eBay

73rhc · ‎01-08-2014

So I buy an item from the US. Seller provides a tracking number through DHL. The item shows up in my regular mail. There is no confirmation of delivery. If the item hadn't shown up, I wonder how Paypal would handle this? So, what is the purpose of providing tracking, when there is no real way to track the package?

pocomocomputing · ‎01-09-2014

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
honeybed, I believe that the least expensive USPS service with tracking is about $6.50. It is definitely much less expensive than what we have to pay but that just started in mid 2031. It used to cost U.S. sellers $20+ to send a parcel with delivery confirmation to Canada even though we could send one the other way for less than that.

Unfortunately, I doubt that we will ever have delivery confirmation for $6. We don't even have that within Canada.

I did take a nap this evening but I did not think it was that long... LOL. You mean 2013.

femmefan1946 · ‎01-09-2014

poco:

We live in a spaceship , dear.-- Zoe Washburne

I should have specified that it was delivered to my mega box. No card from Canada Post. No signature. Delivered via regular mail!

Most of what is called "tracking" is actually Delivery Confirmation. Tracking notes the path of a parcel every step of the way, while DC is only noted when the postie gets back to the terminal at the end of her shift. DC is much less labour intensive and therefore cheaper.

Delivery Confirmation is all that is required by PayPal if the item is valued under $250 including postage.

Have you ever visited a postal terminal? There are very few people working there compared to the amount of mail. Most of the work is done by machines-- one of the reasons why excellent packaging is much more important than Fragile stickers which may never be seen by a human eye in the plant. BTW, if you ever do visit, wear ear protection.

Several couriers, including DHL and UPS, actually sub-cpmtract to Canada Post for the final leg of their journey. For that matter , so does Pitney Bowes who run the Global Shipping Program.

73rhc · ‎01-09-2014

"I would guess that Pierre meant is that $5 and $10 items are less likely than more expensive items to cause a 'fake' item not received claim which is why many sellers do not worry about a tracking method with lower cost items."

No, I believe he is trying to belittle the fact that I have items at a lowly $5 and $10 range!!!

"But are you saying that you send all of your items with tracking, even if they sold for $5 or $10?"

No!!! Never said that. You are sidetracking the issue! I said that if I pay for a service, I want that service. Once again!!! What is the use of a tracking number when there is no confirmation of delivery!

The tracking number still shows "in transit" for the item I received yesterday!

rose-dee · ‎01-09-2014

@73rhc wrote:

The tracking number still shows "in transit" for the item I received yesterday!

The fault may lie not with Canada Post's tracking system per se, but with good ol' human error at the end of the parcel's journey. If the counterperson doesn't properly scan the item in as delivered (or doesn't scan it at all), the system will never know it's in the recipient's hands.

I've had this happen, and it seems particularly endemic amongst the drugstore-type postal outlets where employees tend to be very young, poorly trained, and there is a high turnover rate.

It also happened with a parcel I sent when I was having trouble with my browser not printing out Paypal labels. The labels weren't scanning, and the numbers (below the bar code) had to be input manually. I could see from the tracking that CP employees (or some very smart machines??) were doing this along the way, but the USPS postie obviously didn't do so at the receiving end, as the online tracking showed the parcel still at the delivery post office for 5 days in a row. I contacted my buyer and she told me all was well, that she'd picked up the parcel 4 days earlier!

What these experiences told me is that tracking is only as good as: (a) the bar code [i.e. the printer it's done on, and lack of any damage or obstruction to the bar code]; and (b) the post office or postal outlet employees at the receiving end, who may not be familiar with Canada Post's services or systems, and may just hand over the parcel without scanning it in.

I believe parcels that go with Signature Confirmation may be handled differently and with more care and attention by all postal systems, but that's only a guess. Still, I rarely use SC on a parcel unless I have concerns about the value or possible INR.

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-09-2014

I did take a nap this evening but I did not think it was that long... LOL. You mean 2013.

Just trying to keep everyone on their toes. lol

That's my story anyway...

73rhc · ‎07-27-2014

To reopen this thread, I have another issue with tracking with no signature. I bought some items for my daughter on another site. The item was shipped from the US. The seller provided a tracking number. My daughter, who is 10 btw, tracked it online, impatiently. The day came where it said "delived". But no package ever arrived. We waited a couple of days and it became obvious that it would not be delivered. I contacted the seller, their answer " go to your local post office, it might be there ". I replied that if I have no pickup card, then that was useless. I contacted Canada Post, they said the seller has to put in a claim through the USPS. Did that, USPS said item says delived, nothing they can do. Called back CP, got a manager in the phone. I explained the situation and that this is not the first time that my mail has been "stolen". He finally agreed to open a ticket. Final result, I got a message from them saying "we couldn't find your parcel"

So, not completely the sellers fault. Not USPS services fault. Not the CP system's fault. Not my fault! But no package!!!

SO WHAT IS THE USE OF TRACKING WITHOUT A SIGNATURE TO ENSURE THE BUYER RECEIVED THEIR ITEM???

