Auto-enrolled in international shipping, item lost, eBay offering $100 on a $599 item — anyone else
Summary: The discussion revolves around issues with eBay's international shipping services. preautoacc initially raised concerns about an item supposedly lost during shipping, which resulted in eBay offering only $100 as compensation for a $599 item. gurlcat questioned the situation details, suspecting a scam, and asked for more information about the $100 offer. Other participants, like a_c_green and lacemaker3, discussed the shipment's tracking details, with some indicating that the package was scanned in Burnaby, BC, and questioned whether the transaction was mishandled as an eBay International Shipping (eIS) transaction instead of another service. There's confusion around whether the service used was eIS or eISD, with participants noting tracking numbers starting with EEUS typically align with eIS. Despite various inputs, the precise cause of the issue and its resolution remain unclear.
I want to share my experience and see if others have run into the same wall.
I don't sell internationally as a general rule. When I do, I handle it personally — I make contact with the buyer first and make sure full insurance is in place before agreeing to anything. That's just how I protect myself.
What I didn't fully realize until recently is that eBay had automatically enrolled my account in their international shipping program. I didn't sign up for it — eligible sellers get opted in automatically and it gets added to existing listings without any action on your part. The only way to exit is buried in account-level settings, and there's no way to control it at the listing level. To make it worse, I've seen other sellers here report that the program quietly re-enables itself even after they've opted out.
So a $599 item sold to an international buyer. I shipped to eBay's domestic hub as instructed — delivery confirmed, my job done. The item was then lost on the international leg, which eBay controls entirely. Because I only had the domestic address, I had no way to insure beyond that point.
eBay's offer? $100.
I'm not accepting that. I never knowingly agreed to this transaction under these terms, I was never given a fair chance to opt out, and the loss happened in a part of the shipment I had zero control over.
Has anyone successfully pushed back on eBay in a situation like this? Did you get anywhere through the resolution center, phone support, or another route? Any advice appreciated.
funfactorychannel
·4 months agoCan you post the actual ebay message about the refund?
marnotom!
·4 months agoThanks for the tag, @lacemaker3.
I'm probably a bit late to the party at this point, but I think what happened here is that the item was sent to eIS but once at the hub, it was erroneously forwarded through the eISD stream instead. I believe the Glendale Heights hub handles both eIS and eISD shipments, so it might be just a matter of a worker putting the package into the wrong bin or into a consolidation sack instead.
The tracking on Parcelsapp last night had a few "sack open" scans which don't show up when I recheck the tracking today. I don't think those types of scans show for eIS shipments. Also, the shipping method is shown as "DHL Parcel Intl Direct" rather than "DHL eCommerce," the DHL variant that seems to be used for eIS shipments to Canada.
But the eBay tracking shows the usual three stages for an eIS shipment, so that's why I'm concluding that someone messed up at the hub with this one. I'm guessing that eBay is identifying this as an eISD shipment for indemnity purposes because it went by DHL Parcel Intl Direct.
So, everybody's right on this one!
gone.c-33
·4 months agoMy bad, my last EIS shipment (it’s been a while) didn’t show tracking in one continuous list of events like OP posted, it stopped and would be marked “Delivered” once it reached the hub, then the 2nd part of the journey would show in another section entirely.
Feel free to disregard!
dhbookds
·4 months ago@lacemaker3 lol, I give up.....
thriftyfiftyfifty
·4 months agoeBay International Standard Delivery is assigned ESUS Tracking and is alive and well (never discontinued as planned). I use it and the Tracking is pretty obvious because it is attached to each Label. All my eIS Shipping Orders are assigned the opposite EEUS designator much later after the Order.
steve_stuff
·4 months agoThis person is right -
As far as we know ebay has two branded international shipping/forwarding services, the one know by three letters [eis?] that sellers opt into/sign up for and is shown on listings, and the one know by four letters [eisd?] that not on the drop down list to even pick when making listings, and is not shown - as far as we know - on the listings to the buyer, but ebay adds to our international sales shipping label page and default to.
dhbookds
·4 months ago@lacemaker3 Thanks for the correction.....far be it for Ebay to correct their announcements, I should know better than to trust them.
@devon@ebay
Been trying to figure out why/how @gone.c-33 thinks it's EISd (?).
