How long should I wait for items shipped from China?

[britestarr111]

I have more than a handful of orders for items from China that I have not received close to 6 weeks after ordering!!  I have never had a problem like this before.  Especially with several shipments all from the same country.  Does anyone know if there is some sort of hold up in China where these packages aren't able to leave the country?  I've been buying from China for several years and have never had to wait this long.

[momcqueen]

The items you ordered are most likely being held up in transit. You are not alone in waiting longer than which you are accustomed to receive items from China. Canada Post processes them as they are able and at a loss due to postal treaties that give China a third-world country rate despite them being a global manufacturing powerhouse. 

While with ebay you have 30 days past the last estimated delivery date to file an Item Not Received dispute, with paypal you have up to 180 days from payment. So mark that date on your calendar.

If you have not yet received your order by Day 157, file for an Item Not Received case and take your refund and buy another. Don't accept an offer to replace, you won't have any protection left if it doesn't eventually come either. 

[blufis]

I am having the same problem. I just noticed a small item I ordered and did not receive has now disappeared from my purchase history. What's up with that? How do I get that order back on my screen? All of my purchases from China are not arriving... what the ?

[momcqueen]

Wearing my Seller Hat, my advice would be to not waste time and money on items of questionable authenticity and quality from backdoor sellers overseas. Wearing my Buyer Hat, your order disappeared from your Purchase History because more than 60 days has passed. No matter. You cannot leave feedback for the seller but you can still communicate with that seller through your PayPal Account Activity. My advice for you is the same as my advice above. Mark Day 157 and open a request for your money back if you don't have it by then.

[reallynicestamps]

Because I am a grouchy old biddy, I would not allow more than 30 days from payment to file an Item Not Received Dispute with eBay.

If eBay won't accept it, Paypal, which has a Dispute window of 180 days from payment probably will.

The PP Resolution Centre is hidden under Tools at the top of your PP account page.

Do NOT accept an offer of a 'replacement'. It won't arrive either, and in my opinion is a pretty good sign that the seller never sent anything in the first place.

Selling product you don't have is a smashing way to lower your costs and increase your profits.

If the item arrives after the refund, you can reimburse the seller using Paypal's Send Money service.

In future, before you click Accept and Pay, look at the last estimated arrival date.

Is it really cheaper to wait six weeks (or forever) for some gimcrack than to buy it at the nearest dollar store?

[petstorehq]

I'm a seller based in Thailand and during November all orders sent to Canada have not arrived. As I can't tracking the items I can't see exactly where the items are. Issues seems to be 100% on the Canada end as orders sent to the USA during the same time are taking 2 to 3 weeks to be delivered.
As a result we have stopped all sales to Canada due to the delays, in the past Canada delivery has been slow but the last few months is unbearable at 8 to 9 weeks delivery to anywhere in Canada.

Does anyone know what's happening with Canada Post recently?? Any other sellers facing similar issues??

[momcqueen]

Domestically, Canada Post offers excellent, speedy service. Outgoing parcels I send with tracking are also outside Canada by the end of the second business day. With incoming lettermail from global markets, I cannot comment. I shop locally. I would however suspect that from a business standpoint, Canada Post Corporation devotes its resources to meeting the service standards for which it has customer guarantees. Those being expedited and tracked. International incoming lettermail which is processed at a loss to the corporation would be minimal priority.

[petstorehq]

Thanks for comment, I think for sure international incoming mail is well behind on the priority list especially coming from Asia, I'm the past its never been this bad. I'm guessing the cold winter is not helping. I sometimes ship to Canada via the USA and delivery time is reliable however it's very expensive. Lots of sellers seem to be facing the same issue and it seems customers in Canada will soon be excluded by many international sellers.

[momcqueen]

I know Canada Post was expecting to deliver record numbers of millions of parcels over the holidays with essentially the same workforce so I imagine the non-critical lettermail awaits the glut of parcels clearing. Then there's the extra statutory holidays that delay things between Christmas and New Years. It's hard to see other sellers hitting hard times as a result but the reality is that many Canadian consumers are also running out of patience waiting for their items to arrive from overseas too.

