Buyer doesn't want to pay customs charges. Please help!
- Thread starter choo_girl123
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He paid me right away (I think total was $320). I shipped the same day I received payment. The agenda arrived in the UK and was available for p/u roughly two weeks later. Because he didn't want to pay customs charges (roughly $60 US) he refused the package, which then sat at ParcelForce from early November until January 19th. On 1/19 , it was dispatched return to sender via economy service, which means NO insurance, NO tracking and NO signature confirmation. If and when the package turns up, money will be owed to him, but his refund will be significantly less than what he paid, as I will be deducting shipping both ways, as well as PayP and *bay fees! It probably would have been cheaper for him to just pay the darn customs duties!!
I think all civility will fly out the window when he sees his refund!
If you do get the package returned and the item is in fine condition, I recommend that you file with ebay that you and the buyer mutually agreed not to conclude the transaction. Then you will get your final value fee back from ebay since the sale is being undone. Email the buyer and let them know you are doing this. Then if ebay grants you the fee refund, you don't need to deduct it from the buyer's refund. It's cleaner this way. What's helpful about mutually agreeing not to conclude a transaction is that buyers are less likely to leave feedback which would be a good thing in this case.
You raise all good points and normally, that's exactly what I would do, however, the transaction was completed over 45 days ago (10/30/08) so I can't do anything through *bay or PayP (e.g., I can't use the refund button so PayP fees won't be refunded to me). If I don't deduct the fees from the buyer's refund, the money will come out of my pocket, and I've already lost enough time dealing with this yahoo. I'm not about to lose money as well!
Incidentally, the buyer can't leave feedback due to the amount of time that's passed, so that is a non-issue, although frankly, I would have gladly taken the negative so I could respond with factual information and warn other sellers about this guy.
Ah yes, I forgot how long this has been dragging on. OK so the worst thing he can do is request your phone number from ebay and call you in the middle of the night. That's what a guy from the UK did for me when he had to pay customs fees on some Y3 trainers he bought from me. Time difference be damned--he was mad!!!!
^Yikes!! Well, the good thing is, after reading another thread on here about a woman who's buyer was calling her at all hours of the day, I changed the phone number on my account to my cell phone, which I will most certainly be turning off at night 
Don't forget how much the £ has crashed against the $ since this affair started too, he's going to get a shock! 
well, actually, I think this might mean that she loses money. Because the pound has fallen, if she refunds him $320usd today, he'll get 232GBP back, and he paid her 197GBP (approximately).
I don't think she can refund at the current exchange rate, in other words, refund him the current value of 197GBP ($270). Would be great if she could, though.
I don't think she can refund at the current exchange rate, in other words, refund him the current value of 197GBP ($270). Would be great if she could, though.
^^I don't think PayP has a provision to allow me to refund at the current exchange rate v. the rate when he paid. That would be utterly hilarious, though. Of course, the guy won't spring from the $60 US customs duty, but I could totally see him being crazy enough to pay for a transatlantic flight so he could come kill me for pulling a stunt like that, so maybe I'll just go with whatever he paid me less fees/S&H. Seems safer that way. 
It would be GREAT if you could do that (as would happen if it was an item paid in his own currency, he'd only get 197gbp back) but because the value of his money at the time you recieved it was $320, I think they require you to refund that amount even if it's technically "more" money now.
It wold be the ultimate irony if you could keep shipping both ways (an easy $50) and $50 for the exchange rate difference. Dude would have done better to just pay the fees!
It wold be the ultimate irony if you could keep shipping both ways (an easy $50) and $50 for the exchange rate difference. Dude would have done better to just pay the fees!
Choo:
I think it is incumbent upon you to take umbrage at this buyer's praxis of grammar, his proclivity to a superfluity of words that permeate each of the epistles through which he imparts his eminence and, inadvertently, indubitable indicia of derangement, perhaps intended to bereave you of words and immure you in inaptness, hitherto an unfeasible enterprise given your sagacity, which beseems a (bag)lady such as yourself.
I think it is incumbent upon you to take umbrage at this buyer's praxis of grammar, his proclivity to a superfluity of words that permeate each of the epistles through which he imparts his eminence and, inadvertently, indubitable indicia of derangement, perhaps intended to bereave you of words and immure you in inaptness, hitherto an unfeasible enterprise given your sagacity, which beseems a (bag)lady such as yourself.