International Shipments

Hi All, I sent something to France on May 5 and it hasn't arrived yet. What should I do? The customer did not take insurance. Should I refund his money or give it more time. Has anyone else had this happen? I've been selling on-line for over 15 years and everything has always arrived! Karen

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Antik Avenue on July 2, 2012 at 12:42pm

Yea! Congratulations! I'm glad it showed up for you.

Permalink Reply by CheriShops - Admin on July 2, 2012 at 2:03pm

good to hear that Karen :)

Permalink Reply by 2Hearts Uptown @Ruby Lane on July 2, 2012 at 2:17pm

So glad Karen's package finally got delivered. My missing package to Brazil also, at long last, was delivered. Two times in a row, shipping to the same person in Brazil, a package sits... somewhere... until I initiate an international USPS claim. Then it is "voila" and the package arrives. I know for sure that the problem was not the customer, it was definitely Brazil's postal service. Reluctantly, I am not going to ship to Brazil again. Too bad, as she was a repeat customer and very nice - my first and only South American customer.

D'Anne

Antik Avenue said:

Don't give up too soon, 2Hearts. It's my understanding that registered mail always takes longer as it must be signed for each time it changes hands and it is also placed under lock and key for safe keeping. Registered mail is used to mail very important documents because it is considered safe. I hope it shows up soon for you. Good Luck!

Permalink Reply by Karensfinds on July 2, 2012 at 9:12pm

Thanks!

Antik Avenue said:

Yea! Congratulations! I'm glad it showed up for you.

Permalink Reply by Karensfinds on July 2, 2012 at 9:16pm

Yes, I was quite sure that it wasn't my customer's fault either. I told him that everything eventually arrives!!

2Hearts Uptown @Ruby Lane said:

So glad Karen's package finally got delivered. My missing package to Brazil also, at long last, was delivered. Two times in a row, shipping to the same person in Brazil, a package sits... somewhere... until I initiate an international USPS claim. Then it is "voila" and the package arrives. I know for sure that the problem was not the customer, it was definitely Brazil's postal service. Reluctantly, I am not going to ship to Brazil again. Too bad, as she was a repeat customer and very nice - my first and only South American customer.

D'Anne

Antik Avenue said:

Don't give up too soon, 2Hearts. It's my understanding that registered mail always takes longer as it must be signed for each time it changes hands and it is also placed under lock and key for safe keeping. Registered mail is used to mail very important documents because it is considered safe. I hope it shows up soon for you. Good Luck!

Permalink Reply by WhimsicalVintage on July 2, 2012 at 11:53pm

Good to hear Karen!! 2 months seems to be the magic number when it comes to France. Oddly I sent something to Paris after the 2 month package that I had and it got there in under a week! My overseas stuff is usually pretty quick since I'm outside of NYC but when it's under a week, I'm very happy!! I can't get stuff to CA that fast sometimes:)

Permalink Reply by Karensfinds on July 3, 2012 at 8:16pm

I guess you just never know!!

Permalink Reply by Swanky Selections on July 13, 2012 at 10:31am

Glad this was brought up. In March I mailed a package to New Zealand, it must have taken a really slow boat because it didn't arrive until mid May early June. In the meantime my customer was yelling at me as she wanted these items for a trip. Well, she took the trip without them, not happy with me.

When she got back she found that the parcel had arrived but the person picking up her mail had no ID so the post office wouldn't release it. It was marked return to sender. I refunded her money as I didn't want to upset her further, that was about 4 weeks ago. I received the package 3 days ago, it came home more quickly than it's trip to New Zealand. Was I surprised and glad that I always write a return address, always. Yeah!

Permalink Reply by Karensfinds on July 14, 2012 at 11:34am

Thank God that you at least got your items back!

Swanky Selections said:

Glad this was brought up. In March I mailed a package to New Zealand, it must have taken a really slow boat because it didn't arrive until mid May early June. In the meantime my customer was yelling at me as she wanted these items for a trip. Well, she took the trip without them, not happy with me.

When she got back she found that the parcel had arrived but the person picking up her mail had no ID so the post office wouldn't release it. It was marked return to sender. I refunded her money as I didn't want to upset her further, that was about 4 weeks ago. I received the package 3 days ago, it came home more quickly than it's trip to New Zealand. Was I surprised and glad that I always write a return address, always. Yeah!

Permalink Reply by Swanky Selections on July 14, 2012 at 3:53pm

Karensfinds said:

Thank God that you at least got your items back!

Swanky Selections said:.............Yep, that was a blessing as the 2 items sold for $170.00 and as I said I did refund her money. That would have really hurt if I never saw them again but put customer first, right!

Glad this was brought up. In March I mailed a package to New Zealand, it must have taken a really slow boat because it didn't arrive until mid May early June. In the meantime my customer was yelling at me as she wanted these items for a trip. Well, she took the trip without them, not happy with me.

When she got back she found that the parcel had arrived but the person picking up her mail had no ID so the post office wouldn't release it. It was marked return to sender. I refunded her money as I didn't want to upset her further, that was about 4 weeks ago. I received the package 3 days ago, it came home more quickly than it's trip to New Zealand. Was I surprised and glad that I always write a return address, always. Yeah!

Permalink Reply by PastSplendors on July 14, 2012 at 4:19pm

Just saw this discussion, and I can add my two cents worth for a package that took longer than anything I've ever sent. I mailed a pair of earrings to someone in Russia in October 2010 (I'm not sure if it was Moscow or not) and she didn't receive them. She emailed me once that they hadn't arrived, I told her to let me know, but didn't hear back from her so assumed she had gotten them. In April of this year I received the package back, marked undeliverable. I was really surprised that she hadn't followed up, but contacted her and asked if she still wanted them. I had not refunded her originally as I didn't know the package hadn't been received and she hadn't asked for a refund. The second package was sent in April and in June, about 7 weeks later, I received a message that she had finally gotten the package! I am still amazed at how long it took, and if it had been a different type of buyer who had been less patient, would have no doubt refunded her the cost of the earrings. I still wonder where that package was from October 2010 till April 2012!