eBay

irie_chickie · ‎04-10-2016

Really getting fed up with the fake tracking numbers provided by various China vendors...Ebay appears to be doing nothing about it, and paypal is equally ineffective

Asian vendors are able to acquire tracking numbers for FREE and post item shipped on ebay, and they don't become a legitimate tracking number till the vendor actually purchases the shipping. More often than not, it's just a fake unregistered tracking number.

I am not new to purchasing on ebay, I check the vendor rating before I do business with them. I always check each and every tracking number and keep notes in ebay so I know the status of every single order I make and where the item is.

of the 25 different vendors I have used in the past 3 months...only 25% of them have actually been decent vendors...and the rest, are snakes in the grass....they take your money and leave you to wait for a parcel that will never arrive, as it was never shipped.

I am a small business and can not afford to have thousands of dollars tied up in purchases that are never going to arrive. It has now gotten to the point where I communicate with the vendor BEFORE I make a purchase to ensure they understand I want a real tracking number...and that I will NOT wait till the arrival date or parcel to escalate a claim.

If I am not able to confirm it's a real tracking number and the parcel is in transit within 5 business days of date they claimed to have sent out the shipment I escalate the claim immediately as vendor is breaching TOS (terms of service) of EBAY.

It will take near 45 mins on the phone (and having to speak with 8 different humans) to get to the top of the food chain for complaints against a fraudulent vendor on EBAY....why is this process so difficult? Ebay customer service reps, have no clue how to handle these types of complaints. Thus having to speak with 8 different humans.

Will see how the rest of my orders work out...but have to say ALIEXPRESS is looking better and better as each day passes...as I can't see how they can be any worse than what Ebay is or is NOT doing to protect the customer.

sylviebee · ‎04-11-2016

I've bought numerous items from Chinese sellers and some do have what they call tracking but in my experience it's not actual tracking.

To me that doesn't matter one bit.

It's the norm for those items to take 4-6 weeks to arrive. In my case all item but one or two have arrived eventually.

That is not the seller's fault.

Once the seller has shipped it's out of the seller's hands. As pointed out above: Transit time is not the same as handling time.

I've found that Chinese sellers readily offer to ship a replacement or refund.

They don't fuss about it because they know what they're up against.

sylviebee · ‎04-11-2016

So you're complaint is that all Chinese sellers have extra long handling times? I find that hard to believe and it certainly isn't my experience.

All items have extra long transit times from China. Yours sound like the norm yet you're singling them out for special treatment.

How do you know that your sellers are slower than others are? Is it because acceptance scans show that times were dropped off days or weeks after payment was made?

I'm guessing that most Chinese sellers (yours included) waste no time getting items into the mail. They know what they're up against.

The reason dml posted what she did is because it sounds like you're trashing sellers for factors which are out of their control.

xeposter · ‎04-11-2016

I have a question for you...if one of your 3 ids "carla22aug?"

Alex

This is my POSTING id.

xeposter · ‎04-11-2016

Making your feedback private was probably a good idea. The only negative: some sellers do not like people with private fb buying their stuff because they think they are hiding something in their feedback profile.

Alex

This is my POSTING id.

sylviebee · ‎04-12-2016

chickie. In my first post I said that all sellers should read this thread because it gives a good idea of a what they're up against with some buyers.

Conversely, I'm also hoping that you've gained some insight into what the process is like for sellers when buyers don't grasp the difference between handling time and transit time.

I buy from China too and it's not unusual for those shipments to have a 2 month transit time.

In addition, a larger percentage of Chinese items do get lost in the system but that's not the fault of the sellers either.

I'm pretty sure that Chinese sellers work much harder than the rest of us to keep ahead of the game.

They have nothing to gain by not shipping and/or delaying shipping.

Too many Negs and they get tossed from eBay and it's their livelihood.

They can't ship with tracking etc.. Most of their items come with free shipping and they are selling their items too low to allow for that extra expense.

Chinese sellers tend to be effusively polite and most will refund or re-ship at just the slightest hint of a problem.

I see that you've made your FB private, but just before that I saw that you just trashed yet another seller for slow transit time.

Perhaps you'll reconsider and remove some of the NFB you've left for sellers.

When buying from China you need to order well ahead of time.

winepress780 · ‎04-13-2016

@sylviebee wrote:

...the reason sellers are posting these fake tracking numbers is to protect themselves against false claims of non-arrival.

