posted on October 23, 2012 07:45:50 AM new
I have had a few UK and other international inquiries about products we have, but shipping costs are too high because Paypal requires tracking.
Anyone know if I shipped via Flat Rate Mail with a Post Office stamped proof of shipment would suffice to satisfy eBay/Paypal for Item Not Received Claims for items valued under $250?
posted on October 23, 2012 09:30:50 AM new
I was told by both PayPal & the Po thst there was no tracking & therefore no proof of delivery for international first class or small flat rate boxes. Things change, but I will only ship international first class if the item is under $50 & even then I tell the buyer I am shipping it with the caveot that they are taking reonsibility for its safe delivery (I know!)
posted on October 23, 2012 01:03:31 PM new
USPS express mail envelopes are trackable online,but they are not cheap,may be to Canada is cheaper.
Bill ships registered mail,you have to take it to the post office though,cant do it online.
Or
you can ship first class and buy insurance with private insurer.
posted on October 23, 2012 04:24:16 PM new
Anyone know if I shipped via Flat Rate Mail with a Post Office stamped proof of shipment would suffice to satisfy eBay/Paypal for Item Not Received Claims for items valued under $250?
///////////////////
prof of shipment is not proof of delivery,
you can also ship UPS,Fed EXp or DHL?
Some sellers use DHL and the DHL local office/dealer may give you a discount,and you can also get discount by opening a Fed Exp account on Ebay.
USPS may say they provide overseas tracking but the truth is once the package arrives at some foreign post office,USPS has no power to force them to update tracking information.
Only these private shippers UPS,Fed Exp and DHL have control over their overseas location.
posted on October 23, 2012 11:24:13 PM new
If this helps...The last three items that were sent to me in Victoria by US Sellers did have Tracking however when I checked the Tracking Number on the USPS site all three showed as Processed at the sorting plant nearest to the Seller's home and then ZERO from there.
Even after they were delivered to me here I double checked the Tracking number once more and ZIP...ZERO...not a darn thing so what was the point!
EBay & PayPal seem to have all the US Sellers 'running scared' and so the Sellers are putting high shipping costs on their items because they think that the tracking will help them when all it does is drive away buyers because of the high costs.
I have been checking a lot of items lately and it is becoming utterly ridiculous. More than one Seller is quoting over $24.00 to ship one small ligtweight item to Canada. I think it is probably the Flat Rate box they are using.
We chuckled at the thought of one handkerchief in one HUGE box and paying that much for shipping!!
I only buy from Sellers who will ship by First Class Mail. I have never had a parcel from the US not arrive.
If you are talking high value items then that is a different matter entirely.
posted on October 24, 2012 06:14:04 AM new
Otter,
Those 3 items which arrived with tracking number and you dont see that they are shown delivered in CANADA,how are they shipped?
First class mail has a tracking number for customs purpose,but they are not tracked once they left the local post office.
Only express mail and medium and large priority boxes are tracked .
I would say your three items were shipped first class,thats why there is no further tracking .
Some sellers dont want to bother with overseas shipping,so they just enter a high shipping amount to discourage any one emailing them and ask if they ship overseas.
posted on October 24, 2012 10:21:26 AM new
Aha...you are correct. All three were shipped First Class..so that explains it.
Is that not trying to 'cheat the eBay system' by entering a tracking number which does not really exist? If they have 1 day shipping also then this entitles them to TRS discounts, does it not?
On the second point I disagree somewhat. There may be some who do that but what's the point.
In reading the eBay Boards many of the Sellers are almost to the point of being paranoid and obsessive about ensuring that they get Tracking, Delivery Confirmation, Signatures and the imprint of the foot of the Buyers firstborn child.
Unfortunately over the past 4-5 years eBay has instilled in Sellers this fear and distrust of Buyers to the point where Sellers are feeling that every Buyer is 'out to get them' and ruin their standing with eBay.
posted on October 24, 2012 04:11:56 PM new
It is called the Customs Barcode Number eg, LK070741565US and is generated by the post office when you print a label online ,it is not a tracking number,it is for the US Customs to keep track of outgoing mail.
Why is it saved as tracking number,you have to ask Paypal and Ebay,but at least the buyer knows you have shipped the item.
I ship many small figurines to overseas buyers and charge 6.95 for first class shipping,I may have one overseas scam to Spain and two lost packages,one to JaPAN AND ONE TO Brazil.
It is really up to the sellers ,some just dont want to be bothered and I dont blame them,they could lose their mechandise,pay for shipping and get a neg as well.
Do you know anyone in the States who may accept your packages and ship them in bundles to you?
lots of Chinese buyers do that.
posted on October 24, 2012 04:16:37 PM new
The Canadian post office seems to have similar feature,I recalled someone shipped me an item first class,it has a code which can be found on Canada website which said it has been shipped but no further tracking.
posted on October 24, 2012 05:48:19 PM new
lostmymojo...thank you for explaining the Customs Barcode to me, that makes sense now but it still isn't a Tracking Code' for eBay TRS Sellers although it seems to be acceptable.
I just asked my DearestH who I call my VP of Shipping and as we don't print our shipping online he isn't sure if Canada Post has a similiar system.
I don't buy enough to have any items shipped to someone in the US but if I did and they shipped in bundles then it would cost me more! Our Customs Regulations only allow us to receive an item valued at less than $20.00 and after that we have to pay Duties and Taxes as well as a $5.00 Customs Handling Fee. I always make sure that what I buy is less than $20 in value.
Isn't it amazing what we can all learn from each other!!
posted on October 24, 2012 06:28:27 PM new
Depends on what you call a 'track code'.How far do you want to track?it depends on what method you use to ship and how much you pay for shipping?
I recall once this humble US customs code shows tracking all the way into China to the buyer's home address,but that is a rare case!
