Rush order, no response from buyer

[MythOfTheWild]

Hey guys, I received an order on Thursday for some of my feather ornaments to be shipped to an address in the US. They said in the message box on the order that they were happy to pay more for shipping in order to receive them in time for Christmas. It was already the 21st at the time and there was really only one shipping option I could offer them that could get it there in time and it was a very steep price.
They left me a phone number and email address to use to contact them.
I'm in the UK so I couldn't use the phone number, so I opted for email instead. I sent a message not 15 minutes after the order was placed detailing the shipping option, and I never heard back. I ended up emailing 3 times that day, offering two different shipping options - one that would be there in time for an awful lot of money, and another that MIGHT be there in time for a lot less - and the final message linked two Etsy listings I made for the person to purchase depending on their chosen shipping method to pay the difference, and told them I needed a reply - either shipping method or cancellation request - by the next morning, or I would ship it with the cheaper of the two options. The next morning came, no reply at all, so I stuck with my guns given the very short deadline and shipped it with the method that might get them there in time. I had thought that perhaps they'd reply that day, even if it was too late to do anything about it if I'd already shipped it, but it's Sunday now and I've still had no reply. I had a shipping notification sent to her when I shipped it, too.

I'm worried - I don't want an unhappy customer, but given the short time frame and lack of contact, I went with my guns, be it right or wrong. Now I'm concerned that they're going to get annoyed with me if it doesn't arrive on time, nevermind the fact that they never replied to me, and have not yet reimbursed me for the extra shipping fee. Something may have happened to her, or perhaps she's just forgotten, because it seems very strange to me that someone would place an order and want it rushed, offer to pay higher shipping and then never reply to a single message. Should I be concerned about it? I would usually have given about 4 days to wait for a reply, but given that she wanted them so soon and has left it almost 4 days now without replying, if I had waited then there'd be no chance at all that she'd receive it.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

I wouldn't have shipped without the buyer paying for the additional cost first. You'll probably never see that money. You've done everything you can. If she ends up unhappy you can remind her that you sent several emails concerning her order and she didn't reply. (I assume you've saved all the emails as proof) Not to mention you covered the cost for faster shipping.

[MythOfTheWild]

At the end of the day, if I don't get reimbursed for that shipping, I'm not going to cry about it. I had a very successful Christmas, and the order itself was big enough that I can shrug it off, though I realise that, as a shop owner, I really shouldn't do that. I'm not afraid of a negative feedback, because there are some people out there that refuse to be pleased, and no matter what we do, I think we'll all get one eventually. What I AM concerned about is getting a foul message demanding the whereabouts of her package, and how I will respond. I tend to reply immediately, but if I get a heated message I may just respond in kind. I'll try to keep myself from doing that - I'll leave it half an hour if I must!

I'm just concerned - I don't truly think it's a scam, I mean, how could it be? I just think it's very strange to pay the money she payed, requesting higher shipping and giving me two specific methods of contacting her about that very subject, and then just not replying. And I have saved the emails, I never delete them, you'll never know what you'll need, or when!

[WintergreenDesign]

Hi Kim,

I've done similar in the past. I had a lady purchase from me using an e-cheque which take quite a lot of time to clear. I tried to contact her a number of times stating that these take quite a time to clear and would she like to change her payment option but I never heard back from her. There was only a small window of time in which I could send the order so I sent it anyway knowing that there was a chance the cheque may not clear and if it didn't I would be out both the money and the items but I felt okay about my decision. It all worked out she got her ornaments and the cheque cleared just fine and she did thank me for going ahead with the order (I never let her know until after that I had sent the item without the cheque clearing).

I think that as long as you feel okay about not receiving the extra shipping back you should feel good about your decision to send it especially if the order was large enough to cushion the blow... you can think of it as your good Christmas deed : )

[Former_Member]

You could have very easily picked up the phone and called the customer. International calls are not that expensive and only take a few minutes to go through these days.

I wouldn't have shipped anything without contacting the customer first as its possible that they don't want the items if they don't arrive by the 24th. And for a package to arrive from the UK to the USA in a matter of days is just about impossible unless its sent via a private courier such as DHL and even then it will be very very expensive.

I hope things work out well for you.

[SageNThymeDesigns]

I often let people know what I'll do if I don't hear back from there by a certain time frame- so far I've not had an unhappy customer. It sounds like you did a good job of communicating with your customer. I think you were very generous to pay for the upgraded shipping. Even with overnight shipping things are sometimes late- next time they should order earlier and be in touch.

As for the phone call; I run an internet-based business, I don't want to call my customers and I don't want them to call me. If you can't communicate online, then don't purchase online.

[Inugurumi]

I don't blame you for not calling the customer. I didn't even call a customer in the same country because I wanted to keep a written proof of what the customer wanted.

I think your customer thought you were in the US though. If I were you, I probably wouldn't have upgraded the shipping without getting paid. I would send them message saying that I need extra shipping fee before X day and if I don't hear from by then, I need to cancel the order(or ship with regular shipping method. Whichever you choose.)

I doubt if they expect online seller to call, they are not likely to leave a feedback. Also, IF they decide to come back on Etsy to leave a feedback, they will see all the messages you sent them asking to contact you. No reasonable person will leave a negative feedback after realizing they are the one who didn't do what they should have done. (And from my experience, unreasonable people don't tell you they are happy to pay extra shipping cost. They just say they need it by Christmas.)

I am not sure what kind of shipping carriers you have in the UK, but you may not want to promise delivery date, especially international orders. UK side may handle the package very quickly, but I doubt the US customs will work that fast especially during this time of year. If the customer paid shipping upgrade AND didn't receive it by the time you promised, you could easily get a negative feedback.