes?  Or is there anyway I can send proof directly through Paypal of thetran saction where I paid for shipping to her address?  Additionally, if you know anything about filing lost item claims with Canada post, it would be helpful.  I'll be out $50 in goods and postage if the parcel doesn't miraculously appear.  The buyer does seem to be quite experienced and has lots of positive reviews, so I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding. 

Thanks!

[Rhubarbpie]

Hi sorry to hear about your issues, not much I can help with, but I can confirm that China does have post codes, its Hong Kong that doesn't

It may be that its been caught up in customs, especially if the package does not have a post code.

Did you have any sort of tracking on the package??

[lovesbabysquirmy]

The only thing Ebay/Paypal will accept is a tracking number.  You can upload it or call them with it. 

Otherwise, it's the buyer's word against yours that it was mailed, and Ebay/Paypal must side with them as per the Buyer Protection Plan. 

[Mismatch]

Did you have any sort of tracking on the package??

Sigh.

Tracking starts at $55 a package to China, which is why I usually don't offer it unless they ask for it, or by way of ensuring I cover my bases.  And of course the contents of this parcel were destined for a swap *FACEPLANT*

The universe--or some obscure customs officials in China--hate me. 

Sigh.

Off to the daily grind, and hopefully CanadaPost will be more obliging with answers than it has been in the past...

[Mismatch]

And... after receiving... or not receiving?... a message that I was currently working on getting the money out of CanadaPost, the buyer escalated it to a claim.  I provided information to Paypal regarding the transaction number for mailing with her address, but knowing Paypal's usual rulings...

[Honeycomb]

I am the buyer. I had to escalate the claim yesterday, because paypal had sent me a message they would otherwise close the dispute. I have tried to ask at my local post office to see if there was a package for me that could not be delivered or anything, but nothing, and because there is no tracking number, they cannot check if the package entered the country or not.
This is the first time that something I bought has not arrived, be it China or Germany, so I am also not sure what I would be supposed to do in this case.
Isn't it the responsibility of the seller to ensure that the buyer gets what they paid for?
What am I supposed to do here?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Were you able to get the insurance option on shipping your package?  Most of the time Canada Post has insurance up to $100 included ... can that maybe help you two out?

Grrrr postal problems really suck.  You would think they could correctly deliver things! 

[shelti]

I had a pony go to you once in China honeycomb and it took a year, remember?  But it did arrive

[Honeycomb]

Could anyone advise us what to do now?

Thanks!

[Mismatch]

As I've said before, I'm happy to send you half the total cost of the item and shipping.  I think that's what's usually done in these cases.  And unlike me, you can always recoup as much or more of the other half by reselling those ponies if they are delayed.  I think this is probably what's fairest to both parties.  What do you think?

[Artemesia's Garden]

Since I'm lurking in this thread I thought I'd just say...

 thanks for posting this, I learn a lot when people sort out their disputes in the forum. That is all I have.

[bronycraft]

Mismatch, does your PO offer insurance on parcels? Even if you didn't pay extra for insurance, I know Royal Mail in the UK has a sort of minimum amount they can pay you...I think you can claim up to £20 if your parcel goes missing, even if you didn't have insurance.  Would that be an option?

[Mismatch]

Mismatch, does your PO offer insurance on parcels? Even if you didn't pay extra for insurance, I know Royal Mail in the UK has a sort of minimum amount they can pay you...I think you can claim up to £20 if your parcel goes missing, even if you didn't have insurance.  Would that be an option?

That's the first thing I thought of, actually... my cousin has been selling jewelery through Etsy for years, and she's previously been able to recover the lost sum through insurance.  Unfortunately, after I finally managed to contact a human being rather than CanadaPost's automated voice system, I was informed insurance on all international small parcel mail is unavailable since 2013

[bronycraft]

Oh no I hope it all gets sorted out for you <3

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I was informed insurance on all international small parcel mail is unavailable since 2013

Ahhhhh yes.  ExpressPost is the ONLY way to go with international parcels! And you wouldn't have had to pay extra for tracking because it comes with $100 insurance already included.  If you paid less than $55 to ship, it would have made sense to just ship with a higher level of service with the included insurance.    Gahh I am sorry to hear you are still having issues with this package.