Why is the US shipping standards not held to the same standards as everywhere else.

[luv4orphans]

I purchased an item on March 10th and paid promptly. Item was shipped by seller on March 12th.  Since then its been travelling at a snails pace. Hasn't even left the US yet.  Picked up to bring to the Hub where it sat for days and now finally moving but hasn't left that area yet that I can see. About 10 days in that area is what I am seeing from the tracking. 

I shipped 3 items on March 17th. 2 went to the US and 1 went to Ireland. Both items going to the US were delivered on Tuesday, the one for Ireland was delivered this morning. 

Why can't we expect the same kind of service from the US. Not to mention that it costs a fortune to have anything shipped from there these days because of double shipping costs, one to the hub and then on to us. Had I have a choice in finding this bag in Canada or anywhere else for that matter, I would never have purchased from there. They need to resolve this fiasco.  This is worse than when they had the GSP program. Prices are practically double and it has nothing to do with what the post office charges. Its the new ebay system that's bringing in all these extra costs. 

When item gets here I will need to pay duty and taxes on it on top of all this aggravation. I realize this has nothing to do with ebay. But post office does charge us $9.95 for processing.  

[marnotom!]

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

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Remember in the past US sellers used USPS as standard practice.

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I'm not so sure about that.  For US domestic shipping, at least, I see a somewhat broader range of shipping options than what we Canadians generally use for our domestic sales.  There seems to be a lot more acceptance of non-postal carriers in the US than over here.

Even for shipments to Canada, I'm finding that most of the items my wife and I receive aren't mailed without some sort of participation from a mail consolidation or forwarding scheme.  I see a lot of our media purchases with Ascendia (or similar service) mentioned on the shipping label, for example.  (How else would US sellers be able to send CDs with customs forms to Canada for half of the USPS counter rate for First Class Package International?)

[fergua3]

That's interesting.  So what explains some EIS shipping costs being super high, while other similar sized items have reasonable shipping?  It can't be simply the seller's distance from the Hub.  Some of the shipping cost discrepencies are huge.

[marnotom!]

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@fergua3 wrote:

So what explains some EIS shipping costs being super high, while other similar sized items have reasonable shipping?

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One seller could be using a reasonably priced shipping method for their domestic sales while another one may be using a shipping method that's more costly

Orrrrr. . . what's more likely happening is that the eIS calculator isn't getting accurate or useful information on the nature of the item.  The calculator knows little to nothing about what the item actually is.  All it has to work with is the item's category and its shipping dimensions and weight.  If the seller has fudged any of this or even not bothered to provide information on the item's shipping dimensions and weight, it's going to throw the calculator for a loop.

The next time you run into a listing for an eIS-forwarded item that has an out of line shipping quote, change your shipping location to US ZIP code 60139 (the location of the eIS shipping hub) to find out the seller's charge and shipping method for getting the item to Glendale Heights.  If the seller isn't using calculated shipping, it's more than likely that they've listed the item with flat-rate shipping and not bothered entering information that eIS requires to provide an accurate shipping quote.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

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Remember in the past US sellers used USPS as standard practice.

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I'm not so sure about that.  For US domestic shipping, at least, I see a somewhat broader range of shipping options than what we Canadians generally use for our domestic sales.  There seems to be a lot more acceptance of non-postal carriers in the US than over here.

Even for shipments to Canada, I'm finding that most of the items my wife and I receive aren't mailed without some sort of participation from a mail consolidation or forwarding scheme.  I see a lot of our media purchases with Ascendia (or similar service) mentioned on the shipping label, for example.  (How else would US sellers be able to send CDs with customs forms to Canada for half of the USPS counter rate for First Class Package International?)

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@marnotom! 

