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Advice re garner doublet and messy eBay return

Pinkmartini87

Pinkmartini87

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Apr 10, 2017
Messages
1,314
Hi all,

Longtime ebayers please chime in!

I bought what was described as a garnet necklace piece on eBay from a reputable buyer (in business for over 20 years, thousands of 100% positive feedback). Turned out to be garnet doublet per my local jeweler.

Seller politely agreed to return, no fuss at all. Seller is in UK, I am in US. I was asked to ship back using uninsured and cheapest trackable method per seller. I did so using USPS first class international mail. Seller even reimbursed me for shipping fee on PayPal.

It has been more than 3 weeks now and from the time this package left the US (on Jan 28, there has been no further tracking info on USPS or Royal Mail (UK) website.

USPS told me they do not do package searches for first class international packages period, so if lost and uninsured then I’m out of luck. Royal Mail says too early to say its missing but will not give a definitive date by which they will actually classify it as missing. And not sure if they will even do anything about this anyway since it’s not insured.

I’m out now necklace and money. Seller has been courteous and communicative but says no refund unless they receive the necklace.

What happens in cases like this when an uninsured package goes missing? (Not trying to blame the seller but I was told NOT to insure it by seller). What should I do next? Any recourse for buyer in this case?

I’ve not yet opened any claims with my credit card company or with PayPal but have been trying to work with the seller, but growing more hopeless that I’ll get a refund at all at this point.

Help!

Learning points from my “mistakes” for others:
1. Always insure your package, even if seller says not to.
2. Always insure your package, even if seller says not to.
3. 1. Always insure your package, even if seller says not to.
 
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What a nightmare. Have you proof of postage? I would raise a case with eBay, I presume you went through the eBay returns system in the first instance?
 
The US mail absolutely sucks right now! I have a package (eBay sale) going to Maryland that's taken 10 days so far with no updates on their website. And I sent some stones to Sally in France with no updates since a day after they left my local post office three weeks ago! I just wrote to my Congressman and Senator, I'm so p***ed! :x2

Anyhow, I would make sure eBay knows you've returned it. Seller should have paid for shipping and sent the label.

Fingers crossed!
 
If the seller specifically requested no insurance (unsure why. Customs value maybe?) I would have requested the money returned before I mailed it back.
 
It is not lost. It is most likely sitting in the uk, waiting to clear customs. Nothing gets scanned until it passes THROUGH customs. So depending on their backlog, it could be months. Yep, months. Covid has made a mockery of delivery times. I sold a huge chunk of bling last year and one ring only arrived a few days ago at the buyers house. After 11 weeks of transit time. If the seller has been legit, and you can wait, I would give it until your window to claim via pp or ebay is close to expiring. But I wouldn't let that recourse avenue expire. I would also tell the seller that this is your plan.
 
I’ve had numerous bits of jewellery mailed from the US to me here in the U.K. with USPS, mostly from Pearl Paradise. Their cheapest delivery service is extremely slow, mostly because when it gets to here it falls into the clutches of our Royal Mail. They seem to take forever to clear packages then send them on. My last delivery took 39 days. I wouldn’t despair quite yet.
 
Cheer up! I'm sure it's just stuck in the mailing process somewhere. I bought something from Australia over a month ago. It took over 3 weeks just to make it to the US. Last I heard, Australia Post has handed off the package to a "local carrier." That was a week ago now. It's been crickets since :| So I'm sure everything is fine. Just, fine fine fine.
 
Can I just say wow, thank you all for the outpouring of support, it makes all the difference!

@meely Yes, I opened a case on eBay and added the tracking number to the case.

@MrsKMB So sorry to hear about your troubles—I hope you find some closure as well! Yes, seller has been nice to work with. She said even though she cannot send me prepaid shipping label because it’s international, she told me to tell her how much it costs after I shipped it, and I did and she refunded the shipping already same day.

@JackTrick In hindsight I’m just kicking myself for following the return instructions!! I should have just paid for insurance on my own. Lesson learned!

@737lizakg Thanks for sharing and here’s hoping the package is still hanging out at customs!

@ForteKitty Oh yikes, I did not know that. I guess that makes me feel better knowing even if I paid for insurance on top of it, USPS could have denied it. I’m kind of done with international transactions to be honest...

@Snowdrop13 and @AnastasiaBeaverhausen Thank you both for taking the time to reassure me, I really appreciate it!
 
I’ll try to chill out and wait some more lol, but wanted to ask if anyone ever been in a similar situation where they mailed back an uninsured eBay item but item was lost in transit? What happens then?
 
Did you initiate the return formally through eBay? You should have done so as an “item not as described”.
The seller then provides you with a return label.
there is nothing in eBay rules about insurance, you only need to be able to provide proof of posting using a trackable carrier. You dont need to pay for “signed delivery” unless the item is valued at over $750.
In any regard, you can prove you shipped the item back to the seller, upload those details to your refund page / case.
And just to let you know, shipping internationally is awful at present. It is so slow and unreliable. An eBay item I purchased 10 days ago still hasn’t left the US. Another item I bought went “dead”, no tracking updates and suddenly it’s in my mailbox. Another “tracked” item is still supposedly on its way yet it too has already been delivered.
just make sure all your messaging is through eBay, so they can access the information, and if the seller won’t refund you even though you’ve returned the item, contact eBay.
 
Don’t give up hope yet. Royal Mail is dealing with an extraordinary amount of mail and packages at the moment due to Covid and people ordering so much online. Hopefully, it’ll turn up soon.
 
