Lost packages from Global Shipping Center/Pitney Bowes

[sop-5124]

I placed two orders from US sellers last month and both are shipped via Global Shipping program. I should have done some research on this and avoided them at all costs. Both packages have arrived at the repackaging center in Erlanger, KY and were shipped after a few days. It looks like the tracking just stopped after it left the warehouse in Kentucky. Both packages have been stuck in the status "Shipped from the Global Shipping Center to International Destination" since October 23rd (1st package), and Oct 27th (2nd package). First package was due last week so I was able to get a refund from Ebay. But the second one is supposed to be delivered by tomorrow which I highly doubt will happen. 

It's bad enough that one package is lost but two?? In a month??

I've had packages from Asia arrive faster than this so I think it's safe to assume that both items are lost at this point. Ebay should be ashamed of themselves for running a mickey mouse shipping program which was clearly designed to profit off naive international buyers.

My question is, is it normal for packages to get lost in transit when shipped via Global shipping program? It wouldn't surprise me if only 50% of the packages actually get delivered....

[femmefan1946]

The Global Shipping Program is a Seller Protection program designed to encourage paranoid US (and later UK) sellers to sell internationally.

It covers about 100 countries, and has been a little less annoying for Canadians since our duty free allowance rose to  $150 this summer.

Erlanger KY has  is not a repackaging centre, it's just the hub where shipments from all over the US are sent. Once they are accepted at the plant, the seller is no longer responsible for delivery. That responsibility is taken on by PitneyBowes, which runs the program.

You did the right thing by opening and winning the Item Not Received dispute. And you got your refund. Still a disappointment not to get your purchase, though.

Since COVID hit shipping from the USA has become more and more erratic. Kentucky has suffered over 162 thousand infected and 1800 actual deaths. This has to affect the plant workers between illness, the need to care for sick dependents, and less efficient but safely distanced work in the plant itself. And of course, the same problem affects the USPS, the carriers from KY to Canada, and once across the border the carriers here.

The tracking post-KY has been pretty bad. No UPA numbers and if they don't track, PB/GSP cannot prove delivery.

China seems to have the pandemic under control, if we can believe the Chinese government, so it is not surprising that their shipping services are back close to normal.  Japan is having a harder time. South Korea seems to be okay from the few reports I've seen.

[marnotom!]

My understanding is that the proportion of packages that are forwarded through the Global Shipping Program that don't make it to their final destination is actually pretty low.  However, since the world went sideways in mid-March, delays of a couple of weeks past the final estimated delivery date aren't unusual.

If you have the Pitney Bowes "UPA"-prefix tracking number (you should have seen it in an email you received from eBay if nowhere else), you may be able to get more information on your package than what you'll find on eBay.  Try heading to one of these sites (the difference seems to be the time zone/s used on the scans):

https://parceltracking.pb.com/

https://tracking.pb.com

After you've entered the "UPA" tracking code, you should come to a page that has a "progress meter" on it.  I think that under that progress meter is a hyperlink that you can click on that will take you directly to the last carrier's website.  Usually, but not always, it's going to be Canada Post that handles the item from the Canadian receiving hub to its final destination.

My guess is that these delays are the result of a backlog of items either in customs or at Canada Post's Gateway processing facility in Mississauga.

[femmefan1946]

My question is, is it normal for packages to get lost in transit when shipped via Global shipping program?

The complaints we see about the GSP have been:

• They charge import fees that the buyer is not used to paying. Less of a problem now that the duty-free allowance has risen.
• No tracking post-Erlanger. This was improving rapidly once the Boardies figured it out. EBay was not helpful about explaining the change in tracking numbers. No surprise there. Then with COVID  notification of the tracking numbers went squeewonk again.  I figure SusieJoe and Starlene in the shipment numbering department got sick and were not replaced or something equally stupid.
• Apple Express- a gawdawful subcontractor here in Canada. Some complaints also about FedEX and CanadaPost as final mile carriers, but not too many considering how much of the delivery burden they handle.
• Hub and spoke delivery systems- which are used by all postal systems, all carriers, and also airlines.  Most buyers had not known about this system until they obsessively followed tracking on a US purchase. It's counter-intuitive but efficient.

[15westcoast]

GSP again !   Ho Hum !!!

[anngilmou_0]

I bought a pair of shoes that I can't find in the US from a seller in the UK.  The same thing happened to me that happened to you.  Ebay issued a refund.  Then I found a similar pair, also only available in the UK, and now it is at that same point as the other pair.  I'm seriously wondering if it will progress past that point.  I have read that the problem is that USPS leaves Pitney Bowes packages on the truck (or maybe its in a room?) and doesn't have any incentive to process them.  I don't know if that is true, but it looks like I might have to order from Amazon and as well pick something totally different, as I can't find anything like the shoes I picked in the US.  They are leather boat shoes moccassins.  

[reallynicestamps]

ZOMBIE THREAD FROM NOVEMBER 2020

The problem with zombie threads is that the information and advice may be out of date and now incorrect.

I have read that the problem is that USPS leaves Pitney Bowes packages on the truck

Sounds like paranoid imaginings. I doubt your 'informant ' has ever seen a mail terminal.

But yes, no shipper sends out a partially empty truck. OTOH, commerce being what it is, those trucks fill pretty fast.

Surface /seagoing mail is much slower, because mostly it moves in containers, and the ship wants to get as many containers aboard as possible, because sea travel is slower than air travel, and because ships stop in many ports along the way.

More to the point.

The Royal Mail is having labour difficulties at the moment. Whether GSP-UK is using the Royal Mail or some other courier, you should be able to follow the movement of your parcel.

——————————————————————————————————
Another poster worked this out for buyers who have not yet received their GSP shipment.
TRACKING SYSTEM FOR GSP
It's not user friendly... But I found how to track your package via the global shipping program, once it gets to Canada you need to:
- Log on to eBay.ca
- Under the My eBay menu select Purchase History
- Under your orders find the specific order.  It should have something like the following:
        Estimated delivery Mon, Jan 11 - Thu, Jan 21
        Tracking number: Tracking number UPAAB000000#########
- Click on the UPA number.  This should open up a Shipment Details window, which should contain something like this:
     This shipment has been transferred to CPC for delivery to the final destination # 70351#########
You will be shown limited tracking info. In my case, only up to the point the package left the USA and entered Canada.
 
Step 4: Click on the "Track on carrier's website" link at the top right.
 
Step 5: You will be provided with tracking on the page of the actual shipping company, in my case Canada Post, with a tracking number in THEIR system.
-Click on the Canada Post number to see where the Canada Post Tracking history and expected delivery 

Problem solved! If only eBay would put a link to https://parceltracking.pb.com/app/#/dashboard/ in their shipping emails, this could all be avoided... 

______________________________________________________________________________________________

What date did eBay give you for delivery? With the holiday season upon us, all deliveries are slow. I spent half an hour in the local postal outlet, to hand in a prepaid Expresspost envelope. And the mailbox outside was completely full, so my smaller items had to be handed over the counter too.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/25/postal-workers-in-the-uk-launch-black-friday-strike-as-industrial-ac...

Apple Express does not appear to be subcontracted for delivery by GSP any more.