When I first was learning the ins and outs of Ebay I practiced by buying from assorted sellers to get an idea how they did things. Canadian,  US and Intl. 95 % of my purchases arrived with CP. At the time, very few had tax owing. Even had a few higher value US shipments arrive exempt. As I recall the one time something came via UPS (from Toronto - 5 packages) the driver left in front of my door. Got the alert it had arrived to my email . By the time i got home they had walked away on their own. Total value was a bit over 1000. UPS paid off 500(5 x 100) for the insurance and gave me a couple of free shipments for my loss. Nowhere made up for the total.  At least, when you know if something is coming by CP (Many buyers have no idea now how anything from the USA will arrive now because the seller doesn't even know/generic shipping methods) if you have a community mail box it will be safe and secure. If it is too big or requires a signature it will get a carded for pick up. And as mentioned in another post, items are not supposed to be shipped to a PO box with eIS  purchases. Unsure how that would work with Flex Deliveries and CP or if it would get blocked at time of purchase?

-Lotz

From a personal perspective all eIS did was make it easier/cheaper for sellers to ship internationally but made the deliveries to Canadians unreliable(not everything can or should be shipped with eIS/more expensive and definitely slower. Also, due to the extra handling no guarantees if/when it does arrive it won't be damaged. Difficult to qualify that as an improvement from a buyers perspective.

If Canadians were to use UPS/Fedex Ground/Canpars for shipping in Canada as an example, even with any major discounts, they would be risking problems for any of the places those couriers consider remote. (Imagine playing football in the snow.) Because of eBay's utilization of one size fits all vs giving buyers choice they've made purchasing on eBay much more difficult than it was in the past. Majority of eBay changes over the last 10 years has been tinkering with stuff that worked fine or removing features that worked great.

[luv4orphans]

Yes, that's what I am referring to.  EIS program. Its worse than when the GSP was in place. 

I asked one seller on an item and she came back okay with that but then said she couldn't find how to switch to shipping item through USPS instead of this system. 

Its ridiculous what we need to dish for shipping costs out if we want something. 

[luv4orphans]

That definitely seems to be part of the problem. They get free shipping to the Hub or pay minimal costs I read. The Hub doesn't bother checking the weight and dimensions or what? 

Haven't seen too many low costs on shipping these bags here. Some, but very few.  Just spotted one this morning at $57.00 US which is about $72.00 CDN. Its ridiculous.  Just shipped something to France which might be a bit lower weight but not by much for $27.00 Tuesday. 

I agree with your last statement. Stay clear of sellers shipping through that program unless the price is reasonable. Otherwise this won't change. Just hard to find these bags anywhere else other than the US.  Will need patience. 

[luv4orphans]

I am just finding that the prices for shipping have skyrocketed since the EIS program. This could explain some of it I guess but why did it happen at same time.  Prices are worse than when the GSP was in place and they no longer collect the duty taxes so surprise when your item arrives at the post office. More charges and $9.95 for post office to process. 

[luv4orphans]

I'm not sure what Stallion (Shippsy) is but I imagine it would be a cheaper method. 

Somebody is making money here. Middle guy probably charging a fee and for now the middle guy is eBay is it not? 

Seller ship for minimal cost to the Hub no?  Maybe they tackle on a fee for doing that. Then the Hub no doubt has a fee.  Plus the 2 shipping we end up paying?

[luv4orphans]

Very far and few in between though. Most are high end shipping costs on these bags. 

[luv4orphans]

The next time you run into a listing for an eIS-forwarded item that has an out of line shipping quote, change your shipping location to US ZIP code 60139 (the location of the eIS shipping hub) to find out the seller's charge and shipping method for getting the item to Glendale Heights.  If the seller isn't using calculated shipping, it's more than likely that they've listed the item with flat-rate shipping and not bothered entering information that eIS requires to provide an accurate shipping quote.

Okay that sounds like it would make sense and at least gives a bit of information other than just seeing the end price.  

[luv4orphans]

I am referring to the EIS from the US. I don't think the seller from Japan is shipping by ground. Feedback is good. Can't remember off hand here which seller it was but costs on average were much cheaper than buying from the US. Would need to find something I like on their site and I haven't. 

