Has anyone found a cheap way to post a torch back to China … I’ve a dud Astrolux S1 and paypal are saying I should have just posted it back to them … the cheapest I could find although I think it’s too large to go as a large letter and too small to go as a small parcel is Royal Mail … BUT I think the fact it falls between the gaps will prohibit it from being sent but the cost whilst maybe academic is £9.70.
Assuming it can’t be sent via them I tried parcel2go and the cheapest was about £18.
If anyone knows of any other cheaper options please feel free to share!!!
How on earth do they send us stuff so cheaply … is it State subsidised to encourage exports does anyone know??
I wouldn’t bother. Or make the seller arrange/pay for the shipping in advance. Assuming it is faulty. As it is hardly your fault they sent you a broken one.
If they don’t want to do this, that is then their choice. So they can just refund you instead (or send a replacement).
outgoing mail from Asia is subsidized to some countries, not sure whether that is the case to every country/region in EU/US/CA though.
Do you know what exactly is not working? Most likely a solder joint broke off or there is an issue with continuity, I doubt that the emitter is not working? Are you able to take it apart and check? Maybe getting a refund or discount is easier, we can help you fix the light. BLF is an amazing source for knowledge.
Paypal will cover your return shipping cost? I found this UK one mate. The Aussie deal is better we get up to $45 shipping return for up to 8 times a year. You lads only get 15 Pounds which is like 30 AUD i think? Four times a year. https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/refunded-returns
The terms and conditions seem the same as the Aussie one. But if you can get out of it that would be easier.
You may return items using the PayPal Return Shipping on Us service if the following conditions are met: First, to be eligible,
You must pay for your online purchase using your PayPal account;
You must hold a PayPal account that is not suspended or limited;
The Service in only available to holders of a UK PayPal account whose access has not been suspended or limited;You must activate the Service on https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/refunded-returns web page;
You must initiate your return within the return period and in accordance with the return conditions authorised by the seller (a person or an entity selling goods via a marketplace, eg. eBay seller, hereinafter the “seller”) or by the merchant (other persons or entities selling goods outside marketplaces, eg. e-shops, hereinafter the “merchant”);
The items you wish to return must have been paid for in their entirety using your PayPal account, You must submit a refund request of the shipping costs (hereinafter: the “Refund request”) related to that return within 14 calendar days of mailing the returned item; andYou must mail your items back to the seller or merchant by Royal Mail, courier, or any other regular shipping options or services.
Do you know what exactly is not working? Most likely a solder joint broke off or there is an issue with continuity, I doubt that the emitter is not working? Are you able to take it apart and check? Maybe getting a refund or discount is easier, we can help you fix the light. BLF is an amazing source for knowledge.
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I think they’ve narrowed it down to being the switch just but with the tail cap off putting a paperclip between the battery and the tube and it works OK.
Initially they said they didn’t have the complete tail cap in stock and wanted to send me just the switch to fit but surely anything that you start taking apart yourself automatically voids any warranty … low and behold when I said I wasn’t prepared to do that they did actually have the tail cap in stock.
They have posted it and hopefully it’ll resolve the issue and I end up with a perfectly working unit but it isn’t half easier when you’re dealing with local companies … put it in the post, send it back and a couple of days later a working one (hopefully) arrives on your doorstep.
Everydaysurvivalgear,
Cheers for that, have never come across it before … that said I don’t have a lot of faith in paypal.
I did register this as a dispute to protect myself and they cancelled the dispute for absolutely no reason … I rang them and they agreed to appeal the closure as it shouldn’t have been closed and said I’d receive an e-mail conforming that.
Ten minutes later I receive an e-mail saying it’s been closed as it’s now been amicably resolved ……. :person_facepalming: what I pick up the phone again and request a call back from a supervisor who confirms the case was originally closed in error, they’d opened a new case and as soon as he went off the phone he’d send me an e-mail confirming the claim was still open for my peace of mind …. that was nearly 24 hours ago and I’ve seen squat.
2 years I ago sent something back but the unscrupulous seller had moved premises (this was publicised in a forum to which I sent them a link) and they wouldn’t ask the seller for his new address so it could be delivered, they had the tracking details showing it had been sent and the address it was sent to, they briefly extended the time period to get it back and then closed the case … cost me £270 ….
Shipping items back to China is normally not worth it.
When I looked into sending a non working Cometa back the cheapest postage was about £70 iirc as as it was a paypal dispute it had to be sent tracked all the way to the point of delivery in China & delivery confirmed (most UK courier options only provide tracking until it has either left the UK or arrived in China but not been delivered to the seller in China).
The postage for the Chinese sellers is state subsidised & basically costs them nothing AFAIK.
Under the UK distance seller rules, return postage for faulty items must be paid for by the seller. They must also pay for returns on none faulty items, unless specified in their terms.
The seller may not be in the UK, but if you bought through a site that is in the UK, e.g., eBay, then the rules apply. Giving the seller a fully tracked postage quotation and stating the UK distance seller rules, is usually enough to get a full refund (after the 10, 25, 50% offers). PayPal gave me a full refund when BuyInCoins refused to pay return shipping. Alipay is not as helpful. If you bought using a credit card, via PayPal, you should also be able to get a refund from them.
If you ship it back with Royal Mail, it will take weeks and likely go missing, so make sure you take out insurance and keep the proof of postage.
Item bought from a Chinese seller from a Chinese site & paid for using paypal.
Paypal stipulated that they would give a full refund once the seller had confirmed receipt of the item & postage was down to the buyer.
It has happened to a lot of us over time as we buy direct from Chinese sites.
The UK distance seller rules do not apply in these circumstances.
Also Royal mail was the the only courier I could find that offered tracking all the way to the destination & confirmation of delivery to the sellers address in China.
Most UK couriers only give tracking up to the point the parcel leaves the UK or when it arrives in the port in China where China is concerned.
I did the same with BuyInCoins and PayPal gave me a refund. That was a couple of months ago. Maybe they have changed the rules or it depends on who at PayPal reads your dispute. Have you asked the seller to refund the postage and given them a quote? Always worth a try. I sometimes try asking for a prepaid envelope. You know they won’t, but most of the time they give up and offer the refund. Sites like Interparcel are sometimes cheaper than Royal Mail.
everydaysurvivalgear comment is interesting. I didn’t know about PayPals return shipping on us.
So you buy a brand new Ferrari …… drive it less than a 100 yds down the road and it breaks … what are going to do … fix it yourself and void the warranty or send it back as not fit for purpose ???
Don’t tell me, you’re employed by Ferrari as their chief mechanical engineer ??
Buy another from the same seller and say it never arrived. Naughty, but I did it once when an eBay seller didn’t send a replacement they promised and the eBay dispute window elapsed.