why did my item get shipped yo the US when I live in canada?

[matt1552117]

Ok I bought an item on nov 2nd and I wait a few days and the seller hasnt shipping my item yet,  so on monday nov 7 I contact him and later that night he ships it and I get a tracking number for....USPS.  and im like why is he USPS for shipping and not canada post, now you should now we both live in B.C. and ONLY 150 MILES APART.

So a day goes by and the tracker is updated and it says it is in Blaine WA, and it stays in Blaine WA for a few days going to different area codes . Next it goes to Kent WA   and I am getting confused at this point, but not as much as I am going to be.

on nov 15 the tracker says IT'S IN LOS ANGELES!!!  How can an item being sold in B.C. Canada going to where I live also in B.C. Canada 150 MILES AWAY be in Los Angeles California? 

Can someone please shead some light on this practice of shipping? Because I looked at some posts on reddit and it seems like it is common that people in csnada ship through USPS to places in canada.

[i.am.vivian]

That sure sounds strange.  Are you sure the seller and the item were both in BC?  Not much you can do about it now but if it does not arrive at all you can contact the seller about it.  They will also be reading the tracking info and will know if it gets lost in the wrong place.  If the seller does not refund you for a missing item, you can open a claim for ITEM NOT RECEIVED once you are past the LAST date of estimated delivery.  Once that last date has passed you have 30 days to file a claim on eBay.   

It sounds like it is on its way but I don't know what's with the tracking # if it was really sent by a seller in Canada.  Or else the seller is lying and is a drop shipper where the items come from the US. The ITEM LOCATION is supposed to be honestly stated in the listings.  It is an eBay policy violation to lie about that but lots of sellers do it anyway.  

[i.am.vivian]

The only other thing I can think of is if the seller lives near the border and takes things across to mail them by USPS.  Some do that because it is faster, easier and cheaper than using Canada (snail mail) Post.  I wouldn't worry about it unless it shows Delivered to the wrong address but that won't likely happen.  Even a GSP item gets delivered at Kentucky but then quickly moves on toward the buyer.

[marnotom!]

Yes, quite a few Canadian eBay sellers use USPS even for domestic shipments because they can get better shipping rates through USPS than they can through Canada Post, even factoring in the cost to ship the item to the United States.

If your seller isn't using a drop-shipper (I'm not sure from your post where the shipment originated), (s)he may have taken things one step further and used a parcel consolidation service.  That's where several small packages travel together in one big package or container in order to save shipping costs.  The downside to this sort of shipping is that it's often a lot slower than shipping the item singly and more directly.  Just out of curiosity, what shipping service is stated on the listing page?

I don't know where you are in BC, but in many locations in the province, letter mail is shipped to Vancouver for processing, even letters destined for the same town in which they were mailed.  If your seller knows what (s)he's doing, your item will eventually work its way to Canada and to you.

[esclyons]

you should also contact the seller, it is quite possible he uploaded the incorrect tracking number..