eBay International shipping won't send my item because they said it can't be exported

I recently purchased a vintage (1980s) computer disk drive from a seller in the US.  It was handled by eBay's international shipping program and went to an address in Illinois.


Today I received notification that I received a refund because the item cannot be exported.

 

I have made similar purchases through the old GSP and never had an issue, so I do not see how a piece of vintage computer hardware can be restricted.  How can I have this appealed?

 

Customer service told me that the seller will receive an email with options, however he hasn't, so I need to know how to have this escalated to someone who can intervene and correct this.

 

Any ideas?

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Re: eBay International shipping won't send my item because they said it can't be exported


@marnotom! wrote:

@mc-bain wrote:

Im having the same problems, I was buying cellphone on ebay since 7 years ago and since 2-3 months almost all of them are not exportable, just normal iphone and samsung. 


My guess is that the issue is the batteries, which are considered “dangerous goods.” eIS forwards to twice as many countries as the GSP and some of them may not be able to accept shipments of cellphone batteries.

Employees may be making a judgement call here rather than investigating each country on its own, or the forwarding company may have quietly issued a blanket prohibition to make things simpler for them.

 

I hope this gets sorted out as I suspect mobile phone sales make up a significant portion of international sales on eBay.


@marnotom! 

@mc-bain 

I thought I had read somewhere (on eBay) that if an item included(either removable or hardwired) lithium batteries and was already installed it was okay to ship. That may have been pre EIS. If it was a stand alone battery that became an issue. Most newer electronics include lithium batteries vs disposable. This would/could block potentially 10's of thousands of items. Also becomes a major problem for anyone needing to buy replacements. In the attached link it mentions when shipping to confirm item is shipped in the off position. Also mentions draining fully?!?!? Sure would be good to find out what the rules are exactly so sellers and buyers are all on the same page. A part of cunundrum could be the fact it's international shipping with a 3rd party being involved. In the past pre GSP/EIS many shippers "could" have been sending without being aware of the rules. Probably what happens  when parcels are being shipped by unknowledgeable shippers.

 

https://support-ebay.packlink.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4407905425554-Sending-lithium-batteries-with-eBa....

 

eBay hazardous policy is contradictory in places:

https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/hazardous-materials-policy?id=4335&st=...

 

eBay electronics policy is very vague on the subject:

https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/electronic-equipment-policy?id=4302&st...

 

-Lotz

 

As a sidenote purchased a pair of lithium batteries for a weedtrimmer last year. Amazon was able to ship without major hoops. Difference being they most likely have people trained properly for shipping and packaging. Box included the proper required hazardous stickers/orientation labels. There was NO additional charge for the service.

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Re: eBay International shipping won't send my item because they said it can't be exported

honestly, it doesn't seem like they learned anything from GSP to me.   It seems to me that they started over with a clean sheet of paper with EIS and are making the same mistakes they made with GSP.    Why not just tweek GSP to make it better instead of starting from scratch?

 

But starting over and remaking the same mistakes seems to be Standard Operating Procedure at Ebay.

 

And as a big aside, they have come out with ANOTHER sale notification email.  This one starts "You got paid for....".   This must be the forth different sale notificaiton email format i've seen in the past year.  Why on earth does it need to be re-done so often?  Or at all for that matter?  What was wrong with "Your Ebay item sold..." that they used for over a decade?

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Re: eBay International shipping won't send my item because they said it can't be exported


@fergua3 wrote:

honestly, it doesn't seem like they learned anything from GSP to me.   It seems to me that they started over with a clean sheet of paper with EIS and are making the same mistakes they made with GSP.    Why not just tweek GSP to make it better instead of starting from scratch?

 

But starting over and remaking the same mistakes seems to be Standard Operating Procedure at Ebay.

 

And as a big aside, they have come out with ANOTHER sale notification email.  This one starts "You got paid for....".   This must be the forth different sale notificaiton email format i've seen in the past year.  Why on earth does it need to be re-done so often?  Or at all for that matter?  What was wrong with "Your Ebay item sold..." that they used for over a decade?


@fergua3 

 

If you check the dot com board there are daily messages from sellers having issues with eIS. Listings being hidden. Problems with what or what isn't allowed. Enrolled for all listings when not all qualify. The list is endless. 

Kinda boggles the mind. By appearance they tested it with 1 item and said good to go.

