The MLP Arena
TCB => Trader & Shipping Support => Topic started by: sparkleset80 on December 10, 2013, 11:31:17 AM
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But here I am! This is about a package I shipped out to Spain on 9/25/13. This was a transaction done through the arena. I was messaged on Nov. 11 from the buyer saying they had not received the package. This was around the time people were complaining how so slow things were being shipped so I said people were saying it has even taken two months to receive international packages. This is the tracking number: LC176402316US. I provided a picture of the receipt to the seller as well. IT said it was in New York on 10/2/13 and there is a little icon that I clicked that says this:
LC176402316US
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
Your item was processed through and left our JAMAICA, NY 11430 facility on October 2, 2013 at 5:44 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination. No further information is available for this item. Information on this item has been restored from offline files.
So to me that says it has left the states. I don't know what else to do cause now I was contacted again today by the buyer saying it still has not shown up and they went to the post office and they said the package is not in Spain. On USPS it still says it's in transit.
What do I do?? I have never had a package not get to it's destination. How do I know where it is?
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Was it surface mail? Seriously, it can take up to three months to arrive for some packages between Europe and US :( I had my Holiday swap package delivered to me by Easter.
I've checked the spanish online tracking and the only thing it shows is that it had been recieved on the 25.09 so I'm guessing that is the shipping date?
If the buyer is someone you know or someone you trust, I would work out a solution - first try to check at a local po if they might try to see if it really got processed and got out of the States or maybe it's still held by in customs. I would also make a deal with the buyer that anything should happen you will still refund them and they will pay you back if it arrives, basing the deal on trust. Sorry it had happened to both of you :(
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I have had a nightmare with international post recently. 3 cases of it; one took something like 3 weeks to get from the UK to the Netherlands [I could have hand delivered it faster by walking and getting a boat!] and another parcel to Canada appeared to go via the international space centre it took so long [not to mention being returned to me at one point]. So I agree with TSU there are some crazy shipping delays on international post right now much worse than normal.
It looks like Spanish post has a record of the tracker because it is showing up on their system as a record but not showing as going anywhere or doing anything just that they are aware of the tracker as a USPS sent Spanish delivery.
Has your buyer tried Spanish customs rather than just the post office? The parcel may not have made it out of customs or may not even have been picked up by customs as yet; that could be why it is sitting doing nothing. Maybe your buyer could ask what "acknowledged" against the tracking number means to the postal system in Spain? That could tell you where it is perhaps or at least how likely it is that its still being tracked in the system somewhere?
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The package was sent First Class International. I don't know if it was going by plane or boat to Spain. I went to the post office toady and they were no help at all. They said they can't help because it wasn't insured. They gave me a paper slip with a phone number to call to report a lost package that was sent internationally. I spent 30 mins on hold waiting to speak to a rep. I gave up cause I don't have time to sit around on a phone. I just feel like this is karma biting me in the butt because the buyer told me to mark it as gift and only put that it was $25 instead of the real value which was about $46. I didn't realize it was wrong to do that until after and I read a thread on here about it saying it's considered fraud...
I'm thinking I'm just going to refund the buyer on Friday when I get paid and just smack myself with lesson learned. If the ponies show up... oh well.
Is there a different shipping method (international) I should use next time that's not outrageously expensive that will keep a better tracking on my packages?
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Priority International has more reliable tracking, but it's much more expensive than First Class. With First Class, the US post office scans it & updates tracking until it leaves the country. After it leaves the US, it's not required to be scanned in the destination country, which is why the customs number is unreliable tracking. With Priority, it's supposed to be scanned when delivered in the destination country, but even that does not always happen. Unfortunately as USPS has changed their services & increased their costs, the only way to get reliable tracking is to choose the more expensive shipping method. :huh: It makes lower value international transactions a tough spot for sellers because buyers can easily file a Paypal claim without a tracking number.
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The buyer and I have agreed to wait until Dec. 31st and if they still have not arrived then I will refund them. Keep your hooves cross that they get there! I feel terrible about this. :cry:
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Hopefully the buyer is honest, so if your package shows up AFTER December 31st, she will re-pay you :) Hope this all works out for the best!
