eBay

what-does-your-watch-say · ‎07-18-2024

And Asendia is still garbage.

I do watch repair, bought a part from a Florida based seller, but before buying asked the seller is he ships directly with USPS or if he participates in the ebay shipping program. The seller stated he only uses USPS.

Package was shipped, at a cost of $32 CAD to me. It arrived in Glendale, IL and was rerouted.

I get home yesterday and see a Canada Post delivery notice. I go to the post office today and am told I have to pay $62 CAD in brokerage fees, imort dutie and taxes.

I ask the clerk to tell me where the package came from and she said it was shipped from Switzerland.

I contact the seller and he says he does use USPS, whatever ebay decides to do after that isn't his responsibility.

I contact ebay and ask why my package was shipped from America to Switzerland and the lady says the ebay description says the part was originally from Switzerland, so it has to be shipped there and then shipped to me in Canada because of import laws.

I've ordered parts from Swiss based ebay sellers and have not had to pay import duties, or taxes.

I don't expect any resolution from this, but felt the need to vent. This is wrong from the bloated shipping fees up to the ridiculous lengths ebay goes to reroute packages to squeeze more money out of buyers.

marnotom! · ‎07-18-2024

Not to put too fine a point on it, but why on earth did you have to ask the seller how the item would be shipped to Canada when that information was right on the listing page? "eBay International Shipping" (eIS) is the uninspired name eBay gave to its US-based international package forwarding service. If the seller used USPS, a USPS international service would have been stated in the shipping section of the listing instead of "eBay International Shipping."

Items handled by eIS can go by quite a few different shipping methods, so it's best to assume a worst case scenario when considering whether to purchase an eIS-forwarded item.

what-does-your-watch-say · ‎07-18-2024

I'm not sure why you're all over these threads defending this ebay shipping program marnotom. You're a low feedback ebay member who currently has nothing listed for sale.

To answer your question, I have not bought from a US based seller since ebay introduced the original "Global Shipping Program".

When I questioned the seller he did not state that he uses the international shipping program, but answered my question stating he uses USPS, which was true in theory, but not in reality entirely true.

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-19-2024

He probably uses USPS to send the package to the EIS distribution center and may have assumed wrongly that the EIS uses it too.

I'm sure your package didn't leave North America. Asendia is a Swiss company so their tracking often has a reference to Switzerland. which can be misleading. I can understand why the postal clerk made that assumption but the eBay cs rep was really using their imagination when they gave you that reply.

marnotom! · ‎07-19-2024

@what-does-your-watch-say wrote:

I'm not sure why you're all over these threads defending this ebay shipping program marnotom. You're a low feedback ebay member who currently has nothing listed for sale.

Explaining the workings of and rationale behind eBay International Shipping is no more a defence of the program than explaining the causes and major events of the Second World War is a defence of the actions and decisions of the Chancellor of the Third Reich.

luv4orphans · ‎07-22-2024

I ended up with the same kind of problem a couple of months ago. And never saw anything on the ebay listing stating EIS shipping. Seller screwed up first shipment, item was returned to him after 10 days and when he reshipped he used the EIS program or ESUS whatever that is which is probably what he was advised to do. Another ebay brainstorm.

Item ended up in California from Massachusetts and all the way back to Ontario after sitting there for 3 weeks. Took 7 weeks to get here, $60 duty tax on it and I know that has nothing to do with ebay and after paying close to $80 Cdn to ship. Box got here disintegrated and falling apart. That's the kind of service we're paying the big $$ for.

Sometimes if its a part needed to repair something its easier to go right tp the source instead of having to deal with all this. I've done that and will remind myself to do it in the future. This site is getting ridiculous.

marnotom! · ‎07-23-2024

Hello, @luv4orphans. I guess you're tired of my posting to the thread you originally started on this subject so you're following up here, instead.

The reason why the listing for the boat part didn't state that eBay International Shipping was being used is because eBay International Shipping wasn't used. The seller used eBay International Standard Delivery which is considered a discounted mail-based service. I agree that this alternative is an abomination and I have no idea why eBay is persisting in keeping it going when there are similar alternatives to it out there for sellers to use that generally do the job better.

Having said that, I don't think you can hold the program responsible for the box being "disintegrated and falling apart" (How can it be both?) when the box used was the seller's choice, not that of eISD, and from what you said on the other thread, it looks as though the seller had trouble packaging the item appropriately from the get-go.

clemowbooks · ‎07-23-2024

I contact ebay and ask why my package was shipped from America to Switzerland and the lady says the ebay description says the part was originally from Switzerland, so it has to be shipped there and then shipped to me in Canada because of import laws.

You phoned right?

The phone clerks do not work for eBay . They are undertrained and tend to make up stories.

That is just a total lie.

And I bet the person you talked to had an American accent, because a Philippino would have a wider understanding of the law, if only because of the balikbayan boxes they get from family in the Pinoy diaspora.

https://www.approvedforwarders.com/story-of-the-balikbayan-box/

clemowbooks · ‎07-23-2024

Box got here disintegrated and falling apart.

Most of what you say is normal, eIS does use a spoke and hub system for processing (as does USPS and Canada Post ).

But the poor packaging is down to the seller, not the shipper.

@pjcdn2005 devon@ebay

Is there any way that buyers can confirm that the seller has set up their eIS listings so that import fees are paid before shipping?
This keeps coming up with DHL in particular lately.
One of the constant complaints about GSP was that "shipping" seemed very high because import fees were not clearly indicated as part of the shipping and handling.

