Int'l buyer won't pick up item after attempted delivery

blackonmaroon

Always on the hunt
May 8, 2008
8,799
2
I apologize if this question has been posted before! I tried doing a search but couldn't find what I was looking for.

A buyer from Germany purchased a bag from me on November 3rd. I shipped the next day on November 4th, and on November 9th the tracking information states "Attempted Delivery Abroad." It's now November 18th, and I'm very concerned. I've messaged the buyer once and let them know about the attempted delivery, but I received no response in return. There have been no tracking updates since November 9th, and I'm afraid that the buyer won't be picking up the bag.

I'm not certain how the Germany post office works, but I assume the bag will be coming back to me. Do I have any options now? What can I do if the bag is returned to me? I'm sure I'll be obligated to refund in full, which is awful considering how expensive it was to ship. :sad:

Any advice or experiences shared would be most appreciated! Thanks! :flowers:
 
Hey BOM!

I'm sorry this transaction seems to be going south. I hope someone from Germany or with knowledge of the Germany mailing system will chime in, though if the buyer doesn't pick it up, it will likely be--should be--sent back to you.

This is among the reasons I don't do international transactions. I rather wait longer to sell a bag or sell it for less than deal with something like this. What a bummer!

I would not refund the shipping, my friend, no way. :nogood:
 
Thanks for the input, KZ!

I've tried contacting eBay, and of course they've been no help whatsoever. One CS rep actually suggested that I call the buyer, even though they're not allowed to give out German phone numbers and I'd have to search for it through "International Directory Enquiries." :rolleyes:

I'm wondering if the bag is returned to me, will I be required to refund shipping as well?
 
It is possible that the buyer is not picking it up because some duties have been applied. I'm sure the bag will come back to you. Every post office I know of sends undeliverables back to the sender. If it comes back to you, I would refund her less any shipping charges you are out. You should be able to recover all your fees.
 
I had shipped a $1,300 bag to the U.K. one time where I was getting the same message. I emailed the buyer and got no answer. It stayed that message for almost 3 months and then the buyer emailed and asked if I had shipped the bag.

The notice on shipping stated that there had been 3 attempted deliveries. I answered her with that notice and she emailed back and said she went to pick it up. There had been no notices that someone had attempted to deliver.

She was thrilled with the bag and left great f/b, but I was a wreck wondering where that bag was, if it was coming back to me or if after all that time I was going to have refund. Email her again as she may not have gotten the notice about attempted delivery.
 
Unfortunatley I have had 2 experiences like this one. I have been so frustrated by it that I will no longer ship internationally. My first buyer was from the UK. I had notified them that it had been attempted to be delivered and they refused to pick it up. They said that it was an inconvience. Luckily they actually filed an INR claim. They said that they were not going to pay for the duties. Paypal found in my favor immediately. International buyers are not allowed to refuse to pick it up over duty that the are responsible. By the way they held the package for pick up in london for almost a month. The UK postal service shipped it back to me on August 5th. I never got it back. I had written it off completely. On Novermber 7th, I saw my postman and he had a package for me that postage was due. I couldn;t believe my eyes. It was the same bag. The box had never even been opened. I oweed $28.50 in postage (to ship it back to me)

The second buyer was very similar in Canada. They again filed an INR. I was able to locate the package at the buyers post office in Canada. Ultimately after only 10 days Canada post shipped it back to me. This crazy buyer never even asked for a refund!~

I hope it works out for you. I called paypal and ebay almost daily to resolbe these ridiculous situations. In my cases they were both over $400.00 It was a lot of money. Eventually I found paypal reps that agreed with me and felt that these buyers were abusing the system. There is no way that a seller should be out any money for postage, fees, ect for these deadbeats.
 
It is possible that the buyer is not picking it up because some duties have been applied. I'm sure the bag will come back to you. Every post office I know of sends undeliverables back to the sender. If it comes back to you, I would refund her less any shipping charges you are out. You should be able to recover all your fees.

It wouldn't surprise me if that's the case with my buyer. I explicitly state in my listings that I'm not responsible for customs duties and taxes, but I know for a couple reasons that the buyer didn't bother to read my description at all.

I hope you're right about recovering all my fees! Thanks for the input!
 
I had shipped a $1,300 bag to the U.K. one time where I was getting the same message. I emailed the buyer and got no answer. It stayed that message for almost 3 months and then the buyer emailed and asked if I had shipped the bag.

The notice on shipping stated that there had been 3 attempted deliveries. I answered her with that notice and she emailed back and said she went to pick it up. There had been no notices that someone had attempted to deliver.

She was thrilled with the bag and left great f/b, but I was a wreck wondering where that bag was, if it was coming back to me or if after all that time I was going to have refund. Email her again as she may not have gotten the notice about attempted delivery.

Jeez, 3 months?! I'm shocked your buyer didn't receive your first message and that they took so long to contact you about it. I'm happy to hear your situation worked out so well in the end! I hope mine does the same. :s

I'll message my buyer again and see if they respond. They haven't responded to ANY of my messages regarding anything so far, but we'll see. Thanks!
 