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@luv4orphans wrote:

Yes, that's what I am referring to.  EIS program. Its worse than when the GSP was in place. 

I asked one seller on an item and she came back okay with that but then said she couldn't find how to switch to shipping item through USPS instead of this system. 

Its ridiculous what we need to dish for shipping costs out if we want something. 

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@luv4orphans 

With GSP in the past sellers were able to opt out on a listing by listing basis and ship using USPS. It is also "supposed" to be possible with eIS.  Should be a toggle in the listing. It has to be done before a buyer adds to cart/commits to buy. And just like Canadian sellers there is the choice to toggle on or off discounted rates (which could bring down shipping if accurate weights are included) with those listings. Unsure why "guessing" on that information is even a choice but as per what has been suggested it is. To me that sounds like a major problem. Worst case scenario shipping? Hmmmm...From a buying perspective...not cool!!!

-Lotz

[marnotom!]

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

And just like Canadian sellers there is the choice to toggle on or off discounted rates (which could bring down shipping if accurate weights are included) with those listings. Unsure why "guessing" on that information is even a choice but as per what has been suggested it is. To me that sounds like a major problem. Worst case scenario shipping? 

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@lotzofuniquegoodies, I'm not sure why you still seem to think that eIS's charges for shipping from the hub are subject to discounts.  Those charges are what they are, although they're usually less expensive than the counter rate for the equivalent USPS service.  Could you be confusing the eIS process with that of the really-ought-to-be-dead-by-now eBay International Standard Delivery?

Think about it.  If the seller never sees or receives the portion of the shipping charge that's levied by eIS, why would or should a discount toggle work for it?  The toggle would only work for the amount that the seller receives, which would be the domestic portion of the shipping charge, which is not visible to a buyer having the item shipped outside of the United States unless they change their shipping location within the listing to a US one in order to see it.

[marnotom!]

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@luv4orphans wrote:

I am referring to the EIS from the US. I don't think the seller from Japan is shipping by ground. 

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Right.  So you appear to be comparing air transport to ground transport.  Even though Toronto and Vancouver are both in Canada, it still takes longer to travel that distance by road or railway than it does to fly from Vancouver to Tokyo.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@marnotom! wrote:

@lotzofuniquegoodies, I'm assuming you're referring to direct shipments to Canada via USPS, FedEx, etc. as items forwarded by eIS do not require the seller to purchase a shipping label to Canada (or other international destination).

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@luv4orphans 

@marnotom! 

I'm just talking about situations where buyer wants seller to not use eIS and ship direct. They could use eBay labels with a %$#@ discount or the alternatives like ship station or stamps if they are volume shippers with substantially better discounts compared to eBay Labels. Canadian buyers pre GSP/eIS had choice. Now not so much. 

Rate based on 8 oz package LA to Canada without a handling charge.  One other factor that seems to be forgotten in all of this is if the same parcel is shipped to another US buyer the shipping often is free or very little. Where does that free portion get passed on to Canadian buyers? Doesn't look like it is.

-Lotz

Other thing to consider is a Canadian buyer might want quicker. eIS does not speed up the delivery in any way even tho everything shipped is under the umbrella of Priority. Take out the eIS middle person it speeds up the process.

[marnotom!]

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

One other factor that seems to be forgotten in all of this is if the same parcel is shipped to another US buyer the shipping often is free or very little. Where does that free portion get passed on to Canadian buyers? Doesn't look like it is.

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I'm really rusty here.  How does a seller do that?  Is it just a matter of choosing calculated shipping and adding a negative handling fee, or is it to set up flat rate shipping for international sales and make the necessary calculations by zone?

I'm going to hazard a guess that discounting international rates by the amount the seller has calculated as the shipping portion of their item hasn't occured to most US eBay sellers, and for some of those who have done the number-crunching, they may have decided that this is the best way to deal with the International Fee charged on their sales outside of the US.

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

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Other thing to consider is a Canadian buyer might want quicker. eIS does not speed up the delivery in any way even tho everything shipped is under the umbrella of Priority. Take out the eIS middle person it speeds up the process.

