Problems Shipping from Europe to US

[nikolackovic]

Hi everyone,

I sent more than a dozen registered packages from Serbia to the US at the end of March/early April. Around that time, this whole US tariffs thing started, and since then, not a single one of them has been delivered. I'm refunding buyers one by one as USPS, my local post office, and eBay are all saying they can't do anything about it.

Does anyone else have similar problems shipping from Europe to the US? I can't seem to find anyone else experiencing this. I've shipped hundreds of packages to the US previously and never had such problems, and I honestly don't know what to expect for future shipments.

[kensgiftshop]

Are you waiting for the packages to be returned before refunding?

[pikabo-icu]

@nikolackovic 

If those packages are undelivered because the buyer is refusing to pick them up and pay the tariff, that's outside the MBG and you shouldn't be refunding them. 

Is there another reason they're not delivered? Late? 

I wouldn't refund until an INR case is opened and eBay should give you extra time if the packages are delayed due to shippers figuring out the tariff process. 

ETA Perhaps check the UK forum and see if anyone there is having an issue https://community.ebay.co.uk/ 

[titipeo]

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@nikolackovic wrote:

Does anyone else have similar problems shipping from Europe to the US? I can't seem to find anyone else experiencing this. I've shipped hundreds of packages to the US previously and never had such problems, and I honestly don't know what to expect for future shipments.

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You are asking in the US forum if they have problems shipping from EU to US, you are not going to get many replies unless you ask in the European forum. This situation is very fluid and changing constantly. As for your packages, no idea what happened, hopefully they were shipped prior tariff taking effect. 

[12345jamesstamps]

Did you complete the necessary customs forms?

Fee for registered mail varies depending on the weight and declared value.

I send registered mail quite often to other countries.

And I imagine you got 'mailing receipts' proof of sending?

It can take at least 6 weeks or more to get to the USA...

[nikolackovic]

Based on the tracking, packages left my country but never entered the US. I guess they are stuck in some transit country. There are no updates on the tracking for more than a month for each of them, which has never happened before.

Buyers are opening cases and winning them.

[nikolackovic]

I've never had any problems shipping to the US, and I've shipped hundreds of packages there. But now, they are not even entering the US; every tracking number shows that they didn't even reach US soil.

[nikolackovic]

You are right, but any info from US buyers could be also helpful.

[nikolackovic]

No, they left my country, but never entered US, that's the only info from tracking. There is simply no more time for buyers to wait, they are opening cases to insure themselves that they will get a refund. I don't event know where my packages are, feel like every single one is lost.

[kalyoth]

US does not have import taxes for customs on personal purchases until they hit certain dollar threshold or type of good & it is significantly high (normally above $800) for valuation. Are you declaring value at that level?

As to your shipping - I assume your shipping has tracking upon it? Depending upon the service used, I have seen as long as 30 days for items shipped form Israel distance to me in US. Items from China & Japan arrive about same at worst.

[lacemaker3]

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@nikolackovic wrote:

Hi everyone,

I sent more than a dozen registered packages from Serbia to the US at the end of March/early April. Around that time, this whole US tariffs thing started, and since then, not a single one of them has been delivered. I'm refunding buyers one by one as USPS, my local post office, and eBay are all saying they can't do anything about it.

...

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@nikolackovic wrote:

No, they left my country, but never entered US, that's the only info from tracking. There is simply no more time for buyers to wait, they are opening cases to insure themselves that they will get a refund. I don't event know where my packages are, feel like every single one is lost.

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@nikolackovic 

Unfortunately, Registered Mail is not tracked in the USA. It is always transferred manually, and stored in a higher security area, which means that it is slower as well. There is supposed to be a delivery scan and signature, but in practice, that is not always done.

Because there is no tracking within the USA, International Registered Mail is not considered to be a tracked service, and sellers who use it are not protected from INR cases. This is not a recommended shipping service for sellers to use. It could result in a high INR level, and restrictions on your account.

Up until a few months ago, it appears that international registered mail was sometimes tracked by the USPS, and usually got delivery scans. However, tracking is not guaranteed by USPS, and there have been reports from the last few months that international registered mail is now unlikely to be scanned by USPS. There have been a lot of changes recently with international packages being imported into the USA, and this is expected to continue.

https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Registered-Mail-The-Basics#tracking

You should use a different service, one which provides full tracking, and be sure to fill out and attach a customs declaration form, giving the country of manufacture, to hopefully allow your items to be processed through customs more quickly. Also,  you need to provide the Country of Manufacture for each item in the Item Specifics. (I don't recommend trying to ship anything that was or could have been made in China into the USA at the moment, not until the current tariff situation settles down.)