Another vote for suggesting all is not yet lost. I had items ship from the US to the UK back in November and some turned up a few weeks ago. I think you mentioned UPS - one of my packages did have UPS tracking but the tracking stopped when the package landed in the UK and about 10 days later the Royal Mail postie put the package through the door, so the tracking hadn't been updated since the package landed.
 
I'm sorry for you @Pinkmartini87

Thirding the notion that there's still hope!

UK postal system is a huge mess since Brexit.
They have massive customs backlogs - ingoing and outgoing.


One of my mid-December purchases (I'm in France) hasn't been delivered yet. It was scanned in the UK once and hasn't been updated since. The seller is still trying their best.

Three other December (so before Brexit) purchases have each been a nightmare.

ATM I'm sadly not buying anything from the UK. It's just impossible due to their customs problems.
They oftentimes don't want to accept returns anymore because of said tax problems.

Just to say that the current customs clearing situation at the border is a cluster***ck . I hope the package turns up.


As to why they requested no insurance: I do think they'd have to pay 20% taxes and handling fees on their own merchandise with very slim chances of getting it back. Especially in the current situation. They snail mail packages have a chance of just being processed without the paperwork and are much faster these days.

I usually use international signed for flat rate envelope and those packages from the US have been processed lightning fast and have reached France within 1-2 weeks in the past.

Dust for the situation to resolve swiftly!!
 
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I'm in the US. People just a few states over received their Christmas cards, mailed in mid-November, received them at the end of January! That's just a card! My mother mailed a package to my brother with USPS, and it took so long that she figured it was lost....went through the claims process and it finally showed up in early February. Crazy crazy amount of time and the electronic data often doesn't update like it should. Hang in there. It'll get there. It may take a long time, but it'll get there. Not an easy feeling when you feel like you've lost money and nothing to show for it but I'm sure it'll all work out!
 
@Bron357 Thank you for the specific guidance! Yes, I opened a case on eBay and put in the tracking number and uploaded photos of the shipping receipt and customs forms as well. If I’m understanding you correctly, that’s all I need to do? Ie I just need to prove that I shipped it and it won’t be on my head if the tracking status does not show up as delivered? Ie if it goes missing, eBay will still honor the fact that I did exactly what I was supposed to do and honor the refund?

Package value under $750. I did however truthfully declare its value and exact contents, and didn’t insure it. Maybe that was stupid of me too! The description of uninsured jewelry may be a screaming invitation to be stolen!

@Austina @Tartansparkles @kipari @lmyracle Thank you all for the moral support and sorry for all that you all had to put up with your own delayed deliveries!

I know this is a small matter/third world problem in midst of a pandemic, so I’m trying to relax and be grateful for everything else. I think my nerves are a bit more on edge for sure these days!
 
Pinkmartini87 said:
@Bron357 Thank you for the specific guidance! Yes, I opened a case on eBay and put in the tracking number and uploaded photos of the shipping receipt and customs forms as well. If I’m understanding you correctly, that’s all I need to do? Ie I just need to prove that I shipped it and it won’t be on my head if the tracking status does not show up as delivered? Ie if it goes missing, eBay will still honor the fact that I did exactly what I was supposed to do and honor the refund?

Package value under $750. I did however truthfully declare its value and exact contents, and didn’t insure it. Maybe that was stupid of me too! The description of uninsured jewelry may be a screaming invitation to be stolen!

@Austina @Tartansparkles @kipari @lmyracle Thank you all for the moral support and sorry for all that you all had to put up with your own delayed deliveries!

I know this is a small matter/third world problem in midst of a pandemic, so I’m trying to relax and be grateful for everything else. I think my nerves are a bit more on edge for sure these days!
Click to expand...

Just a note that I never declare jewelry as such. I typically find some alternative way to describe it such as silicate minerals (which is what garnet is) and mount or something similar. Calling it Jewelry can be a temptation.
 
Nancewbl said:
Just a note that I never declare jewelry as such. I typically find some alternative way to describe it such as silicate minerals (which is what garnet is) and mount or something similar. Calling it Jewelry can be a temptation.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Yeah, I definitely advertised exactly what was in there in plain language. Fingers crossed the custom folks hate garnet doublets!
 
I hope it shows up soon and you get your refund. For what it's worth- the few times I have received an item not as described I have emailed the seller and requested a return for "not as described" and per Ebay policy the seller is supposed to provide a paid return label. I am pretty sure your seller knew that with their Ebay experience and should have provided one to you.

Having the seller provide you a return label is best because it starts the Ebay tracking as soon as you send the item and it remains on Ebay's radar until the item is returned.
 
Nancewbl said:
Just a note that I never declare jewelry as such. I typically find some alternative way to describe it such as silicate minerals (which is what garnet is) and mount or something similar. Calling it Jewelry can be a temptation.
Click to expand...

I call it "fashion accessory" to avoid theft.
 
I'm in the UK and have sent and received packages via Royal Mail recently but I've found incoming packages are taking a while and Royal Mail won't even consider a package lost until 3 or 4 weeks. Your best bet is actually Paypal. Once you show them the convo with the seller and that you've done what they asked, I'm pretty sure Paypal will pay out IF the package is lost. It might be worth a phone call to them. Good luck.
 
@Lisa Loves Shiny Thank you for the tip, really appreciate it! I’ve never had to return anything internationally so it helps to know more about it!

@ForteKitty So clever! Wish I thought of that! Honest and yet a perfect foil! I may “steal” this description from you next time I need it!

@LD Thanks for the reassurance I really could use some about now! That’s a good backup plan re Paypal, hopefully I don’t have to use it!

@Bron357 Thank you for all your hand holding, your kindness to me (and many others here!) is one of the reasons why I love this community so much!
 
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