Ebay question

Poststructural Pub
1

For those with good experience with eBay, here’s a question. I ordered something from the UK (to Canada) and tommorow it will be two weeks and still havent received it. I trust the seller, good feedback etc. The item has been sent via basic Air Mail, so no tracking etc.

What happens when the seller genuinely sent the item, and you genuinely never received it? Who is responsible? Cold logic tells me it might actually be my responsability because I could specifically have asked for an upgrade to the shipping method which would include a tracking number and some basic insurance, but I prefered to pay only 4 pounds shipping on an item that cost me around 20 pounds. It’s not as if the seller game me the option anyway, but I guess I could have asked for it.

Any idea?

2

2 weeks since the auction, or 2 weeks since you know it’s actually been sent? Because by eBay rules, a seller does have up to 7 days after close of the auction to ship the item.

3

It’s been two weeks since he told me he sent the item via Air Mail.

4

I send whistles to Canada by airmail from the United States, and they often take two weeks or longer.

Since I only live 65 miles from the Canadian border, that time would be spent mostly clearing customs, etc., rather than actually in transit. It might take somewhat longer from the UK, where the item would have to cross the ocean. I would give it another week at least before I start worrying about whether it’s been lost.

Best wishes,
Jerry

5

Thanks Jerry, yeah even a month… But my question then, what happens if it’s lost? Who’s responsible in such event?

6

It varies…you have a few options.

You could, if you wanted to, claim the money back through a paypal dispute, and the seller would have to show evidence of having posted it. if he happens to not have that, they’ll likely decide in your favour. Which means you get all your money back, including postage, and probably make an enemy out of the seller. I really don’t recommend this unless you absolutely can;t afford to lose the money AND the item, in which case it probably wasn’t such a hot idea to be buying stuff anyway.

I have had purchases go missing three times as a buyer, but never as a seller.

Time 1) a cheap item, US to US, so I wrote it off. The seller swore she sent it to me but that was about the end of it.

Time 2) about $10 worth of craft supplies, Canada to UK. The seller apologised and offered to send a new batch for free. When the new batch arrived, I sent her an additional $10 as a thank you - so she paid the extra postage and I paid the extra item costs. As the postage was also about $10 it seemed fair, and she was very grateful.

Time 3) about $35 worth of craft supplies, US to UK. When I reported that it hadn’t arrived, a month later, she immediately sent a new batch (without even asking me anything), which I appreciated but also made me wonder if I had been overcharged the first time! But maybe her company was so big that she could afford it.

The item that you bought - is it something that you could use two of? if so, you could ask the seller to send a replacement and offer to split the costs…but personally I would wait a while longer. I once sent myself a package from the US to the UK and it took about 7 months. When it finally turned up, it had split open in transit, was taped up, and had probably spent a few months on a post office floor somewhere.

7

It’s still too early to tell if the item will not be received. Canadian customs has easily held items for 2 weeks themselves, let alone transit time. You have 45 days to make a PayPal/eBay claim of “Item Not Received”. If there is no Delivery Confirmation by your seller (and there would probably not be for a standard mail item), then you will, pretty automatically, win the dispute and have your money refunded.

My suggestion is to be patient, while meanwhile checking into the process for resolution should it not arrive. You are not responsible for the item until you have actually received it. Placing it in the mail does not relieve the seller of their responsibility.

Kevin Krell

8

Thanks guys, it’s useful information. I was never close to thinking the item was lost, it was more a hypothetical question about what happens in such situation, in case it happens to me in a few weeks.

9

I self-insure all of the packages that I mail both here in the USA and internationally. That way I don’t have to deal with the USPS claim process. I once tried to file a claim through the post office, and they insisted that I take my flute to a music store to see what the value was (five-part form). I tried to explain to them that I was the maker, that I knew the selling price, and that a music store would likely have no idea of the value of the flute. After that run-in with the post office, I do the insuring myself. I don’t want to spend $100 worth of work to place a $50 claim. So I trust the buyer to report accurately, and I send a replacement or refund if a package is lost or damaged in shipment, which, knock on wood, has been rare.

I don’t know why the Canadian customs process is so slow, but, as Jerry has mentioned, you can expect delivery to take more than two weeks.

10

I refuse to deal with any seller on eBay who won’t ship to Canada via Global Priority International (US) or equivalent. Yes, I pay a bit more for shipping, but I always know it is going to get here, and never more than two weeks. If you shipped it via regular air mail from EU, it will easily take 6-8 weeks to get here. And even then, you face a high probablility of your package being stolen by Canada Post, especially when there is no tracking of the package.

Don’t be cheap. Even if the contents have low monetary value, it still has personal value to you. Pay a few bucks more to ensure it arrives safely.

djm

11

BTW, you have a good shot at an item being delivered if you send it Registered First Class Mail (about $10 extra, and insurance can be added). It will slow down the service, though. For instance, a domestic Priority Mail package will take longer than the 2-3 days promised (about a week or so instead). Registered Mail is scanned at various steps along the way.

Kevin Krell