Return of counterfeit international sale.

Posted 4 months ago·Last reply 3 months ago

49 comments

house*of*paws

·4 months ago

May I recommend that whenever we put in a post, 'Foreign sellers are unable to provide free return shipping labels to US buyers' ... we follow it with an * (asterisk). And at the bottom of our post we put something like:

* Foreign sellers in some countries are able to provide some return shipping labels to US buyers ... provided they have 1) an existing account with a US shipping company, and 2) a US credit card on file.

Hopefully, that will prevent the inevitable contradictions of accurate answers that cause confusion (in OPs) and start Community feuds.

BTW, I always thought that we were explaining to US buyers why their foreign seller couldn't send them a shipping label by simply clicking a link, as US sellers can do ... AND NOT that we were insisting that a foreign seller could never send a label under any circumstance. [There ALWAYS has been some kind of 'workaround' ... even if it entailed having a US buddy purchase a US shipping label for the foreign seller to send to the US buyer ... but that hasn't been the 'point'.]

In THIS particular case ... the OP's Russian seller was NOT able to provide a label ... PERIOD. The initial replies the OP received were generally spot on ... and they eventually led to the OP being reassured about accepting the money (through PayPal) to purchase the return label. The rest of the discussion about foreign sellers and US shipping labels was unnecessary IMHO.

Glad everything worked out for you @shopofjuls ! 😊

shopofjuls

OP3 months ago

Welllllll

I sent this item through UPS on May 30. It is stuck in customs waiting for receiver to give tax info.

This is not my problem. How should I contact eBay so that automated system doesn’t side w counterfeit seller.

They’re cooperative but they had me ship

the item to Italy address. They are right now in Russia.

When speaking to ups they instructed me to give the ups number in Italy to give customs info.

Again, not my problem. Advice from experts please.

I did speak to eBay once and they told that when it’s delivered call them and they will jump in. I tried calling the number they told me and got the recording I should use the automated online system.
value of item $350.

kh-shaikh

·4 months ago

Hi everyone,

This discussion has gotten a bit heated. Please remember that, while it is fine to disagree with others, discussion should always remain friendly and respectful as required by the Community Guidelines.

Thank you for your cooperation.

glorybells

·4 months ago

1477 View listings

@kh-shaikh ,

you mods have not yet figured out that anytime things get heated on the boards it’s because 86UM was involved. Someone needs to do some research, @kh-shaikh .

powell-collectibles

·4 months ago

JBLBFF, Mixed Bag Guy, AND Unofficial Mentor to the Stars2349 View listings

@glorybells wrote:
@kh-shaikh ,
you mods have not yet figured out that anytime things get heated on the boards it’s because 86UM was involved. Someone needs to do some research, @kh-shaikh .

@86UM
Tagging this user - I can't find him. Who is he? Haven't seen this 86UM on this thread at all. Were his posts removed?

12345jamesstamps

·4 months ago

8852 View listings

'have until June 3'....I would say seller will sit on this for a few days and will do nothing.

Seller could be in Russia using an Italian address and payment source in Italy to get around a blocked country.

You are a seller yourself and I am sure you know about doing a dispute with your credit card.

You can have eBay step in first and see what happens which will be a lengthy one or a quick no can help you.

ryry-jj

·4 months ago

1913 View listings

Since the seller cant provide you a usable return label or provide you the money to buy one, you need to contact eBay CS and have them give you a call.

After you have exhausted ebay's options, you can ngo to your bank/CC/payment source for a charge back. Let the seller know the added $25 for the charge back will seem high, too.

darn_yankee

·4 months ago

639 View listings

If they are not saying "yes" or "ok," they are saying "no." Do you blame them? It's a counterfeit item. They don't want to spend $33 - $38 dollars to have it returned.

It's time to ask eBay to step in and resolve the problem.