If it's this listing
https://www.ebay.com/itm/205416774454?itmmeta=01KT1K65F1RRFFJEC9MM76WWW5&hash=item2fd3cb3b36:g:RRIAAeSw7PFp0sAp
it states
US $37.16 eBay International Shipping
so how is eISD shown? anyone know?
lacemaker3
·4 months ago@dhbookds I don’t know if eISD is ever shown in the listing, but it is available for the seller to use if they had USPS international shipping available. Check the FAQs here:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ebay-international-standard-delivery?id=5011
I think the confusion is because this transaction is APPARENTLY not being handled as an eIS transaction and that is often because it was eISD instead. But that doesn’t seem to be the case this time.
It seems clear from the EEUS tracking number that this is eIS.
Since the package hasn’t been delivered and isn’t late, it’s very strange that eBay seems to have refunded from the seller’s account.
If it’s not a scam then there must be something we’re missing. As wild speculation, maybe the item wasn’t supposed to go to that address in BC, and maybe has the wrong ID code (a seller error)?
I don’t think that’s the right item. OP said it doesn’t show up in solds because it was refunded (and presumably cancelled).
anjofak
·4 months agoRecently had a pair of button fly Levi's pulled for intellectual property rights violation..
Said we are offering shipping to Europe and the intellectual property owner reported us and we needed to revise the listing exclude Europe..
Seems like they should be fixing it since they stated it not us..but poof listings gone.
dhbookds
·4 months agoOp says he received this from ebay
Ebay even wrote me to inform that a buyer reported a lost/missing product and not to worry because it was not my fault and no bad mojo will come of it.: Message #8 Which is pretty much what we recognize as the standard answer in situations with EIS.
But then says:
Now at the same time, without any notification, they refunded the buyer from my account.
Did AI or CS override the procedure and issue the refund, not recognizing it was EIS?
Hopefully, seller can get some answers.......
gone.c-33
·4 months agoBecause it wasn’t sent through EIS but through EISd.
jonathanbrightlight
·4 months agoThis is the key. eBay International Standard Delivery is not EIS, which is the eBay International Shipping program, and they have wildly different coverage for sellers. @preautoacc you need to read what @gone.c-33 is saying.
itsjustasprain
·4 months agoHow are you determining that one way or the other?
albertabrightalberta
·4 months ago@gone.c-33
Where are you seeing that it wasn't EIS?
I looked at several of the OP's sold items and all international shipping was EIS.
a_c_green
·4 months agoThis is perhaps a side issue, but I'm wondering what it is you're "agreeing to" with an international buyer...?
As it appears from the tracking you posted, you did indeed have an eBay International Shipping package, meaning that the Ship-To: address accompanying the payment from your buyer would have been for you to send the package to their Internationale Blvd. address in Glendale Heights, IL, after which eBay takes it the rest of the way to whichever country the buyer resides in.
I don't understand your mention of "eBay's offer" of $100. In what context did you get that? Has the buyer actually opened an Item Not Received claim for the purchase, or are they just sending messages to you about some kind of problem?
The only leg of the package travel that you could insure would the part that you are responsible for, which would be getting the package from you to Glendale Heights, and tracking shows that you did. While it's true that the default USPS indemnity on Ground Advantage or Priority shipments is $100, they didn't lose the package that you shipped, so you would not need to file a Missing Mail claim with them anyway.
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoThis makes no sense.
EEUS029348925CA0 is scheduled for delivery this week.
I would check that the message your received was actually from Ebay.
I do not see scammers under every rock, but I suspect someone may be trying to get you to issue an undeserved refund.
a_c_green
·4 months agoAyup. And in fact, as of today, it's been scanned in Burnaby, BC as recently as a couple of hours ago, so it's clearly not lost.
Ref: https://parcelsapp.com/en/tracking/EEUS029348925CA0
ryry-jj
·4 months agoThis is an odd situation to me, once it arrive at eIS hub, not only are you done with it, but eBay now "owns" the item. I'm not even sure why they let you know the buyer filed a claim, none of your business at that point. But I also cant find a $600 item you sold around May 4, so I cant make heads or tails of this. Even negotiating further charges for insurance, as you have stated, is wonky and not allowed per eBay policies...not saying you and a buyer didn't agree to it, but eBay doesn't allow it.
