International Shipping + Paypal Dispute - Laurin

Thank you guys for kind words. I promise as soon as knive arrives, I'll immadiately cancel PP dispute, or send money back to Josh.
 
The customs label is trackable on the USPS website until it leaves the country, then, I'd suspect most countries with modern postal systems track the package the rest of the way. Heck, when a package comes in to the US I typically have to sign for it. As others have said, not having that label number is the killer here. It sucks when stuff like this happens and you both have my sympathy. Hopefully it will all work out.
 
So why not FEDex or UPS? They track everything from beginning to end. Are they much more expensive?
 
I'm not sure about other countries but UPS in Canada rapes us in fees. One exabefore I knew about this is: I bought something from Spyderco direct. When UPS delivered it I was charged nearly 75% of the value of the item in brokerage charges. If ordering from another country I refuse to use Fedex or UPS. If the seller won't use regular postal services they do not get my dime.

I have tracked packages from the states and into Canada before- is Canada the only other country linked with USPS??
 
elkins45 said:
So why not FEDex or UPS? They track everything from beginning to end. Are they much more expensive?
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UPS or FedEx will charge you around $100 (vs. approx $35 for USPS Global Express).

So, yes, they are MUCH more expensive.
 
Another example of why I don't deal internationally. Even if everyone is honest and above board the problems that could be resolved easily in domestic deals become major headaches.
 
USPS Priority International... Best option for me when buying from the US, costs less than USD15. Simple tracking, point to point (at point the item leaves the US and arrives into my country) with delivery confirmation. Number can be tracked at both USPS and my local postal service. Lots of countries can track packages sent by USPS on their local postal service website.

Like it or not this situation will make things even more difficult for international buyers with almost everyone commenting "US 50 only for me". On one hand I feel for Josh being on the receiving end of a PP dispute. Keep those receipts next time you ship items out; both local and overseas. Every time I ship something out the receipt goes into the wallet and it gets trashed only when I have received feedback.
 
Not to throw any stones as I don't know Josh in anyway but I made the same mistake with this same buyer through ebay. I had 9 of the ten knives get to there international destination and the one to larin did not make it. I could not find my custom label as this is my fault so I refunded the money. So I was out the knife and the money. I now do two things when shipping international I first send priority and second I get a certification of shipping for a 1.15 from the post office. These both have numbers to send to paypal to cover you. (If paypal is in a good mood) I will not talk bad about larin as I don't know if this was a isolate incident from a customs stand point. Take it as you will.

Also as to put my two cents in if a international buyer wants you to falsify the custom form by putting a lower price or a gift then they should be willing to pay the extra cash for express international that has a tracking number. Now with situations like this if you want to save money on the customs in your country make me feel that I will not lose my money in the process.

I like shipping international and have made a few friends this way and this incident almost made me not what to send international anymore. But just like in anything there is good honest people and not. To say if this is that situation...........Maybe? Maybe Not!
 
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I hate reading this type of thread because it sours people against shipping overseas. Luckily I have ways around that. :D

But to my mind if the buyer did not want the package valued at the actual value to avoid customs duties - which means you cannot insure the parcel to its full value - then he forfeits any right to a claim if the item goes missing en route.

When I take that route, which I occasionally do, I always tell the sender that I take full responsibility if it goes astray.

I would add however that I have had two expensive blades take a LONG time to arrive recently. One was coming from Lithuania and the other from the USA.

Both rocked up eventually, none the worse for wear. I swear by USPS and have NEVER had an item go missing in all my years of dealing.

I think it is wrong of the buyer to open a dispute. Even if the seller had a receipt it don't mean shit. Only Global Express (or International Express I believe it is called now) is trackable.

Having a parcel number doesn't mean anything. And if you haven't insured the item for its full value, you're screwed anyway if it disappears.
 
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Global/International Express is trackable. Priority International also used to be until they got clever and made only Global Express trackable (because it costs more). If you go onto USPS.com and check out the international shipping section, they have a list of countries serviced by Global Express. For more expensive items I highly recommend it!

CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
I have tracked packages from the states and into Canada before- is Canada the only other country linked with USPS??
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Just to add my $.02... :D

I've ordered several parts for PCs from Australia; I found out that having it sent First Class [snailmail] is quicker than sending it by "Surface Mail"...First Class will be sent by air; Surface Mail goes by sea (yes, some mail is still sent by boat!)...

10 days was time by air/1st class; sea/surface would take a month...These were all CC purchases; no time for check/MO/bank draft to clear...
 
I'm in Scandinavia so a lot of my knives come from the US. In this case I really do feel that both parties are sincere and it's a very frustrating situation for both of them. Postal delivery VARIES ENORMOUSLY, last Friday a man in Marietta GA sent me a knife and I got it the next Tuesday! Stuff from Helsinki takes longer than that and this was US Postal Services and cost 10.75 dollars, it had the green customs label with scanning number. The package I sent him took a week(about average)and cost me 16.75 Euro about 25 dollars I suppose....a lot more!

I do think the package could yet appear as it can take up to 3 weeks, I had a package from Michigan take FOUR MONTHS...what happened was it went to customs and they forgot to send notification to the Post Office that I could collect it...I only got it when going there for another knife! So the OP laurin should badger the customs office, Slovakia is in the EU like Finland so try this, could be a bureaucratic snarl up.

