Lost in the post! What do I do?

[Former_Member]

Help! It seems I might be coming up for my first lost-in-the-post complaint! How do you handle this? I responded very nicely to my customer (in the US) explaining that it takes up to 4 weeks for deliveries to get through, and that there are currently delays for post to the US (true). Her print was dispatched from my printer in the UK on 1 Feb. I get all my prints printed with a 3rd party printer in the UK, so I do incur a cost and make very little on what I sell. I do say in my policies that I cannot be responsible for any items that get lost in the post, but I also say for the customer to contact me to see what I can do. I know this time I will have to replace the item at my own cost (I've asked her to wait until the end of next week), but should I revise my policies for the future?
My policies are here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/onelittlebirdstudio/policy

Also, if you have any other comments about revising my policies I'd love to know. I'm not a legal expert :)

[SelkieCrochet]

Oh gosh, I'm sorry that happened to you - I had a package go missing in the post too but I was able to make replacement wristwarmers so it all turned out ok (I did offer her a refund or choice of other pairs from my shop, but she wanted the same ones)

I'm pretty sure that you aren't meant to say tht you aren't responsible for items that get lost in the post - well, obviously you CAN say it but it doesn't give you a leg to stand on as legally you ARE responsible.

[Lybo]

I do say that I'm not responsible for things that get lost in the post, but I don't think it's legally binding! I have offered a replacement or a refund on the couple of items that have gone missing from the UK to US, and my customers have been really happy about that. Because my things are relatively low value I can do this, and the amount that I am out of pocket is made up for by customer satisfaction and glowing feedback!

I always get proof of postage, and you can claim back from royal mail up to a certain amount. I think if you try to accommodate your customer and ask what they want, the situation stops being so scary.

[GoTo]

Saying you are not responsible for items lost/damaged in the mail is a reason I would leave your shop without a second thought.

It is the seller's responsibility to get the goods to the buyer--and Paypal and credit card companies will side with the buyer every time regardless as to your shop policies.

It is against Etsy policy to have the item shipped from a third-party as you describe. You must ship the item directly to the buyer--and I think this case is a good example of why. You know your printer said they shipped it, but you didn't mail it yourself so you can't know for sure. You also can't inspect it for quality if you never see it.


For your current payment policies:

You only have Paypal listed so you don't need the line about "Please purchase with PayPal only"--it's their only option. I'd also remove the part about immediate payment & relisting after 3 days since checkout now only marks an item sold when the person has paid.

Shipping:
Remove delivery times and put in how long it takes for you to get something in the mail--you can't say for sure how long the postal service will take. Mentioning a few weeks to the US is ok--so they realize it's shipping from overseas, but don't give specifics.

Refunds:
"Refunds and returns can only be given if the fault is at my end"---your end is everything up until the buyer gets it in their hands in perfect condition. :)


Hope that helps!

[GoTo]

Oh--and I think waiting another week--especially in light of the US postal delays ( http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1289237893803.shtm )--is reasonable.

It still gives the buyer a week to open a Paypal dispute if they need to, which can be closed when the package (or the replacement package) arrives if it is under 2 weeks from the disputes start date.

[Former_Member]

Go To... thank you!! Your answer is extremely helpful. For starters, I had absolutely no idea it was against Etsy policy to use a third party! It now makes my shop almost impossible to run as I cannot do anything else. I am almost housebound and doing it this way is practically my only option!! What can I do???? Secondly, I will definately be removing the line 'cannot take responsibility for items lost'. I pinched this from some other policies, so there's quite a few people out there saying the same thing! I will refine my policies re: your other suggestions also. Honestly it took me ages to find a good printer (I have checked his quality) who would ship directly for me. I have no idea what to do now. Honestly, I am almost in tears...

[GoTo]

Sorry to have upset you! Most folks (who don't print their own) have their prints mailed to them (sometimes a few at a time to save on shipping) then they mail them to the buyer, or they have them printed locally and then mail them to the buyer.

If you contact admin they can choose to make a third-party approved on a store by store basis--usually if someone is disabled or something like that they will consider it acceptable. If get their approval, definitely mention admin approval in your policies page.

If a loss every now and then will eat too much of your profits, you need raise your prices a little bit. Often just adding 50 cents or a dollar to each item will be enough to cover the few packages that get lost or damaged in the mail.


There are a lot of folks who include that not-responsible type of thing in their policies, but consider it from the buyer's point of view:

You buy something, never receive it and you are out your money according to the store's policies. Does it make you want to purchase from them? Probabbblllyyy not. :)

Plus Paypal will side with the buyer if you can't prove it was delivered so all it does is serve to turn folks who read that info away.

[FyreflyHollow]

=( Sorry to hear this happened to you. Overseas shipments do take a long time......I had one get lost in the mail from France. I finally received it two months later.

It is good customer service to simply send out another, but use as much of a secure means as possible. Consider registered mail? It takes a bit longer, but at least you will know when/if they receive it.

Overseas mail never use to take so long! I remember a package from the UK took about a MAX of 10 days to get to me in the US.

Unfortunately, as a seller, sometimes we have to eat item cost to keep a customer happy. Tis the nature of the beast. Insuring it may help also, if it is an expensive item. I was using shipsaver when I use to send a lot of expensive stuff overseas. Might look into that.

Good luck and aloha, Liz

[Former_Member]

This happened to me, as a buyer, on eBay. The item was shipped and I never received it. The seller was so nice, even went to her post office and opened a claim. She offered to refund my money or send another. I opted to send another and she said if I received both to just mark return to sender on the duplicate package.

As a buyer, it made me feel good that she was so willing to help. And you can't help but feel a bit guilty because you know there are people out there that aren't honest and will try to get another item for free. The fact that she never accused me of being dishonest was, to me, sufficient evidence that she is a great seller and I gave her mad props on her review. Just going the extra mile is worth it. One of my best experiences, even with the item still not being here. Good customer service is where it's at.

[Former_Member]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read and respond! Of course, I have every intention of offering a replacement or a refund. GoTo - I have updated my policies following your advice... thank you again :) I'm very frustrated about how this all works... I will have to get my thinking cap on now!

[GoTo]

I'm afraid we all face the same issue shipping internationally when we use a mail service that is affordable to our buyers. If we are willing to charge a ton of money for shipping, we can get insured & tracked international packages, but then they buyers will be few. :(

[Former_Member]

Indeed :)