Sold item stuck at Israeli customs, sold to international buyer

[lizzy_sells]

Hello, 

I hope this community can help me. I sold a pair of Nike Tech Fleece sweatpants to a buyer in Tel Aviv, Israel back in December. I sold and shipped using eBay International Standard Delivery. The buyer messaged me multiple times asked me where his item was. I sent him screenshots and the tracking number of item showing him that it was at CUSTOMS in his country. There might be a language barrier because he keeps asking me the same questions and I keep sending him the same info. I have a 30 day return policy, but again the item was bought Dec. 21, 2020 and was supposed to arrive January 19 and is just stuck at customs. Am I supposed to take a loss? 

Am I required to give him a refund if items are stuck at his countries customs? Has this happened to anyone else? 

[inhawaii]

Sorry, i don't know the answer to your question, but i would like to share this with you.  I only ship internationally using  ebay's  GSP (Global Shipping Program). Once the package get's to ebay's GSP hub in Kentucky, i am no longer responsible for the package. Whatever happens to the package in the crazy world .... like being stuck in Israeli customs .... is not my problem. You may want to consider this in the future. 

[slippinjimmy]

Send them this link, it might help.

https://services.israelpost.co.il/postshirut.nsf/misparide/226?opendocument&L=EN

[duncanvr]

Last year I had a big order going to Tel Aviv and it got held at the main post office customs area. The buyer said that his post office official wanted extra money to release the parcel to him. I suspect that your buyer maybe faced with the same issue and probably does not want to pay to get the parcel released from their customs. This is despite no real value being declared on the package so there should not have been any charge to buyer. I decided I had to block Israel and a few other countries altogether that follow this method. i.e. the customs or postal officials want to be paid extra money to release the parcel. I think ebay standard international still covers you for up to $80 loss. So do chat to ebay and see what they suggest. Can the parcel be intercepted and returned back to you so you can refund the buyer? The GSP program likely may avoid this problem because a lot of import tax etc is already paid on the goods so post officials can't claim more money from buyers on such parcels.

[bangordiscount]

I ship a lot of products to Israel. They have to pay custom/import fees on anything valued over $75; it's possible that is why it is stuck in customs.

Also, as someone with lots of experience shipping internationally, I would NEVER recommend using the eBay standard international delivery program, or whatever it's called. It offers very little to no protection for sellers and eBay refuses to be accountable for the short falls of that program. In my experience it always takes longer than self shipping with USPS.

Ship with GSP or ship yourself, First Class International rates with Pirate Ship (if you opt into their discount program) are always cheaper. My packages going FCI to Israel get there in 2-3 weeks. You can self insure using companies like shipsurance or U-Pic if you're worried about INR disputes

[luckythewinner]

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@bangordiscount wrote:

I ship a lot of products to Israel. They have to pay custom/import fees on anything valued over $75; it's possible that is why it is stuck in customs.

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If so, it could be that the buyer has discovered this, and is playing dumb to get a refund rather than pay more.

[ra_201044]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@bangordiscount wrote:

I ship a lot of products to Israel. They have to pay custom/import fees on anything valued over $75; it's possible that is why it is stuck in customs.

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If so, it could be that the buyer has discovered this, and is playing dumb to get a refund rather than pay more.

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And, after they get their refund, they go and pick it up. Then they would be called a 'customs hanger'.

[powell-memorabilia]

I'll echo some other comments - for me, GSP is the only way to go, at least for what I sell.  GSP gets rid of so many headaches. 

Yes, a lot of buyers bristle at the costs.  However, in the few times that I've seen the costs that GSP provides, I can't beat the shipping costs.  The high costs are driven by inclusion of duties.  What I've seen - more and more - is that buyers are getting stuck with some big bills for customs fees when I do direct shipping.  At the end of the day, I'm not so sure that direct shipments really save anyone money.  

Big bonus is that I don't need to worry about a buyer deciding that the trip to get the package released is worth it, that the package doesn't arrive, that there is in-transit damage, etc..  I just get the item to Kentucky, and I'm done.

[toysaver]

I agree it's likley related to fees the buyer doesn't want to pay but It could be that it is not stuck in customs but did not clear customs.  Did you follow the directions exactly?

Country Conditions for Mailing - Israel (usps.com)

"Invoices and documents relating to commercial items must be attached to the outside of the items or to the customs declaration and not enclosed in the item.

Customs Forms Required (123)
Letter-post: PS Form 2976 or 2976-A (see 123.61)
Parcel Post: PS Form 2976-A inside 2976-E (envelope)"

[brwil85]

Israel is famous for this. There isn't a language barrier. 

The item is being held for duty/tarriffs/VAT and you are going to have to pay it or it won't be released to the customer and therefore it wasn't delviered so buyer will be entitled to a full refund.

Then the buyer takes the money you gave back and collects his item from customs. 

[levyshay]

I recently got an item stuck in customs and noticed this thread.

Just for your information, I ordered an item via the GSP, got a valid GSP tracking and everything.

Item is bellow 75$ so there is no Tax fees, but DHL in Israel is the worst company I have seen.

They decided they need additional documents, I can't know which and there is no way to contact GSP to inform them about this. 

So basically my package is stuck in customs for over a week, DHL is doing nothing to try to release it, GSP thinks it is in transite, and soon I am going to ask for a refund.

I have no problem paying fees if they are needed, but as a buyer I expect that when ordering from GSP I don't have to deal with releasing a package from customs (which is very hard with DHL unless you are an official importer/exporter/customs broker)

[dbfolks166mt]

Zombie Thread. As the buyer this may be a better question for the buyer forum. However if you want to contact Pitney Bowes who runs the GSP center in Erlanger information follows. 

Pitney Bowes, INC.
1850 Airport Exch Boulevard
Erlanger, KY 41018

• Pitney Bowes - Ebay Global Shipping Information
• Pitney Bowes Phone: (859) 457-6805
• Email Contact: pbisgspcs@pb.com
• Ebay's - Global Shipping Program Information