*casey*

·4 months ago

@shopofjuls

"I'd like to chat to a human about it because ebay says the ball is in my court and that I need to ship it back with label provided"

That's a very good idea and you can explain to eBay that it's illegal to post counterfeit items and if you do break the law, there's every chance that your fake Tiffany will be seized and destroyed at Customs

marnotom!

·4 months ago

10 View listings

@*casey* wrote:

That's a very good idea and you can explain to eBay that it's illegal to post counterfeit items and if you do break the law, there's every chance that your fake Tiffany will be seized and destroyed at Customs

So why wasn't the necklace seized and destroyed by CBP upon entry to the US?

albertabrightalberta

·4 months ago

PROFILE SIGNATURE! NOT DIRECTED TO YOU: I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.104 View listings

@*casey* wrote:
@shopofjuls

"I'd like to chat to a human about it because ebay says the ball is in my court and that I need to ship it back with label provided"

That's a very good idea and you can explain to eBay that it's illegal to post counterfeit items and if you do break the law, there's every chance that your fake Tiffany will be seized and destroyed at Customs

This is incorrect. It's not illegal to ship a fake back to the seller. What is illegal is the sale of counterfeit goods.

tobaccocardyahoo

·4 months ago

5565 View listings

You should be able to use PayPal shipping to determine the cost of the label, and advise them of the cost prior to shipping. If you prefer you can use pirateship or another service to determine the cost.

Or you can do nothing and see how it plays out.

shopofjuls

OP4 months ago

They sent me $38 through PayPal. I generated an international label with insurance and shared all through messenger. It was shipped ups and has a 4 day delivery window.

thanks for your assistance. There was a space to write return so that we do t get customs cost. (They sent to me as gift. 🙄

jonathanbrightlight

·4 months ago

@shopofjuls wrote:
They sent me $38 through PayPal. I generated an international label with insurance and shared all through messenger. It was shipped ups and has a 4 day delivery window.
thanks for your assistance. There was a space to write return so that we do t get customs cost. (They sent to me as gift. 🙄

Glad you got it figured out!

albertabrightalberta

·4 months ago

PROFILE SIGNATURE! NOT DIRECTED TO YOU: I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.104 View listings

You need to go to the post office with the package to find out how much it'll cost to ship back to Russia with tracking (and if $750+, signature confirmation). Do this BEFORE shipping.

BEFORE you ship, the seller should send you payment for shipping through paypal. (If you expect the seller to reimburse you after the fact, it won't happen.)

Make sure you ship to the address as indicated by Ebay on the order.

ETA:

To clarify, an international seller cannot send you a label for you to ship the item from the US back to them. That's why they need to PREPAY you for the price of the label ahead of time.

shopofjuls

OP4 months ago

I want a label through ebay returns . It is their responsibility to provide one. They have not. Iam not doing any of what they are asking. 🙂

albertabrightalberta

·4 months ago

PROFILE SIGNATURE! NOT DIRECTED TO YOU: I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.104 View listings

@shopofjuls wrote:
I want a label through ebay returns . It is their responsibility to provide one. They have not. Iam not doing any of what they are asking. 🙂

For NAD (not as described) claims, you are absolutely correct that it's their responsibility to pay for the label. But an international seller cannot provide one. That's why they have to pay you ahead of time so you can purchase the label. You can't trust or depend on them to reimburse you after the fact since the most they can refund is the amount of your original payment.

powell-collectibles

·4 months ago

JBLBFF, Mixed Bag Guy, AND Unofficial Mentor to the Stars2349 View listings

@albertabrightalberta wrote:
@shopofjuls wrote:
I want a label through ebay returns . It is their responsibility to provide one. They have not. Iam not doing any of what they are asking. 🙂
For NAD (not as described) claims, you are absolutely correct that it's their responsibility to pay for the label. But an international seller cannot provide one. That's why they have to pay you ahead of time so you can purchase the label. You can't trust or depend on them to reimburse you after the fact since the most they can refund is the amount of your original payment.

has no one on these boards other than me ever received a UPS or FedEx label from someone outside of the country? It does happen. Just a few weeks ago, I had someone in France Send a label to me so I could send some samples to her. FedEx and UPS allow accounts in other countries, and they allow for labels to be created, sent to someone, and used to send a package back to France, Italy, etc. USPS is a little bit harder – you can create a label as a foreigner, the only catch is that you need to have a US credit card to pay for it.

marnotom!

