Item not delivered..

[evelinaapparel]

Hello,
My costumer just send me an e-mail that she did not received a package that she should 3 business days ago. Now she wants a refund.
I send her scanned postal receipt, because the package was send with priority and with tracking number.
I contacted the usps by email because I am not from United States and I cannot call them.
They will send me a response in 2-3 business days. And my costumer does not want to wait.
What should I do?

Thank you so much for your help,
Spela

[PICFiberArts]

With mail coming from overseas it some times takes a while. Could you ask her to wait the 3 days to hear back from the postal service. If you sent her the information she should be able to track it from the US once it arrived in the US. Hope it all works out for you.

[evelinaapparel]

Yes I send her the shipping number the day I send the package, and today I send her scanned receipt from post office.
Hope it works out fine, thank you so much.
That has never happened to me before and I really am confused what to do.

[PotteryLodge]

I think you should wait for a response from the postal service company. maybe there was a delay.

this is a tricky situation though. if the customer says she hasn't received the package (even if she did) I don't really no how you can prove her wrong or if its worth doing so. hopefully someone will reply that has been in a similar situation as this.

[Former_Member]

Sorry to hear about that. I agree with Patricia. Since you already emailed her the postal receipt so it's not a mistake on your side. Ask her politely if she can wait a few more days and explain to her that once you shipped it out, you have no control when it will get to the destination. I understand your situation and hope your package will show up soon.

[Former_Member]

Oh you may want to put that in your policy saying once you ship the package out, you cannot control when it gets to its destination. Hope it helps.

[SageNThymeDesigns]

I just had an international order take 20 business days to get there when it normally takes 6-10 business days. I had to call the post office 5 times and eventually had to open a case. They told me they'd be in touch within 2-3 business days, and the package was delivered before they would have contacted me.

You are doing exactly what should be done. The package will probably arrive before they finally call you back with a status report (this has happened to me 3 times and it always gets delivered before they call).

I would not give a refund until the post office gets back to you. If they're impatient they can deal with Etsy- they're on our side for these things. If you have documented proof of shipping and that you're actively dealing with the challenge, I don't believe they would give a refund without your permission.

[evelinaapparel]

Thank you so much for your fast responses.
You helped me so much and calmed me down.
I updated my policies and contacted my costumer again.
I hope this will work out just fine.

Thank you so much,
Spela

[Spellbinderie]

Spela, I am in France. 3 days is really fast, it's rare for a package to arrive so quickly from Europe to the US. I'd have to pay tons of money to ship my package for a 3 day delivery, my best option here is 5 - 7 days expedited shipping (still expensive but doable) and I tell my customers 5 - 15 days on average, could take longer. Did you tell your buyer it would arrive in 3 days or did you tell them that it could arrive in 3 days but may take longer? Just making sure you did't guarantee the shipping date because if you did, that's a different issue.

If you did not guarantee, then your buyer needs to wait. It could be stuck in customs.

[evelinaapparel]

No the shipping time is 3- 6 business days. And today is the 9th business day.

[RainnRoseArt]

The weather could be a delaying the item , I know that it been three days but it still could be a possibility

[evelinaapparel]

That never happened to me before, all my costumers did receive the package in that time.

[Former_Member]

3-6 days shipping doesnt seem right at all. :/ All international in or out for me take at least two weeks if not a month to get there.

[evelinaapparel]

No, shipping from Slovenia definitely takes 3-6 business days. All my costumers did receive it in 6 or less days.
I ship my items priority that is why they need only 6 days..
She wrote me back that she will wait # more days..
Hope she gets package before:)

[Spellbinderie]

Well if it normally gets there that fast, that's great, you have good service in Slovenia. Might just be a good idea to say 3 - 6 days on average but not guaranteed, may occasionally take longer. This way your customers know to not panic in the rare event the order is held up and won't come asking for a refund after day 6.

ETA: You might also add that packages shipped internationally aren't considered missing until 30 days after they are mailed. This is commonly added as most post offices will not investigate international shipments until 30 days. You can ask at your post office to find out what their rules are.