Mail from Australia to Canada

[jjjwar]

  I have an item that was sent to me by Economy letter airmail from Australia to Canada and it has not arrived yet. It has been 22 days since it was shipped. Does anyone have an idea how long airmail from Australia to Canada takes. The Australian postal web site says 11 days to my postal code. I have never bought anything from Australia before so I do not know if that is correct.

[momcqueen · Accepted solution]

Can you check with the seller to see whether it *really* came from Australia? Due to its proximity to China, some sellers will pretend their item is located in Australia while shipping it from China. This practise is prohibited by ebay but exists nonetheless until the sellers are sanctioned. 

Check first.

If it were me, I'd wait another week and then open my Item Not Received case. You should repay your seller via Paypal if and when it arrives. 

[jjjwar]

I already had the seller confirm it was shipped from Australia. He wants me to wait 8 to 10 weeks but I will do as you suggest and give another week before filing an Item Not Received claim.

I was hoping though someone had a rough idea how long mail from Australia to Canada takes so I would know what to expect if I buy something from Australia again.

[pjcdn2005]

What is the estimated arrival date on the order details? If you haven't received the item, make sure that you open an item not received claim through ebay within 30 days after the last estimated delivery date. If you happen to receive the item after you have already been refunded, you can always pay the seller again.

I've never ordered anything from Australia but  8-10 weeks doesn't sound right unless they sent the item by surface mail. 

[jjjwar]

It was sent airmail. The seller swears by it. The eBay last estimated delivery date was yesterday. I am thinking of giving it till next Friday which would make 30 days since it was mailed then I will file a Non received claim. Going to think on it over the weekend though.

Not sure why he wants me to wait 8 to 10 weeks. Makes no sense. Also a few days ago he seemed ready to offer me a refund if it was not here by the end of this week then suddenly changed his mind. There was also a question to the possibility his listing had incorrect info about the item and he was all set to refund me as well. He finally said the listing was correct and I was getting what the listing described and the photos showed.

I actually gave up on on receiving the items a few days ago and found a hobby shop in the USA that has some and ordered one. They did not have any a few weeks back or I would have went that route instead of buying one from Australia. Sadly it is a hard item to find sometimes.

[reallynicestamps]

He wants me to wait 8 to 10 weeks

Uh huh.

It was sent airmail. The seller swears by it.

SCAM.

There are five flights a day from various Australian cities.  The flight takes as little as 14 hours by Air Canada.

Open that Item Not Received Dispute.

The Resolution Centre is at the bottom of this page.

Don't bother Contacting the Seller. You've already done that.

Ask eBay to step in and escalate to a Claim.

If the seller cannot prove Delivery (not shipping, delivery) you will be refunded.

No need to talk to anyone. It's all automatic.

If by some chance, your item ever turns up, you can return the refund using Paypal's Send Money service.

Eight to ten weeks ? By airmail?

[jjjwar]

The one reason I have not filed a claim yet was only because the seller had a 100% feedback rating with over 1600 positive feed backs, no negatives or neutrals. He also was being helpful until it turned into wait more than 35 days.

The seller never offered any mailing proof and did state there was no tracking info. 

I will just go ahead and file a Not Received claim as today makes more than double the quoted delivery time by the Australian postal service. As a few who have responded have said if it does arrive in the future I can just pay the seller again.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@jjjwar wrote:

The one reason I have not filed a claim yet was only because the seller had a 100% feedback rating with over 1600 positive feed backs, no negatives or neutrals. He also was being helpful until it turned into wait more than 35 days.

I will just go ahead and file a Not Received claim as today makes more than double the quoted delivery time by the Australian postal service. As a few who have responded have said if it does arrive in the future I can just pay the seller again.

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Going the other direction (Canada to Australia, untracked air), on those I asked about last year, delivery times worked out to 15-18 business days or 3-4 weeks.