Maybe I have read irie_chickie's posts differently than everyone else. The focus of the original post was FAKE tracking numbers. I have to agree with irie_chickie on the idea of FAKE tracking numbers to me that is regardless of what the reason is for using them. If they are really FAKE then the seller should have an obligation to state they are FAKE and explain why they are FAKE. Regardless of whether the OP understands how shipping from China works or has left premature negative feedback etc... unless I'm missing something IMO if a tracking number is truly FAKE it should not be passed off as a real tracking number then.

reallynicestamps · ‎04-13-2016

Six of one - half a dozen of the other.

The sole purpose of tracking (which is usually Delivery Confirmation**) is to protect the Seller against false claims of non-arrival.

It doesn't speed up the parcel. It doesn't protect against damage in transit. These would benefit the Buyer.

All it does is show that the parcel arrived or did not arrive. Which the Buyer would already know.

If a purchase takes too long to arrive, and my patience runs out at 20 days from North America and 30 days from Asia*, then the Buyer can open an Item Not Received dispute.

If the Seller cannot prove delivery, he is forced to refund. If he doesn't do this willingly, eBay will and go after him for their money. Defects to the Selling account also come in there.

For Buyers 'tracking' is just for the warm fuzzies. Either it arrives and positive feedback is left or it doesn't and the Buyer gets her money back.

BTW, if the purchase arrives after the refund, the ethical buyer uses Paypal's Send Money service to return the refund.

*So I rarely buy from Asia and am now 2 arrivals and one refund on these.

** And all that eBay or PP require is proof of delivery. Credit cards may accept proof of shipping.

winepress780 · ‎04-13-2016

So if you shipped your items and provided fake tracking numbers are your buyers are going to have "warm fuzzies" over it? It sounds like your argument is that because the tracking number is meaningless to the buyer that it is perfectly fine to provide buyers with fake tracking numbers?

Where are you going to draw the line, maybe setup a fake tracking website also so buyers can feel better about their fake tracking numbers? Providing a fake tracking number and not informing buyers about it or saying anything about it but leaving them to believe that the tracking number is real is not only deceptive but it is borderline fraud IMO. Just because some buyers may submit false claims does not make it justifiable to provide false tracking information and leave buyers to believe the tracking information is real.

sylviebee · ‎04-13-2016

wine; A tracking number adds nothing to the interaction for the buyer other than perhaps a thrill of watching the shipment in action, or the "warm fuzzies."

Alternatively, the lack of tracking detracts nothing concrete from the interaction either.

If anything, point to point tracking slows transit time and hugely ( I can't stress this enough) increases the chances that the buyer will get nailed with import taxes for items over $20.. (Be careful what you ask for!)

Tracking and/or delivery confirmation benefit the seller, not the buyer. Buyers are already protected and tracking adds nothing but expense.

Buyers who want tracking can usually have it for a price, but it's the rare buyer who opts to pay extra when offered that option.

It's always annoying when you find an item you really want and the seller insists on shipping with all the perks and having you, the buyer, pay for it especially when they try to sell you the story that "it's good for you". It's not.

Fake tracking numbers? That's a small sin that sellers sometimes commit for the sake of harmony in the henhouse.

xeposter · ‎04-13-2016

I absolutely hate it when I really want something and the seller has a very high shipping cost because they are shipping a tiny little model car "the best and most expensive" way they can + all of the extras to protect them. It makes me not want to bid as much when they could be shipping the item 2-3 times cheaper and that means they are out the extra money.

If stead of letting their item go up higher and including cheap shipping, they use expensive shipping and get less money.

Alex

This is my POSTING id.

pocomocomputing · ‎04-13-2016

@xeposter wrote:
I absolutely hate it when I really want something and the seller has a very high shipping cost because they are shipping a tiny little model car "the best and most expensive" way they can + all of the extras to protect them. It makes me not want to bid as much when they could be shipping the item 2-3 times cheaper and that means they are out the extra money.
If stead of letting their item go up higher and including cheap shipping, they use expensive shipping and get less money.
Alex

LOL.This sounds so familiar. This is exactly how Canadian buyers feel about the GSP that USA sellers use to protect themselves. Many do not buy or bid for this same reason. High shipping costs when the item could be shipped directly by USPS at a lower cost.

marnotom! · ‎04-13-2016

@pocomocomputing wrote:

LOL.This sounds so familiar. This is exactly how Canadian buyers feel about the GSP that USA sellers use to protect themselves. Many do not buy or bid for this same reason. High shipping costs when the item could be shipped directly by USPS at a lower cost.

The difference here is that many sellers shipping through the GSP aren't even aware that their items are being offered internationally through the program.

winepress780 · ‎04-14-2016

From my perspective if I find someone lying to me or deceiving me that's it I'm done business with them. Just over a tracking number? Yes absolutely. If they can lie about that they can lie about other things too. If they can lie about a tracking number they can also lie about or embellish the quality of the product as an example. I'm not talking about true misunderstandings or miscommunication. Lying and deception undercuts trust and trust is something that has to be built up over time but can go faster than you can blink an eye.

i.am.vivian · ‎04-14-2016

@winepress780 wrote:
Just because some buyers may submit false claims does not make it justifiable to provide false tracking information and leave buyers to believe the tracking information is real.