·4 months ago

10 View listings

@powell-collectibles wrote:

has no one on these boards other than me ever received a UPS or FedEx label from someone outside of the country? It does happen. Just a few weeks ago, I had someone in France Send a label to me so I could send some samples to her. FedEx and UPS allow accounts in other countries, and they allow for labels to be created, sent to someone, and used to send a package back to France, Italy, etc. USPS is a little bit harder – you can create a label as a foreigner, the only catch is that you need to have a US credit card to pay for it.

I would imagine that those labels would be incredibly expensive for non-account holders.

The manufacturer of my printer sends postage-paid envelopes for me to send my empty ink cartridges from my town in Canada to somewhere in Colorado and I think sometime in the past I’ve received a UPS label for a US destination, but usually large US vendors use Canadian addresses for returned merchandise. I’m not sure what eIS does.

house*of*paws

·4 months ago

@powell-collectibles wrote:
@albertabrightalberta wrote:
@shopofjuls wrote:
I want a label through ebay returns . It is their responsibility to provide one. They have not. Iam not doing any of what they are asking. 🙂
For NAD (not as described) claims, you are absolutely correct that it's their responsibility to pay for the label. But an international seller cannot provide one. That's why they have to pay you ahead of time so you can purchase the label. You can't trust or depend on them to reimburse you after the fact since the most they can refund is the amount of your original payment.

has no one on these boards other than me ever received a UPS or FedEx label from someone outside of the country? It does happen. Just a few weeks ago, I had someone in France Send a label to me so I could send some samples to her. FedEx and UPS allow accounts in other countries, and they allow for labels to be created, sent to someone, and used to send a package back to France, Italy, etc. USPS is a little bit harder – you can create a label as a foreigner, the only catch is that you need to have a US credit card to pay for it.

@powell-collectibles

You’ve been continually contradicting knowledgeable posters on this topic. Do you ever plan on providing either

* Specific instructions as to how a foreign seller can provide a US buyer with a prepaid shipping label, or

* A link to those instructions?

Repeatedly insisting that it can be done … without telling us exactly how to do it … isn’t particularly helpful. 🙂

powell-collectibles

·4 months ago

JBLBFF, Mixed Bag Guy, AND Unofficial Mentor to the Stars2349 View listings

I have to teach someone that FedEx has account holders in other countries and how to sign up for an account.l?

house*of*paws

·4 months ago

@powell-collectibles wrote:
I have to teach someone that FedEx has account holders in other countries and how to sign up for an account.l?

Why not? You call yourself an ‘UM’ … so please mentor us. 😉

If you can’t describe how a foreign seller can provide US buyers with free UPS, FedEx, and USPS shipping labels … then I recommend you stop telling actual mentors that it can be done within the short period of time a seller is given to respond to a return request.

[When a few USPS agents told me that foreign sellers could NOT get prepaid shipping labels … you disparaged the USPS agents … but neglected to say how it could be done. Why? 🤔]

powell-collectibles

·4 months ago

JBLBFF, Mixed Bag Guy, AND Unofficial Mentor to the Stars2349 View listings

@house*of*paws
10 second search on google: https://www.fedex.com/en-py/shipping/global-returns.html

They even call it Global Returns Service.

absolutely, those indicating it can’t be done aren’t intentionally lying – they’ve just never looked into it and have no experience with it.

This is pretty normal stuff. But, something is written on these boards, and folks continue to repeat it without any experience with it. It gets repeated enough times that no one really questions it.

house*of*paws

·4 months ago

@powell-collectibles wrote:
@house*of*paws
10 second search on google: https://www.fedex.com/en-py/shipping/global-returns.html

They even call it Global Returns Service.

absolutely, those indicating it can’t be done aren’t intentionally lying – they’ve just never looked into it and have no experience with it.