[jjjwar]

Thanks for the reply. I am at 18 business days now. Talked to the seller one more time and he wants me to wait 8 weeks or so still. That would put me outside the Ebay claim period. Not going to do that. He said if I was outside the claim period allowed by eBay he would still refund me but regardless of his excellent feedback I find that hard to believe and have no intention of taking him up on that offer.

The wife suggested I give it till next Wednesday June 20th. That would make it 21 business days.  I was already set on filing a Not Received Item claim now as the seller has a few days to respond before eBay steps in ( another couple of days ) so it would work out to the same as waiting the few days if not a few days more.

A fellow modeler who has purchased a number of items from Australia told me he usually receives the packages in 11 to 15 days when I talked to him this evening. Most were by airmail with no tracking.  Fits with the time period given on the Australian Postal web site.

[femmefan1946]

I wonder if your seller is dropshipping from China?

That would explain the long shipping time-- his supplier may have told him they use Air Mail, but actually use Surface. And he would have no way to know.

If he refunds promptly on problems, his feedback would likely be fine.

As someone mentioned, there are a lot of Chinese sellers pretending to be in Australia, and of course a lot of dropshippers put down their own location instead of the location the product will be shipped from. Some do this naively.

But file. CYA.

[jjjwar]

He insists he is Australia and it was shipped from there. He sold 6 of the same item I bought and his feedback shows 5 of them reached their buyers maybe a week or so ago. That is when I noticed he had received feedback for the other items. All were sold within days of when I bought mine.

He also swears it was sent Airmail. As for a refund well it seems unless I wait 8 weeks or so he does not want to offer a refund till then. Keeps saying it will arrive I just need to give it more time. End of June or to the second week of July.  I will not be waiting any where near that long. I have not decided yet but I may wait to Wednesday June 20th before filing the complaint or I may do it this weekend.

From what I have found out about delivery times for economy airmail with no tracking from Australia to Canada ( 11 to 15 business days ) it should have been here by now. Today was 18 business days but I know for a fact Canada Customs works clearing mail on the weekends and Canada Post moves and sorts mail on weekends as well. So if one counts the weekends it has been 24 days.

[momcqueen]

What is the Estimated Date of Delivery range given on your eBay Order Details? Once it passes, you may open an Item Not Received case with or without the permission of the seller.

Still, I’d wait a week to ten days more. Untracked lettermail is slow. If you needed it fast, you’d have had to pay for that.

[jjjwar]

The estimated date of delivery range expired a few days ago. May wait till the end this week before filing a claim but have not decided yet.

As for the option of upgrading to a faster shipping option the seller only offered one option. He removed the item from the original packaging so he could ship it in a CD mailer by Economy airmail for $3 Australian. Was not so thrilled the original packaging was discarded. 

I would have been more than happy to pay a bit more for a faster trackable method but like I said he only offered the one shipping method. I was also told other items he sent to Canada took 11 days. That time period was right in the middle of the range Ebay gave which from many past purchases I have found is usually fairly accurate.

[marnotom!]

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@jjjwar wrote:

As for the option of upgrading to a faster shipping option the seller only offered one option. He removed the item from the original packaging so he could ship it in a CD mailer by Economy airmail for $3 Australian. Was not so thrilled the original packaging was discarded. 

I would have been more than happy to pay a bit more for a faster trackable method but like I said he only offered the one shipping method. I was also told other items he sent to Canada took 11 days. That time period was right in the middle of the range Ebay gave which from many past purchases I have found is usually fairly accurate.

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My understanding from the Australia Post website is that what they call "Economy Air Mail" is what Canada Post and many other postal services call "small packet air" and what USPS calls "First Class International".  In short, international air letter.

An upgrade to that service would see you paying parcel post rates and, from what I can see, the estimated delivery time isn't a heck of lot shorter for international air parcel from Oz.

[momcqueen]

My take on this is that it’s less about speed of delivery and more about lack of tracking insofar as neither buyer nor seller is aware of the whereabouts of the order.

