Royal Mail won’t consider a parcel to be lost until 5 weeks have passed since it was posted. It’s probably not lost though, just delayed because of the time of year. I sent a parcel on the 6th that arrived this past Saturday (the 20th) so that was about two weeks, which isn’t too bad really.
I think it also depends on exactly where it’s going, how busy (or even just how competent) the local USPS service is to that location. But I wouldn’t refund until the point that you can actually make a claim for a lost parcel yourself.
Reassure your customer that they won’t lose out, they will either get the parcel or their money back eventually.
@JoSara - I’m so glad yours has turned up in time, just hope mine does too! I think my buyer will be ok about it, just disappointed if it’s late, but I’ll wait until I know for sure it hasn’t got there before offering a refund.
Sarah @thesherbetpatch - I do hope your pirate doesn’t end up back with you, it seems such a pity if it’s nearly there!
Melanie @Beledien - thanks so much, I will reassure him as you suggest, I’m sure he’ll be happy to wait until after the holidays, after all once it misses Christmas, there’s no urgency I guess.
I had one last year to the US that arrived after Christmas, about the 5th Jan and even though the customer had wanted it for Christmas she liked the item when it arrived she was happy to keep it.
I’d explain to your customer that she needs to wait 28 days plus the public holidays and if it hasn’t arrived by then you can refund. After all you aren’t responsible for mail delays.
You could also refer the customer to contact USPS to see if there are any general known delays, or she may find info on their website.
If she wants to return it because it’s arrived late, then the returns postage is up to the customer to pay. Depending on how your customer responds, as a gesture of goodwill, you could suggest she keeps the item and you could offer to refund just the shipping fee because it was late.
Just to let you all know, the package DID arrive in time for Christmas and my buyer was very happy with it. Phew! The only one that didn’t quite get to its destination was a UK delivery that needed a signature and was waiting to be collected, but the buyer didn’t get a card to tell him (or it went missing!).
Anyway, thank you all for your words of advice and reassurance - very, very much appreciated
