eBay

of-the-world · ‎03-09-2015

I want to make very clear to all canadian ebay sellers the 'silent' rollout of

the new delivery times for SURFACE shipping.

Although it still says on Canada post website it takes 4-6 weeks for Surface

over the xmas holiday and this new year , all my surface items have been taking over 10 weeks.

One was 12 weeks ! And one guy who I shipped to in November hasn't received his item yet.

I confirmed this with my local post office a few days ago. They stated that yes it now takes 10 weeks or

more for Surface, as they were posted an internal memo.

This is very dicey - and really makes a good value not so good any more as people get very angry about waiting.

I make it very clear to my customers about the wait, and the problem is some forget and end up opening a case against me.

Some resolve it with communication and some even though they agree they still get fed up.

So be cautious about Surface. 10 PLUS weeks overseas.

toff3 · ‎03-10-2015

There's sure a lot of peculiar and confused thinking about shipping out there.

I have no idea what Honeybed is trying to say on the subject of surface vs air shipping.

How anyone can even contemplate insisting on the insanely-priced Tracked Packet service for overseas shipments is beyond me. I suppose it's all part of the tracking paranoia that's gripped so many people.

Cumos writes he was "scared" sending a $20 book to Germany for $40 in postage (for airmail, I presume). I guess he'd have been absolutely petrified to send it surface mail.

Any talk of relating base postage cost to shipment value is surely a red herring. The base postage cost of any given item for any given service should reflect only the size and weight of the mail piece. The value should be covered by insurance at extra cost.

Cumos can't seem to make up his mind how to ship overseas or even to ship at all. His listings promise Surface Parcel for International shipments but apparently he won't follow through in practice. He says he'll ship airmail if the customer requests it. Yes, well, I do the same - nothing very revolutionary about that. He apparently refuses to offer Small Packet, Air or Surface - the one Canada Post overseas service that remains halfway affordable - perhaps because insurance is no longer included in the postage. In his listings, he states that any insurance beyond $100 (the coverage provided by Canada Post for certain services) is "optional", implying that the buyer has to pay for it. This goes against eBay rules, which stipulate the seller must absorb the cost. After all, insurance is for the benefit and peace of mind of the seller, not the buyer.

Tom

cumos55 · ‎03-10-2015

(1) That $20 book was with International parcel surface at $40

Tracked packet ... airmail...to Germany was at about $60.... and Xpresspost was at about $100

(2) I have learned that buyers get very antsy at about 40 days .... and surface mail works if tracking that was paid for was actually shown by Canada Post.

....

Small packet was OK with insurance.... but today it is a loss looking for a place to happen.. whether surface mail or airmail

(3) I have learned over the years that I can live without international shipping.... I did not sell much outside of Canada and the US each year..... but eventually enough problems were enough problems....

My only defects over the last 12 months occurred with shipping to European countries... and due to the postal service not doing it quite right....

I was satisfied with surface mail to Europe until Canada Post did not follow through with "paid for" tracking

(3) I only stopped shipping outside of Canada and the US last fall..... I choose not to remove any reference to international shipping in my listings.

.. and probably never will...

I may even go back to selling internationally....if there was a "safe" way to do so

I did have purchases by two people from Europe just before Christmas.... but they had me ship to Canadian addresses...

Insurance above $100 is optional ...for certain Canada Post options and if required I pay for it...... not the buyer.

What I do.. is my choice.... and based on over 10 years on eBay....

reallynicestamps · ‎03-10-2015

We have insurance coverage through Hugh Wood International, and any seller of collectibles may find it useful to contact them (it's a British company with offices in Toronto. Ask for Gina.) They have annual contracts that will cover not only your mail sales, but also your B&M, your flea market table, your shows and your stock while travelling to shows. They provide a much more comprehensive service than most commercial or household insurers since they specialize in collectibles, both for dealers and for collectors.

They are, for example, the insurers for the American Philatelic Society and insure their 'circuit books' against loss and/or theft. Since a circuit book may contain thousands of dollars worth of stamps, moving from one collector directly to another before returning to the APS, HWI really understands collecting.

I think some posters use shipinsurance (not sure of the name) for one off shipping. There may be other companies that insure mailed product at a lower cost or with more comprehensive coverage than that offered by the PO. If you have experiences with such, please post them here.

Sellers should think about why they are using tracking which as toff3 points out is expensive.

If you have high rates of loss (real or scam), is tracking the answer?

Is insurance against losses the answer?

Is a more tightly controlled customer base the answer ? (As in , are you sure you want to mail that Rolex to Nigeria? Or that Playstation console to imagonnascruyouse with a university residence address?)

And my inevitable question, are you wasting time (which is money) on minor glitches, like a possibly fake non-delivery claim, on a $5 item -- one that cost you a dime + listing fees?

All of which has nothing to do with the shopping cart.