[marnotom!]

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@momcqueen wrote:

My take on this is that it’s less about speed of delivery and more about lack of tracking insofar as neither buyer nor seller is aware of the whereabouts of the order.

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Possibly, but I'm just replying to what the OP quoted in their last post.  In any event, the gist of my observation still stands.  For something trackable, they'd have to pay for parcel post instead of lettermail.

And I'm not sure how knowing the item's whereabouts would be particularly helpful anyway.  Even with this knowledge, the item would still not be in the buyer's hot little hands.  Items that "almost" make it to the buyer don't count for much.  

[jjjwar]

 It has not the lack of tracking I am worried about. It is the fact it has not arrived. Yes knowing where it may be would help a little but it still would not be here.

I also thought that possibly Economy Airmail from Australia was the same as First Class International  for the USA. Interesting enough First Class International from the USA is called International Inbound Express by Canada Post. Once it arrives in Canada and is processed by Canada Customs and handed back to Canada Post it becomes Express Post in most cases. I have had plenty of small padded envelopes mailed in the USA by First Class International show up in my mailbox with Express Post labels on them. This treatment sure speeds up their progress to me once in Canada.

I am not sure if Economy Airmail from Australia once in Canada receives the same International Inbound Express title and gets treated as Express Post.  If so unless it got held by Canada Customs my item from Australia should have been here by now.

While I have never bought anything from Australia before my experience has shown the delivery date range eBay provides is usually fairly close. Most times I have things arrive at the lower end or middle of the range eBay gives. In this case not only is the package not here but it is outside eBay's delivery date range, the Australian Postal Services time for delivery to Canada as well as from what I have been told by my local post office outside the delivery time range for airmail from Canada to Australia.

I have decided to give it till June 22 even though I could file a Item Not received claim now. Partly because there is the possibility it could still show up but from what I have learned here and elsewhere about the time range it should take for Airmail from Australia to Canada I feel if it is not here by Friday June 22 there is a real good chance I will not receive it. I am also going to give it the extra time as the seller does have good feedback and seems to think it will arrive.

The one thing I will not do though is wait the 8 to 10 weeks the seller wants me to. 

Sorry for the long reply. 

[jjjwar]

For me it is about the fact I have not received the item. It does not also help it is outside the date range for delivery eBay provided and the Australian Postal Service. While tracking would be nice in the end it still comes down to I have not received the item when I was supposed to.

It also seems the seller has taken the " it will show up eventually " approach to the whole issue. He has asked my a few times to just wait 8 to 10 weeks and it will show up. Waiting that long for the most part would put me out of the time period eBay gives to file a Item Not received claim. Not something I would even consider doing.

[marnotom!]

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@jjjwar wrote:

I also thought that possibly Economy Airmail from Australia was the same as First Class International  for the USA. Interesting enough First Class International from the USA is called International Inbound Express by Canada Post. Once it arrives in Canada and is processed by Canada Customs and handed back to Canada Post it becomes Express Post in most cases. I have had plenty of small padded envelopes mailed in the USA by First Class International show up in my mailbox with Express Post labels on them. This treatment sure speeds up their progress to me once in Canada.

I am not sure if Economy Airmail from Australia once in Canada receives the same International Inbound Express title and gets treated as Express Post.  If so unless it got held by Canada Customs my item from Australia should have been here by now.

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I think First Class Mail International items with DELCON applied to them get put into the Xpresspost (or in some cases Expedited Parcel) stream because that's the only way to maintain the tracking/delivery confirmation they're supposed to get.  As Australia Post's Economy Air service isn't tracked, there isn't reason for items sent this way to be put into that stream.  My wife's recently received a few oversized letter-type items from the UK that haven't been slapped with Xpresspost stickers.

[jjjwar]

Thank you for that info. I wondered how it would work if the original mailing service had no tracking.