Buyer did not pay customs duties, shipment returned - what do I need for eBay to rule in my favour?

[sumbantoo]

Dear community, asking for your advice here.
I had an international order, a $300 item and the shipment was returned by FedEx because the buyer did not pay the import duties. It appears the buyer will lose their buyer’s protection when that happens but how does eBay determine the duties weren’t paid. I am willing to refund the buyer after the shipping both ways and any other fees is deducted but I don't want to be in a position where eBay forces a full refund on me.

And before anyone asks I'm not based in the US so I can't ship with eBay's International Shipping program, if I could I would to avoid dealing with complications like this.

The tracking doesn’t explicitly state that the duties weren’t paid, it shows that the shipment had an "International shipment release - Import" and then arrives at the buyers location and sits for 7 days before being returned to shipper. I had to phone Fedex to find out why the shipment was being returned to sender.

I’m assuming eBay will also want to check the shipping details matched the order address/contact details?

The buyer has stated they will ask eBay for a refund because the order was not delivered.
What’s the best way to deal with this, has anyone experienced this and can give some insight as to the process?

[wastingtime101]

1. Where is the package now - do you have it back yet?

2. Do you see tracking details about customs fees when you track it on parcelsapp.com/en ?

3. Has the buyer filed for a refund yet?

[sumbantoo]

Hi Wastingtime101, thanks for the reply
1. The package is currently in my home country's Customs, I have to apparently pay import duties to get the package back and they haven't got back to me yet regarding the cost thereof but I would imagine it will be back in a few days at most.
2. No, parcelsapp.com shows the same info as on fedex.com, neither show details about customs fees, after "International shipment release - Import" it moves to "At local FedEx facility" then on one day it says "Package not due for delivery" and then back to "At local FedEx facility".

3. The buyer has not filed for a refund yet but has threatened to, they may not be able to apply for a refund yet as it's still before the final estimated delivery date .

[sumbantoo]

I'm hoping someone who has been through this before will read the op and comment on what they learnt in the experience, I'm dreading what will happen when the buyer opens a INR.

[kalyoth]

This in theory covers your concern on a policy basis.In policy, refusal to pay customs fees & duties invalidates the money-back guarantee of the buyer if the conditions were met: Money Back Guarantee Policy you will want to skip down to the chart for "

Exclusions and special coverage when the buyer doesn't receive an item"

The item was shipped internationally and didn't clear customs because fees or duties weren't paid

Covered: The seller overstated the value of the item or misrepresented the item's location, which caused customs fees or duties to be higher Not covered: The buyer didn't pay applicable customs fees or duties for any other reason

You may seek to solicit practical experiences though as that usually is not enough if they start getting creative. As to refunding them - that would be up to the ethics of you as a seller. If your under allowable special allowances, I would deduct for the return charges you will suffer & refund the balance. But that is up to the status of your selling account.

Of course, you may be in that grey area where you are not selling in your local ebay location / region & might suffer the policies in place for that location as a result. Always a roulette wheel with support.

[sumbantoo]

Hi Kalyoth, thanks for the reply
I can see there is some hope that I will be protected but what I am wondering is how will they determine the duties were not paid, especially considering in my instance the tracking doesn't explicitly state that the customs duties were not paid?

[kalyoth]

Easiest answer - carrier needs to enter a reason why the parcel was rerouted as return to sender to cover their ability to not refund you the shipping. There eventually should be a note to appear as to why. When & in what form, I have no experience with.

[sumbantoo]

If anyone else has experience with international orders that are returned to shipper please do share.

[sumbantoo]

Bumping the thread in case anyone reads this and can share their experience.

[wastingtime101]

Hey @sumbantoo . I asked earlier about the tracking because if tracking showed the package was returned because buyer didn't pay customs fees, even on a 3rd party site like parcelsapp, then you could show it to eBay CS and the case would be closed in your favor based on the policy another poster listed upthread.

What precisely does the tracking show in the last few scans? Can you copy/paste them?

If tracking is not clear the return was due to buyer's fault, then I'd try to get the info from FedEx on a printout that you could photograph and show eBay CS.

[sumbantoo]

@wastingtime101It doesn't explicitly mention anything other than "International shipment release - Import" then it just "At Fedex location", I'll post a screenshot of the tracking when I'm back at the computer a little later.
Will the eBay Cs accept screenshots or PDF's?
If that is the case I should be able to get a printout from Fedex that shows the actual shipping exceptions.

[wastingtime101]

If you can get a printout from FedEx of the shipping exceptions showing the buyer did not pay customs fees, you can take a photo of that and send it to eBay CS on social. You can upload the photo to your DM (askebay on twitter or ebayforbusiness on facebook). Won't be needed if buyer doesn't file a claim, but good to be ready in case that claim comes.

[sumbantoo]

@wastingtime101I highly doubt the buyer won't open a claim, they have said they will and I'm assuming they are just waiting until it goes past the last estimated delivery date which looks like will be tomorrow, which is why I am scrambling to ensure all my ducks in a row.
Here's a screenshot of the tracking:

[wastingtime101]

Yeah, that's pretty vague. Unclear how eBay would handle that. I'd definitely see if I could get the print outs from FedEx showing buyer's refusal to pay customs fees.

[an-36344]

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@sumbantoo wrote:

I highly doubt the buyer won't open a claim, they have said they will

I'm assuming they are just waiting until it goes past the last estimated delivery date which looks like will be tomorrow, which is why I am scrambling to ensure all my ducks in a row.

Here's a screenshot of the tracking:

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eBay considers Return To Sender to be the same as Delivered. eBay will only review the tracking, not even the return tracking, and won't look at any printout you obtain.

Refused = Delivered

Return to sender = Delivered

Customs/Duty not paid = Delivered

Delivered back to Original Sender = Delivered

You are covered, @sumbantoo. When the buyer starts an Item Not Received refund request, upload the original FedEx tracking number, then ask eBay to step in.

Then when the eBay bot sees any of those delivery issues, it will close the case without a refund, and block or remove any feedback from the buyer. After that, you can refund the buyer, less fees and shipping.