I need an ebay veterans advice on something...

Taco!Taco!
in Help Wanted!
So this guy in austria buys a laptop off of me via ebay. I shipped it like 3 weeks ago via usps priority flat rate with a delivery confirmation number. Last tracking update says Foreign City NJ which I suspect is a customs check point. Since that update it hasn't shown any movement and its been about a week.

So one of the regulations is no pornography, so I already know they're going bit by bit on that pc probably. Can't do anything about it, it's customs. Well, guy has written me 2 times asking where his package is and I think he's going to try to file a claim against me for INR. It's about $200 i'll be out of if he does file. Will seller protection cover me or am I boned?

Comments

  • basiliskfangbasiliskfang
    is there porn on the pc? they probably sent it back to you. well, isn't the deadline for claims on ebay 6 weeks?
  • Taco!Taco!
    There's nothing on the laptop, I deleted everything and did a fresh windows install on it. I'm just saying that because I'm sure they check everything with a HDD that comes through there.
  • burdgerburdger
    You should be fine with the tracking number.
  • basiliskfangbasiliskfang
    ok then, don't worry.
  • TheOneTheOne
    99% of tracking numbers are until they get to there country's mail service takes over.



    I never ship international anymore to much drama. (Canadans are pretty cool) NEVER NEVER NEVER ITALY. It has the worst mail service. They are know at the docks to just kick things into the water. wtf mate.



    Best of luck, tracking number should be pretty helpful, also if you have good feedback too.
  • SNESfinder-SNESfinder-
    Originally posted by: TheOne

     NEVER NEVER NEVER ITALY. It has the worst mail service. They are know at the docks to just kick things into the water. wtf mate.





    lol thanks for the Tip off, someones been bugging me about shipping 7 items there. maybe ill reconsider selling to them. I shipped to Spain , UK ,and Canada and havent had any issues yet. ( fingers crossed )
  • DennisDennis
    I did a lot of deals and never had any problems. Problem is probably customs. Normally it takes about a week but when customs get involved in can take up to four weeks. don`t worry it is probably safe but it will take longer as it should.
  • StarwanderStarwander
    if the tracking number doesn't show it has been delivered then he can win a claim.
  • Contra__ManContra__Man
    Originally posted by: TheOne

    99% of tracking numbers are until they get to there country's mail service takes over.



    I never ship international anymore to much drama. (Canadans are pretty cool) NEVER NEVER NEVER ITALY. It has the worst mail service. They are know at the docks to just kick things into the water. wtf mate.



    Best of luck, tracking number should be pretty helpful, also if you have good feedback too.

    I've sold a lot of stuff on eBay and I always typically offer World Wide shipping. I sold a bunch of NES games last year and had 2 buyers from Italy purchase a TON of my games. I had heard about Italy problems before my auctions so I required international bidders to contact me prior to bidding. For Italy, I required them to pay for Express Mail shipping.

    I shipped both packages out via Express Mail to the 2 different guys in Italy. One guy who bought about 30 CIBs and had  a huge box, got his stuff right away with very minimal delays in customs, no problems whatsoever. The other guy never got his box....the tracking said it was attempted delivery like 4 or 5 times. I contacted him after the first 2 attempts and told him they were unable to deliver and he said he would look into it. It still never was delivered. Finally it was returned to me a couple weeks later. Still don't know what happened or why the package could not be delivered.

    Express Mail has much better tracking from my experience, FYI, than Priority Mail.

    If you contact Paypal right away, tell them what's going on....provide a tracking number and say you think its held up in customs, I highly doubt they will just yank the money back out of your account.

    And of course keep the buyer up to date on what is going on.

    Good luck.

  • ninnninn
    I am from austria, and I have to go to the post office the next days, probably monday. If you can give me the trackign number, i can ask them where the parcel is currently located.
  • buttheadrulesagainbuttheadrulesagain
    I only want to chime in an say I've never lost a package from the States (and there have been several now). Don't be afraid to send to Mexico: sometimes our mail service takes long, but I'm serious, they have never stolen/lost a package. I think the safest bet for sellers is to put in big red letters: INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING MAY TAKE X WEEKS BECAUSE OF CUSTOMS, BE AWARE.

    Also, send a message to the customer before you ship anything, asking him to explicitly agree with that through ebay/paypal email system so you have something to show in case the buyer flips out.
  • Taco!Taco!
    So apparently USPS tracking is way off. Guy left me positive feedback today. I saw that and then checked USPS and it still says "Dispatched from sorting facility Foreign City NJ 099" which is a customs center. I'm just glad the buyer has decency to let me know they got it.
  • DennisDennis
    Yep. If you trust the buyer in not being a nervous prick you should`nt be worried with international shipping. Most of the times it`ll work out fine. Good that he left you proper feedback.
  • GhostNinjaGhostNinja
    Agree with Dennis. I just had a mini-rant in another topic, so I'm not going to get into it again, but it's not the international part of shipping that's the problem, it's the buyer.
  • FuzzypantsFuzzypants
    I use to run an ebay store (before feebay) and use to ship all over the world..from asia to europe and everything in between..the only problem I actually had was..~drum roll~...US postal service lol. figures right? I can ship hundreds of dollars of stuff outside of here no problem. I can't ship a 20 dollars book 3 states down.
  • RASK1904RASK1904
    Think you get a quazzzi tracking w/ insurance. No?
  • Taco!Taco!
    You get imitation tracking that locates it until the package hits the border then it's 'poof'.



    Thankfully this guy was honest and just told me when it got there. If he hadn't it could of been contested. Lesson of this endeavor is $1.50 for insurance is worth the peace of mind.
  • samaronsamaron
    My experience is that Express mail takes just as long as a service without tracking number. I usually don't choose that shipping option since it's a waste of money. Also it is very common that tracking stops once it have left the US. Sometimes it says "Electronic shipping information received" and doesn't update after that. Packages from the US usually takes around 10 days after my experience (regardless of Express or not), but I can't start worrying after 6 weeks. Sometimes it just is stuck somewhere.

    The tracking I got from RetroUSB still says "The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on November 15, 2011 to expect your package for mailing." Still have not received it, but probably will show up soon. Around December there's a lot of delay, especially if it caught the customs attention.
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