ASL instead of Canada Post and see through mailers

[sergus0]

I thought I posted this yesterday but can't find it.  I am in Canada, my purchases cross the U.S. border and is then delivered by Canada Post.  Not anymore.  Ebay is using ASL Precision (division of DHL) to do this.  Does anyone know why??  Is it cheaper than Canada Post?  I'm sure not seeing any difference in shipping rates.  Canada Post delivered into assigned communal mail boxes, out of the elements.  If it was put in the wrong box, I could call them back in minutes (I am a hawk when it comes to the day of delivery).  ASL just drops it on your door step. No pictures taken.  No idea what time of day for delivery (C.P. is pretty well regular each day).  If it is dropped off at the wrong house?  I won't find out until I visit the ASL site.  Call the toll free numb er?  Yeah, the driver is long gone.  And the neighbors do not like to give back that which isn't theirs.    Oh and here comes the really swell part:  this time, the seller sent my item in a frosted see-through zip lock bag with 4 air holes.  Wouldn't want to suffocate my pair of jeans, now.  I gingerly opened the package expecting an eight legged creature to drop out as they like to hang around the garden by the front door. Lucky me, there wasn't any hitch hikers.  I am not mad but I am very glad I didn't order any unmentionables or something along that line because everyone that handled my package knew what was in it.  ASL opens the door to mis directed deliveries, porch pirates, tail end of hurricane wetness on package (we got 2 of those tails) and the stress of having something marked 'delivered' by Ebay when I didn't get it.   Time to do my shopping somewhere else.  It's 50/50 now if I get my items.  

[jayracz · Accepted solution]

I rediscovered eBay again while shopping for things to decorate my media room. Been here for years. #1 rule is if you buy from the US make sure they use USPS. It's slow but doesn't incur any further charges. But I found a exception to this rule. USPS ground advantage. It doesn't get picked up by eIS. So the full charges are not upfront. The seller will send to the hub. Not to your address. There the hub decides what carrier will continue with your package. So even though you paid for USPS you don't actually get USPS. In my case I got DHL. I'm not a fan of DHL. I refuse to use them. But eBay decided to use them for me. So now my purchase that I paid $40 to deliver via USPS that ways 2 pounds cost $80. Has incurred further charges of $25 that would of been avoided if it sent to me how I paid for it. USPS. It's what I agreed and paid for. How can the hub change my purchase option? I did not agree to DHL service ever in the purchase agreement. Customer service has been of no help with any of this. They have seemed to have blocked my emails. So here I am searching for answers. Meanwhile CS points the finger at my seller. Tries to get me to go after them. Yet a eBay employee stated on here that there is a glitch in the system that lead to all this.

[reallynicestamps]

Your seller is probably using eBay International Shipping which is a Seller Protection program for international sales.

Your seller may use USPS to ship to the plant in Illinois, but from there eIS uses whatever company (including Canada Post) that offers the best deal to get to your doorstep.

the seller sent my item in a frosted see-through zip lock bag with 4 air holes. Wouldn't want to suffocate my pair of jeans, now. I gingerly opened the package expecting an eight legged creature to drop out as they like to hang around the garden by the front door.

I'd mention the packaging in your feedback.

If you don't receive the package by the last delivery date, you can open an Item Not Received claim and get a refund.

This has nothing to do with the Seller (see Seller Protection program, above) and any refund will be paid by eIS/eBay.

It's 50/50 now if I get my items.

I rarely hear a knock or ring when a package is dropped off so it's not just DHL, it's every courier nowadays.

However.

It is the buyer's responsibility to have a safe place to leave packages.

If your neighbour's are not trustworthy, you could look into Canada Post's Flex Delivery or post on your door a sign saying No Safe Drop.

The carrier is then supposed to leave a notice telling you where or when you can pick up your delivery.

Since it's the end of summer, look into the decorative yard boxes that are on sale right now at hardware stores. Or get a much larger mailbox.

[reallynicestamps]

So now my purchase that I paid $40 to deliver via USPS that ways 2 pounds cost $80. Has incurred further charges of $25 that would of been avoided if it sent to me how I paid for it. USPS. It's what I agreed and paid for.

devon@ebay   Another complaint about DHL and superfluous charges.

[marnotom!]

I’m not sure what’s superfluous about the DHL charges, @reallynicestamps. An $80 item would be subject to taxes (and possibly duty) if sent by mail, after all. The difference, as we well know, is that there’s a good chance that CBSA wouldn’t bother going through the process of accessing and charging those taxes plus Canada Post’s ten dollar money-handling fee.

@jayracz has been posting bits and bobs of their story all over the boards about this issue so it’s been tough to get it straight, but the crux of the problem seems to be that they were led to believe by the app that their item was going to be sent to Canada with the USPS domestic Ground Advantage service.

[jayracz]

Yes. This is my issue. As a Canadian I had no idea Ground advantage was a domestic US service only till now. eBay eIS failed to pick up the sale to add the appropriate fees to check out. And as a long time eBay buyer I know to avoid certain shipping companies. But this new hub system changed those rules. And seeing as I get 10+ emails a month from scammers telling me I have a DHL package at the boarder that needs payment I tend to ignore them and flag them as spam. There was a whole bunch of confusion created over something I should of never been shown as a option to purchase. I have been working with the seller on this. They decided to refund me some $. Which I do not like. The seller deserves to get what they charged. As far as I am concerned this is a issue that eBay needs to fix. In all my years here I have never raised a stink. But this one bugs me to no end. And CS fix is to block my emails. So I have the boards to vent to now. It's a bad sign when a seasoned highly rated buyer that never had a issue is upset. And eBay CS decides to ignore them. I am losing all trust in the platform.

[marnotom!]

To be frank, @jayracz, I don't think you have a fight that's worth fighting.  In fact, I think you have very little to fight about, and I've stated most of my reasons for this in another thread.

I spent a good twenty or so minutes on my laptop going through listings with my shipping location set to a US ZIP code, trying to find listings for items that shipped within the US by USPS Ground Advantage and where the seller used eBay International Shipping for getting the item to Canada.  It was surprisingly challenging, although maybe it shouldn't have been a total surprise given that Ground Advantage seems to be getting a pretty rough ride in terms of seller opinion on the US discussion boards.  Anyway, once I finally found a couple of listings in that vein, I tried looking them up on my phone using the (iOS) app and I couldn't replicate what you and another user experienced; the listings correctly showed eBay International Shipping as the shipping method to Canada.

So, either this glitch is sporadic or else I'm completely wrong about what's causing it.

Or else it's already been fixed.

I agree that it's unfortunate that your seller felt that they had to issue you a partial refund and I'm wondering what prompted that.  If they had gone to the US discussion boards for advice, the prevailing sentiment likely would have been that eBay should be the one compensating you if they felt there was reason for some sort of compensation.  I do hope that this experience doesn't put the seller off international shipping.  Often when things have gone awry with eIS or the old US GSP, sellers completely give up offering international shipping rather than try other methods that are seen (not without some justification) as offering as much security and protection.