Unfortunatley I have had 2 experiences like this one. I have been so frustrated by it that I will no longer ship internationally. My first buyer was from the UK. I had notified them that it had been attempted to be delivered and they refused to pick it up. They said that it was an inconvience. Luckily they actually filed an INR claim. They said that they were not going to pay for the duties. Paypal found in my favor immediately. International buyers are not allowed to refuse to pick it up over duty that the are responsible. By the way they held the package for pick up in london for almost a month. The UK postal service shipped it back to me on August 5th. I never got it back. I had written it off completely. On Novermber 7th, I saw my postman and he had a package for me that postage was due. I couldn;t believe my eyes. It was the same bag. The box had never even been opened. I oweed $28.50 in postage (to ship it back to me)

The second buyer was very similar in Canada. They again filed an INR. I was able to locate the package at the buyers post office in Canada. Ultimately after only 10 days Canada post shipped it back to me. This crazy buyer never even asked for a refund!~

I hope it works out for you. I called paypal and ebay almost daily to resolbe these ridiculous situations. In my cases they were both over $400.00 It was a lot of money. Eventually I found paypal reps that agreed with me and felt that these buyers were abusing the system. There is no way that a seller should be out any money for postage, fees, ect for these deadbeats.

I've had a lot of problems with international transactions as well, and I'm just now wondering why I keep doing this to myself. After this, I swear I'm done with shipping globally!

I'm glad to hear PP ruled in your favor when your buyer took issue with the customs fees - that's heartening! But wow, you mean the buyer was out the money AND the bag?! That is so ridiculous, but I guess it turned out relatively well for you (even though that is so strange how it took 3 months)!

Hahaa, and your second buyer never even asked for a refund? You've dealt with some loony ones for sure. :lol: I'm so happy to hear that both situations worked out in your favor, though.

What bothers me right now is that I just don't know what's going on. The buyer hasn't contacted me at all, and I have no idea what their intentions are. Thanks so much! I think I'll contact the buyer again, and then call eBay.
 
Bom
She might not have gotten notification from German customs yet (the delivery attempt message you are getting on USPS tracking isn't correct think it only means that it has been released from customs and the bag is on its way to the delivery deport). In the UK they won't even attempt delivery until the custom charge has been paid (try tracking the parcel on the German website, I think DHL delivers Express but not 100% certain) GL
 
hmmm...i'm sorry your transaction has been trouble but i think if the item is returned to you, you should refune the seller MINUS shipping costs...if they want the item shipped back, they can paypal you the money for shipping...this way, at least you don't lose out any extra costs, just shipping, kwim?
 
I wonder if the tracking has been updated?
I had this happen a couple of times where the tracking said "delivery attempted or notice left" and then tracking stopped there, even though I know the person got the bag as they left me feedback.
I really feel your frustration, is there anyway to contact usps and find out where your package is and if tracking is correct?
It doesn't help at all that the buyer is being non helpful as I agree it's hard to know what's going on if she is not picking it up or if she has already picked it up and the info just hasn't updated?
 
Hey BOM!

I'm sorry this transaction seems to be going south. I hope someone from Germany or with knowledge of the Germany mailing system will chime in, though if the buyer doesn't pick it up, it will likely be--should be--sent back to you.

This is among the reasons I don't do international transactions. I rather wait longer to sell a bag or sell it for less than deal with something like this. What a bummer!

I would not refund the shipping, my friend, no way. :nogood:

Agree here with regard to the shipping.. your buyer needs to assume

some "responsibility" for her lack of.. good luck and hope th works outs
 
Unfortunatley I have had 2 experiences like this one. I have been so frustrated by it that I will no longer ship internationally. My first buyer was from the UK. I had notified them that it had been attempted to be delivered and they refused to pick it up. They said that it was an inconvience. Luckily they actually filed an INR claim. They said that they were not going to pay for the duties. Paypal found in my favor immediately. International buyers are not allowed to refuse to pick it up over duty that the are responsible. By the way they held the package for pick up in london for almost a month. The UK postal service shipped it back to me on August 5th. I never got it back. I had written it off completely. On Novermber 7th, I saw my postman and he had a package for me that postage was due. I couldn;t believe my eyes. It was the same bag. The box had never even been opened. I oweed $28.50 in postage (to ship it back to me)

The second buyer was very similar in Canada. They again filed an INR. I was able to locate the package at the buyers post office in Canada. Ultimately after only 10 days Canada post shipped it back to me. This crazy buyer never even asked for a refund!~

I hope it works out for you. I called paypal and ebay almost daily to resolbe these ridiculous situations. In my cases they were both over $400.00 It was a lot of money. Eventually I found paypal reps that agreed with me and felt that these buyers were abusing the system. There is no way that a seller should be out any money for postage, fees, ect for these deadbeats.


Just to clear up confusion, you now have BOTH bags back AND the money your buyers paid you for them?
 
I've shipped a bag to Germany and even though the latest update said out for delivery it actually wasn't...it was held at customs until all fees were paid...It ended with no problems. So don't always trust the status updates, just use them as a guideline!!