Except-- since I don't use it myself-- does the seller have the choice of activating the cart? and can a buyer put items from several sellers in the same cart?

cumos55 · ‎03-11-2015

Small Packet with insurance was used for many years... right from the first days on eBay.

It worked because eBay did not have the time restrictions for claims of ... not received.

Buyers could not wait beyond the claims window.... So they filed a claim of not received...

Then came the insurance claims....One got the impression that Canada Post was not quite happy..... with the understanding that ....some... if not many... of the claims were not real......Canada Post paid the claim... buyer got the money and the purchased item.

Then came the major adjustment in January 2013.... Small packet no longer had insurance.... and Tracked Packet was introduced...

Sales to the US dropped to 20 % of total sales...

I hung in there with the use of tracking..... Tracking has became the accepted reality on eBay....

The assumption by me was ... If they wanted it, they will pay... and gradually the buyers accepted the new reality... of shipping cost...

US sales jumped to 30 % of total sales in 2014..... perfect.

and then sales to countries outside of North America disappeared in the fall of 2014.

A major adjustment in prices in relation to the exchange rate has resulted in increased sales to the US.... since January 1, 2015.

Also ... Could it be that eBay was giving me more exposure with US Buyers because all countries except Canada and the US were blocked???....

------------------------------------------------------

Tracking is today's reality on eBay.

Insuring without tracking died in January 2013.

Lettermail and its equivalent is used if the purchase fits... and does `not have a value greater then $25... and sometimes $30 or even $35..

Delivery is fast within Canada and to the US..... no matter what shipping option is used.....

There have been no questions... such as... "Where is my purchase? This is something that makes life easy on eBay.

Most likely it has to do with what I sell and the character of the people buying my inventory.

------------------------------------------------------------

The end result is less stress... and a controlled sales environment on eBay..... I am in control... not the buyer....

and

as things have progressed over the past three months... one gets the impression that US buyers have been more flexible in accepting the reality of the cost of shipping....

especially if my inventory is unique on eBay...

US people buy... and are almost relieved when they get the parcel... based on their feedback comments... They made the decision to buy from me... and were more than satisfied when they received the purchase....

What worked for me 10 years ago will not work for me today.... It would be very stressful to go back in time and have eBay apply the rules of today.... It would be defects galore... and no more selling on eBay...

Insurance with tracking puts me in control and into a less stressful selling environment... with a limited use of shipping without insurance or tracking...

It works for me.... Selling to Canada and US only....... I do what I do because I can.....

Much of the stress of selling on eBay is gone.. gone.. gone..

I can focus on the fun of finding inventory and selling on eBay...

Age is also a factor I have to live with and selling on eBay may end in five years....

toff3 · ‎03-11-2015

cumos55 wrote:

(1) That $20 book was with International parcel surface at $40

Tracked packet ... airmail...to Germany was at about $60.... and Xpresspost was at about $100

For $6 or $7 more, you could have sent that book by Small Packet Air, saving your customer about $13.

(2) I have learned that buyers get very antsy at about 40 days .... and surface mail works if tracking that was paid for was actually shown by Canada Post.

Canada Post has never offered tracking beyond Canada's borders for International Parcel Surface and you certainly never paid for it. Any tracking you received beyond the border was by courtesy of the destination country's post office.

....

Small packet was OK with insurance.... but today it is a loss looking for a place to happen.. whether surface mail or airmail

Nonsense. How many claims for lost or damaged Small Packets did you lodge with Canada Post over the 10 years you've been on eBay?

(3) I have learned over the years that I can live without international shipping.... I did not sell much outside of Canada and the US each year..... but eventually enough problems were enough problems....

My only defects over the last 12 months occurred with shipping to European countries... and due to the postal service not doing it quite right....

I was satisfied with surface mail to Europe until Canada Post did not follow through with "paid for" tracking

More nonsense. There was never any tracking with international surface mail, yet you were satisfied with surface mail to Europe. Nothing has changed but now you're no longer satisfied.

(3) I only stopped shipping outside of Canada and the US last fall..... I choose not to remove any reference to international shipping in my listings.

.. and probably never will...

So you believe that offering Worldwide shipping but excluding Africa, Asia, Central America & Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, Oceania, SE Asia, South America, Bermuda, Greenland, Mexico, and St Pierre & Miquelon is acceptable? God help us.

I may even go back to selling internationally....if there was a "safe" way to do so

OMG, I didn't realize things have got this bad.

I did have purchases by two people from Europe just before Christmas.... but they had me ship to Canadian addresses...

Insurance above $100 is optional ...for certain Canada Post options and if required I pay for it...... not the buyer.

Well, at least that's something, but then why do you state in your listings that extra insurance is "optional"? Any potential buyer reading that would assume that it costs extra.

What I do.. is my choice....

Agreed.

and based on over 10 years on eBay...

During which time you should have learned more about the mails.

Cumos,

My responses are above in bold.

Tom

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