Be Careful with Returns to China

[Sea Urchin]

Warning, long boring story ahead! I am so annoyed. When I was on my quest for DARK lavender pearls a while back, I decided I was not going to settle but was going to return anything that wasn't dark enough to make me happy. (They are so hard to find!)

I ordered a lavender strand from Lei Family Jewelry in Shanghai, on ebay. The price was good (a little under $300 for 9 mm or something like that) and I had not heard anything bad about them.

The pearls arrived and they were nice shape and luster but kind of silvery in person, not dark enough. I sent them back. Rather, my husband sent them back for me. The post office clerk told him they should arrive back to the seller in China within 7-10 business days.

After a few days past that time, I contacted the seller. He said he had not received them.

I checked the post office receipt and called the 1-800 post office number. I was told that though the post office charged my husband $26.10 for shipping and we had a tracking number, the tracking stopped when the pearls left the U.S. So I know they made it to Chicago and were flown out from there, but that's it. Even though Priority Mail is supposed to include tracking and insurance, apparently that does not apply to packages sent to China.

I asked the seller for half the money back or to let me pick out a comparable strand for free. I figured he might give me a break and forgo making a profit off the lost pearls to keep a good customer. I can't just let $300 go without trying.

Nope.

Sigh. I opened a case with ebay but they said they didn't deal with that (then blocked me from leaving any feedback- yeah, way to stay out of it). Then I filed a case with PayPal, now updated to a claim because the seller says the pearls never showed up and he is giving me nada.

I'm gonna lose, I know.

Almost $300! So annoying.

So if you send anything back to China, be sure to slow down and make sure "tracking" means ALL THE WAY back to the seller and don't assume insurance is included with Priority Mail just because you paid a lot, because it is not.

 

[kelluvpearls]

It might turn up a bit later, the US postal system is pretty confusing, I can't remember if Global priority ever gave me updates after leaving US soil. It’s rare to have a permanent lost package though.
However, I would be too scare to return packages to China, fearing this exact situation.

 

[pattye]

Sea Urchin, I am so sad for you. That's a ton of money. I was blocked by Lei years ago because I complained that they sent 1 strand of pearls when the listing said 5. I offered to pay half the price, but they wouldn't agree, I finally filed a paypal claim which I won, and Lei or paypal refunded half the purchase price. I had bought from them regularly, nothing major though. The total transaction was around $40. Not even close to yours. I hope Paypal rules for you. Lei blocked me from buying from them.

 

[Tucs]

That's terrible. I hope it still shows up.

 

[Oh Them Gems]

Sorry to hear you had this experience. Thank you for sharing the information.

 

[BWeaves]

I had a friend who lived overseas in several different countries, and the US Post Office told me not to bother with tracking or insurance on packages I sent her because it does not come into play once the package leaves US soil.

 

[Bailey1856]

I've lost $150 from a China based seller as well. My first major pearl purchase were gssp stud earrings with matching pendant and they did not look like the picture I was sent. It almost turned me off pearls forever. I kept them for a few days hoping they would change but they never did so I returned them. I had to pay the original shipping charge (which i thought was fair because i returned them) and pay for return shipping with tracking so in the end i lost $150 for nothing. I will only buy less than a hundred dollars from China but not over a thousand like i did that time.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I think for true tracking to all international destinations you have to use USPS "Global Express Guaranteed":
https://www.usps.com/international/gxg.htm

 

[lary007]

So sorry to hear this! I have never purchased from China before recently, and thankfully I received what I was expecting. After your story I don't think I'll chance it again though unless it's something pretty cheap. Thanks for letting us know.

 

[GemGeek]

It took one month for my return to China to arrive. Sorry for your distress.

 

[Katbran]

Oh dear, how disappointing to lose that money! That said, China post can be quite slow. Your package could be wandering around there still. I used to figure on a month. I have found eBay to be no help at all with any issues...they seem to just toss it back at you with .. "contact the seller" as if you hadn't already done so...

 

[Isis Pearls]

Sea Urchin I am sorry that you have had difficulty returning to Lei Family Jewelry. I have bought from them in the past and occasionally returned items, I used to send the tracking code to the sellers and they refunded me upon the return or before, but as others have said it took a few weeks. I hope you get it sorted. Perhaps if you have something specific you would like, someone going to Hong Kong in September would be happy to oblige...?

 

[amti]

Stories like this make me angry and also sad that we can't trust people/buyers/sellers to do the right thing. Most of all, ebay not allowing for feedback is a major red flag. I purchased a Yurman ring for my daughter on ebay, and someone here warned me about fake Yurmans. Sure enough, it was fake with a chipped stone. I emailed the seller, sent him pictures and demanded return shipping and a full refund. I still left him negative feedback for knowingly selling a fake ring, and yet, he asked me why I did that when he complied with the return shipping and refund. Then he turned around and resold the damaged ring as a real Yurman with no flaws! On the ebay forum, there were people who thought me leaving negative feedback was unjustified too! I just assumed they were selling fakes too, if they are taking his side. You really need to be leary on ebay. I have recently ordered a few things from China, but nothing more than $15. I haven't gotten them yet, but it is a gamble. My husband travels to China every other month, so if needed, I could get him to return something, but nothing I buy is that expensive. Sadly, I just don't trust China ebay sellers enough to hand over my money.

I hope you are able to reach a favorable compromise. Read up on the ebay forum. There is very little ebay can do with Chinese sellers. One seller tried to charge me shipping when the auction said free shipping. I sent him two emails, then called ebay. The rep suggested I call the seller, until I reminded her that the seller was in China and probably didn't speak English. Then she emailed the seller explaining they could not charge me shipping. I heard back from the seller and they removed shipping. They can be rather sneaky. Best of luck!

 

[Sea Urchin]

Update: Thanks for the posts, everyone. PayPal is keeping my case open for now to wait and see if the pearls arrive after all.

I just wish I had known that no tracking beyond the US or insurance was included in the postage cost.

 

[Sea Urchin]

Guess what I got in the mail today?

Yup, the pearl strand I started this thread about way back when after returning them to China. LOL.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Oh goodness! Since tracking will now show that you have them back, the seller won't be made to refund.

So-- are you going to keep them, or try to send them back to the seller again? I think at this point keeping them seems like the safest thing.

Maybe you can make something interesting with them-- a tin cup? Maybe with some gemstone beads between the pearls?

 

[Tucs]

Oh boy. The places it might have gone to!

Well it's better than nothing, and I guess you can talk to the company and see if they will still accept a return.

 

[Marianne]

Looks like those pearls are racking up some serious frequent flyer miles! What an adventure...

 

[Sea Urchin]

Thanks, everyone.

@PD, next time I will definitely pay more attention about about how I ship returns.

I'm keeping them. After all this, it seems to me that I am meant to have them, lol.

I apologized to the seller, too.

 

[cmd2014]

Aaarg! That's a bit of an unwanted arrival! Too bad it didn't arrive better late than never to the vendor in China. OTOH, I always thought that they looked beautiful on you so maybe they are meant to be yours.