eBay

norbkaus · ‎09-26-2016

I purchased an item on EBay and global shipping declared that it was delivered to my door. I was at home and never saw them deliver anything!

No one came to my door, I did not sign for anything and I waited for a few days more, revisited my purchase, which had claimed it would arrive within 7 to 11 days of my purchase! That time frame had come and gone, so I sent in a resolution request to find out what happened to my package.

EBay simply sent me back a decision that I would not be refunded (which I did not ask for) and I was SOL!! To them it's, "too bad, so sad"! They claim that the delivery system had delivered, which they had NOT and too bad for me!!

I had purchased many items from EBay and never had a problem. This Global Shipping Program is relatively new to me, though I have received several purchases through it. This is the first time I have had this problem! The price was substantial and EBay tells me I'm out the money!

Has anyone else experienced such a fraud by EBay's shipping system? This is very aggravating and has completely destroyed my faith in EBay. All it takes is one incident involving a lot of money!

femmefan1946 · ‎09-26-2016

Which shipping company was supposed to actually deliver the parcel?

GSP mostly uses Canada Post, but we have seen reports of CanPar and occasionally FedEx.

If it was Canada Post, see if your local Postal Outlet (and then Post Office) can help you.

This may also be useful in tracking your parcel although it was put together for a slightly different purpose.

Another poster worked this out for buyers who have not yet received their GSP shipment.
TRACKING SYSTEM FOR GSP
It's not user friendly... But I found how to track your package via the global shipping program, once it gets to Canada you need to:
- Log on to eBay.ca
- Under the My eBay menu select Purchase History
- Under your orders find the specific order. It should have something like the following:
Estimated delivery Mon, Jan 11 - Thu, Jan 21
Tracking number: Tracking number UPAAB000000#########
- Click on the UPA number. This should open up a Shipment Details window, which should contain something like this:
This shipment has been transferred to CPC for delivery to the final destination # 70351#########
-Click on the Canada Post number to see where the Canada Post Tracking history and expected delivery

marnotom! · ‎09-26-2016

@norbkaus wrote:

I purchased an item on EBay and global shipping declared that it was delivered to my door. I was at home and never saw them deliver anything!

No one came to my door, I did not sign for anything and I waited for a few days more, revisited my purchase, which had claimed it would arrive within 7 to 11 days of my purchase! That time frame had come and gone, so I sent in a resolution request to find out what happened to my package.

EBay simply sent me back a decision that I would not be refunded (which I did not ask for) and I was SOL!! To them it's, "too bad, so sad"! They claim that the delivery system had delivered, which they had NOT and too bad for me!!

I had purchased many items from EBay and never had a problem. This Global Shipping Program is relatively new to me, though I have received several purchases through it. This is the first time I have had this problem! The price was substantial and EBay tells me I'm out the money!

Has anyone else experienced such a fraud by EBay's shipping system? This is very aggravating and has completely destroyed my faith in EBay. All it takes is one incident involving a lot of money!

First of all, are you quite sure the tracking information is referring to "your door"? There are three stages to the delivery of a Global Shipping Item: the first is from the seller to Kentucky, the second is from Kentucky to a hub in Canada, and the third is from the hub to its final destination. Any one of these destinations can be considered the item's "final destination" by a shipper's tracking software.

Second of all, Kentucky is considered the final destination on the seller's end for "protection" against a claim of non-receipt. If an item shows up as having been delivered to the Global Shipping Center in Kentucky, it's considered "delivered" by eBay's automated software. To complicate matters further, eBay customer service reps know little to nothing about the GSP.

If you're quite sure the tracking information is referring to your home as a final shipping destination, you need to contact eBay and ask to speak to a Global Shipping Specialist, or else contact Pitney Bowes directly if you can track down their GSP customer service number.

Having said all that, there occasionally seems to be a lag between when tracking on an item sent by Canada Post shows the item as being "delivered" and when the item's recipient actually has it in their hot little hands. This goes for non-GSP as well as GSP items. You may want to wait a few days to see if it shows up before getting on the horn to anybody else.

femmefan1946 · ‎09-27-2016

You may want to wait a few days to see if it shows up before getting on the horn to anybody else.

Well-- yes and no.

I would be taking a walk to the PO and asking the clerks if the package was actually there.

Sometimes the Notice the carrier is supposed to leave is 'blown away by the wind'.

And parcels don't hang around that backroom long, especially if it is a busy outlet or one with a small store room.

Phoning -- that's different.

That can wait.

But the personal visit, the sooner the better.