I have always shipped internationally via eIS without any issues, and what you are experiencing isn't how the system is designed to work, so something is off. Have you contacted CS on Instagram? I don't have any faith you will get human eyes on this going through the normal channels.
preautoacc
OP4 months agoThanks for your input. I want to like the EIS program if in reality, the responsibility and liability is carried by Ebay after the product leaves the USA. Whats not to like. Not having to deal with tariff codes is priceless...
Here's the part. perhaps you can't see the product sale because they refunded it from my account and it doesn't look like a valid sale any longer. I dunno..
I did not know Instagram was an option so I will give it a try..:)
Thx Steve
powell-collectibles
·4 months agoIf you shipped via EIS, you will see it in the order details. Something like the following:
ryry-jj
·4 months agoJust curious, you say when you have shipped direct, you always add the proper insurance, why didn't you add insurance to cover the $600 going to the eIS hub as well? Even tho' the hub is a domestic shipment, you still left yourself exposed for $500 on a lost package. You said tracking shows delivery, but this kinda sounds like it didnt make it to the hub and was lost....
preautoacc
OP4 months agoYes, if and when i decide to ship direct internationally, I will always add insurance to cover full price. Often negotiated with the customer.
In this case, and I have already stated that there is no question that the HUB received my package. Tracking is irrefutable. I'll post it in its entirely to dispel any doubt.
Shipment history
Hub to Buyer (Step 3)
DHL eCommerce America: EEUS029348925CA0
Mon, May 11 12:18pm
DEPARTURE DHL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
Sat, May 9 5:55pm
SCANNED INTO SACK/CONTAINER
MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
Sat, May 9 5:55pm
PROCESSING COMPLETED AT ORIGIN
MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
Sat, May 9 4:06pm
CLOSE BAG
MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
Sat, May 9 4:06pm
CLOSE BAG
MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
Sat, May 9 11:35am
PROCESSED
MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
Sat, May 9 11:35am
Estimated delivery date updated to Tue, May 19
Sat, May 9 8:27am
CLOSE BAG
MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
Sat, May 9 4:32am
PACKAGE RECEIVED AT DHL ECOMMERCE DISTRIBUTION CENTER
MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
Fri, May 8 10:06am
EN ROUTE TO DHL ECOMMERCE OR AWAITING PROCESSING
MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
Fri, May 8 9:46am
LABEL CREATED
MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
Fri, May 8 10:20am
Tracking number provided
At Hub (Step 2)
Fri, May 8 10:17am
Item arrived at hub
You to Hub (Step 1)
USPS: 9405508106244099566483
Fri, May 8 10:35am
Delivered to Agent, Left with Individual
GLENDALE HEIGHTS, IL 60139
Fri, May 8 8:50am
Out for Delivery, Expected Delivery by 9:00pm
GLENDALE HEIGHTS, IL 60139
Fri, May 8 5:38am
Arrived at Post Office
GLENDALE HEIGHTS, IL 60139
Fri, May 8 1:20am
Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility
CAROL STREAM IL DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 60199
Thu, May 7 12:30am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
METRO NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 11714
Wed, May 6 7:19pm
In Transit, Arriving On Time
Wed, May 6 5:24pm
Departed USPS Regional Facility
NORTHWEST ROCHESTER NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 14606
Wed, May 6 3:21pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
NORTHWEST ROCHESTER NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 14606
Tue, May 5 1:15pm
USPS picked up item
NIAGARA FALLS, NY 14304
Tue, May 5 10:12am
PRE-SHIPMENT INFO SENT USPS AWAITS ITEM
NIAGARA FALLS, NY 14304
Tue, May 5 9:57am
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
NIAGARA FALLS, NY 14304
Tue, May 5 6:57am
Tracking number provided
gone.c-33
·4 months agoThat’s not EIS tracking, that EISd, where you are responsible until delivery to the buyer’s address.
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoThat is EIS tracking. The EEUS number was assigned in Glendale.
Everything about the tracking the OP posted is consistent with EIS, and the OP did not offer EISd on his listing.
There is no evidence of a seller error on his listing, or any Ebay or EIS error.
