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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU about refund from Etsy?

126 replies

JoanneCofton · 04/02/2021 07:28

Just need some advice really!

I use Etsy ALL the time, I get the majority of gifts/things for my house from there and always use a uk seller. I do this because a) Etsy promote supporting uk sellers and b) Delivery times are quicker (usually).

So I ordered an item on the 17th January. The shop stated it was uk seller and was based it London. The item is quite large and cost 60 quid. The delivery time was set from the 1st-3rd Feb, all good and ordered. It was dispatched on the 18th.

So the 3rd came and went a no sign of my item. As it’s quite a large item I had to provide my number so the delivery company could contact me to arrange a delivery date. Once it didn’t arrive I contacted the seller who was very nice and said he would look into it. He then messaged again saying the item was stuck in customs. I was very confused so asked for the tracking number which stated the item was coming from Italy!!! I obviously queried this with him and he explained HE is based in London and therefore the business is a Uk business but the actual product is made in Italy and that this is made clear on his Etsy page. I had another look at the Etsy page and found that right down at the bottom, under all the reviews, delivery dates etc, it mentions the dispatcher in Italy. BUT that is right at the bottom, I’ve never scrolled that far down and plus it is stated twice at the top of the page that it is a uk seller. Anyway so I asked for a refund and he’s said it clearly states in his terms & conditions that he is no responsible for delays with customs.

The tracking states it has been with customs for days but was finally released yesterday but I have checked again this morning and now it says AGAIN that it’s delayed at customs Confused.

So aibu asking for a refund?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
Rupertbeartrousers · 04/02/2021 08:54

I wonder if this is another Brexit cross over issue, when we were in the EU, dispatching from Europe wouldn’t have added much time on and no customs checks/charges so he probably didn’t feel the need to display it all over the item page.

Brexit has completely changed everything for importers and exporters... the paperwork, charges and holdups are a massive problem. Businesses have been warned about this, he obviously wasn’t brexit-ready when he took your order.

Beautiful3 · 04/02/2021 08:55

That would have caught me out too. That is misleading. Take screen shots and report him to etsy. Ask for a refund too. See what happens.

abc31 · 04/02/2021 08:57

I'm with you, I think the wording was very disingenuous and you're within your rights to complain.

I've noticed a similar thing with eBay, you filter to UK only, they say they're a UK seller and dispatch from within the UK. The estimated delivery time looks oddly long, you click on contact details and the seller is based in China. Not a problem if they have someone in the UK sending out goods but many seem to masquerade as sending within the UK when in fact they're based overseas. eBay seem to allow this.

Brefugee · 04/02/2021 08:59

well, it's a bit of a teachable moment for you, OP, isn't it?

Always read the small print.

truthisalie · 04/02/2021 09:05

Complain to Etsy. It looks as it has been deliberately misleading not putting the information about customs in the delivery section.

truthisalie · 04/02/2021 09:08

I wouldn't bother with the seller anymore but would complain straight to Etsy. Take all the screenshots in case they update their selling page.

Original poster
JoanneCofton · 04/02/2021 09:08

@Brefugee from now on if something says it is based in the uk and dispatches from the uk I will be sure to search all the small print to see if that is a blatant lie

OP posts:
AaronPurr · 04/02/2021 09:12

@Brefugee

well, it's a bit of a teachable moment for you, OP, isn't it?

Always read the small print.

What small print would have told the OP the item was going to be dispatched from Italy?

The production partner being based in Italy doesn't indicate the item is based in Italy.

The buyer being reponsible for custom fees is a standard part of Etsy policy, and would in this case apply to those buying from outside the UK.

The delivery states it dispatches from the UK and the seller is based in the UK. So the OP, and others aren't unreasonable for thinking this is the case.

onetwothreeadventure · 04/02/2021 09:15

With you on this one OP, it's so misleading/blatantly wrong!

I also find Etsy a pain for complaints - like you have to wait a certain time until the very last postage dates (so if someone ships internationally their postage date can be months away), have to raise with the seller first etc.. Hope it comes and saves you the hassle!

Brefugee · 04/02/2021 09:15

@JoanneCofton sorry - blush - hadn't read all the thread. I'll slap myself.
I'm with you, it is misleading despite what he has said, and you'd do well to raise it with etsy and ask for a refund.
Since it's personalised maybe you could ask him for a discount if it's really lovely?

many apologies - I've been looking at etsy a lot recently and have been disappointed that most of the lovely hand-made things are eclipsed by mass produced stuff (some of it also lovely, but not, i think, the point of etsy?)

Newnamefor2021 · 04/02/2021 09:16

Totally with you OP. If your searched via UK it should have been and it's misleading. I never scroll all the information unless it's like to be dodgy 😆

I would assume partner in Italy means that some products are made there but he buys them here and ships form here.

samanthawashington · 04/02/2021 09:19

You have to wait until it clears customs, but I would complain to the seller and advise him if he doesn't alter his t&cs to make it clearer you would complain to Etsy. I would leave a poor review regarding delivery but keep the item if you like it. If not return and ask for a refund. You do not need to return it to Italy. I sell Etsy too. He shouldn't advise a delivery time he cannot stick to.

VinterKvinna · 04/02/2021 09:22

i had an item from Germany that was a week late
(I didnt know it was from Germany, but it wasnt a problem - didnt have to pay customs charges, it was £55)

SinkGirl · 04/02/2021 09:25

@JoanneCofton

He has replied and said that items that are not personalised are sent from the UK but orders that are personalised (which I’d imagine is 99.9% of the orders due to the nature of it) are sent from Italy but Etsy does not allow for more than one dispatch location to be set.
Then he needs to make two listings - one for non personalised items shipped from the U.K., and one for personalised items shipping from Italy.

