China auto part purchase sent to Canada - never made it.

[daleastern]

A truck grille from China. Tracking it shows that it arrived at Canada Customs and was send directly back to China.  What might this mean?

[momcqueen · Accepted solution]

Exactly what does tracking say? Sometimes the terms are misleading and you might think it means one thing when it fact it means another. As experienced shippers, we may know otherwise.

If your part was actually rejected by Customs, this means you are outta luck and need to ask for your money back. As to the reason it might have been rejected? Hard to say. Prohibited, restricted, illegal? Missing paperwork. Incorrect item sent and not your car part. There are so many possibilities. 

This is the list of things countries don't allow or restrict. There are some surprising things on it. 

https://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/pgIntDest-e.asp?letter=R%C2%A0

[daleastern]

What tracking said depended on  which tracking website you used.  So I phoned Canada Post.  They said that Customs never gave it to them as it was returned to China.

I contacted the seller who said they would send another, soon.  I then asked for a tracking number when they ship.

[momcqueen]

Then returning to your original question, what it means cannot be answered unless you can specify what it said. As to the implications of this, that is another matter as indicated above. If the seller is indeed sending another, you will have to watch tracking and see whether the second parcel passes inspection.

[momcqueen]

Technically speaking, you would have been better to take a refund and repurchase so that your buyer protection with eBay doesn’t lapse before you receive it.

[daleastern]

OK I will remember the time lapse clause.  If I don't get a tracking number from them soon, I'll cancel.    I think if re-ordering, I'd order from a different seller. 

THANKS for the help.

[momcqueen]

You're welcome. Yes, do keep an eye on the calendar.

In a best-case scenario this was an honest mistake and another will be shipped to you promptly which will be delivered without issue.

If your ebay MoneyBack Guarantee expires, you do still have Buyer Protection from paypal for 180 days from time of payment. Where that is less ideal is in instances where you receive an item that was not what you bought.

With paypal, the buyer has to send that back with tracking which can be very costly going in the other direction to China whereas with ebay, it's the seller's job to fund return postage expenses if an item is Not as Described, like the wrong thing or a cheap version of it. 

[daleastern]

If he shipped another I would expect a tracking number real quick. I told him that. If not here in 2 days, I'll cancel. Thanks again

[noveltyguys]

What did you buy that you had to order from China if you don't mind me asking.

[daleastern]

A replacement truck grille with letters included that say FORD

[daleastern]

Ah ha. I think you hit on something. Even though the letters are not attached? These are a very popular grille and since most Ford trucks are in North America I wonder how the rest are making it through. Seller has a good rating on delivery. Maybe our crackerjack Canadian customs people are actually doing what they are paid to do.

[mcrlmn]

"What might this mean?"

It means item not received.

[momcqueen]

Yes. As I said from the start, if the parcel was punted by Customs back to China, you're not getting it. And it's likely that you don't want it now. If it arrives after your ebay MoneyBack Guarantee is expired, it's you who will be paying to send it back with tracking through paypal in order to get your money back by refund. And that is an expensive prospect. And the tracking is a must, otherwise, no refund. If it had slid through and you'd be none the wiser and might be driving around with F-O-R-D dangling from the grille in the wind as we speak.

[daleastern]

• BTW, Just learned how to copy and paste this. Here is what tracking said:
• Returned to Sender
• Jan-26-2018, 10:48 AM

• Delivery arranged
• Jan-26-2018, 10:48 AM

• Arrival at Sorting Center
• Jan-24-2018, 08:40 AM

• Despatch from Sorting Center
• Jan-24-2018, 05:44 AM

• Arrival at Sorting Center
• Jan-24-2018, 05:42 AM

• Despatch from Sorting Center
• Jan-24-2018, 02:53 AM

• Attempted delivery
• Jan-20-2018, 11:03 AM

• Despatch from Sorting Center
• Jan-20-2018, 11:02 AM

• Released from Customs
• Jan-19-2018, 15:45 PM

• Arrival at Sorting Center
• Jan-17-2018, 22:10 PM

• Despatch from Sorting Center
• Jan-14-2018, 09:51 AM

• Posting
• Jan-14-2018, 00:11 AM

[momcqueen]

Unfortunately, that information only makes your situation as described more confusing.

What are the locations associated with the Attempted Delivery logs and Delivery Arranged logs? Where is this Sorting Centre and what is the location associated with Returned to Sender. Because that tracking clearly says it was released by Customs, and instead makes it appear that you are the more likely the one who decided it should be Returned to Sender.

Was there import tax assigned to this that you refused to pay, by chance? That is a whole other ball of wax.

[daleastern]

Those are questions that I can't answer because there is no further info as to who or where. I assumed the early date "release" was from China as it left there. Other info is confusing.  As I said earlier I called Canada Post Tracking head office [my local office gave me their number for more in depth info] That office said it was definitely returned to China. I'm thinking it was the F O R D letters that need to be attached to the grille.

Haven't heard back from shipper on new tracking numbers associated with another shipment.   Did you say I have 30 days from estimated delivery date to claim with E-Bay?

[daleastern]

Oh, sorry. There was nothing that I refused to pay

[momcqueen]

Okay, good to know this didn't get punted back to China because of a refusal to tax duty as that would void your ability to claim a refund for an Item Not Received (INR),

As to the date your ebay MoneyBack Guarantee (MBG) expires, what day did you buy it? And what does your Estimated Date of Delivery say? There is a sometimes-glitch with items from China that have looooooong Estimated Dates of Delivery (EDD) because the EDD exceeds the MBG. If it looks like that is a possibility, you won't be able to open your INR. And then you will have to call ebay, or paypal. If your paypal EDD is sooner,  and this is a straight INR, go through them. Often you can open that case sooner than ebay allows. 

Sorry for the acronyms. It gets to be too much to type sometimes. 

[momcqueen]

(And if you want your money back instead of a new one of these car parts, you'll have to make those wishes abundantly clear to the seller when you open your case.) 

[daleastern]

Purchased Jan 10th.

Estimated delivery Jan 25 to Feb 6th.  

I skipped typing class too