Shippers to the U.S. Be VERY aware of what is going on with Chicago Customs Clearance

[shallow_karl]

IT is taking sometimes WEEKS to process items.  One customer left good feedback because they realized what a disaster Chicago is (the city is no prize either).  Two customers opened "non-received" cases and I hope Ebay recognizes whats is going on here.  Shippers have NO control over a country's customs systems and should not be held accountable for late deliveries be cause of it.

[marnotom!]

Also discussed here:

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Ebay-s-Money-Back-Guarantee-US-Postal-issues-Free-mercha...

[msau4301]

I also have had several items trapped in Chicago for weeks with no updates. I've sold here for years without the issue and even during the pandemic I've not seen it nearly as bad as during the last couple of weeks. (I see your post is today, same day I got message from buyer wondering where his item was (mailed on May 30th).  I'm stopping my listings until I make sure the items are getting through again. I was looking here to find out if there's something happening more recently in Chicago recently.

I've had items get to Italy faster than the US! 😞

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@shallow_karl wrote:

IT is taking sometimes WEEKS to process items.  One customer left good feedback because they realized what a disaster Chicago is (the city is no prize either).  Two customers opened "non-received" cases and I hope Ebay recognizes whats is going on here.  Shippers have NO control over a country's customs systems and should not be held accountable for late deliveries be cause of it.

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In doing a deeper dive I finally clued in to the fact that the customs disclaimer about delays shows up on the front page of an ebay listing. The (?) link does not specifically mention customs delays. When you go to check options there is no mention that customs delays are a possibility. It displays the same way on both dot ca and dot com. Tracking may only state the item is being processed. It doesn't tell you if it's a backlog, missing/bad information or mechanical situation. In the disclaimer it does mention that weekends should not be included even though for some services in the USA customers can receive deliveries.

As I have not purchased from a US seller is some time not sure what the transaction details state. My first go to for delivery estimates has ALWAYS been Shipping Options. Betting that is the case for most buyers.

As you noted above customs or etc's are not always clearly marked/updated in tracking details. These are issues a sellers has no control over.

-Lotz

My disclaimer: I miss the option of having that box as a seller where I could note Customs Delays May Happen. Please Bid Accordingly. Something eBay has chosen to removed.

[rpstuff28]

Yep, I mailed a parcel which went through Chicago on May 19 and only was delivered today. In the meantime I had already refunded the impatient buyer. I was hoping it wouldn't be delivered at this point, so I could make a claim with canada post. Guess there's nothing to be done but bite the bullet on this one.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@rpstuff28 wrote:

Yep, I mailed a parcel which went through Chicago on May 19 and only was delivered today. In the meantime I had already refunded the impatient buyer. I was hoping it wouldn't be delivered at this point, so I could make a claim with canada post. Guess there's nothing to be done but bite the bullet on this one.

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You can try checking with customer to see if they will be okay with a new invoice(paypal) for goods they received. Hey kinda only fair. They did get what they ordered. It's a 50/50 situation for a yay or a nay!! You won't know unless you ask!!

-Lotz

[shallow_karl]

Just got another message from a buyer not on Ebay.  2.5 weeks to clear Chicago customs.  Disgrace.  U.S. is becoming Third World-like, at least some of it.

[ypdc_dennis]

My last tracked packet USA went through Chicago in less than 2 days -- looks like it got redirected to a USPS sort center on the east coast for processing (heading to Texas, so a  bit out of the way). So it looks like USPS is spreading out the sorting work load.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@ypdc_dennis wrote:

My last tracked packet USA went through Chicago in less than 2 days -- looks like it got redirected to a USPS sort center on the east coast for processing (heading to Texas, so a  bit out of the way). So it looks like USPS is spreading out the sorting work load.

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And... delivered today (June 25), was mailed June 18.  July 5 was original expected arrival. 🙂

[needsmorerobots]

A recent assessment of ISC Chicago:

https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/document-library-files/2021/21-101-R21.pdf

[msau4301]

Those photos are going to haunt my sleep! Interesting this report was done May 12 - it's almost like things have gotten worse since he wrote them up! I'll have to copy that link and send it to the next customer that inquires where their package is!

[hlmacdon]

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@ypdc_dennis wrote:

Looks like it got redirected to a USPS sort center on the east coast for processing (heading to Texas, so a  bit out of the way). So it looks like USPS is spreading out the sorting work load.

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Yep it looks like within the last week or two they started diverting overflow into the other ISCs. One of mine was sent cross country for customs clearance and has now arrived, another is on the way. Hopefully that helps balance things out moving forward.

[reallynicestamps]

@lotzofuniquegoodies 

My disclaimer: I miss the option of having that box as a seller where I could note Customs Delays May Happen. Please Bid Accordingly. Something eBay has chosen to removed.

It's not perfect (because Buyers Don't Read™ ) but you could make that a part of your Description. I have a block of boilerplate that gets added to every Description, mostly welcoming international buyers, and it is a matter of seconds to paste it into new listings.

And that reminds me that I should be correcting that boilerplate now that most of my IDs are in Managed Payments since it refers to Paypal as a preferred method of payment.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

@lotzofuniquegoodies 

My disclaimer: I miss the option of having that box as a seller where I could note Customs Delays May Happen. Please Bid Accordingly. Something eBay has chosen to removed.

It's not perfect (because Buyers Don't Read™ ) but you could make that a part of your Description. I have a block of boilerplate that gets added to every Description, mostly welcoming international buyers, and it is a matter of seconds to paste it into new listings.

And that reminds me that I should be correcting that boilerplate now that most of my IDs are in Managed Payments since it refers to Paypal as a preferred method of payment.

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The thing was that information was there in a box that eBay originally gave us to option to use. Going forward I will add to my listings. Bulk edit and add is NOT an option for older listings because it causes multiple listings requiring adding "so called" missing specifics. Both required and suggested.

To my mind the disclaimer about customs delays should be on both the front end AND back end of transits options where buyers will see it clearly vs the dreaded (because Buyers Don't Read™ ) the item description. Many recent problems are the result of eBay removing features that have always worked and sadly for no rationale(=lite-ing down) reason.

-Lotz

[ssales12]

ebay's prime focus seems to be to do whatever is necessary to make things more difficult for sellers.  Another example of great customer (oops, sellers are an inconvenience, not customers) service.

[reallynicestamps]

ARTICLE  in the Washington Post with this map about DeJoy's brilliant new plan to slow the mail

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2021/dejoy-usps-delays-by-zip-code-map/?utm_camp...