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-27-2014

If you contact ebay in this type of situation, there is a chance that they will refund you out of their own funds.

73rhc · ‎07-27-2014

Firstly, this was on another site, but relates to my first post about this issue. Secondly, I don't believe Paypal would side with the buyer if the tracking says "delivered".

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-27-2014

I haven't heard much about Paypal providing courtesy refunds but ebay has done quite a bit of that recently. They realize that there are legitimate cases when the item shows as being delivered even though it wasn't. Rather than penalize the buyer or seller, they refund the buyer themselves.

If the point you wanted to make was that tracking doesn't always work...of course it doesn't. In order for it to work all of the time, the person doing the scanning would have to do things right 100% of the time. That isn't going to happen.

cumos55 · ‎07-27-2014

Delivery Confirmation, with a signature, to the US is available with Xpresspost USA... the lowest cost option.... and comes with a guaranteed delivery time....

Postage is fully refunded if the parcel is not received within the guaranteed time period.....

It is one thing to say that tracking shows delivered.

However, full delivery only occurs if the parcel is physically received by the person.... to whom the parcel was addressed

If the person has not received the parcel then it becomes an insurance claim...

For a parcel coming from the US... Canada Post must prove the "person" has received the parcel....

The same occurs for all parcels, originating within Canada, mailed through Canada Post and delivered within Canada.

-------------------------------------

Canada Post has paid insurance claims when a parcel was mailed... tracking shows delivery but the Parcel was not received by the person who was to receive the parcel..... within Canada from me to the buyer.

The most recent situation was when the parcel was delivered to a community mail box.....the parcel was placed in a parcel compartment and the key to this box was to have been placed in a buyer's lettermail box....

Once Canada Post makes a transition to Community Mail Boxes for everyone.... It would be most important to have a signature confirmation for expensive and rare items being shipped by mail within Canada.... and not just because eBay/Paypal say it is an absolute requirement.

femmefan1946 · ‎07-27-2014

I replied that if I have no pickup card, then that was useless.

Going in, with acceptable ID (driver's license, passport) and asking the counter clerk to go and look, is quite acceptable. It is not unusual for those lightweight paper slips to blow away or get lost.

Secondly, I don't believe Paypal would side with the buyer if the tracking says "delivered".

Probably not, but if you don't ask they can't say yes.

Politely,-- Captain Malcolm Reynolds

73rhc · ‎07-28-2014

"For a parcel coming from the US... Canada Post must prove the "person" has received the parcel...."

I'm not sure where this info comes from, but that's not what Canada Post tells me. And I have spoken to 3 of 4 reps. Everyone says it's delivered! Btw, I have a community mail box. No slip was left. No key was left. And, oh yeah, no parcel, neither.

73rhc · ‎07-28-2014

"If the point you wanted to make was that tracking doesn't always work...of course it doesn't."

Agreed, but the point I'm making is that tracking without delivery confirmation is the problem. In my case, I suspect that the letter carrier is making off with my mail. My wife had subscribed to a magazine. For over a year, each and every month the magazine would not show up. So each and every month, she would contact the publishing company. And each and every month, they would resend it in a plain brown envelop and low and behold, she would get it every time. Coincidence, I think not.

cumos55 · ‎07-28-2014

No key was left.

In my situation.... the key might have been left in the wrong mail slot.

Buyer filed with Paypal..... Paypal said delivered based on tracking..... no refund... Buyer was livid.

Buyer also left neutral feedback

Filed claim with Canada Post... and buyer confirmed item not received.... claim paid...

and only after the money was received from Canada Post did buyer get his money back.

There was a sense that this could have been a "scam"

It is because of this one situation that a buyer must sign for those special.... valuable... and rare items... when the parcel is delivered.... my new procedure

A new reality for community mail boxes....most definitely.

cumos55 · ‎07-28-2014

Canada Post must prove the "person" received the parcel

I have had two situations over ten years....

Tracking showed delivered.....buyer says no in a letter to Canada Post..... Canada Post paid the claim

The most recent occurrence was that community mail box situation noted in the last reply by me...

73rhc · ‎07-28-2014

This may apply for transactions within Canada. But my situation is with USPS and Canada Post. I'm not sure CP would refund anything, here.

reallynicestamps · ‎07-28-2014

It makes me thinking about why the heck do eBay needs to offer (demand more likely!) to US sellers to opt in the bogus scam like Global Shipping Program (GSP) when the sellers can use cheaper mail services and pay $1.00 for tracking numbers?? - honeybed

I suspect the GPS was planned and put in place contemporaneously with USPS making Delivery Confirmation to Canada more affordable. There is no reason to believe that USPS would consult with their competitors about a plan to lower the cost of using USPS for the consumer.

I'm not sure CP would refund anything, here. -- 73rhc

But if you don't ask for a refund, they certainly won't give you one. This situation would come under the Universal Postal System treaties. The refund would come from the postal agency that 'lost' the item, wherever in the world that might be. So investigation might take some time. Less than it would 50 or even 20 years ago, of course.