eBay

spence_m · ‎01-26-2021

Hello Everyone,

On November 14 2020, I bought a set of taillights from Russia. All was good until December 11, when it has since been stuck on the "International item has left originating country and is en route to Canada". I have been in constant communication with the seller, and he states that he is trying to get communication from the Russian post service to see what is happening, and he assures me that the item was sent.

Is there anything I should do, or just keep waiting?

marnotom! · ‎01-26-2021

Was the item sent by air mail or surface mail? If it's surface mail, you could be in for a bit of a wait.

Have you tried using the tracking number on the Canada Post website?

What sort of delivery time estimate were you given by eBay?

femmefan1946 · ‎01-26-2021

You have 30 days after that 'last estimated date for arrival' to open a Dispute with eBay's Resolution Centre, which is at the bottom of this page.
The first suggestion is to Contact the Seller. Don’t get into a conversation.
Just ask “When was this sent? What service was used? What is the tracking number?”
Don’t get into a conversation. You want either a prompt refund OR a tracking number that shows the purchase is in Canada.
Do NOT accept a replacement. It won’t arrive.
Do NOT close the Dispute until you have the product or the refund.
If you have already attempted to Contact the Seller, skip that step, ask eBay to step in and Escalate to a Claim.
If the seller cannot prove Delivery (not shipping, delivery) you will be refunded.

If the 30 days have passed, go to your Paypal account.
You have 180 days from payment for this Dispute.
Find the transaction and copy the number.
The PP Resolution Centre is at the top of your PP account page under Tools
Same process basically, skip the Contact Seller and escalate to a Claim.
If the seller cannot prove Delivery (not shipping, delivery) you will be refunded.

In future, read the feedback.
Don't buy from sellers with less than 98% positive (99% for Asian sellers)
Read the negative feedback , including seller responses, for patterns like slow or no delivery, poor communication, low quality, counterfeits.

If after the refund is paid, the headlights actually do arrive and are headlights, you can return the refund using Paypal's Send Money service. You can ask the seller for his PP ID through eBay Messages, because you have been in a transaction with him.

spence_m · ‎01-27-2021

I believe it was sent by ground, given the time it took to get to its last reported stage. The estimated delivery date was Jan 4. Canada post shows the same information as eBay and it has no delivery date. On the russian postage site, its last update was that it was "prepared for shipment from Russia"

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎01-27-2021

@spence_m wrote:
Hello Everyone,

On November 14 2020, I bought a set of taillights from Russia. All was good until December 11, when it has since been stuck on the "International item has left originating country and is en route to Canada". I have been in constant communication with the seller, and he states that he is trying to get communication from the Russian post service to see what is happening, and he assures me that the item was sent.

Is there anything I should do, or just keep waiting?

You may want to confirm with your seller that your phone number was included on the documents. If there are problems that will be the first method they will use to contact you. Usually easier that way when a distant country is involved. There are no guarantees eBay's garbled email address will be used and/or you will see that mail. In reality if an item arrives for processing and it is missing information, the only way customs can contact you is with a valid phone number. That will normally be their first course of action.Any missed step WILL interrupt the process.

Personally, I have never had a foreign customs department contact me about a shipment but I have had buyers contact me for additional information customs needed to complete processing.

Once an item is on it's way you can only monitor by signing up for alerts(if possible) and cross fingers. There is one definite issue (or short coming) with customs paperwork between countries. With the Canadapost website it tells you if there are special requirements for the assorted countries. Are additional forms required, specific number of copies, B13 forms, Do the documents need to be prepared in a certain languages? Unfortunately, at least with Canadapost there is no way to complete these tasks. Very likely the same situation in reverse.

-Lotz

reallynicestamps · ‎01-27-2021

You paid on November 14th.

Last notice of tracking was December 11th.

Last estimated date for delivery was January 4th.

It is now January 27th.

Open the Not Received dispute in the Resolution Centre.

You have only 30 days after the last estimated date for delivery to do this.

Under Murphy's Law the taillights will suddenly appear. Do not close the Dispute until you have the lights and they are satisfactory OR the seller refunds you.

Preferably the latter.

Don't accept an offer of a replacement.

If they ever appear, you can use Paypal's Send Money service to return the refund.

Is Russia a reasonable place to buy headlights? Are they for a Lada?

spence_m · ‎01-27-2021

I have been in contact with the seller and he stated that he submitted a search for item claim with the russian postage service. I did a bit of research and it states in their website that a claim should be replied to before 60 days.

femmefan1946 · ‎01-27-2021

This is not going to get better.

spence_m · ‎01-27-2021

I have filed for a request of the item from ebay. Hopefully the seller and I can come to an agreement before ebay has to step in

byto253 · ‎02-01-2021

I expect they will get there but surface shipping can be brutally slow, even before covid stuff. 6 to 8 weeks or longer is not unheard of. Opening a case is the right step, and if/when they arrive you can pay them if you got a refund.