Bad Italian Deal

[41craig]

I shipped a pair of plastic 1961 Harley Davidson XLH gas tank trim pieces to an Ebay buyer on 9/18/17 to a customer in Italy. After 3 weeks he emails me to tell me it has not arrived. USPS tracking says that it's still in customs. Next day the cust. says his post office states that it's damaged & missing customs papers. He and my post office say that the package is being returned to me. Trying to be a good seller I sent him a refund of $264.55. Two weeks later I check tracking and it says that it has been delivered. He sends me pictures of the carton torn open and only 1 piece of trim. The package is sealed in their shipping bag. I have been trying since then to claim the $200.00 insurance from the post office. I have shipped all over the world since the days of Hemming's Motor News. Never had a problem like this. This is just heads up.

[Jerry Wieland]

I do not know what to tell you but Italy is one country of a few I no longer ship to. Their postal system is a joke and seemly loaded with thieves. Years ago I shipped a pair of cast iron UL heads to Italy and after about 2 months the guy informed me that he never got them. I filed a complaint and later collected partial insurance and paid back the buyer the total fee thru the Italian postal service as was requested. Nine months later I get a message from him stating that the heads had just arrived in good condition. So I requested that he pay me the agreed upon amount and he replied why - I already paid for them. Apparently my refund never got to him and when I queried them further they said they have no record of any shipment, loss or repayment. So I no longer ship to Italy.

Jerry

[41craig]

Yes Jerry, I found out the hard way. The postal service sent me a letter today stating that " the article was delivered, we have no alternative but to deny your claim." The first person at the postal service that I talked to, over a month ago, told me that Italy and France seem to be the two countries that have the most delivery problems.

[Shaky Jake]

Thanks for the heads up, guys. Internet commerce is becoming the norm, and as a result we depend on shippers to do their job. It helps to know where the problem areas are, so we can avoid them.




Kevin


.

[exeric]

I'll bet we all have had a bad overseas shipping deal. Mine was to Denmark. I've never had a single problem with my many deals to or from the Netherlands, or Germany.

[TechNoir]

I never had a problem shipping stuff but when I bought some spokes from the USA for the 20F the USPS sent them to Africa. The vendor was very good and shipped me replacements but it all took 3 months to sort out. Then a couple of months later the vendor told me that USPS had finally returned the original shipment back to him.

Also, last January, SWMBO was in Las Vegas on business and I bought some items and had them shipped to her to bring home for me. A vendor shipped some items by USPS with a guaranteed delivery date of when SWMBO was in Vegas and as you can probably guess they turned up a couple of days after she had come back to the UK.

So whilst I don't doubt Italy being a dodgy place to deal with. However USPS, in my experience, isn't so good either.

John

[46EL]

Sad to say but over the years A few of the worst bidders/buyers I have ever had to deal with are right here in the good old United States of America. 46EL

[cdndewey]

I had a mishap with USPS many years ago. I bought a part from a fellow on e-Bay and he shipped it to me but it never arrived. I contacted the seller and he sent me a replacement, and about a month later the original piece arrived. It went to Europe before finding it's way to Canada. It ended up costing us both extra...him to ship me a replacement and me to ship it back to him after the original arrived.

[Dablaze]

Well Dewey, we are just a suburb of England after all!��

I had a bad one recently where I was rushing to get something to a buyer in Guatemala, electronic so clearly stated non returnable. He tried to install it in a different machine then intended then made a claim to eBay that I shipped him a different part than pictured, a different part than described, a defective part and that it was poorly packaged. It was not any of the above but eBay stated that if he makes a claim based on any one of those criteria, let alone all 4, that they automatically find for the buyer even though I had a further email from him saying he installed in the wrong machine.

I ended up paying and getting back a destroyed (rare) part.

When something goes wrong document and report right away, use their systems. They don't work logically, they just work within their own cockamamie rules to push it to an easy solution.

Craig

[Chris Haynes]

Anything I list on eBay says "No Foreign Sales"

[41craig]

I think that I'm about ready to go that route Chris !!

[Tommo]

Don't be too quick to point the finger, I've had 3 deals where I've sent bits to the USA under track and trace and haven't got paid for delivered goods.
I took the buyers as good people and sent the goods on the understanding that if it wasn't what they wanted they should return the goods.
Didn't get paid and didn't get the parts back.
One used a HD dealer as his address so no doubt I'll tap on his door next time I'm in the USA.

[wideglide38]

Insuring 2 or 3 times (or higher) the value helps if a loss or damage occurs with a high valued item. I have had a few lost/damaged items when I shipped overseas and in the states. The additional insurance value helps with the months of aggravation dealing with a carrier who cares less about any claim. It's just a game of craps where you hope you don't roll a 7!

[41craig]

My advice ( and I learned the hard way ) Do Not Refund Any Money to the buyer until the whole claim process is complete. This may take a month or more. The Post Office told me that if it can't be delivered on the other side, then it will come back to me. So me being the good Ebayer, I refunded his money. WAIT UNTIL IT ALL PLAYS OUT !!!
Craig

[exeric]

The worst deals I've made; have been to good friends