There needs to be a choice for sellers of what to call it. For those cheap items without tracking if they come with a shipping number like an acceptance scan it would be good if the seller could tick a box to indicate which it is. That still wont stop fakers from pretending the item has a tracking number but right now there is no choice but call it tracking or leave it out. Leaving it out makes too many buyers think it has not been sent at all, like in the OPs op.

femmefan1946 · ‎04-14-2016

Don't demand or expect a 'tracking' number on cheap goods.

Or pay for a real tracking number (that does you no good whatsoever) and be willing to pay for it.

In terms of actually receiving the goods you pay for , tracking is useless to you as a buyer.

If your item doesn't arrive you are covered by eBay, by Paypal and by the credit card you attached to your PP account.

But not by 'tracking', which is all about the keeping the buyer feeling secure and happy in a warm and fuzzy daze. Preferably past the point where she can Dispute non-reciept.

sylviebee · ‎04-14-2016

@winepress780 wrote:
From my perspective if I find someone lying to me or deceiving me that's it I'm done business with them. Just over a tracking number? Yes absolutely. If they can lie about that they can lie about other things too. If they can lie about a tracking number they can also lie about or embellish the quality of the product as an example. I'm not talking about true misunderstandings or miscommunication. Lying and deception undercuts trust and trust is something that has to be built up over time but can go faster than you can blink an eye.

wine: You've got it backwards.

There are bona-ffide true blue lies, and then there are little things that good sellers do to keep ahead of the game.

Sometimes adding a tracking number that the buyer didn't pay for to the mix helps, just a little.

These are not the sellers who are likely to be guilty of not describing items accurately.

The eBay system has very little give or tolerance when it comes to maintaining pristine ratings.

Currently t's possible to provide buyers with digits which may appear to be tracking numbers but are actually receipt numbers for shipping labels.

This a spot where there's a little give in the system.

The Post Office itself used this little trick for many years and fooled millions (just a wild guess) this way.

This thread started with a complaint about Chinese sellers. Man, they've got challenges like never before, and if adding tracking numbers that don't do the job helps them keep ahead of the game just a little, for goodness sake: Let it Be.

winepress780 · ‎04-14-2016

"Keeping ahead of the game" is basically a catch-all excuse that can be used by anyone and any company at any time to justify basically anything. If you don't draw the line at the lie then you'll draw it somewhere else because everyone will draw it where ever they see fit at some arbitrary point after the lie. Perhaps if you have bosses where if you knew if you lied to them that you would be gone in an instant might change your take on little lies; there's no such thing as a little lie.

sylviebee · ‎04-14-2016

This thread is really about chickie's complaint about slow Chinese shipments.

Chickie hid her FB, but before she did it was clear that she was trashing one Chinese seller after another for slow shipments.

Those ratings will hurt those sellers and threaten their business and/or livelihoods.

It's easy to see that they work very very hard for their money.

Threatening their livelihood like that is much bigger sin than posting a number which doesn't actually track a package and hurts no one.

Chickie buys product for her business from Chinese sellers. If everyone has her attitude those sellers will either disappear from eBay or their prices will sky rocket because they'll be forced to increase the cost of shipping so they can provide bona-fide tracking numbers.

That attitude will come back to bite her in the behind.

Chickie hid her FB. That's also a lie (by omission), and IMO a much bigger lie than the one she is complaining about.

reallynicestamps · ‎04-15-2016

So if you shipped your items and provided fake tracking numbers are your buyers are going to have "warm fuzzies" over it? It sounds like your argument is that because the tracking number is meaningless to the buyer that it is perfectly fine to provide buyers with fake tracking numbers?

No.

For a SELLER it is very stupid to use fake numbers on an item of any value.

The purpose of the number is to prove that a buyer who claims non-receipt is lying.

The buyer may be able to see the tracking (or not in the case of the GSP) but that is incidental.

Tracking is used as part of eBay and Pp"s SELLER PROTECTION.

1mpala · ‎06-26-2017

Sometimes it says ''This item has been shipped.'' and it's just not shipped ... I have to deal with that exact problem right now ... I had a tracking number that didnt do nothing ... If there could be a way to clearly see if the item was shipped ... I won an auction at a very low price and now after waiting for over 2 months i have to ask Ebay for my money back ... 2 waisted months ... It was supposed to be a gift also ...