Hey guys need help with a Canadian buyer.

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jpinc

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Hey guys I sold a vox f5 to a Canadian buyer greyhulk is his name.

Now he asked me to declare it as $20 gift.

Soo I did. Now he says he's recieved the package but it's empty.

And it must of fallen out from customs opening it.

Cos of making me declare it as $20 so he didn't get hit with taxes I couldn't get insurance out.

Now he filed a claim through pp and wants a refund.

Wat do I do? It should be at his discretion cos I did everything he asked me to and understood it was his liability if something happened.

But still has filed a claim through pp.

Please help.
 
Can you post pictures of the documentation that you were given at the post office? Receipts and whatever else? That would help get the ball rolling.
 
Had a knife recently that was sent as a gift, so was wondering about this too (I never asked for it to be sent as a gift). Was there tracking information? I think that says the times for border inspection, can't remember the wording. And do you have photos of the box? Was it sealed really well?

The tracking would be the biggest clue of any time it was opened. In all my years of ordering, lots of stuff from the States, the only major problem I've had is Canada Post shipping something slow during the holiday season and getting in a dispute, and someone opening up my birthday cards and them being 'lost' for a few months.

That he suggested it fell out at the border seems a little suspicious. But you never know. Did you declare 'knife' on the customs slip? They may open it then, mine got across without being opened when declared a 'bushtool'.
 
That's why lots of sellers will only sell or trade within the 50 states. Anytime you get Customs involved it becomes a crapshoot. Also, how do you know he isn't pulling a fast one on you and just saying he received an empty box. If I was sending anything out of the country the only way I would accept paypal payment from a foreign buyer would be if they sent payment as a gift or I just wouldn't sell to them.

If you have a positive, well established feedback record and have been a bladeforums member here more than a couple of years your record should speak for itself. Also, in this instance since you were buying insurance I think you really messed up big time in only declaring the item as a $20 item. No good deed goes unpunished. You stacked all of the odds against you in this transaction unfortunately.
 
Let's wait to hear from GreyHulk, I sent him a PM with a link to this thread (should have been done by the OP).
 
Most times when I've received something from someone in the states, it's been marked camping tool, pocket knife, etc. and sometimes it's been opened and other times it hasn't. I've noticed however, that Customs actually has done a great job of sealing the pkg back up (surprisingly enough!). In my experience, it looked like all they did was put their yellow customs tape on it even though they opened it.

Anyway, that doesn't mean customs DIDN'T screw up or someone didn't steal it. I'm inclined to believe greyhulk about the pkg being empty as I've had a number of dealings with him and he's done everything exactly as he said he would. However, it's a sticky situation if there was no insurance etc. If it was me, of course I wouldn't be happy to receive an empty pkg, but at the same time, it's kind of a risk you take IF you don't get insurance on it...

Definitely get all the receipts and open a trace etc. etc. to see if they can do something. I hate to say it cause he's a good guy, but if OP did everything as asked and sent the item as agreed, greyhulk might be out of luck :( I hope not though, hopefully SOMETHING can be done...
 




Sorry for the delay..
Like jpinc mentioned in his post I received the package empty.. The envelope was opened by customs and retaped.. When my wife went to get the mail in our community mail box, this what she came back with..
From my experience with ebay. The first thing I did was contact jpinc and immediately open a paypal claim...
I'm willing to wait a week to see if it appears, because I did contact everyone involved.
If You where in my shoes want would you have done...
 
Big mistake shipping a knife in an envelope instead of a rigid box which the Post office gives out for free with Priority Mail. It's too easy for anyone at the Postal Service or any handler along the way to cut the envelope and slip the item out if they suspect something nice might be inside. I cannot fathom why anyone ships knives in envelopes.
 
Item should have been sent in a more secure box properly taped.
Item should have been insured for actual cost.
Item value should have declared for customs.

You both are at fault.

IMHO, as paypal will side with the buyer and the buyer will be made whole for his cost. He should split the cost with the sender as it was his request to undervalue the item to save money.
 
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Greyhulk,
You asked for him to declare a "gift" on the package and mark it $20, not smart on your part!! Some fault is on you!!

jpinc,
Shipping in a envelope like that is asking for trouble!!! Always use a box or Priority/Express box, taped to the max!!!

Its a tough call on who should take the hit??
 
Shipped a knife in an envelope? I have no words to describe the sheer fail involved. The same goes for asking for someone to blatantly lie on a customs form. I'd call this a wash, you guys basically screwed each other over and need to work this out privately.
 
Bottom line if he requested you to declare a lower value on insurance the hit should be on his end not the op's

Edit: just saw it was shipped in an envelope. The only reasonable thing imho is you guys split the loss and mark it as a learning experience for the both of you on how not to do things.
 
I agree this needs to be handled like gentlemen , 50/50 split . You will loose the dispute that's a given . Was the knife in a box inside the envelope ? I have shipped in a bag like that but with a priority box inside . I did this on a international sale . I think it was cheaper to ship this way. I also labeled both box and envelope .
 
I always think of situations like this especially when I see sales threads where someone states they are shipping with $50 insurance unless buyer says otherwise. If the item ends up lost most people aren't going to take $1000 loss whether they paid for additional insurance or not. This is a crap situation hopefully you guys can agree to split the actual cost of the knife involved.
 
I've seen countless items to canada via envelope to my friend jdm_666, never once have i had a problem.


how do i know ur customs didn't confiscate it?
 
I told him to split 50/50 he dosnt want too now he wants the full refund, buyer is a complete joke.
 
I was trying to save u money by lying on the customs form and now it goes missing the fault is on me.

How is this my fault? I did u a favour, I would have insured it otherwise.

I'm sorry but the fault should be on you since you asked me to defraud customs.

Now u won't even 50/50 split it! Are u kidding me?
 
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