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International postage is so frustrating, especially lately :( I hope everything turns out ok :hug:
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I dont think you did anything wrong. Your marked the package at the correct value. If insurance wasn't purchased by the buyer then I don't see it as skin off your nose. Its very nice of you to refund the buyer. A few years ago I was in the buyers position with a person on the Arena. I too took no insurance. She never offered even a partial refund, nothing. I don't even know if she ever posted a pic of the receipt either. To this day I don't really believe it was ever sent but she is no longer active here. We just put it down to being lost and I was out of pocket both ponies & money. I hope the ponies show up but even if they don't I would think a partial refund would be sufficient as you have indeed held up your end of the bargin.
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Hmmm yes you have done the right thing. I know packages to me take roughly 2 weeks from the USA but I know this is down to the country it is actually going too, ours is pretty efficient at getting stuff to its destination quickly (think they had a kick up the backside recently lol)
It was out of the busy Christmas time so that can't be it really I just hope it is. There aren't any postage strikes in Spain atm are there?
Btw a package I got from the USA that I thought I had lost, the tracking said it had got to Jamaica & been processed but no tracking after that point until it turned up at my door a few days later.
Fingers crossed it gets there in a few days, It could be stuck at customs (they might just have so many to deal with atm I hope that is why its slow anyway) even though you put the price of the ponies as lower I wouldn't worry about that, customs won't know there true value.
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The buyer and I have agreed to wait until Dec. 31st and if they still have not arrived then I will refund them. Keep your hooves cross that they get there! I feel terrible about this. :cry:
Please dont feel bad :hug: International post can be hit and miss at the best of times - and xmas period is certainly not one of the best times to be waiting on an international parcel. I'm hoping that the parcel wil still arrive safely - there is a good chance that it will . In the meantime , its great that you and your buyer are communicating and that you are working at a solution :bigups: . If you do have to send a refund but the parcel later shows up then your buyer should send the money back to you. I think it was very good of you to offer the full refund. Since you have proof of postage , some sellers would perhaps only go half and half so that both of you dont lose out on all the money.
I think in future if you are sending a parcel overseas (or a valuable pony) then its best to get insurance and pay the higher amount for tracking/delivery confirmation. Especially when shipping to countries who occasionally have issues with the post such as Italy , Spain, south American countries and some eastern european countries too and also (shipping anywhere) during busy holiday periods - even though the high price is a pain.
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The buyer and I have agreed to wait until Dec. 31st and if they still have not arrived then I will refund them. Keep your hooves cross that they get there! I feel terrible about this. :cry:
Please dont feel bad :hug: International post can be hit and miss at the best of times - and xmas period is certainly not one of the best times to be waiting on an international parcel. I'm hoping that the parcel wil still arrive safely - there is a good chance that it will . In the meantime , its great that you and your buyer are communicating and that you are working at a solution :bigups: . If you do have to send a refund but the parcel later shows up then your buyer should send the money back to you. I think it was very good of you to offer the full refund. Since you have proof of postage , some sellers would perhaps only go half and half so that both of you dont lose out on all the money.
I think in future if you are sending a parcel overseas (or a valuable pony) then its best to get insurance and pay the higher amount for tracking/delivery confirmation. Especially when shipping to countries who occasionally have issues with the post such as Italy , Spain, south American countries and some eastern european countries too and also (shipping anywhere) during busy holiday periods - even though the high price is a pain.
Yeah I agree, don't feel bad! :hug: I recently had some issues shipping a parcel by Surface to Australia, It took 8 weeks to arrive. Your parcel to Spain is just about at the 12 week mark, and there's a lot more mail in transit right now than most times of the year. Don't give up hope! I almost did, but everything turned out ok. At the very least, hopefully your buyer will refund you the money once they do show up. Good luck with this, I know how stressful and not fun it is :(
EDIT: you could also try contacting the post in Spain! I contacted the post in Australia and they found the parcel's location for me when Canada post couldn't. It really helped put my mind at ease
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Guess what?!? They buyer messaged me today and the package arrived!!! Whoo Hoo! So relieved it finally made it. :whew:
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Yay!! \o/
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Yay!! thats great news!! :cheer: :squee: :frolic:
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Yay! It just goes to show there are good people still in thsi world that are honest :) Glad it all worked out!
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Fantastic! So relieved for you :-)