It's been a month and my item hasn't arrived yet. What should I do now?

[ciaramarti_0]

About a month ago, I ordered an item (232281248611), and it hasn't arrived yet. Last week, I asked the seller if he had a tracking number, and when I got the tracking number(RR496987088JP), and entered it into Japan Post's website, it came up as an invalid tracking number. I'm a bit anxious that my item was never shipped, and the seller just printed a shipping label and never sent the item(as I've heard printing out the shipping label tells eBay that the item was shipped). So, what would be the appropriate thing to do now? Should I ask the seller for a refund, or file a dispute with eBay(as the item is past it's arrival date)? 

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

Always start with the seller. It's only polite.

the seller just printed a shipping label and never sent the item

International shipping is pretty expensive, tracked or not. Frankly, it is unlikely, especially in a stereotypically honest nation like Japan.

BTW- there are services which have numbers (for internal bookkeeping) but are not barcoded for tracking. Canada Post's Light Packet comes to mind.

Then go to eBay.

You have 30 days after the last estimated date for delivery to open an Item Not Received dispute.

[ciaramarti_0]

OK, that sounds like a good course of action. Now I'm pretty sure the number was just for internal bookkeeping, and the item is probably stuck at customs in Vancouver.

[thestuffofchris]

By chance, was it sent Air Mail (Small Packet) from Japan? I purchased something from Japan last year, shipped Air Mail (Small Packet), and it had a similar tracking number that didn't work on the Japan Post website. As reallynicestamps said, that likely means that the number is meant to be more of an internal number for the company you purchased from. (Tracking is, after all, protection for the seller more than the buyer.)

I believe that service is quoted as being 2 weeks to Canada, so if it has indeed been a month definitely start with your seller. If that gets you nowhere, open a case. (Though from my experience, Japanese sellers tend to be very pleasant to deal with.)

[ciaramarti_0]

The seller told me it was shipped with SAL, however I don't know what that is. The date eBay said it would arrive by was April 25, so it might be stuck in customs or something similar. CBSA customs have gotten much slower lately, so that might be a factor in the delay.

[thestuffofchris]

SAL is Air Mail (Small Packet) (at least, that's what the company I ordered from listed it as).

eBay's estimated arrival dates aren't the best, so I would wait until tomorrow to see if it shows up, and if not, then contact the seller and then proceed with a case if necessary. (I personally like to wait until the end of a week, as there have been times I've started to worry about something not arriving, and then it shows up the next day.)