eBay

movie_galaxy · ‎09-03-2025

Last week, I bought Canada Post stamps from a seller who was supposedly located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. On the listing, the item location actually showed - Ottawa, Canada.

But this Monday - 2 days ago - when my order was marked as SHIPPED, the supposed tracking showed the package originated out of China. I instantly sensed something was wrong and I started to worry.

Also, the supposed tracking showed a super fast movement of my order - this was another red flag that worried me. I know packages can move quickly sometimes, but Canadian stamps being sent from China that move more than 10,000 km in just 2 days is very suspicious.

Today, Wednesday Sept 3rd, the order showed as DELIVERED. I opened my front door to check if I had received a package, but nothing was there. I checked my mailbox, asked my neighbours and nothing. I tried to reach the seller, but all his listings have vanished and I am not able to contact him about the listing I purchased from him/her.

This is a bad feeling for me. I didn't know that sellers could list in one region of the world and send from a different region of the world. I thought an item shown as being located in Canada had to be sent from Canada. I didn't know a seller could show their location as Canada, but send the item from China or somewhere else. And as it turned out, the seller didn't even send me anything. They uploaded some type of tracking number, but the movement of the package seems way too suspicious to be accurate and since i didn't receive the package, I am guessing the tracking was never genuine in the first place.

Just now, I filed a report with Ebay about my suspicions regarding the listing and the seller. I tried to file an INR but it says I have to wait until tomorrow to do that - so I will. I don't know how Ebay will decide things because DHL tracking supposedly shows a DELIVERED status for my order.

I have never experienced such an occurance, so I posted this to ask other sellers the question - is it possible to list in one region of the world and send from a different region AND I posted this as a warning to sellers because we are also buyers on the platform.

marnotom! · ‎09-03-2025

Does the DHL tracking indicate where the delivery was made?

Do you have an actual tracking number you can use on a third party site? I like Parcelsapp, myself.

movie_galaxy · ‎09-03-2025

I just checked using parcelsapp as you suggested - thank you.

Tracking actually shows 1 day delivery in total, instead of my previously stated 2 days. And it shows the package supposedly moved from China to the USA in just 5 hours. Planes don't fly that fast, so the tracking is obviously fake. It shows the package left China at 8 pm on September 2nd and arrived in Cinncinati Ohio at 1 am on Sept 3rd.

Here is a screenshot of the package going from China to the USA in 5 hours and 16 minutes.

And here is the package originally departing on Sept 2nd from China and arriving on my doorstep in Canada the next day for a total travel time of 26 hours and 28 minutes - highly unlikely.

movie_galaxy · ‎09-03-2025

The tracking is non specific - doesn't show my city.

Does anyone have experience with DHL in terms of knowing if this tracking is authentic or legit?

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎09-03-2025

@movie_galaxy wrote:
The tracking is non specific - doesn't show my city.
Does anyone have experience with DHL in terms of knowing if this tracking is authentic or legit?

@movie_galaxy

You could try calling the toll free DHL number and see if they have further info.

marnotom! · ‎09-04-2025

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. It's been a busy evening for me.

I realized I didn't answer one of your original questions. Yes, sellers can list on eBay sites other than their "home country." Many Canadian sellers list on eBay.com rather than eBay.ca, and eBay.com is considered the US site. However, all sellers, no matter what eBay site they chose to list from must accurately describe the "item location" and it appears as though the seller you dealt with did not do that.

As far as the item's rapid journey goes, keep in mind that the time stamps you see on Parcelsapp are likely local ones. Suzhou is twelve hours ahead of Ontario, so that might explain a "delivery" time closer to the two days you saw originally.

Did your seller vanish as well or just their listings? I'm wondering if eBay is responsible for removing the listings and possibly the seller and your timing was just a bit unfortunate.

Anyway, this all sounds pretty suss, so I would follow Lotz' advice above and either contact DHL by phone or see if there's any further tracking information on one of its websites. The event scan you see on Parcelsapp certainly does not show that it arrived at your doorstep and if DHL can't provide you with that information, either, I'd hope the lack of specific delivery information plus the seller's disappearance(?) would make an INR a slam dunk or close to it. Just make sure you note these details in your case file, plus the fact that you've already made a report on the seller.

dinomitesales · ‎09-04-2025

Were they advertised as brand new rolls of Permanent stamps? There's a good chance you may eventually receive something at your door. Unfortunately there are a ton of advertisements across the internet for counterfeit Canada Post stamps from Chinese companies claiming they are legitimate. I get them advertised to me constantly on Facebook - I try reporting them and that goes nowhere, and when I try and warn people in the comments my responses are deleted. They print stickers in bulk that look like Canada Post stamps and no one ever knows any different - Canada Post can't even identify the counterfeits from what I understand.

From what I've seen on the Facebook scam advertisements they ship them from China to a consolidating company and then they get repackaged with a Canada Post label and sent to you. So the tracking you have may just mean it was delivered to whatever warehouse they're using to consolidate orders. You may receive a nondescript black bag with a Canada Post label containing "stamps" in the next few days.

I am adept in identifying counterfeit stamps - if you receive anything send me a PM and I can let you know for sure. But if they shipped out of China there's a pretty much 100% chance they are counterfeit.

movie_galaxy · ‎09-04-2025

I didn't know I was placing an order from a seller from China - he/she listed the item location as Ottawa, Canada. He/she also had been selling on Ebay for 6 months, with over 600 items sold and a feedback that seemed OK.

