Returning merchandise to China, navigating shipping and customs

January 18, 2015 8:59 AM

I ordered something from China, and now I need to return it. If you've done this, do you have any suggestions?

Due to a misunderstanding, I have a small box of components costing $2000 that aren't what I ordered. The company in China will refund my money when they get the box back.

Box is small and light (about 6" square, although I can use a slightly smaller box to fit the contents if need be, <2lbs). What is my safest/most economical/fastest method of shipping. I understand that I may have to choose one over the other, but if the USPS is a week longer for half the price, that's ok. I'm thinking of a 3-10 business day window, as long as it's tracked and reasonably assured that it'll get there.

I don't even know where to begin with customs and duties. I have to imagine there's some code that says it's returned goods and therefore no duties, but I'm not sure. I couldn't find the exact product in the USPS customs item description, but I do have a code (harmonized?) from the shipping papers I got when it came.


Any help?


Thanks

posted by mhz to Shopping (4 answers total)

DHL is probably your best bet for international shipping. Insure it and get a delivery receipt.

I'm assuming you charged this to a credit card. Keep all of your documentation, so if the company claims they didn't get it, you can dispute the charge and have documentation to provide to the card company.

In fact, call the company now and ask them to note your account. Some of these things have time constraints and you don't want to blow a deadline.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:20 AM on January 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

I realize that you are sending items directly TO China but here's my related anecdote with a happy end. I ordered some items from China last year that took a long time to get to the States because they were held in US Customs for so long (a few months.) I realized it probably wasn't the company's fault BUT I no longer needed them. I called their Customer Service number (in China) and it was a quick call. They told me to mail the products to a US address that was likely their warehouse. It was a pain, as most returns tend to be, but a lot smoother than I had expected. My understanding is that mix-ups are not uncommon -- things get lost in translation, etc. -- but the companies really want to do right by their international customers; it's just not the "service with a smile" approach like in the US.

I agree with Ruthless Bunny that DHL is the way to go: I love the USPS but DHL is just a better option for China-US mailings. The time frame you reference sounds fine; I'd make sure you insure the items for the full amount, even if the shipping costs get very high, because that way you can be sure to get your money back.
posted by smorgasbord at 9:54 AM on January 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

We can assume, but just to be sure: where in the world are you?
posted by Too-Ticky at 10:39 AM on January 18, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks, I'll get a quote from DHL.

Shipping from the US.
posted by mhz at 8:44 AM on January 19, 2015