So eIS seems to have made this optional for the seller, making total cost for purchase (item, shipping, taxes, duty) seem lower until the customer tries to pick up their package.

@luv4orphans
@what-does-your-watch-say

Import fees are duty and taxes.

Both are a percentage of the stated value of the contents.
Were the import fees more than the value of the contents?

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2022/html/00/ch91-eng.html

luv4orphans · ‎07-23-2024

Its okay. Most of the time your advice is good. I don't mind. You seem to follow ebay policies better than I can as I just don't have the time. You offered me good advice the last time and it worked out.

Having said that, I don't think you can hold the program responsible for the box being "disintegrated and falling apart" (How can it be both?) when the box used was the seller's choice, not that of eISD, and from what you said on the other thread, it looks as though the seller had trouble packaging the item appropriately from the get-go.

I didn't know about this other program until you mentioned it in my last thread. I let the seller know a while ago regarding his packaging and advised him to be more careful as you never know who's on the receiving end. If an item falls out of a box because of poor packaging it wouldn't get repackaged. They would just chuck it out. That's not their job. He responded and thank me for the tips. I will leave it at that. He's fairly new and probably just doesn't know.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎07-23-2024

@marnotom! wrote:
Hello, @luv4orphans. I guess you're tired of my posting to the thread you originally started on this subject so you're following up here, instead.

The reason why the listing for the boat part didn't state that eBay International Shipping was being used is because eBay International Shipping wasn't used. The seller used eBay International Standard Delivery which is considered a discounted mail-based service. I agree that this alternative is an abomination and I have no idea why eBay is persisting in keeping it going when there are similar alternatives to it out there for sellers to use that generally do the job better.

Having said that, I don't think you can hold the program responsible for the box being "disintegrated and falling apart" (How can it be both?) when the box used was the seller's choice, not that of eISD, and from what you said on the other thread, it looks as though the seller had trouble packaging the item appropriately from the get-go.

@marnotom!

@luv4orphans

@what-does-your-watch-say

I have a totally opposite perspective on "box falling apart". With these programs there is very little in the way of direct A to B handling. The more handling/bumps and or redirects they greater the risk of damage by the time it eventually gets to the end receiver. (Very important to consider most original shippers are unaware of extra handling so in many cases they don't package appropriately. They only want to get it to their required hub for processing. After that they are out of the loop. With more handling will be more costs....not less. Nature of the beast!! And why it most likely those extra costs are being passed on to buyers.

I've used freight forwarders for many years with work. They consolidate freight to get the BEST rates using streamlined systems to get parcels to arrive in a TIMELY manner. Not slower. By consolidating they have access to better negotiated rates. These eBay created concepts do nothing like that whatsoever. With back and forth and any extra distance more chance of damage and even greater chance items getting routed incorrectly or possibly lost/pilfered with the counter affect of making the whole shooting match more pricey.

When you have too many middle folks the chance of a shipment, any shipment going off the rails increases dramatically. These neverending overlapping similar reports in this forum just go to prove that. Worst part of it all....eBay refuses to admit to this being a problem for foreign buyers. Just looks awesome to their (eBay's) bottom line and saves sellers a few shekels in FVF's.

-Lotzofuniquegoodies

luv4orphans · ‎07-23-2024

The reason why the listing for the boat part didn't state that eBay International Shipping was being used is because eBay International Shipping wasn't used. The seller used eBay International Standard Delivery which is considered a discounted mail-based service. I agree that this alternative is an abomination and I have no idea why eBay is persisting in keeping it going when there are similar alternatives to it out there for sellers to use that generally do the job better.

I get the two programs now. I have had bad experience with the EIS program also so not all that keen on that one either. One item lost and the other one took a month to get here. Both programs suck at delivering items in a timely manner. The Standard you're right is an abomination.

I get why sellers in the US would use it but there's enough threads on here of items being lost or missing and taking forever to get here so there's that. Not to mention the cost of shipping is quite a bit more than had the item come directly from the post office. Its making it unaffordable to buy anything from the US for a lot of people. You say the price are comparable. In most instances they are not or very few are. Smaller items maybe. Otherwise way more expensive.

DeJoy or whatever his name is trying to destroy the post office and ebay going along or ebay getting into the niche of making extra money by using their own delivery services. Either way both suck.

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-23-2024

@pjcdn2005 devon@ebay
Is there any way that buyers can confirm that the seller has set up their eIS listings so that import fees are paid before shipping?
This keeps coming up with DHL in particular lately.
One of the constant complaints about GSP was that "shipping" seemed very high because import fees were not clearly indicated as part of the shipping and handling.
So eIS seems to have made this optional for the seller, making total cost for purchase (item, shipping, taxes, duty) seem lower until the customer tries to pick up their package.

@clemowbooks

Sellers have no control on whether or not import fees are included in the listing. If they are included, the buyer can see those fees as they are given separately from the cost of shipping and handling. I'm not certain if they will also show immediately for a fixed price item or not until the item is put in the cart but the amount is definately available before payment is made.

In some cases, the EIS gives the buyer a choice of prepaying import fees at the time of purchase or waiting until the item is delivered. If they choose to prepay, then it is included in with the total shipping cost,but normally it isn't. I haven't seen any complaints about the buyer choosing the prepayment option and then being charged again. That doesn't mean it hasn't happened, but I haven't noticed it.