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I know eBay's delivery time estimates aren't the greatest, but I was looking at one listing the other day that offered US domestic shipping by Priority, Ground Advantage, and Media Mail, and the only difference between all three is that Media Mail had one more business day added to it.  There was no difference between the other two options.

"Priority" doesn't mean fast; it means "faster than something else."  USPS uses the "Priority" term to describe its international parcel post service because it's roughly equivalent to the domestic service by the same name.  Otherwise, it's a bit of a misnomer because there are no international parcel post offerings slower than Priority.  First Class Package International is the equivalent to most other postal services' small packet services and has traditionally been handled in the international letter mail stream.  In fact, Priority Small Flat-Rate boxes used to be handled in the letter mail stream with the First Class Packages.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

One other factor that seems to be forgotten in all of this is if the same parcel is shipped to another US buyer the shipping often is free or very little. Where does that free portion get passed on to Canadian buyers? Doesn't look like it is.

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I'm really rusty here.  How does a seller do that?  Is it just a matter of choosing calculated shipping and adding a negative handling fee, or is it to set up flat rate shipping for international sales and make the necessary calculations by zone?

I'm going to hazard a guess that discounting international rates by the amount the seller has calculated as the shipping portion of their item hasn't occured to most US eBay sellers, and for some of those who have done the number-crunching, they may have decided that this is the best way to deal with the International Fee charged on their sales outside of the US.

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I know eBay's delivery time estimates aren't the greatest, but I was looking at one listing the other day that offered US domestic shipping by Priority, Ground Advantage, and Media Mail, and the only difference between all three is that Media Mail had one more business day added to it.  There was no difference between the other two options.

"Priority" doesn't mean fast; it means "faster than something else."  USPS uses the "Priority" term to describe its international parcel post service because it's roughly equivalent to the domestic service by the same name.  Otherwise, it's a bit of a misnomer because there are no international parcel post offerings slower than Priority.  First Class Package International is the equivalent to most other postal services' small packet services and has traditionally been handled in the international letter mail stream.  In fact, Priority Small Flat-Rate boxes used to be handled in the letter mail stream with the First Class Packages.

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Pretty much a non starter. Because US sellers mostly use eIS they don't worry about USPS direct. They would have the option if they did to turn on discounts. They could if they were super generous apply a discount of their own choosing.  They can do it per service or for all 3 options available in USA. Lets just go with can't be bothered. 

 

Small packet air to USA quotes 7 to 10 days. Tracked quotes 7 to 9 days. Nowhere near the 15 to 25 Priority quotes.

Not to beat a dead horse but prior to GSP/eIS which haven't been around that long in the scheme in things items shipped with the available uSPS services arrived in 10 to 14 days. The current extra time that "eBay" builds in for eIS (now routinely see 15 to 25 days) is to cover that handling at the hub and the length of time it takes it to get from there to Canada to be forwarded along with customs handling. If you check shipping notes for shipping from Canada to the USA and internationally that customs delays are dropped for the verbiage. That's been MIA for several years. Why US buyers who don't buy regularly from international sellers don't factor it into the equation. They automatically figure eBay numbers are gospel. We all know how scanning details never tell the whole story. 

For many Canadian buyers who used to buy in the past are just finding eIS not really a value added service. I know I don't and avoid at all costs. Not worth the aggravation.

-Lotz

PS. Check the ebay calculator tool for Canadian shipping and the whackadoodle estimates it provides. Baffling since implementation. 

PS #2 - I recently had a piece of letter mail from 200 km north of Calgary take 8 days arrive. Call it 6 for holidays. Won't count the 2 weekends that were in there. Really no rational explanation why it took that long. Just that we know it can. eBay on the other hand......

PS #3. Canadian sellers wouldn't have to inflate their handling times if eBay delivery times were closer to realistic.  (Canadian sellers have been complaining about inaccurate estimated delivery times forever.)