ETSY

[FreyafromLondon]

Posting here for traffic.
Hi, I wonder if anyone can give me some advice? I ordered a gift for my child from Etsy from the USA and have been waiting for three weeks. It's had the tracking information all the way through to customs. I went on this morning and it's saying delivered.
I've been home all morning and nothing has arrived. Who should I contact about this?
I've messaged the seller but obviously being in America the time difference means it's the middle of the night. I'm so worried because I can't afford to loose £210
What if she says it's been delivered so there's nothing she can do?
I'm so disappointed. My child is SEN and been waiting so patiently now I'll have to tell him he won't be getting it after asking multiple times a day when it's coming for the last 3 weeks

When does it say it was delivered? And who by?

@TeaKitten

Sorry to hear you are having problems. Is there photo evidence of the delivery being made/handed over?

Presumably it's the Post Office or courier tracking that says it's been delivered, not the seller. You'll need to contact them. (courier) for further details.

No photo evidence. And the tracking number isn't being recognised on the global shipping website

The courier has no contract with the OP so is unlikely to communicate with her. The seller will need to contact them.

OP I had something similar with an item that was sent from overseas - the tracking said it was delivered when it hadn’t been. In this case it turned out the courier had marked it delivered when it had been handed over at Customs. It may be something like that.

@BlindurErBóklausMaður I'm sorry to sound ignorant but do you mean I need to contact global shipping in America?

I used to sell a lot on Etsy, and I remember this from their tracking system. I think this message means that the parcel is now at your local distribution centre. Probably Royal Mail, but could be DHL/UPS etc. It will probably take a few more days / up to a week actually to get delivered to your house.

I had the same situation and went back to the company to say it hadn't arrived. The company is responsible for chasing it up with the courier not you.

They said they would resend it and I eventually ended up with two parcels (and offered to post one back but they said not to worry.)

You need to contact the seller as they are the ones who posted it.

It's probably with customs who'll contact you soon requesting a fee.

Thank you so much for your replies. So there is a chance it hasn't been delivered to my home address then? I wish the Etsy tracking wouldn't put delivered to my address because that is confusing

It's almost certainly held up by customs unless you've already paid a fee?

But even if it is lost the seller will claim via courier and post another one.

i had something similar with a parcel from India. Was stuck at customs (and seller was supposed to have paid all customs charges). What I would say though, in future use PayPal as they’re very good if you ever need a refund. In my case seller refunded once I’d raised it as a case with PayPal

It says “available at pick up point” in the info below delivered. Did you give your home address for delivery or a local collection point?

And it says waiting charges payment below that. So they’ll be in contact for you to pay I imagine.

It does indeed say waiting charges payment. This usually means customs have charged a fee. This occasionally happens with royal mail when I have items from abroad. I wouldn't assume all is lost just yet. Have you tried contacting the courier?

Thank you everyone. I have contacted the seller and waiting on a reply. I think it's best if I go through her first. She is a private seller so not a company and I'm hoping she can look in to it for me. Thank you all for your replies x

It’s likely held at customs (given the value is over the threshold). You should enquire with Royal Mail, the tracking number usually changes when it crosses the border.
The seller is responsible for getting the item to you but if it clearly shows as “awaiting payment”, they are not going to be able to help you at this stage. As someone who sells on Etsy, my advise to customers is to 1. Check with neighbours, 2. Check with the post office and 3. Allow 3 days (because companies do mark parcels as delivered before actually delivering them sometimes). Only then I usually re-send the item/refund.

I don't even know which courier it will be this end. I've checked the cameras and it definitely wasn't delivered to my address. I'm in a flat so I know they will have had to buzz to come inside. The camera is showing the communal door and it hasn't showed anyone turning up with a parcel in the last 24 hours.
Do you know how I can find out which courier will/or should have delivered it?

Also I've had no correspondence from anyone saying I owe customs any money. Who do I pay? How much do I pay? I've never ordered anything from abroad before so apologies if I sound dumb

Sometimes this just means it's been 'delivered' to the destination country (i.e. UK) delivery service.

Have you tried putting the tracking number into e.g. Royal Mail website? Often the international tracking numbers will work.

Whichever company is delivering it will ask for the customs money.

If you owe money to customs, rest assured that the delivery company (Royal Mail / Parcelforce / UPS etc) will deliver a card with all necessary details through your letterbox in the next few days! Once you’ve paid, the item will be delivered to you within a few days

The delivery company contact you to make the payment, usually via a card through the door.

It depends on the item but you generally have to pay vat so 20% plus a handling fee so £42 minimum.