The two weeks delay in shipping out is the only problem here - bad.
Beyond that, three weeks is NOT excessive at this time of year - I
would expect two weeks as the norm and up to two months as unalarming.
I have had buyers specify that they want insurance or particular forms
of shipment - that is reasonable, as is the expectation that $18 is an
uninsured postage. Anyone who doesn't realise that is a clot.
Point to your (no doubt) remarkable feedback record and hammer home the
snail pace of international mail at this time of year. In no
circumstance send a refund until the item is known to be irretrievably
lost - I've had a customer in the US receive the insurance refund from
me and the item on the same day, six months later! Needless to say, she
did not offer to split the insurance cheque with me despite the fact
that the fault was with USPS, I'd done all the recovery work and had
posted a 'loaner' to her. In fact, it took me a year of polite
reminders to get the loaner back. :(
Apologise profusely, indicate that he should have requested insured
shipping and be prepared to take a negative feedback. Point out that if
he gives you negative feedback, then he has no redress if you get
grumpy about it. It's hardly going to encourage you to refund is it,
when it is not withdrawable. Oh, and whereabouts in France? I'm sure
that we can find a local substitute for Walt to pay him a visit (no
guns, just heavy calibre invective and ridicule).
AndrewF
(Who has only one negative feedback - from France).
On 15/12/2004, at 3:16 AM, Skip Williams wrote:
> I feel that we are both at the mercy of the shipper and the holiday
> traffic, and that we'll both have to wait. I'm not inclined to refund
> anything to the buyer until the Post Office tells me that the package
> is lost, but I don't have any idea of how long to wait. If the
> package disappears, I fear I will have to give him his money back, and
> eat the whole amount.
>
> The moral to myself? Be more careful of defining shipping options,
> insurance, etc. up-front, or insist on using EMS in the auction
> conditions.
>
> Any advice?
>
> Skip
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