Erlanger Kentucky

[bradgalley]

Anyone know how to contact the Global shipping centre in Erlanger Kentucky?

[marnotom!]

I don’t believe there’s any way for the general public to do so.

Here’s the best the Pitney Bowes website is able to do:

https://www.pitneybowes.com/us/support/shipping/ebay.html

Can we fellow eBay users offer advice to you?

[bradgalley]

If the global shipping centre makes a mistake how do you hold them accountable?

[femmefan1946]

You file a Dispute in the Resolution Centre at the bottom of this page and in the text box state that shipping was through the GSP and ask to be referred to a GSP specialist.

The Not Delivered and Not As Described /damaged in transit are handled by the GSP.

The NAD/ seller error are referred back to the seller, but the GSP covers their charges for import fees.

Note that YOU did not pay duty or sales taxes. The GSP charged you to pay these for you and what they charge and what you should have paid directly to CSBA may vary.

And the duty free allowance is still $20CDN. And used goods are dutiable and taxable.  And duty free goods are taxable.

Is your problem one of those?

If only eBay would put a link to https://parceltracking.pb.com/app/#/dashboard/ in their shipping emails, many problems could be avoided.

[bradgalley]

No. My problem is that an item I bought got marked as restricted. It's a Pre WW2 Dubl Duck Gold Edge straight razor in NOS condition. I have purchased hundreds of straight razors from the US and have never not received one. I have spoken with the seller and the only reason we can come up with is that in the description of that model of razor the scales are referred to as "Mother of Pearl" which is maybe why it got flagged but they are really just celluloid and not a restricted material. Obviously somebody has made an uninformed mistake at the Erlanger Kentucky global shipping centre. In the notice I received it stated that the item will not be shipped to me nor returned to the seller and that the item will be disposed off. So from what information I can gather they are going to destroy a valuable antique because of somebody's idiocy. I have spoken with Ebay at great length and they are unable to help other than to issue a refund. I cannot find a working number for the shipping centre anywhere online and Pitney Bowes is closed til Monday morning. I have considered informing the many straight razor communities online.

[pjcdn2005]

They won't destroy it. When they refuse to ship an item, a third party sells it for them on ebay but for shipping within the US only.   I doubt that contacting them will make a difference, I know that I've read  stories over the years about similar situations and I've never heard of them changing their mind and shipping it back to the seller or shipping it to the buyer.

[bradgalley]

How can flagging something restricted that isn't restricted then reselling it not be illegal? I've read about the GSP being corrupt but this tops it for me..

[bradgalley]

If that is the case maybe I can get the seller to buy it from this third party then ship it to me using USPS and not the GSP..

[femmefan1946]

I believe both you and the seller are refunded.

tyler@ebay  Am I right on that?

Then the item belongs to PitneyBowes/GSP, just as after a fire, the contents of a burnt out business belongs to the fire insurance company. 

I doubt it is the "mother of pearl" since that is not a material restricted under the CITES agreements.  More likely it is the fact that it is a razor, which can be construed as a weapon. Canada is strict about that, although the GSP minion may have over-reacted.

[marnotom!]

---

@bradgalley wrote:

How can flagging something restricted that isn't restricted then reselling it not be illegal? I've read about the GSP being corrupt but this tops it for me..

---

"Restricted" (at least in this context) doesn't necessarily mean "illegal".  It could mean that the item is out of the scope of the GSP to forward for reasons ranging from their contracted carriers not being bonded for the transport or certain types of goods, or that getting the item insured would raise the shipping price considerably.

In this case, it might be the fact that the item is a collectible which could trip things up in a manner as suggested above, or, as suggested in an earlier post, just the fact that it's a straight razor.  Keep in mind that the floor workers at the Global Shipping Center are probably not making much more than minimum wage and have a very strict, narrow set of guidelines to follow when it comes to accessing the suitability of items for forwarding.  Antiques Roadshow experts or international delivery specialists they are not.

You probably should advise others in the razor community of this issue.  What you may need to do for future purchases if the seller does not want to send the item directly to you is have a US address where you can have the item sent and forwarded from, basically doing the job of the GSP but better (assuming Canada Border Services doesn't mess things up for you).