 

As for the sold emails they have changed so many times my head spins. They appear to vary depending on if is a Canadian or a US sale. You know longer see custom notes from buyers on shipping. Example if they wanted it delivered to side door. You have to look for those notes on your sold page. If there is a delay in payment you get 2 emails. If a buyer pays immediately it is "usually" 1 email. Not 100%. For safety it is BEST to confirm buyer has paid on your transaction page as a secondary method. Payment emails will probably be the next casualty. Like how when they went to GTC and skipped the email. You only see with a relist/sell similar and sometimes (but not always) if it is a cancelled transaction and ebay generates the relist. 

 

-Lotz

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Re: eBay International shipping won't send my item because they said it can't be exported


@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

As a sidenote purchased a pair of lithium batteries for a weedtrimmer last year. Amazon was able to ship without major hoops. Difference being they most likely have people trained properly for shipping and packaging. Box included the proper required hazardous stickers/orientation labels. There was NO additional charge for the service.


I received pure isopropyl from Amazon via Canada Post. I'm unclear whether it's allowed to be sent or not, but it's definitely at least controlled. There were no markings on the box to indicate its classification, nor was it packaged. It was simply thrown in an oversized box with a single piece of uncrumpled packing paper. I think sometimes they just ignore the rules.

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Re: eBay International shipping won't send my item because they said it can't be exported


@flipistics wrote:

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

As a sidenote purchased a pair of lithium batteries for a weedtrimmer last year. Amazon was able to ship without major hoops. Difference being they most likely have people trained properly for shipping and packaging. Box included the proper required hazardous stickers/orientation labels. There was NO additional charge for the service.


I received pure isopropyl from Amazon via Canada Post. I'm unclear whether it's allowed to be sent or not, but it's definitely at least controlled. There were no markings on the box to indicate its classification, nor was it packaged. It was simply thrown in an oversized box with a single piece of uncrumpled packing paper. I think sometimes they just ignore the rules.


@flipistics 

 

Possibly was a major gaff by someone in their shipping department and potentially grounds for dismissal. (At least where i worked in the past it would have been.) Definitely a hazardous good that falls in under the N. American Transport of Dangerous Goods Act. The act covers storage, packaging, shipping and transportation from beginning to end of process.

 

Amazon policy.

https://www.sellerapp.com/blog/amazon-hazmat-policy/#1

 

Was your item a limited quantity? There are exemptions a business can apply for but major hoops to qualify. (Consumer commodities??)

 

What is a hazardous material that is a consumer commodity?
Consumer commodity is a hazardous material that is packaged and distributed in a quantity and form intended or suitable for retail sale and designed for consumption by individuals for their personal care or household uses.
 

Back when I handled DG's we sold in case and less than case quantities. Pretty much all classes of hazardous goods. Paperwork was required either way.

 

Only reason I know is because I had to take the yearly courses back in the 80ies/90ies in Mb working with medical supplies. Paperwork was done manually in triplicate and signed along the way by parties involved. That paperwork had to be kept on record for  a certain number of years.  A small infraction back then could be  up to very substantial for both employee(s) and the businesses involved.  Because of these fines, the information was drilled into us for following the rules to the letter. When I moved to Alberta discovered rules appeared to be not as "rigidly" followed. (Personal observation only.) With dangerous goods there is NO grey area.

 

-Lotz

 

Going by the pricing I am seeing on Amazon for the Gallon Jugs of the stuff it would appear they are building the packaging/paperwork into the cost of shipping. 

 

Note: Information above for reference purposes only. Rules and regulations change regularly and by jourisdiction.  If you plan to ship anything that would be considered hazardous, please do your due dilligence prior to proceeding. 

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Re: eBay International shipping won't send my item because they said it can't be exported

Yeah, this was for a just under 1L container. It's possible there's some kind of exemption, but I would think it would still require an appropriate warning sticker. I expected it would be sent by one of the other couriers so was more than a little surprised.

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Re: eBay International shipping won't send my item because they said it can't be exported

cheechr1
Community Member

I am also going through this issue. Ordered a tool from the US to be shipped to Canada. No issue until arriving at the shipping center then I get an email from Ebay saying this item is not deliverable to Canada. Had to wait a month just to tell Ebay the item never arrived. Now waiting one week for an unresponsive seller to respond. 

 

Ill get my money back but this has been one excercise in frustration. I've been telling everyone I know that if they order from Ebay ensure the item ships from Canada. This entire website is now a joke to me. It does not facilitate trade, just frustration.

 

It is impossible to get through to anyone at ebay. I will be avoiding this site from now on.

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