Wanted to get some opinions on a hypothetical situation, I’m asking for a friend. Sorry if the context seems redundant but I want to keep this non personal.
So , person A sells person B some clones. Person A lives in the US, Person B lives in Canada. Person A sends the clones , sends tracking , pictures of the clones before sending and has all proof of the package being mailed, receipts , customs declaration, etc. Person B doesn’t get the clones on the expected delivery date.
Person A suggests to person B that maybe there is a delay and to contact the shipping company but he refuses. Instead of calling to inquire, person B wants replacements sent. When told he could have replacements but they weren’t available at the moment and wouldn’t be for a while , person B becomes irate and disrespectful , starts cussing and demands a refund.
So person A calls fedex to inquire about the delay and it’s found that person B who is receiving the package , owes duties on the package and that’s why it hasn’t been delivered on time. Person B still insists he should have a refund and it’s person A’s fault. He threatens to publicly call person A a scammer unless he gets a refund.
He thinks person A who shipped the package was responsible for calling the shipping company. He says that the shipping company wouldn’t allow him to inquire about the package addressed to him. He claims he called them and they wouldn’t speak to him and also claims the shippers website says that the sender must inquire. When asked for proof of calling and a screenshot of the website stating that policy , he can’t produce it. . Person A has screenshots as proof that he called fedex. Person A was also told by a FedEx employee that the shipper OR receiver could arrange to pay the duties and it didn’t matter who called to take care of it.
Person B thinks it’s person A’s fault no matter what because he paid for overnight delivery and it wasn’t delivered overnight. Therefore he should be refunded. Meanwhile , his package is available for pickup. All he has to do is call FedEx , pay the duties and pickup his package.
So what do you guys think about this situation. Who is in the wrong here ?
Kind of depends if your just a hobbyist or running a business.
Youshouldn’t be responsible for extra duties and taxes that weren’t agreed upon beforehand. But with the way thing are with reviews, depending how much the duties are (Unless it’s something like he owes on past dues), and how long it’s been sitting in the box, you may be better off paying it or sending a replacement and make sure it makes it to person B directly. We all know it doesn’t take much effort or cost To make a clone, just some time that you would of spend anyway making several clones. If they payed good money for it (like much more than the price it would be to ship it), it may be better customer service/just shut them up to put ego/who’s right and wrong aside. Trust me, I know where your coming from. I just got this same lecture from my managers (again) with just make the customer happy enough to come back or not make a bad review. Even to back off on the way I handle customers not wearing masks . The customers not always right, but having them flame you on social media and on boards like this can really hurt a smaller business.
If your just another grower doing them a favor and only charged a “few bucks” to get them a “cut” of something that may be hard to find, your don’t have much to lose one way or the other.
I don’t think sending replacements were a problem. The problem was there were none to send and he would have had to wait for more to be ready bad timing too because just started mothers over. That’s when the disrespect started.
Something he didn’t consider is although he did pay good money , he also got a favor. I don’t see where the shipper is responsible to track his package. He could have called days ago and had his package already
Ahh, now it’s a “backordered” issue lol. At least you can prove you did good on your end for the first shipment. But then good luck tracking down all the places he is flaming you and try to defend yourself. Again depending what the duties are, maybe pay it and get it to him first and let him know if it doesn’t survive you’ll be sending one out as soon as it’s available… as long it’s it’s before it getting too cold to ship without risking freezing.
At least he knows where the order stands and it’s his customs holding it up. But of course that didn’t stop him from Turing it around on you . That’s why there’s a board for them
And that’s why I would love to find a way out of retail… I guess Since it’s legal here and they are opening up retail sales (finally after 4 years), I should look into grow job somewhere lol.
Again, if your not a business, then what ever, otherwise maybe suck it up the best you can and not do business with them next time.
I have oredered stuff from the U.S to Canada for years,every once in a bluemoon something turns out to require a duty being paid.I just pay the duty and get my items.Person A did everything they were required to…Person B the purchaser is responsible for any import duties…RocketBoy hit the nail on the head.
I didn’t even think of that scam! Again, people suck!
Refund well after you know the cut will be dead in the box, “your check is in the (snail) mail” and then don’t deal with them again.
