Not Doing Well with European Sales

harasha

First is the item from Hohn, in Germany, which ignores my queries about confirming shipments with a tracking number.




Now, having won an item in a Spink's auction, I have this tracking message from the Royal Mail:





Date Time Status Track point





16/12/15 07:25 ON ITS WAY TODO NOT FLY - SENT SURFACE HEATHROW WORLDWIDE DC





14/12/15 21:02 ARRIVED (MDN) AT HEATHROW WORLDWIDE DC
14/12/15 17:46 ON ITS WAY TOHWDC AIRSURE LONDON CENTRAL MAIL CENTR
14/12/15 17:30 ITEM COLLECTED LONDON CENTRAL MAIL CENTR





From what I have read, the item may be destroyed, at worst, or take up to 60 days to arrive, if I am lucky.

harasha

I just love the new Forum website.

coinkat

sorry to read this. Lets hope for the best

Nap

Give it a few days to see if it ends up in US customs (I'm assuming you're in the US). That message is only 2 days old so I would not lose heart yet.

pruebas

A couple of years ago, I bid on, won, and paid for two lots in a Fruhwald auction out of Austria.



When the package arrived my PO box, the contents were missing. I assume they were stolen at JFK customs/sort, the point of entry into the U.S.



I contact Fruwald. No response. Several calls and emails. No response or call backs. I send mail to sixbid. No help.



You would have thought with the amount they charged me for shipping, it would have been insured. The package was registered, so USPS paid me the max on an incoming Registered parcel--about $25.



Needless to say, I no longer bid with them. (And stuff goes cheap, so it's often tempting.)



But I've never had any other problems from the many European houses I use.



I hope your stuff arrives ok.



BTW, I've never seen anyone send an auction lot via surface. It must be a mistake.

harasha

I do not believe that the item was sent surface. The problems with the Forum's new website makes it difficult to show a clear response.



I believe what happens, in a case like this, is that the UK post marks the package "Do Not Fly" and changes the delivery to surface mail.



And yes, the charge for shipping was surprisingly high.

SYRACUSIAN

You should pray that they've sent it via snail mail. Royal Mail is private now, and every time we are expecting a parcel or envelope from London, and with a Mrs born and bred in London, we expect tons of them, especially this season, the ingoing-outgoing never stops, there's a courier service that delivers whatever is registered. It takes 3 to 4 weeks usually, and I'm also in Europe, albeit 4 hours by plane away from London.

The private owners send the registered etc parcels to a sorting center in Germany first, and it takes ages or they simply get lost. Regular courier still gets delivered by our everyday postman. Also it's the holiday season and it might get stolen. Hang in there, and if after 30 days the parcel is not there, tell them to refund you and/or initiate an official search with the PO, otherwise you'll sue their a$$es for the principle alone. That's what I'd do. It's their responsibility for the item to get into your hands, like it is for every little eBay seller. If it got lost, too bad, refund me, or screw you.

I hate the new software.

Boosibri

I always struggle with Bolaffi... Getting them to even send me an invoice is painful let alone shipping the item. The hurdle is always high for me to deal with then.

ShadyDave

Did you pay by credit card? If so, do a charge back and the credit card company will handle it from there. They might ask you for a tracking #, so document your repeated requests to follow-up with the company and provide them with the tracking #. The CC will initiate a chargeback after they see this information and you should get your funds back. The auction company might not let you conduct business with them anymore, but I don't think you plan on dealing with them anymore...











Either way, good luck!

OriginalDan

This scares me to read, as I just won a few lots in the last Fruhwald auction. I already had to request a new invoice with the buyers fee adjusted down from 22% to the correct amount of 15%. I hope the shipping experience is without incident.