[bradgalley]

I've purchased hundreds of razors from the US. Shipped both through USPS and the GSP. Never have I had one not show up in my mailbox. Straight razors are not weapons nor a restricted item. It should never have been marked as restricted and I question the motive of an employee or a company that would mark an item of this quality and value restricted.

[marnotom!]

---

@bradgalley wrote:

I've purchased hundreds of razors from the US. Shipped both through USPS and the GSP. Never have I had one not show up in my mailbox. Straight razors are not weapons nor a restricted item. It should never have been marked as restricted and I question the motive of an employee or a company that would mark an item of this quality and value restricted.

---

Not trying to troll you, but how do you know it's not restricted?  

If, for whatever reason, the outfit contracted to move the razor from Kentucky to Canada refuses to take it or won't take it unless Pitney Bowes agrees to stuff it doesn't want to agree to, then the item is considered restricted.

I wouldn't be surprised if right now Pitney Bowes is dealing with some new freight forwarders (basically truckers with extra space in their rigs) to get stuff to Canada.

[bradgalley]

Now I should point out that I purchased this razor at auction for much less than it's true value. Approximately $120 Canadian plus shipping which I believe was around $30. Much to my delight as this paticular razor in NOS condition usually demands a much higher price. So if seems to me that it would be in Erlanger Kentucky's global shipping centre's interest to mark this razor as restricted for profit. Hear me out. The seller gets to keep my money so he's happy since he probably didn't pay much for it and is making a large profit considering what he paid. I get reimbursed, but not at the razors true value but have zero recourse to defend my items legitimacy for import as they have no customer service to contact so they force me out of the picture. Pitney Bowes or whomever is in possession of my item then gets to sell it through a third party seller on Ebay who could easily set the price for this razor in its pristine condition for three if not four times the price I paid. All they have to do is wait for the right collector to see the listing with the buy it now option or even another more watched auction and they profit $300 if not more. Now assume they are doing this to other collectable items that were purchased undervalue. How much money would that add up to since the GSP infected Ebay. I have found several similar stories online about the GSP behaving in this manner. It seems to me the GSP is stealing from international buyers for their own profit.

[bradgalley]

I have been collecting straight razors for many years. This perticular razor in this condition is extremely "rare". To be able to purchase one is very difficult as they don't come to marked very often as most are in private collections. To have this razor marked as restricted, when infact it is not, and not delivered to the buyer or returned to the seller but kept by the entity that is the GSP who will likely re-sell this razor for a huge profit doesn't just raise red flags it screams them.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

***The list according to the dot com page for GSP is quite long for restricted categories anddddd entirely up to interpretation in many. 

Because of export limitations and restrictions, items listed in the following categories can't be shipped through the Global Shipping Program:

For example:  Sporting Goods > Other  (What's an other????)

                            Travel > Maps  (Maps????) 

(I accidentally stumbled across this recently in trying to purchase a $10.00 map for tracking countries shipped to. Seller went to ship via GSP and discovered it was on the no fly list to Canada after I had paid.)

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/global-shipping-program?id...

***Note: This is not a full list of unsupported categories. If the category you're listing in doesn't support the Global Shipping Program, you'll see an alert when you create your listing.

Prohibited items  

Items prohibited on eBay, or that don't follow our International trading policy, can't be sold through the Global Shipping Program.

Leaves US sellers between a rock and a hard place when it comes to listing and selling specifically to either US OR/AND International buyers and making heads or tails of all the rules. As a side note are  Canadian buyers supposed to confirm prior to paying if an item is restricted with GSP?

-Lotz

[femmefan1946]

Oh honey no...

 Never put down to conspiracy what can be explained by stupidity.

Pitney Bowes doesn't care about $150, not even $150US.

Not even if the thingie was worth much more.

We're talking about a minimum wage worker on a busy conveyer belt, making split second decisions.

Maybe he thought it was a weapon. Maybe his grandaddy was killed with a straight razor. Maybe he thought it was something entirely different than was on the box.

Or even grabbed the wrong box entirely and allowed a stuffed pangolin to go through instead.

Pitney Bowes made $3,2billion dollars last year. They really don't care about your parcel.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200204005162/en/Pitney-Bowes-Announces-Full-Year-Fourth-Qua...

