A customer ask me a refund

[BlueGrizzlePapers]

Hi, a customer ask me a refund because she still haven't receive her order.
I send the order on 29th june from Spain to India. I asked to the post office and they told me that it can take about 15 bussines days, but sometimes more.
I have 955 sales, and my orders arrives always. Only one time I receive back an order and I send it again.
I don't know what to do.
Can you help me?

[Former_Member]

International orders can be delayed at times. Kindly ask the customer to give you a little more time and let them know that this never happened before. Do you have a tracking number, by any chance? Any way to see if the order was delivered or if not, where it might be by now? I always give my customers a tracking number but I know that on international orders that sometimes is not possible. If you can verify that the order was delivered you don't have to return the money and I believe you can get Etsy involved if it turns into a dispute. Good luck to you!

[WilliamsGiftshop]

Ask them to wait another week or two weeks (I have my customers contact me when their package hasn't shown up after four weeks after I sent it out).
In the meantime, ask them to contact their post office, in case they were unable to deliver the package, and ask them if they checked with their neighbours, in case they could have accepted the package.
If the package has not shown up by then, I offer my customers the choise between a replacement package or a full refund.

Make sure you have this time frame (how many weeks before you consider a package actually lost) stated in your shop policies. And, very important, what you will do to compensate the customer should this happen.

Since this barely ever happens and my products are not that expensive, I don't buy insurance for my packages (too expensive), but have a small percentage worked into my product prices to cover for these losses. This is called self-insurance.
(I only lost 3 package in over 9 years of selling online. Almost all of my transactions are international.)

I don't provide tracking either, since that would more than double my shipping costs (I'm in Belgium). When customers ask me for a tracking number I explain to them that I don't have tracking to keep their shipping costs low. BUT I will compensate them should a package gone lost. I have this stated in my policies too.

If you communicate in a clear, polite and professional way, your costumers will usually be happy and grateful for your commitment and your help.

Good luck!

[BlueGrizzlePapers]

Thanks for your advice.
I'm in Spain. Most of my orders are from United States, and it's very expensive to send the order with a tracking number. At least more than 12€ and that's too much. So I don't have a tracking number.
My customer will wait until tomorrow, but if she doesn't get the order I will send a refund.
I'm near three years on etsy and it's the first time I lost an order.

[Former_Member]

Ok having experience of indian post if you are sending there track it and insure it as if it has any value or interest it will almost certainly go missing.
My parents have sent parcel to relatives in India and unfortunately packages have been opened and select goods in the package have been taken out.

It may also have been delivered to india but held up in customs. I also heard in the news that there has been a major rail crash and since most of the post travels by rail this may bring some disruption to the postal service. I would ask your customer to hang on a while longer.