[petstorehq]

Very true usually Canadian customers are very good with being that extra bit patient and are some of the better customers that I have to deal with. Great disappointment I can longer offer products to Canada. I can understand regardless of external factors people expect delivery by estimated time frames. I have issued so many refunds in the past 2 weeks and expect more to come. All in all the risks of being an international seller are here in full force.

[momcqueen]

That's too bad.

I always encourage the buyers who come here for advice to wait as ling as paypal protection lasts. And then to resend the monies once their item is received.

Maybe try selling to Canada again in the summertime when the overflow of lettermail is sure to be diminished.

[petstorehq · Accepted solution]

Im finding most buyers like 95% are waiting for at least 2 weeks after the latest delivery estimate to make contact about order whereabouts which shows must customers are trying their best to be patient.
Most of my exposure in selling is via Amazon Canada and they do make it a little harder for buyers to reimburse already refunded purchases but hoping customers will understand and not bombard me with negative feedback .
I do definitely want to sell again in Canada and will just need in future to block out the nov/Dec and Jan to avoid problems. My plan moving forward is to use Amazon FBA for Canada orders and shipping from the USA for Ebay customers. From here it can only improve I guess

[john7460141]

I have waited up to 3 months for deliveries from Hong Kong or China but they always make it. The problem has never been at the Canadian end though. Usually once it hits canada for delivery it's a couple of days max. I was told by one China reseller that there was some kind of Embargo problem getting out of the country that was really slowing everything down this Christmas season? I order a lot from China, Hong kong, etc. and the big wait time has always been getting to Canada. Once it was inside Canada, like I say, couple of days max.

[momcqueen]

There was at one time an issue with lithium batteries on export form China.

The problem now is reported in media to be at Canada for incoming Customs clearing. There are shipping containers full of lettermail awaiting inspection for illicit drugs such as Fentanyl mainly.

[girlytoo]

Yes Canada is so... slow... I waited on one item just under 6 months and I finally got it the other day. And some I never did get them. I would say this is really uncalled for. I would hate to see all of China ebay seller exclude us Canadians because of Canada Post. It's Rude. 

I was wondering it anyone out their knows who would be a good person to contact to help get to the bottom of this? Greasy wheel get greased sometimes.

Since Canada post came back from the strike it has been too slow. What use to take 3 to 6 weeks is now taking 3 to 6 months. There isn't that many people more buying from China than prier to the strike. Matter of fact I was getting fast deliveries from china when there was talk of strike last summer. Why was that? Soon as they settled Now they are slower than ever. Don't say you are going to take on a job and then not do it.

[6guitars]

Hi, every body. I too have experienced long delays. As a matter of fact I received a credit from a vendor after 3 months only to receive the package the next day. I just got off the phone with Canada Post and it is not their fault. The packages from the far east go through Vancouver and it is now taking 21-40 days to get through Canada Customs. If you all want to see some action try writing to you MP about this before we can no longer buy from China.

[6guitars]

I buy mostly from China. I love the free shipping. Shipping costs from The USA are out of whack. It cost less to get an items shipped from Japan or Europe thanks to the eBay international shipping deal. It can take from 30 days to 53 days to receive goods from China. Don't blame the Chinese, don't even blame Canada Post. It's the fault of Customs Canada. They have an increased volume and increased scrutiny ( looking for opioids  ) but refuse to hire more agents to do the checking. I have already contacted my MP.

---

@britestarr111 wrote:

I have more than a handful of orders for items from China that I have not received close to 6 weeks after ordering!!  I have never had a problem like this before.  Especially with several shipments all from the same country.  Does anyone know if there is some sort of hold up in China where these packages aren't able to leave the country?  I've been buying from China for several years and have never had to wait this long.

---

[momcqueen]

If duty was collected on all imported postal orders above the $20 de minimus, you might get enough to hire more Customs agents. Be careful what you wish for.