Help with a wrong strand

[Lady_Disdain]

I recently got a ripple strand from a wonderful vendor. We have exchanged several emails and he has been courteous and very willing to help me (in other words, there is no problem at all with the vendor). My pearls arrived today and it turns out that the wrong strand was sent.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Sorry - I hit post by accident.

What attracted me to the strand I chose was the more golden colours and rounder shapes (I am not much fond of the drop shapes in the strand I got). So, while the strand I got is beautiful and of high quality, it just isn't what I want.

Here is where we hit the snag. I pay 60% customs fees, non reimbursable. When I purchased, I thought the customs fee wouldn't be applicable but it turned out to be and, of course, I paid without complaint (ok, a little private rant about confusing customs regulations). But if I return or exchange the strand, I am out 60% and return shipping (also pretty expensive). It isn't fair to expect the vendor to eat this cost, either, since he never knew of it. If I had been unhappy with the strand I chose, I would just bear it. But I didn't get "my" strand.

Any suggestions on how to handle this? I have a lot of respect for the vendor and I don't want to be unfair. On the other hand, I am not really happy with the switch.

 

[Pearl_Girl]

I think I know the vendor you are talking about. I have bought pearls from him before and he bent over backwards to make sure I was happy, so I'm sure he would do the same for you.

I would email him and ask him to check that the strand you received is the strand you ordered. If it isn't, I'm sure he will be able to find a way to make it right.

 

[Bailey1856]

You don't happen to live in Canada, LadyD? Just wondering because there is a way to get a govt. refund here.

I would ask the vendor to pay for the return shipping (since they made the mistake) and send you the "right" strand as "goods exchanged" to avoid paying customs again since you already paid for the one that you got (if indeed you can't get your customs fees refunded).

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Unfortunately not. I am in Brazil. The legislation is all kinds of crazy - to get "goods exchanged", you need previous authorization from Customs. To get that authorization, you need to hire an intermediary (the process is all sorts of crazy), have an authorized appraiser ( ) write a report proving that the item was damaged or unusable and have a Customs officer verify it. And if anything goes wrong, you can lose the merchandise and get slapped with some hefty fines. Yeah, not going there.

I am really at a loss here. I am willing to pay the customs fees (ok, I could hire a lawyer to contest it but it would really not be worth it) to have my strand. However, I don't see a way to get the strand I like without paying it twice, which would end up being 120% - ouch! Returning it for a full refund would mean a 60% loss for me, which is also not good.

 

[Pearlescence]

A 60% charge..I moan at our 20% tax but that is terrible.
Is that tax or duty..because duty is not usually payable on unfinished temp strands - did your strand go through customs with the right code?It should be 717101 not 717116.
Since the seller sent the wrong strand he should bear all the cost of putting the error right, no matter how much it costs him. That's where we trade folk have to grit our teeth and put stuff right.

 

[cyndayco]

I had a similar problem with this vendor, except that I used a courier to deliver the pearls to my home in Asia. (That's how I skipped the duty/tax issue altogether.)

I offered to just return the pearls and get a refund. That would have been the cheapest option for the vendor. But he insisted on making good on his end of the transaction. He reimbursed me for the return shipping of the wrong pearls, as well as the courier service to deliver the right pearls to me.

Do send him a message and discuss your options. You may be pleasantly surprised by his response.

 

[NacreLover]

I would contact him after he returns from Hong Kong and ask how he wants to rectify your problem. I would hope things will work out well for you in the end.

 

[cmd2014]

Yikes....suddenly I'm feeling better about the 13% exchange rate and 20% customs (duty and tax) that I have to pay here. I'm going to have to go through the customs refund process as I returned a few items recently, so we'll have to see how painful that process will be.

Sorry to hear about the challenges Lady Distain. The only thing I can suggest is to contact the vendor, and hopefully they can suggest something.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I should have known you guys would immediately recognize the seller. Kevin has been great and is doing everything to make sure I am happy. He contacted me this morning from Hong Kong.

And I do hope this strand finds a loving home. It is not the strand for this situation (it is a gift) but it is beautiful.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I just realized I never updated this thread and that is a huge disservice to Kevin. He couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. He even sent me a beautiful pair of keshi earrings, because of the confusion. And yes - the keshi are as gorgeous as they seem on the website.

And here are my ripples! They were originally meant for my mother but I may not be willing to part with them! I love the colours and the rounded shapes. The size is just perfect.

 

[pkinnew]

I am so glad this worked out! Kevin has great customer service and your new strand will be tough to gift away!!!

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Kevin is great - I think I drove him crazy, since between my crazy life (I was kind of slow on emails) and crazy slow Brazilian mail, things were rather slow...

I am working out a longer clasp, so I can remove two pearls from the strand. Then, my mother can get the strand and my sister and I can each have a pearl strung on a gold chain. I think mom would love that!

 

[Confection10]

Lovely pastel strand. I'm glad You got pearls You wanted. I'm still torn about Your countrys taxes. We have 24% VAT and 2% customs..and I have always thought it's quite a much...but Brazil win this game.

 

[cmd2014]

Beautiful strand, and I'm so glad it all worked out.

Makes me also not want to complain about the now 16% exchange rate (darn you falling dollar!), 17% duty and $10 FedEx border fee I have to pay.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Yes, we have to protect the national industry from evil imports you know

It makes no sense and the system is rigged so you have no recourse. I once had a gemstone parcel worth $80 or so that the customs official decided was worth $1000 and charged accordingly. I sent in the screen shots showing what I bought, my CC statement showing what I paid and even a statement from the seller. Nope. Back the stones went.

I am in love with my pearls. I corrected the photo exposition, so they look better:

 

[bsomlo]

I'm glad it worked out! And I agree, it's a pleasure to do business with Kevin. He will do whatever it takes to make things right!

 

[katbran]

I'm so glad that you ended up with the right strand I was wondering what happened. I knew Kevin would fix it..just hoped that customs etc didn't get too difficult. Very frustrating to deal with a system that is so inconsistent.

Before the rules changed here (I'm sure due to the massive change in the number of packages to be handled thanks to internet shopping) the duty on things here was ridiculous. My mum sent me maternity clothes that she'd bought on sale in the States...the duty that was charged was 2x the amount of the total cost. Mum had bought on sale but the duty was on the full price and was 50%...

Now we get a free pass on a declared value of $1000 ... what a change. (tho the retailers are trying to get it lowered)

Do post a photo of the necklaces when you've finished them !

 

[Pearlescence]

With importing stuff sometimes it is the carrier, not customs to blame. It depends on the set up where the goods enter the country and how competent, helpful or officious the people working there are over the rules. It even varies by category. A friend of mine swears by Fedex while I swear at them, and vice versa for DHL. Sometimes you have to pay before they release the package and sometimes they deliver and send an invoice.
They all charge, of course, for doing the customs clearance. And some take ages while others are incredibly swift.
Oh - and our charge limit in the UK is a measly £18. Don't know about the rest of Europe.

 

[Tucs]

I'm glad that you ended up with the right strand, Lady Disdain, it's beautiful. Making pendants with two pearls sounds like a great idea, please post photos.