Besides the walk is good exercise.

billybishop72 · ‎09-27-2016

It's not fraud but the GSP does 'skim' the take....when they repackage items and ship them for less than what we paid for. The first GSP purchase I made was a plastic model kit in a paper box. There was no reason for it to be repackagied. But it was repackaged...and probably mailed for a whole lot less than the $52 I paid for it.....

femmefan1946 · ‎09-28-2016

And the guy who does the repackaging is not paid for his labour?

And the materials used for repackaging are absolutely free?

And delivered to the GSP plant by trucks that run on pixie dust and happy thoughts?

And the garbage trucks that take the discarded original packaging away, take the wrapping to a city dump that charges no dumping fees because it is run by little green fairies who do it for the joy they taking in popping discarded bubblewrap.

There are costs to Pitney Bowes when they unwrap and rewrap parcels.

Those costs may be higher or lower than having extra bulk filling their outgoing trucks.

Was the origin of the 'plastic model' stated on the packaging by the seller?

Was the origin of the model stated in the description by the seller?

Was the origin within an NAFTA country (Canada, USA, Mexico and for some reason Chile)?

Canada has no free trade agreements with China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam- the countries that seem most likely to be the origin of the models.

If the model was not made in a country with which Canada has a free trade agreement, then it is liable to be assessed for Canadian Sales Taxes, duty, and yes, Pitney Bowes/GSP has a service fee in there of ~$5USD.

It's probable they share that service fee with eBay. That'c proprietary information and we are unlikely ever to know it.

I don't know if the model was $52 or if that was the GSP import fees.

If it was the model then unless the seller states that it was made in the USA (or nafta but..) you will pay sales tax and probably duty. And the service fee.

If it had been sent UPS, that money with a higher service fee would be charged on your doorstep or the courier would not give you your purchase.

If it had been sent USPS, that money with a $9.95 service fee would be charged on your doorstep or the postie would not give you your purchase.

And once again. The GSP is a Seller Protection program and offers little for the buyer. Canadians should avoid GSP sellers and their products whenever possible.

billybishop72 · ‎09-28-2016

Your defense of the GSP is so over the top it makes one wonder what your motivations are. You missed the entire point...There was no legitimate reason to repackage the item... other than to skim the 'shipping fees' that were paid for by me. The item was a small Aurora plastic model kit that was made in Canada in the first place...

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/182283706048?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

This model could have been shipped for $15.00...easily...by USPS. I paid almost $60.00 CAN. They repackaged it to shipped it for much less and skimmed the fees into their pockets...That you can't defend....

afantiques · ‎09-28-2016

How did the seller pack the item? If you peel off the GSP label can you see the seller's shipping label?

They do seem to be rolling in the import taxes with the shipping cost. It does say $0 for import charges.

There is no mention of country of manufacture in the listing specifics.

The US seller's cost to ship domestically was $20 US or about $26 Can, which accounts for a good chunk of the shipping cost.

billybishop72 · ‎09-28-2016

Please...stop deflecting...The import charge was $10.00 US, not '0', in the listing...It's the GSP's dirty little secret. Repackage and ship the item for much less than what the customer had to pay for up front....The kit could have been mailed for $15 by First Class USPS....

marnotom! · ‎09-28-2016

@billybishop72 wrote:

It's not fraud but the GSP does 'skim' the take....when they repackage items and ship them for less than what we paid for. The first GSP purchase I made was a plastic model kit in a paper box. There was no reason for it to be repackagied. But it was repackaged...and probably mailed for a whole lot less than the $52 I paid for it.....

You don't describe how it was "repackaged" and quite frankly, I'm having a hard time seeing how an item of this nature could be "repackaged".

I'm starting to wonder if many of the complaints about the Global Shipping Center "repackaging" items are actually complaints about the GSC opening and resealing packages. After all, GSP items arrive with a big sticker on them that reads "Resealed by the Global Shipping Program" or something like that.

As for the shipping cost (which now shows up as somewhat less than what you paid, BTW), in instances such as yours where the seller hasn't specified the item's shipping weight and dimensions in the listings, the GSP has to make a guess on the shipping price based on the category the item is listed. Packaged mobile phones have a shipping weight that's probably comparable to what your model kit was, yet shipping prices are about a third of what you paid. That's because there's a narrower range in sizes and weights for packaged mobile phones and the GSP "guesses" (if necessary) more accurately.

For what it's worth, the cheapest part of an item's transit is between Kentucky and the Canadian hub as the item travels by freight. The most expensive is probably the leg from the Canadian hub to the recipient as the carrier is likely charging something based on domestic parcel rates, which as you probably can appreciate are quite different in pricing structure than the international letter mail rates to which you're referring in your subsequent post.

