Fake Tracking Numbers from Asian sellers

[irie_chickie]

Really getting fed up with the fake tracking numbers provided by various China vendors...Ebay appears to be doing nothing about it, and paypal is equally ineffective 

Asian vendors are able to acquire tracking numbers for FREE and post item shipped on ebay, and they don't become a legitimate tracking number till the vendor actually purchases the shipping. More often than not, it's just a fake unregistered tracking number.

I am not new to purchasing on ebay, I check the vendor rating before I do business with them. I always check each and every tracking number and keep notes in ebay so I know the status of every single order I make and where the item is.

of the 25 different vendors I have used in the past 3 months...only 25% of them have actually been decent vendors...and the rest, are snakes in the grass....they take your money and leave you to wait for a parcel that will never arrive, as it was never shipped.

I am a small business and can not afford to have thousands of dollars tied up in purchases that are never going to arrive.  It has now gotten to the point where I communicate with the vendor BEFORE I make a purchase to ensure they understand I want a real tracking number...and that I will NOT wait till the arrival date or parcel to escalate a claim. 

If I am not able to confirm it's a real tracking number and the parcel is in transit within 5 business days of date they claimed to have sent out the shipment I escalate the claim immediately as vendor is breaching TOS (terms of service) of EBAY.

It will take near 45 mins on the phone (and having to speak with 8 different humans) to get to the top of the food chain for complaints against a fraudulent vendor on EBAY....why is this process so difficult? Ebay customer service reps, have no clue how to handle these types of complaints. Thus having to speak with 8 different humans.

Will see how the rest of my orders work out...but have to say ALIEXPRESS is looking better and better as each day passes...as I can't see how they can be any worse than what Ebay is or is NOT doing to protect the customer.

[reallynicestamps]

Personally I allow about 20 days for delivery from North America and 30from Asia.

There are slowdowns from China just now (much discussed here, search fentanyl and UPU) .

But what aren't getting slowed down by Customs and the postal system are packages sent with tracking.

If you are promised Free Shipping from overseas, it will not be tracked because tracking is expensive.

If you want your item to arrive in good time, you will have to pay for a faster shipping service.

TANSTAAFL.-- Robert A Heinlein.

and now after waiting for over 2 months i have to ask Ebay for my money back

You may have to ask Paypal for your refund, since eBay only allows 30 days from the last estimated date for delivery for Disputes.

The information about that is further up this thread.

[markbwolf]

I agree 100% as I've experienced the same problem with fake tracking numbers. To the others that commentators here defending the sellers maybe you need gain some reading comprehension skills. The post was regarding false tracking numbers. I rarely give negative feedback and usually wait until the due date before contacting a seller about a missing package but when the give me a tracking number of do expect it to be valid.

[markbwolf]

I suspect some sellers in China are taking people's money for items they don't have and giving false tracking numbers for the the item. They do this to raise money knowing they won't have to issue refunds for 3 months. Kinda like a payday loan except there's no interest.
It's happened to me on several occasions. I've always got my money back but who wants to tie up their money for 3 months waiting on a package that was never sent.

[femmefan1946]

There is no reason to wait for three months.

Paypal allows you to open a Dispute for 180 days after PAYMENT.

They do allow some time for delivery, but are faster when the question of fraud comes up.

A tracking number that doesn't work is a pretty good indication of something sketchey going on.

The PP Resolution Centre is at the top of your PP account page under Tools.

[native_craft_etc]

Yes you can leave feedback while going through dispute process. I just did and completed the process with receiving my refund from ebay 2 days ago. Seller had lied about shipping location on ad stating it was Toronto but confirmed by ebay teammate that it shipped from Shenzhen China. Also I received a message that item was clearing customs in BRITISH COLUMBIA and I live 150 km from Toronto so why would an item ship from Toronto, leave the country and then reenter the country 5000 km across Canada LOLOL? Another clue to location is there is generally tax on items in canada but not from China. So if no tax, its likely from asia

[ypdc_dennis]

ZOMBIE thread from 2016 -- info does become outdated over time.

Start a new thread if needed.

As for sales tax -- there are lots of Canadian eBay sellers who do not collect sales tax from the buyer. Either because they have less than $30000 in sales over 12 months (and are not registered to collect) or by choice (the seller pays the tax, but does not collect it from the buyer to be more competitive).

-..-

[kh-leslie]

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the thread, it has been closed to further replies.  Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thanks for understanding!