This is pretty normal stuff. But, something is written on these boards, and folks continue to repeat it without any experience with it. It gets repeated enough times that no one really questions it.

You merely provided a link to a FedEx website. We need to know the steps a foreign seller must go through to provide a US buyer with a prepaid shipping label.

As a US buyer, I would need to explain to a foreign seller specifically how to send me a prepaid shipping label. What do I tell them to do with regards to sending me a free return label via UPS, FedEx, and USPS?

I will be happy to pass on the information to future OPs … and give you credit for providing it. 😊

kensgiftshop

·4 months ago

389 View listings

@shopofjuls wrote:
I want a label through ebay returns . It is their responsibility to provide one. They have not. Iam not doing any of what they are asking. 🙂

The International seller can't provide a return shipping label through Ebay.

They send you the money to pay for the return shipping.

kalyoth

·4 months ago

1126 View listings

You either get a label through ebay, a label provided by the seller or reimbursement through paypal up front for shipping costs if international. That is ebays rules.

shopofjuls

OP4 months ago

How as a buyer would I get a label for this return?

kensgiftshop

·4 months ago

389 View listings

@shopofjuls wrote:
How as a buyer would I get a label for this return?

When the seller pays you for the return shipping, you use the money and go buy a shipping label.

shopofjuls

OP4 months ago

Went to both pirateship and PayPal both with insurance were $33 to $38. I showed a screenshot of the calculation to address given. Asked if it looked correct.

Their reply was, that seems high.

Now what?

ccomic

·4 months ago

118 View listings

Ask them to be clear about whether or not they are refusing to pay it. Not just comment on whether they think its hight or not. I’m not sure having their flat out refusal will help, but it can’t hurt.

yo0339

·4 months ago

@shopofjuls wrote:
Went to both pirateship and PayPal both with insurance were $33 to $38. I showed a screenshot of the calculation to address given. Asked if it looked correct.

Their reply was, that seems high.
Now what?

Whenever my seller claims to have already sent a return label @shopofjuls

-- and my return request is stalled to ship the label back to the seller by a certain date

-- I contact eBay CS via chat at the bottom of the ebay.com/help page instead of asking for a phone call.

I don't chit-chat

-- that the item is counterfeit, or

-- that the seller cannot provide a return label, or

-- that the seller can chargeback the PayPal cash-to-buy-a-label within 180 days.

eBay only cares that the seller is responsible to provide a PREPAID RETURN LABEL to any address the seller wishes.

Instead I ask eBay to

1. Escalate my return request to a case, and

2. Prompt my seller to provide that prepaid return label

to lob that ball back into the seller's courtyard and turn the six chairs about.

And every time regardless my seller is domesticated or international, eBay will put the case on hold, to force a refund no return needed after 5 calendar days if the seller does not provide that prepaid return label.

eBay actually monitors these holds -- your return details page will show the hold-until date -- and will issue your refund in an email message if the seller drops the ball.

shopofjuls

OP4 months ago

They sent me $38 through PayPal. I generated an international label with insurance and shared all through messenger. It was shipped ups and has a 4 day delivery window.

thanks for your assistance. There was a space to write return so that we do t get customs cost. (They sent to me as gift. 🙄)

eoma689485

·4 months ago

4316 View listings

"I want a label through ebay returns . It is their responsibility to provide one. They have not. Iam not doing any of what they are asking."

I suggest that you do what was recommended - The seller can't send you something that is not available to them - it's not like they are refusing, they just can't do it as eBay will not allow it.

shopofjuls

OP4 months ago

I did not know they couldn’t supply one.

I will go on PayPal but definitely want to make sure I send to proper address per eBay. I don’t want to lose it and the counterfeit component is another weird part of it.

shopofjuls

OP4 months ago