You will get a Customs bill for this which you had no way of knowing about.

WhatHaveIFound · 04/02/2021 09:27

@VinterKvinna

i had an item from Germany that was a week late (I didnt know it was from Germany, but it wasnt a problem - didnt have to pay customs charges, it was £55)
Germany is a bit of a nightmare at the moment though it's Covid rather than Brexit related. I sent a parcel to my DD there and it's been stuck in customs since mid January.
MuddlingMackem · 04/02/2021 09:40

OP, if you do have customs charges just don't pay them, the parcel should then be returned to the sender once it exceeds the holding period, probably a week or so.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 04/02/2021 09:46

Then he needs to make two listings - one for non personalised items shipped from the U.K., and one for personalised items shipping from Italy.

Or alternatively state that all items are sent from Italy and then, for the very occasional non-personalised order he gets, a UK buyer isn't going to complain if a UK seller sends it from the UK. At any rate, it did still originally come from Italy. Like with the postage: you state the worst-case scenario and very few people will complain if you said allow 10 days but they receive it after 3.

I hate it on eBay too, when it says item location but you scroll down and the seller details are completely unintelligible if you don't speak Chinese. How would you possibly be able to follow it up when you don't even recognise the characters, let alone know what the actual name and city etc. are? Jack Dee made a joke ages ago about changing your phone language/settings to Greek for a laugh and then never being able to change it back to English - because you don't understand Greek. It's the same thing here.

I'm not an Etsy user, but I understand the principle: that it's the online equivalent of a local craft fair, where you can buy low-volume locally-hand-made goods - not mass-market factory-made stock from a foreign country.

Even if he did originally source it from Italy, he should have all of the stock in the UK, if he's claiming to be dispatching from the UK. If that's not feasible, he isn't really a UK seller at all - he's the UK contact/middleman of an Italian seller - and his listing should state this clearly, especially no we're post Brexit and customs charges are often levied. In fact, his role is immaterial if it's all online. As long as the Italian seller can communicate in English, what actual need is there for this seller, who happens to live in the UK himself? It's barely any different from people who exploit those who assume eBay will always be cheaper and sell an item for £30 on eBay before buying it (only after receiving the order) on Amazon for £20 and getting Amazon to send it to the customer direct.

I may choose to support my local greengrocer, and I don't expect all of the exotic fruit to have been produced locally - but if I ask for a bunch of bananas, I expect to be able to pay for them and take them away then and there - not be told I have to make the purchase and then wait for them to be sent specially from Costa Rica.

Nocar · 04/02/2021 09:53

I sell on Etsy and have some European customers. Since January I have been checking with EU customers to make sure they are aware that they are responsible for any custom charges etc and if they still want to proceed with order. This is in addition to info in my shops policies.
I think this seller is being quite stupid, there is a high chance that a lot of customers will refuse to pay unexpected import duties and if they are lucky the item will be returned uncollected to the seller. Hmrc have also imposed a whole raft of penalties, such as cost of storage for product, product being destroyed etc.. so the seller very much loses out on parcels not being collected. Even if it’s just the cost of postage, as they will still have to refund a customer if the item has not been received.
Up to now this sellers practises won’t have mattered much, but since brexit if they are not clear with customers then they are going to find themselves in the above situation. It might just be an oversight on the part of the seller rather than a deliberate intention to deceive you. Either you can open a case with the seller and just ask for a refund on the order. You are not obliged to collect it from the post office if it’s comes with lots of duties and charges attached to it. Refuse delivery and it will go back to source.

ClinkyMonkey · 04/02/2021 11:07

It is somewhat disingenuous of the seller to use the excuse that Etsy does not allow for more than one dispatch location to be set. This information could easily be placed within the description. The seller has fulfilled his obligations by making sure the correct information is in there, but you need a shovel to dig it out. I reckon he knows exactly what he's doing.

Original poster
JoanneCofton · 04/02/2021 11:11

Exactly, if he’d have said in the description that it was coming from Italy I would not have ordered as there are many people on there doing a similar item so I would have just ordered it from them. I do think he has been misleading specifically to allow for UK orders, I won’t be paying any customs charges and even if I was willing too, I’m not sure how I would as I haven’t received anything in the post from them to say what the charges are or how to pay them.

OP posts:
ErickBroch · 04/02/2021 11:21

I use etsy a lot and I agree I think it's intentionally deceiving. Claiming to be a UK shop is bollocks if it all comes from Italy and 'they can't be responsible for delays'. I would take it up with etsy

sonjadog · 04/02/2021 11:48

I think you have a case that he has been unclear as well. It buy a lot on Etsy so I know the format there and it should say on the item page that personalized ones are sent from Italy. Saying on the shop page is not enough. I would contact Etsy about it too.

olderadult · 04/02/2021 11:57

Etsy are full of people selling items they have bought from China and passing off as handmade. Genuine sellers like me are really pissed off with Etsy, but money talks. I reported a store selling Disney posters which is breaking every copyright law in existence, and they have done nothing

CaptainSirTomMooreismyhero · 04/02/2021 12:39

I think the onus was on the buyer to scroll down and not just expect everything to be shown on, say, the first screen you see.
However, don't distance selling regulations apply anyway so that you can obtain a refund? If it arrives though, you may have to pay to send it back.

If it was due by yesterday and it was delivered today or tomorrow, are you saying you don't want it OP?

Dogonahottinroof · 04/02/2021 12:42

@Ffsnosexallowed

Its a bit daft to assume that just because a seller is based in the UK they'll only be dealing in UK goods.
Not on etsy it isnt.