What I really don't understand is why you were so impelled to purchase the model kit if you found the shipping and processing charges so objectionable and you didn't relish the thought of paying the same HST you would have paid to a Canadian seller registered to collect and remit it.

marnotom! · ‎09-28-2016

@afantiques wrote:

The US seller's cost to ship domestically was $20 US or about $26 Can, which accounts for a good chunk of the shipping cost.

Good catch. And if the seller is using Priority for a domestic shipment, they may insist on it for an international one for a direct shipment, which would run around US$35. Still less expensive than the GSP, but not nearly as economical as letter post (First Class International).

i.am.vivian · ‎09-28-2016

When I first read your post I thought you meant to say that they seem to be "rolling in import taxes" which is quite funny. Is there such a thing as a Freudian slip of the reading variety? 🙂

billybishop72 · ‎09-28-2016

marnotom! wrote:

You don't describe how it was "repackaged" and quite frankly, I'm having a hard time seeing how an item of this nature could be "repackaged".

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Quite frankly, it was repackaged. It had the "Resealed by the Global Shipping Program" sticker....but it also had packing materials the seller told me she did not use (finely shredded paper)...It was re-packaged. The seller also told me she could have shipped the item to Canada for $15.00 USPS (First Class, not Priority). Looks like the GSP is skimming the shipping costs...and by the way, I have a right to complain about it even though I went through with this purchase...

marnotom! · ‎09-28-2016

@billybishop72 wrote:

Quite frankly, it was repackaged. It had the "Resealed by the Global Shipping Program" sticker....but it also had packing materials the seller told me she did not use (finely shredded paper)...It was re-packaged. The seller also told me she could have shipped the item to Canada for $15.00 USPS (First Class, not Priority). Looks like the GSP is skimming the shipping costs...and by the way, I have a right to complain about it even though I went through with this purchase...

So if I'm understanding you correctly, you're complaining that the Global Shipping Center added protection to the packaging that the seller didn't include herself? Whatever floats your boat.

Certainly you have the right to complain about the GSP, but I never said that you didn't. What I asked is why you decided to go through with the purchase if you didn't like the shipping cost, processing fees, and the fact that you had to pay taxes owing on the model kit. Nobody was forcing you to buy this item, as far as I know.

billybishop72 · ‎09-29-2016

Again....you miss the point. I wasn't complaining about the cost, inflated thought it was. I don't think it's right that my package gets opened, repackaged, resealed and shipped for much less than what I was forced to pay for....and the GSP pocketing the difference. That's 'skimming'...How would you like it if Canada Post did that?

marnotom! · ‎09-29-2016

@billybishop72 wrote:

Again....you miss the point. I wasn't complaining about the cost, inflated thought it was. I don't think it's right that my package gets opened, repackaged, resealed and shipped for much less than what I was forced to pay for....and the GSP pocketing the difference. That's 'skimming'...How would you like it if Canada Post did that?

Pitney Bowes says right on the terms and conditions page for buyers that they reserve the right to open and inspect packages. My understanding is that if a seller hasn't provided information on an item's country of origin, it will do just that. You may know that your model kit was manufactured in Canada, but there's nothing on the listing page to suggest that.

The shipping price that shows up on the listing page is now US$31.01. As AF pointed out in an earlier post, the seller's shipping charge to the Global Shipping Center is US$20, which means that the GSP's take of the shipping charge is US$11.01, better than the First Class International charge your seller was quoting, and probably comparable to Canada Post's base regular parcel rate for simply getting the item from Mississauga to you.

I'm not clear on how much the shipping charge was when you purchased the model kit, but you seem to be adding the import charges to the shipping charge and not taking the seller's own shipping charge out of the equation.

billybishop72 · ‎09-29-2016

Pitney Bowes says right on the terms and conditions page for buyers that they reserve the right to open and inspect packages.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sure...I guess they open every plastic model plane kit that comes their way....Those Aurora model plane kit plans are pretty detailed. Maybe they're still trying to get the instruction sheet on how to build an Avro Arrow...

Bottom line....they open your package...there are a lot of unintended consequences there....

femmefan1946 · ‎09-29-2016

The Arrow?

They could start here:

161722306920

marnotom! · ‎09-29-2016

@billybishop72 wrote:

Bottom line....they open your package...there are a lot of unintended consequences there....

You had the next to the bottom line.

Bottom line is that you're made aware of this in the terms and conditions to which you presumably agreed before making the purchase. It's also noted in the T&C that title to the item isn't transferred to the buyer until it's delivered, so technically speaking it's the seller's item that's being opened.

In other words, don't say you weren't warned.

billybishop72 · ‎09-29-2016

I'm amazed at how knowledgeable you are of the intricate fine technicalities of the whole setup.....You need to stop working pro buono for Pitney Bowes....