eBay

coral-223 · ‎03-14-2023

I ordered something from Malaysia two weeks ago and the first red flag was that the seller took over a week to mark the item as 'shipped', when the listing says that the seller will ship in two days. The second, bigger red flag was that the seller didn't include a tracking number, and when I asked them for one, they never responded.

This particular order is of a DVD set that's about $40. I've bought DVDs from Malaysian and other Asian sellers tons of times and every order always came with a tracking number, no matter how cheap. The few times that an order from Asia didn't come with a tracking number always resulted in me never getting the order at all and it was obvious that the seller was scamming me.

Do I have to just wait it out for two months to see if the item is coming or not, without a tracking number? I know from experience that it sucks to be duped to wait for so long for an item that's never coming, especially when I need said item in a timely manner.

femmefan1946 · ‎03-14-2023

Do I have to just wait it out for two months

The expected delivery window will take two months to close? Sounds like your seller is using cheap but slow Surface shipping.

But if you agreed to that length of time, yes eBay requires you to wait until Delivery or last estimated date for delivery before opening a Claim.

the seller took over a week to mark the item as 'shipped',...the seller didn't include a tracking number,

Shipping and marking as shipped are two different things.

I rarely buy shipping labels or track my shipments, so there is no automatic mark for shipped by eBay, and no tracking number to insert.

Even so, my customers get their purchases well over 99.9% of the time.

when I asked them for one, they never responded.

this is more worrisome.

Send one more message and ask for the date of shipping and the service used as well as the tracking number.

You could mention that you paid by credit card. If he is smart he will recognize that chargebacks are also a possibility.

BTW.

With the exception of local artists, Malaysia is a hotbed for counterfeit CDs and DVDs.

coral-223 · ‎03-14-2023

I rarely buy shipping labels or track my shipments, so there is no automatic mark for shipped by eBay, and no tracking number to insert.
Even so, my customers get their purchases well over 99.9% of the time.

Okay, but you are a local Canadian seller. The Canadian and Asian shipping systems and selling cultures are entirely different. Asia is a hotbed of scammers but their postal system usually offers cheap tracked shipping, and when there's a tracking number there's some assurance that I am not being scammed. As I said in my post, when my orders from Asia didn't come with a tracking number, it ALWAYS resulted in me not getting the item at all, as opposed to my orders from Canada that didn't come with a tracking number, but I always received the item.

Shipping and marking as shipped are two different things.

Yes, but if the listing says that the seller will ship in two business days, they are required to mark the order as shipped within two business days. But it took them over a week to do so, so it makes me feel like maybe they didn't have the item or didn't want to ship for some reason.

With the exception of local artists, Malaysia is a hotbed for counterfeit CDs and DVDs.

Asia usually is, but when you want to purchase Asian entertainment programs on DVD, often the only ones you can find with English subtitles are unofficial releases.

femmefan1946 · ‎03-15-2023

I agree that it would be safer to buy local productions from Asia than Hollywood blockbusters.

I understand that you expected the shipping to be marked, but only labels purchased through eBay will automatically show as shipped. It is very likely that your seller did not ship for a week, but it is possible that he also did not mark the shipment manually, which he would have to do if he shipped outside eBay's choices.

Do I have to just wait it out for two months to see if the item is coming or not, without a tracking number?

For an eBay dispute, yes. They allow Not Received claims for 30 days after last estimated date for delivery.

I'd try anyway, but if the seller gave two months for transit, I'm not sure eBay would allow it.

Still, the lack of any proof of shipping might work in your favour.

More usefully, did you use Paypal as your processor or did you pay directly with your credit card?
Both have Buyer Protections.

Paypal allows claims for 180 days from PAYMENT. If the seller cannot prove delivery (not shipping, delivery) you would be refunded.

Credit card chargeback policies differ but usually allow claims for 120 to180 days from Payment.

BTW- Start with eBay. If you need to appeal, go to Paypal. If you need to appeal PP's decision, go to the card. In that order. This is set up between them to prevent double-dipping.

rocketscollectibles · ‎03-15-2023

You can't get scammed you just have to claim not receiving it within 30-days past delivery estimation and you'll be fully refunded.

coral-223 · ‎03-15-2023

@rocketscollectibles wrote:
You can't get scammed you just have to claim not receiving it within 30-days past delivery estimation and you'll be fully refunded.

Yes, but I don't want to give some seller on Ebay a temporary loan of $40 while waiting for two months for something (that I need in a timely manner) that's not coming, either. Amazon requires sellers from countries that have a reputation for scam and/or that have a postal system that provides cheap tracking (such as China) to provide a tracking number for all their orders as proof of shipment, or they are not allowed to sell at all; Ebay should do the same.

reallynicestamps · ‎03-15-2023

Just for reference, most "first world" countries charge a LOT for international tracking.

Canada's lowest tracked service is domestic at $12 up to 100grams, internationally the cheapest is $23.99 .

While this may not bother buyers much, that sort of rule would probably put most Canadian sellers out of business, since charging $24 to ship a sportscard or a stamp or doll dress (can't think of many items that weigh less than 100 gr once packaged) would not fly.

I suspect the AZ rule has less to do with the inexpensive tracking available from those countries than the high levels of fraud and claims of fraud surrounding them.

I don't think Chinese or Malaysian sellers are any less honest than Canadians, but there are 37million Canadians and 1.4billion Chinese.

I'd go for Paypal unless you get a response fairly quickly from your seller. And if they do respond to the PP claim with a tracking number do NOT close the claim until you have your item in your hands. You can't reopen it.

coral-223 · ‎03-15-2023

I don't think Chinese or Malaysian sellers are any less honest than Canadians, but there are 37million Canadians and 1.4billion Chinese.

I can see your point, although I wasn't trying to imply any racism towards Chinese and Malaysians as I am of Chinese descent myself. I think that there is a higher rate of scam from non-Western countries due to the lesser wealth and education of the people. Being wealthier and more privileged gives us people in the West the luxury to be more honest and altruistic.

Thanks for your help.