PERSON A: DON’T be intimidated!!! You did ALL you could be “expected” to do. Next time, IF there is a “next time”, advise that individual ordering is responsible for ANY ADDITIONAL COST!!! Don’t give it another thought, you went beyond your Seller/Shipper obligations. Stay safe/be well AND…NO MORE SHIPPING TO THAT NAME/ADDESS!!!
If person A knows for a fact person b didn’t get them because of unpaid duties, it’s obviously not a scam. Sounds like person B is dumb and didn’t understand how the shipping process worked.
If I was person A, I would keep whatever costs were lost on packaging and s&h, and refund a reasonable amount of money, and then never do business with person b again.
Person A could make an argument that they fulfilled their responsibility and are entitled to payment, but if person B really never got the clones… that’s just bad business…
If person B did get the clones and is pulling a fast one, the shipping company would have verified that they had been delivered on time.
The buyer is responsible for paying duties. We had a nice trip to Europe once, and bought several souvenir items, and we were responsible for the duties. I can not even imagine telling the store where we made the purchase that they were responsible to pay our duties.
Duties are just a tax on a purchase, and are the responsibility of the buyer. My guess is they don’t have the money so are trying to cast blame your way, or are having a case of buyers remorse on the amount of money they spent and are really just trying to get out of the purchase agreement.
If it was a local shipment, you might resend when new ones are ready. The challenge/problem with even considering to resend to them is when they arrive, a duty will be due again.
Putting aside the fact they got irate and disrespectful, you might offer a compromise. You will reship when new clones are ready if they prepay shipping and duty amount.
My guess is it is buyers remorse, and they are just trying to get out of the agreement. I would not issue a refund but would probably offer to reship if they pay the shipping and duty in advance.
Sounds like someone who is use to getting things their way. Why’s it gotta be NOW? If you’re in that much of a hurry, go somewhere else. If a day or two makes a serious difference, nothing personal, but I’d not use that seller again when I was in a hurry. Even Amazon can’t get 100% delivery satisfaction.
Now, I will say, the seller is also responsible for checking the shipping info at the smaller levels. But the responsibility is just that, not paying duties or making contact for the buyer.
They sound willfully ignorant but they could just be ignorant, my grandmother seems like an awful person and sometimes a complete idiot until you realize she genuinely doesn’t understand today’s world. I think your friend did the right thing and again, if I needed them that immediately I’d look elsewhere and just get the replacement/refund at the pace it takes. Sellers, especially private ones, are just people like you and me, no reason to demand they move mountains for you.
A lot of people who buy and have stuff shipped across borders by FedEx or UPS don’t realize not only can you pay duty on the items, but FedEx and UPS charge a fee plus a percentage of value of the goods for filling out the import papers which can end up more than the cost of the goods.
I always ask for stuff to be sent by the US postal service, they have one fee of $5. UPS minimum charge is $35 I think now FedEx will probably be similar. You can opt to do it yourself for nothing but the duty, but they don’t tell you that.
That’s what I have been thinking. When he asked for a refund , even though he won’t inquire about the package , it made me feel like maybe he already had them delivered and was trying to get his money back or, maybe he regrets spending the money and just wants his money back
No it’s not a back ordered issue. It s a delay issue on the part of FedEx on why it didn’t get delivered. Here’s another twist.
For security reasons , person B did not want to give person A his phone number to put on the package label.
Subsequently , that’s what caused the delay because FedEx was not able to contact him to notify him there were duties paid and the package would be held. Earlier that week, another package was sent to a different person in his same area and duties were also owed on his package. That person got the package on time because FedEx had his contact information
I would have considered paying the duties if he didn’t tell me to go fuck myself and call me a shady douche bag.
I’d just tell person B… even if you sent the clones now the duties would still have to be paid… so why not pay the duties and save yourself the time of waiting for new ones?.. I think with most people it’s a matter of perspective. If you can paint a picture that makes them use their brain they will figure it out.
That’s what I thought as well. If I were to order something from overseas , I feel it is my responsibility to understand how taxes may affect my import and It would be on me to handle that , not the sender
. The customers not always right, but having them flame you on social media and on boards like this can really hurt a smaller business.
. That’s why there’s a board for them
Again, people suck! 