Shipped knife, not picked up, how would you proceed?

[Grayzer86]

Im sorry to start a new post for this but i have run into a situation and i am not sure how best to proceed. Two weeks ago, I sold a knife to a person in California. She payed, stated that it was a gift for her boyfriend and would like it shipped as fast as possible as the birthday was just over a week away, and she would pick it up the minute she got the delivery notice. I agreed and sent the knife with full tracking and insurance and all. Communication and her response time was damn near instant during the purchase and after shipping, when giving her the shipping info. Shipping was $36 from Canada. My dilemma is that the tracking shows attempted delivery a week ago, and the knife has not been picked up. Sometimes Canada post tracking sucks at updating, so i attempted to reach her using the email and contact forms i was given. Nothing. Wondering if it was strictly a site issue, i called the destination post office which was very helpful. They informed me the package was still sitting there, and had not been picked up, nor had they seen her all week (small town, population 450). No big deal. The issue is that as usual, i marked the package to be returned to me if it was unclaimed. Sunday is the deadline for her to claim it or it will be shipped back to me at my cost, and the post office is closed weekends. The staff there said they could put an extension on it, to hold until Wednesday before sending it back to me which is fine. My real dilemma comes when the knife is shipped back to me. I can not reach the customer to discuss the matter and because it was purchased through a third party online store, i dont have direct access to her paypal to refund. With no communication, i cant even get the info on how to refund the money if or when i get the knife back. My second major issue, is how much to refund. If i can reach her, do i refund the full amount of $150 and take the kick in the nuts for the $36 return shipping will cost, plus the free shipping speed upgrade i gave her which was an extra $12 above the shipping i charged her? Do i refund her the Purchase price of the knife minus my costs to have the unclaimed package shipped back here, so $114? All of this is assuming i can even reach her, since its now been 13 days since our last communication with no response. I have never run into this situation so im not entirely sure how to proceed. What would you guys do?

 

[Bill DeShivs]

If you refund anything, deduct any fees that you have already paid.

 

[Randydb]

That's a crazy situation. I would suggest deducting these extra costs before refunding...or having them pay these extra costs before shipping again. Let us know what happens.

 

[mqqn]

I concur with Bill - the failing was on the recipient to pick up the package and the post office has limits to how long it will store a package for obvious reasons.

When you are able to contact the person, I would deduct the additional postage expense that you incurred as a result of the failure of the recipient.

I hope nothing bad has happened to her to keep her from picking up the package; you just never know.

best

mqqn

 

[VaughnT]

I would definitely continue trying to reach her. When the post office's deadline strikes, accept the lumps and get your knife back. If the customer asks for a refund some time down the road, only refund what little's left after you deduct all of your expenses.

I understand that things happen and she might have been rushed to the hospital with acute pendicitus or something. If she contacts you in the near future and has a really good sob story, you have to remember that it might very well be just a story. Should could have simply forgotten, broken up with the guy, lost track of time in a fog of drug abuse.... lots of reasons why this important gift was never picked up. You'll never be able to deduce the truth of the situation, so don't feel bad about deducting all your shipping expenses.

If she's an honest person, she'll understand that you've incurred a lot of costs and won't quibble about losing the lion's share of what she paid. If she's not an honest person and tried to file a complaint with the store she purchased it from, or the card she used to purchase it with... you have a ream of emails showing the timeline and lack of communication from her that left you with no choice.

 

[bodog]

As long as you act in good faith there's nothing more you can do. Have the knife returned to you. Since you can't reach her to get her information then you can't really refund anything. If she finally gets ahold of you, then refund the cost minus return shipping. You did what you could to make her a happy customer. Some people will not be pleased by anything someone else does and some people don't know how to accept responsibility for things turning out sour. You're in control and have done things in a stand up manner. She can like it or not, but if she's out the return shipping fees, that's not your fault. You tried to help out.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Man, this must be the week for registered users who post about selling knives. It is against the rules and this member should know that, since he has been here four years.

Thread closed.