I first realized I had been duped when tracking appeared and it showed my order was being sent from China. Then, the package moved so quickly it made me suspicious because items don't move that fast over such long distances. The package went from China, to the USA and then to Canada in such a short period of time. It had to travel over 10,000 km and go through 2 customs checks and that supposedly happened in 1 day's time. The probability of all that happening just doesn't make sense.

This morning, I filed an INR claim with Ebay. I hope they refund my purchase. I will update this thread on the outcome. If a human being at Ebay looks at my case, I think they will decide in my favour. If AI reviews my case, I don't know if they will provide a refund because they might just look at the tracking and since it says DELIVERED, the AI system might consider it delivered.

It would be ideal if Ebay required sellers to disclose where the item is stored and where the item will be sent from. Then buyers would have the choice of accepting or staying away from listings where there is a discrepancy because such a discrepancy poses a higher risk.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-04-2025

Those stamps are counterfeit.

Most first world countries have been hit with this crime usually on full rolls (100) of whatever their equivalent of P stamps might be.

Don't use the stamps.

They are counterfeit.

Report the seller to eBay for selling counterfeits.

It is also illegal to buy counterfeits and to ship them.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-04-2025

Oh and use Not As Described as your Claim.

Because they are counterfeit.

marnotom! · ‎09-04-2025

@movie_galaxy wrote:

It would be ideal if Ebay required sellers to disclose where the item is stored and where the item will be sent from. Then buyers would have the choice of accepting or staying away from listings where there is a discrepancy because such a discrepancy poses a higher risk.

I'm not following you here. How would this be different from the "item location" field?

movie_galaxy · ‎09-04-2025

Marnotom,

My seller listed his location as Ottawa, Canada and I had no idea that the item was coming from China until after the tracking was uploaded.

movie_galaxy · ‎09-04-2025

I already submitted my INR claim. I don't think I can amend it or add to it. I told Ebay I never received anything from the seller and that the tracking didn't make sense. I also said all his/her listings were now gone off the platform and I wasn't able to contact him/her to inquire or remedy the situation.

I won't be using the stamps as I never received them. Plus, I really thought the stamps were from Canada when I originally placed the order.

movie_galaxy · ‎09-04-2025

What I meant to say is Sellers should have to list their location and the item location separately. So, if a seller was supposedly located in Ontario, Canada but sending stuff to Canadian customers from China, it would show up in the listing.

dinomitesales · ‎09-04-2025

I'm sure you'll get your money back, this seems like a fairly cut and dry scam attempt.

Just curious, what exactly was the listing advertising? Was it brand new rolls of Permanent stamps? What was the advertised price?

marnotom! · ‎09-04-2025

The "located in" information in a listing is located in the shipping section because it's a reference to where the item ships from, or is supposedly located. The reference to Guelph on your listing pages is to the item location. If you want to know the country where the seller is registered, you can find that information on another page.

As you've found, the "located in" information isn't always accurate.

movie_galaxy · ‎09-05-2025

This morning, the seller responded to my INR claim. He/she uploaded another tracking number - different than the first number provided. So, now I supposedly have 2 different packages coming to me - each with one roll of stamps in them. That's weird.

The first tracking number supposedly shows DHL delivered a package to me - but there are no cities listed in the tracking information when it arrived in Canada, and I obviously didn't receive it.

The new tracking number, supposedly for the 2nd package, shows a different route and suggests that order is still in transit. Again, the city particulars are non-existant when looking at the tracking history as it supposedly arrived in Canada.

This saga gets more weird by the day. The seller split the order into 2 packages but only uploaded the 2nd tracking number after I opened an INR claim.

This is the route the 2nd package - with the different tracking number - has taken so far.

First, I am very confident that the seller is deceiving me. Second, I now think that even if any package shows up at my door, the stamps won't be authentic. I wish there was a way to add all this discovery to my INR claim. Does anyone know how to amend an INR claim with new information?

movie_galaxy · ‎09-05-2025

Yes, brand new rolls of Canada Permanent Stamps at 50% off face value.

The seller listed his/her location as Ottawa, Canada and they had a 6 month selling history on Ebay with OK feedback - 97%.

Everything seemed legit. Now, I realize I should not have ordered form him/her, but I didn't know that at the time.

marnotom! · ‎09-05-2025

@movie_galaxy wrote:

First, I am very confident that the seller is deceiving me. Second, I now think that even if any package shows up at my door, the stamps won't be authentic. I wish there was a way to add all this discovery to my INR claim. Does anyone know how to amend an INR claim with new information?

For an INR case, the only information that's going to be taken into consideration is whether or not you received your item. I'm assuming you can file an INR case because the last estimated date of delivery for the "stamps" has passed. If that's so, the seller hasn't proven that you've received your item by that date. Remember, your complaint as it stands is that you haven't received the "stamps," not that the seller hasn't shipped them out.

If for whatever reason you don't prevail in the INR case, you can file an INAD case for the "stamps" when you receive them.

marnotom! · ‎09-05-2025

@movie_galaxy wrote:

The seller listed his/her location as Ottawa, Canada and they had a 6 month selling history on Ebay with OK feedback - 97%.

I think you mean that the seller stated the item location as Ottawa, just like your listings state the item location as Guelph.

97% is actually borderline when it comes to feedback over 12 months. When I see ratings like that, I check out the actual feedback comments to see if the buyers have legitimate complaints or if they're crackpots. How many sales has this seller made in the six months they've been on eBay, and what have they been selling?