Bought an item possible shipping from different location than listed

[brandywilliam6]

I bought an item that was supposed to be in hong kong however it says it's shipping with Singapore post does anyone know if Singapore post is in Hongkong? Or have I been duped and the item is actually in Singapore?

[zee-chan · Accepted solution]

Did you received the item already? Is the item in acceptable condition? Does it really matter to you where the item actually came from? That seller is probably drop-shipping.

Singapore Post is not in Hong Kong. Two different countries. Both of them are great places. I had received items where it said is located from China but was shipped from Turkey... Item was as described so I just let it go.

[brandywilliam6]

Actually, it does matter because 1 lying about the item location is a violation of eBay's Item location policy furthermore Singapore post has a notice out https://www.singpost.com/services-announcement/canada-%E2%80%93-delivery-delays that items will be delayed for several months at the Vancouver location which I'm nearest too. It's actually quite frustrating 

[zee-chan]

You're right that it's in violation of eBay policy, so it's up to you whether or not you want to report that seller to eBay (eBay might or might not do anything about it).

Hong Kong is part of Asia too, so if Singapore is experiencing delay, it's likely that even if your item does get sent from HK, it'd experience delay too. My recent purchase from Hong Kong took 7 weeks to arrive, and 3 months from China. 

Your Singapore Post link didn't say when that notice was posted. HK Post has a link dated from January 2018 about Delivery delay to Canada (improving but still subject to delays) https://www.hongkongpost.hk/en/about_us/whats_new/notices/index_id_472.html">Mail 

If your item doesn't arrive within 45 days, you can file an INR (item not received) case to get your money back. Though the actual date when you can open the INR case depends on your seller's estimated delivery time frame for the item you bought.

If you ever in need of an item in a hurry, I'd advice against buying from Hong Kong / Taiwan / China as parcels from these places tend to be quite slow. 2-4 months wait is the norm. What is the value of your item? If it's a pretty low value item, expect it to take a looooong time to arrive.

[reallynicestamps]

To confuse things further (everybody needs a hobby), it is not unusual  for companies to mail from locations other than their own.

For example, we often get British auction catalogues that have been shipped from Malta, because postage rates there are lower than in the UK.

And US sellers using the GSP, while they are still shipping from the USA, are actually shipping to the GSP plant in Kentucky, from where shipments go out in quantity "bottled in bond".

So the item may be in Singapore (but the seller is in Hong Kong).

Or the seller may be using a Singaporean re-shipper, just as American sellers use the GSP.

Or the seller may think that Hong Kong sounds more respectable than Singapore.

One of the reasons eBay asks that the seller mark the location of the item rather than the location of the seller is so that the buyer will know about approximate delivery time and the possibility of import fees.

On those points, there is really not much difference between HK and Singapore.

Did the item arrive on time?

If it doesn't arrive by the last estimated date for delivery, you can open an Item Not Received Dispute in the Resolution Centre at the bottom of this page.

[reallynicestamps]

I understand slow delivery is more likely with inexpensive items sold with "free shipping" which means the cost of shipping and packaging is included in that low price.

Naturally those sellers are choosing the cheapest, untracked, and slow services.

If the seller posted a tracking number, the purchase is probably going by ePacket and Air Mail. Although this is still a cheap service, it is faster than Surface and should arrive reasonably fast.

EPacket does not seem to be held by customs, since drug smugglers (and we are talking about fentanyl here) will not include return addresses on their shipments. Would you?

[brandywilliam6]

The value of the item is about 100Usd 

[brandywilliam6]

Also in a strange turn of events, the seller has updated their page with the exact same product and now says does not ship to Canada. Though it did at the time I bought it so don't know what that's about. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see after the Eta of September 25th if it shows up.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@brandywilliam6 wrote:

I bought an item that was supposed to be in hong kong however it says it's shipping with Singapore post does anyone know if Singapore post is in Hongkong? ...

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Shipping from Hong Kong using Singapore Post is possible.

https://www.singpost.com/about-us/news-releases/singpost%E2%80%99s-ecommerce-logistics-service-offer...

Parcel consolidation. For example, Canadians in the certain areas of Canada can use the USPS to mail items located in Canada.

-..-

[zee-chan]

Interesting to know! I guess that could be considered Case Closed for the OP.

OP, did you happen to confront your seller about your shipment? I wonder if that's why they chose to stop selling to Canadians...