Also last week, an e-bay seller sent me an antique slip-joint from the US, she actually took a photo of the packet with my address on it the stamping marks and customs label and sent it to me as an e-mail attachment, an excellent proof of postage and goodwill gesture,certainly made me trust her.

I hope this turns out well as both parties seem honest and sincere, let's not have too much knocking of international deals,it's important in the internet world of commerce.
 
Yes I had a lost knife with waldizal, and on another shipping I've got just box in torn envelope. All these three situations happened to me on the last 2 months. I'm afraid that somebody from post office takes note about quite lot of shipments to me :-( Now I'll pay more for USPS priority international or express mail. I've got knife last week with USPS first class mail, but there were registered mail added, so it was tracked too. I've never lost package which was shipped as tracked.
 
laurin said:
Yes I had a lost knife with waldizal, and on another shipping I've got just box in torn envelope. All these three situations happened to me on the last 2 months. I'm afraid that somebody from post office takes note about quite lot of shipments to me :-( Now I'll pay more for USPS priority international or express mail. I've got knife last week with USPS first class mail, but there were registered mail added, so it was tracked too. I've never lost package which was shipped as tracked.
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I find it weird that you forgot to mention these past incidents before waldizal brought them up.

This whole situation is very painful to witness because there is very little doubt in my mind that Josh shipped the knife and laurin did not receive it.

I agree that Josh was terribly careless, even sloppy, with regards to the way he shipped this knife, especially considering the well-document distrust he has for PayPal.
On the other hand, even if he had kept all the records, that would have meant very little to PayPal, they are simply enforcing their "item not received" buyer protection feature.
As for tracking, I have to disagree with laurin, I do not think it would have reduced the chances of the package "disappearing". Tracking on internartional shipments varies enormously depending on the destination, but in most cases it seldom works all the way to the delivery. I sent a knife to Mark (Buffalohump) in South Africa a couple of months ago using Global Express and I had almost real-time tracking all the way to the USPS International Dispatch facility at Miami International Airport, and then nothing. When checking USPS track & mconfirm, that package is still in transit although it arrived around 8 weeks ago.

My personal opinion is the following: Josh clearly warned laurin that he would do his best in order for the knife to get to him safely, but that he could not take responsibility if it did not. Reading laurin's response, I would say he agreed to the terms.
Clearly, Josh did not do his best to ship this knife, but he cannot bear the responsibility alone. I think laurin jumped the gun by opening a claim with PP so quickly, and even more so escalating it to a dispute. PayPal gives the buyer and the seller a timeline to try and find a consensual settlement, laurin did not use that option.
Furthermore, laurin could have used the GB&U section of this forum to seek advice about how to handle the situation, he did not.
As it stands, laurin has already won his case against Josh simply because there is no way that the latter can prove the knife has been delivered.
I hope that laurin realizes that this outcome is unfair, especially considering his past negative experience. I am sure that had he mentioned the fact that other packages had gone missing recently, Josh would have handled this deal differently.
Unless that knife shows up by some kind of miracle, in which case laurin would have to pay Josh in full immediately, I believe both parties should bear 50% of the loss.
 
Shipping time to Australia varies also.
I bought a knife on the 16th of Sept. and still haven't received it, but I also bought some knives last week and the package arrived today.
I don't know why this happens, but I have come to expect it.
If I buy a knife that is expensive, I always pay for priority shipping and it always arrives within a week from the U.S.
 
USPS Express international is the best (and reasonably priced) imo.
I received dozens of packets from US with no problems. The only time i was screwed was when I asked seller for cheapest shipping and of course it was lost. Since it was my initiative i rejected sellers offer of partial refund. Lost about 200 bucks too ((
I dont think Slovakia post is any worse than Russian's

so my .02 kopecks:
a. ship by Priority or Express mail
b. keep the receipt
c. have shipping insured

Ps: could you agree and split the loss?
 
Lenny_Goofoff said:
USPS Express international is the best (and reasonably priced) imo.
I received dozens of packets from US with no problems. The only time i was screwed was when I asked seller for cheapest shipping and of course it was lost. Since it was my initiative i rejected sellers offer of partial refund. Lost about 200 bucks too ((
I dont think Slovakia post is any worse than Russian's

so my .02 kopecks:
a. ship by Priority or Express mail
b. keep the receipt
c. have shipping insured

Ps: could you agree and split the loss?
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I have contacted him asking if I could issue him a refund when I have the money (before the 30th) for the full amount of the knife. Right now paypal keeps trying to take money out of my credit card and bank account incurring overdraft fees on both.
 
Josh K said:
I have contacted him asking if I could issue him a refund when I have the money (before the 30th) for the full amount of the knife. Right now paypal keeps trying to take money out of my credit card and bank account incurring overdraft fees on both.
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Man that sux. You've lost a nice knife and are getting hit with those inflated overdraft fee's at the same time. Sorry to hear its just getting worse.

I do ship express insured for full value and save all paperwork untill knife arrives when I ship abroad. But with this, and many other things I've read in the past year here, has me thinking I won't ever sell other than CONUS again.
 
An incident like this makes me want to keep my business in the US and also drop out of PayPal. That's not an indictment of people generally, just the danger of one bad deal doing so much financial damage. It's an unacceptable risk: The Laurin Syndrome.
 
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