On the other side, this income is also why they can afford to refund buyers who file Not As Described disputes on transparently thin grounds without demanding the return of the item. It's cheaper to refund than to deal with the returns.

[bradgalley]

Then how do you suggest I get my item with out Pitney Bowes further profiting from my loss? Will it be returned or will they sell it for profit? You seem to know all, so how do I get my item? Do you have a real answer on how to further me getting my purchased item or are you trolling giving me bull**bleep** answers because you like to type in people's threads? If you dont have a solution that includes me getting my purchased item don't post. I'm looking for a real solution. If you can help me with one I would appreciate it. If not keep your comments to yourself.

[marnotom!]

---

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

As a side note are  Canadian buyers supposed to confirm prior to paying if an item is restricted with GSP?

---

As per the terms and conditions for buyers, yes.  Section 6, subsection "a":

Not all listings on eBay.ca are eligible for GSP. eBay reserves the right at any time, in its sole discretion, with or without notice to you, to alter or amend the eligibility requirements for GSP Items, including, but not limited to, limits on the number, type, category, and/or value of items and/or transactions. You agree not to purchase any ineligible items through GSP. More information about ineligible items may be found here. You agree that if any item is found to be ineligible, Pitney Bowes will have no liability and will have, in its discretion and in any manner that it prefers, the right to dispose of or liquidate the ineligible item, including without limitation (A) returning the item to the Seller, (B) handing over the item to the authorities, or (C) destroying the item. Pitney Bowes is authorized to open and inspect any GSP Item without notice.

You do suggest an interesting point, though.  If this particular razor was listed in a different category or even sub-category than the other ones he's purchased that were forwarded through the GSP, that could trip up its passage.  I'm also wondering if the descriptors "WW 2" and "blade" may have set off a bot, rather than a human being, and the package was somehow "auto-flagged".  A listing for a G.I. Joe figurine with those words in the listing description could very well set off a poorly-programmed bot.

I suspect that these automatic warnings that supposedly pop up in the listing process don't always happen, particularly if the seller is using a third-party listing tool.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@marnotom! 

How many Sellers and Buyers know all the rules, verbatim? I'm imagining a manual the size of War and Peace...Triple spaced!! 

The seller "should" know in advance of listing an item, if it is allowed.  A flag or something.  And if a seller does make a mistake as per I believe it was last Springs /ca/com Announcement the seller was supposed to be given a chance to fix. No harm no foul.  Did that kick in? It doesn't sound like it.  As for the buyer, they would possibly deduce if their item is banned when they can't find anywhere on eBay. Instead the system is: Let it get to PB and then stop it in its tracks.  Sounds like setting them(buyer/seller) up to fail.

It should be eBay's responsibility to "coach" sellers properly and not just collect fees and/or not be so fast to jump the gun when they do make a slip up.  It would be nice if every seller knew every rule in the eBay playbook. That's not going to happen. Those rules change depending on which CS you speak to on any given day or where your search words accidentally lead you.  Trying to stay on top of all the rules in eBay is a nightmare even for the veterans on here.

One set of rules if its sold without GSP. A different set of rules if its sold with GSP. Restricted items would come up banned when a seller tried to list them in either case. Not helping in all this mess is a very large majority of sellers are now using GSP. Signed up without knowing the grief it causes or maybe opted in without their knowledge. This is why whenever anyone comes in here with a recent horror story about another item either delayed or stopped in its tracks our first response is tell them to avoid GSP at all costs or  the alternative, that it is truly only best suited for SOME items.  Until there are easy to use filters for buyers to avoid GSP,  we will continue seeing these upset, confused, annoyed customers trying to find out why their whatchamacallit is stuck in PB Purgatory.

-Lotz

Re: Terms and conditions for Buyers above - Dated 2014?!?!? Was that on microfiche? 

Remember in  past  when Buyers placing a bid or agreeing  to purchase WAS  binding? What happened to that? I agree about the bots. They do have minds of their own.

[bradgalley]

The exact shipping label for the item was "Dubl Duck Goldedge Mother-of-Pearl handle Straight Shaving Razor, Barber, Haircut". Tell me what a bot would flag in that? Oh, and it gets better. I got my refund this morning. It was less then what I paid. Lol