Surface shipping to Thailand- eBayer opened a case after only 15 bus. days

[Cool.Breeze]

So this is the first time an eBay buyer has opened a case against me in other words- HELP ME ; 3;

This buyer from Thailand opted for surface shipping for a Polly Pocket set they'd purchased, and I sent the item off April 8th, the day after they paid. I marked it as shipped as soon as I'd gotten home from the post office. Today I get a notice that the buyer opened a case against me and had this to say:

"you send it to me yet? i'm not sure , i hvent got your polly :.(("

Understandable that they're wondering where it is and all, and I'd be happy to tell them when it was sent if they'd just PM'd me, I have the receipt and everything.. buuuut.... It then adds that the buyer wants a full refund? ALREADY? This seems a little insane to me. I mean, surface shipping from Canada to Thailand is going to take quite a bit longer than just 15 business days, right? Priority from the USA to MY place takes that much time! Does anyone here have any idea on how long it approximately takes for surface shipping from Canada/North America to Thailand? I want to respond to them and urge them to be more patient, but maybe they would feel more at ease if I could give them a realistic time-frame. I do not want them to escalate and have eBay side with them :C I'd feel pretty ripped off refunding this person knowing that the item is very likely to show up with PATIENCE D: Looks like I'm going to have to start forcing overseas buyers to go with airmail and not even give them the option of something cheaper. If anyone has ANY advice on not making this worse and how to calm my buyer down, please speak up

Thank you SO MUCH to anyone who reads and replies. Not the WORST thing to to wake up to, but still really darn annoying

[ponylady]

My sincere sympathies 

Have you responded to the case yet? If you have not I would politely explain that it can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks. I would also explain you have your postal receipt and can provide a picture of it in a seperate email to them as proof. Just try and reassure them that shipping from Canada to Thailand takes more than 15 days. And in the event that anything does happen you will be more than happy to resolve it but please give it more time.

Just wondering is their feedback low? I only ask but I noticed that newer buyers have no idea that opening a case is not the way to approach an issue.  I had it happen last month, they used it as a way to contact me about where there item was. When I responded, they closed the case. 

[Cool.Breeze]

Thanks, Ponylady   

No, I haven't responded yet; I wanted to wait and see if I get a few replies with some good perspective before I make any moves. Your response alone made me feel a lot better, the buyer does seem to be new to eBay and only has 4 or 5 feedback ratings. They also come off more as upset than angry, which makes things a heck of a lot easier already. I did go ahead and check out Canadapost.ca to see if they had approximate transit times listed for the shipping method I'd used and it stated 4-6 weeks worldwide, so you were on the mark there for the minimum waiting time I hadn't even considered that the buyer might just be trying to find out about where their item is, I guess I just had such a strong reaction to the refund request that I'd forgotten to really pay attention to the content of the note they sent me. I'm starting to get a better idea on how to respond to the issue, now. Thanks!

[mercynova]

Good luck dealing with this buyer.
I know it's a bit late now but in the future I think you shouldn't give buyers the option for surface shipping. 9 times out of 10 the item wont get there before the 45 day claims window is over so you will always get people opening up claims against you. This buyer is being very unrealistic though!

[nhal039]

oh no that suxs, surface mail takes forever to get from canada to nz, I had to wait 2 and a half months (thats the first and only time I have ever choicen surface mail) as have many of my friends that have brought from canada. They say that shipping time is between 4-6 weeks, then they have to process through customs so the wait time can be much longer than the stated shipping time. Personally if I were you I wouldn't offer surface mail as an option. Sorry you are in this situation : /

[Ringlets]

I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this stressful situation   Ponylady gave some great advice - I dont have anything to add to that ATM really, but I hope that your buyer will be reasonable once they understand the situation better  
Also I would definitely not offer surface mail as an option to overseas buyers in future since it can take months (literally!) for the item to arrive - much longer than the 45 day paypal deadline - Airmail is much safer for you as a seller, even if it is a little more pricey in some cases

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Good luck dealing with this buyer.
I know it's a bit late now but in the future I think you shouldn't give buyers the option for surface shipping. 9 times out of 10 the item wont get there before the 45 day claims window is over so you will always get people opening up claims against you. This buyer is being very unrealistic though!

Exactly this.  I'm sorry to hear about this.    If the buyer contacts Ebay, they will side with the buyer and refund them because you have no proof you shipped it. 

[StoryDreamer]

You have a receipt. Scan it or take a photo just in case. Also send them a link stating the Canada Post estimated times. I can not believe someone would actually think that you could get a surface mail package that quickly.  Maybe communicating with them will stop the case (which is completely unjust!)

Wow, are people just really dense on Ebay lately?

[Cool.Breeze]

Thanks for all of the support, guys. I wrote them April 29th, and then wrote them another note today which I translated into Thai. After that I sent them a private message with photographs of their receipt attached. The buyer still hasn't responded :\ they have until tomorrow. Hooves crossed that they're getting my messages and they drop this case!

Post Merge: May 02, 2013, 01:22:31 PM

No communication from the buyer after 4 messages. I'm really worried that eBay will side with them 

[Eldarwen]

Surface shipping can take a long time. I mean, really long time. It would be a miracle if it would have arrived after 15 days.. It took over a month to arrive from Canada to Finland when I paid for surface mail. I hope everything goes alright.

[ponybanker]

i didnt think surface mail was an option anymore?

[Cool.Breeze]

i didnt think surface mail was an option anymore?

It still shows up as an option, just not one I'm going to be offering anymore. Unless you can confirm delivery, eBay can't do anything for you, so surface mail is an at-your-own-risk deal as I've found out.

Thankfully the buyer closed the case! From here on in, Airmail or better ONLY overseas ;^__^ Thanks everyone for your advice and support