"Unable to deliver"
Summary: aramatic shared concerns about issues receiving vintage electronic items purchased from the US, suspected to be linked to a policy affecting e-waste exports. john_koenig99 noted the impact of strict export rules and suggested avoiding US sellers, highlighting the loss of vintage items due to delivery failures. lotzofuniquegoodies and others discussed challenges with eBay's international shipping service (eIS), suggesting filters to better manage shipping expectations and costs. timber_oak expressed dissatisfaction with the service, noting high fees and delivery failures, while other participants debated the complexity of shipping costs and customs fees.
In the past 10 days I've bought three items from the US: two vintage disk drives (40+ years old) and a homemade vintage computer accessory. All three have been stopped in their tracks as "unable to deliver". No explanation. I've seen a suggestion that this is the latest spanner in the works by D. Trump, an e-waste policy aimed at preventing critical minerals from going to China (https://kotaku.com/trumps-new-e-waste-policy-has-vintage-tech-collectors-anxious-theyll-be-caught-in-the-crossfire-2000722706). I've received refunds for the drives and though eBay is looking into the third item I assume that will be the outcome there too. Until someone comes to their senses I won't be buying from the US. I don't spend time and money buying something in order to get a refund. I want the item. Surely there's a difference between a huge shipment of so-called e-waste and a single item.
timber_oak
·2 days ago"Unfortunately, your item can not be delivered because it did not pass inspection at our international hub."
AVOID US Sellers. eBay IS is unreliable, they hold your money for weeks and eventually refuse shipping to Canada. Lost $$ because of exchange rate fees when I ordered $300 network switch.
john_koenig99
·1 week agoStopped where? Were they shipped via eIS or directly to you from the seller?
aramatic
OP1 week agoeIS. Stopped at the international hub.
john_koenig99
·1 week agoUsually eBay has a lot of strict rules to follow in terms of what can be exported and what cannot. And, as you mentioned, it has only become worse under the current administration.
For the items you mentioned, it is best to avoid US buyers, if possible.
aramatic
OP1 week agoThese are all items of the kind I've bought before. Although seller and buyer don't lose any money, vintage items end up destroyed, some of them irreplaceable. Mindless vandalism.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 week ago@aramatic
@devon@ebay Only as an FYI along with a side....A filter to eliminate eIS shipping from search. This would be a good work around...especially for buyers.
What critically has been messing this up for ages is the default method for shipping Internationally has now become eIS...for both USA and Canada. At least in the past you could find the occasional seller that used other methods. The one's where they had no problem shipping to Canada via mail with the documented customs charges paid at time of pickup. Now, not so easy. As @aramatic mentions buyers just want the item. They don't want the refund. Any disclaimers of what is or isn't permitted needs to be at check out. Not down the road when item is half way to its intended location.
marnotom!
·1 week agoGiven how extra-glitchy the site has become lately (I suspect a tweak to the coding has had a domino effect on a lot of other eBay functions, particularly those connected to selling), I wouldn’t be surprised if an eIS filter in search would end up filtering out listings where other shipping methods in addition to eIS are offered.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 week agoThe eIS filter was something I suggested way back when as soon as IT became such a problem. It got a bunch of positive response at the time. It's not anything likely to ever happen because of the amount of money the program makes for eBay. Maybe another way to go would be to change the N. America filter to USA. Might be more doable.
As a side eIS Canada will never be a major win until it can be used to ship to the 200 + countries like the US program does.
timber_oak
·2 days ago · EditedWhy would @devon@ebay care? eBay is making billions fleecing buyers with overpriced "international shipping". $55 for an item that UPS can ship directly for $20.
Filtering out eIS never going to happen.
marnotom!
·yesterday at 1:31 AM · EditedI'm going to take a wild guess that you've never had to pay taxes and various processing fees on an item shipped from the States by UPS Standard (Ground).