Nothing points to an open MBG claim on the transaction either.
This is a crooked or clueless buyer trying to take advantage of a seller.
I had a buyer in Italy attempt to get money from me this week, who even left neutral FB which was removed withing a couple of hours.
Life is very hard in the EU right now, and the crooks are out.
Life is hard in Canada too. GDP has dropped two quarters in a row in Canada.
gurlcat
·4 months ago@tobaccocardyahoo Feedback extortion is one thing, but the OP has had the refund money actually taken from their account. How could a buyer have done that? Even if they filed a card chargeback eBay would have handled it without taking the seller's funds. -Assuming this really was an EIS sale.
I don't know who is right here, considering multiple very smart members are in disagreement, but the $100 'offer' thing seems extra bizarre to me. Usually they're either "tough luck" or give a full courtesy refund. A 1/6th 'discount' off of a refund is weird and unprecedented as far as I know.
@preautoacc Can you describe that a bit more? What kind of contact was that -did you request a call from eBay? What did the agent say exactly, and what was the $100 offer about? How did the conversation end?
preautoacc
OP4 months agoThanks for all the valuable insight to this program and the shared input from all responders.
On Sunday i was trying to get remedy for this issue via chat as a first step and was given erroneous information by someone who was either not very knowledgeable or didn't take the time to understand the problem correctly. A quick conversation with an elevated level service rep today had this fixed in minutes. I don't know how it happened but I will certainly watch for it in the future.
Just to clarify, I don't believe the customer was trying to scam. I was in constant communication with them. They told me that they were concerned that they could not track the package any longer and when they contacted the shipper, they were told that it was being returned for unknown reasons. I think DHL pawned it off on a small regional delivery service. They did mention who it was but i don't recall at the moment. But current tracking is a dead end.
lacemaker3
·4 months ago@preautoacc
Thanks for letting us know what happened! eBay made a mistake and then fixed it.
You can send this link to the buyer so they can see the tracking:
https://parcelsapp.com/en/tracking/EEUS029348925CA0
The tracking should be viewable on eBay but I think I have seen reports of tracking having issues.
It says the last mile delivery is by TForce.
gurlcat
·4 months ago@preautoacc When you say today's agent had it "fixed in minutes" do you mean they figured it out and gave you some kind of reassurance, or did you actually have your funds fully credited back to you? I ask because pretty often we see members think their problems were solved because of something they were merely told by agents, only to later witness very frustrating outcomes on their screens.
Another thing -regarding these forums, whenever a question has been well-answered or a problem gets resolved somehow, the OP (Original Poster) does everyone a great service by selecting one of the replies as Best Answer, in the lower right corner of that reply. Even if the OP got the solution on their own, outside the thread, they can choose their own reply as the Best one. A BA doesn't close the thread, but it's very helpful to anyone who looks at the thread later, to see that it already has a solution, and they can quickly find and read it.
It would be especially helpful in a case like yours, where the problem was pretty unusual and confusing. If you leave it without a BA, you're likely to keep getting replies to it by people who won't take the time to read 3+ pages of previous replies.
thriftyfiftyfifty
·4 months agoYou have it backwards...EEUS is in fact eIS Tracking. eBay International Standard Delivery Tracking IS ESUS
dhbookds
·4 months agohttps://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/eBay-International-Shipping-is-here/ba-p/33700544
The new eBay International Shipping program has now officially replaced the US Global Shipping Program (GSP). All eligible sellers previously using GSP now have access to the new program, which provides even more benefits to buyers and sellers.
Additionally, eBay international standard delivery will be discontinued by July 1, 2023 as eligible sellers are also upgraded to the new program over the next few months.
Are one of these what you are talking about? I assume they were both discontinued in 2023.....
@gone.c-33
lacemaker3
·4 months ago@dhbookds, I don’t know if they reinstated eBay International Standard Delivery, or did not go ahead with ending it, but eISD is definitely still available at this point:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ebay-international-standard-delivery?id=5011
Right now there is some evidence that the package was shipped by eIS after all. Some said the tracking number was an eIS number, not an eISD number. I don’t know if this is a good way to tell. The tracking starts with EEUS which someone said is for eIS. But they also said that an ESUS number is for eISD, but those are used for eBay Standard Envelope.
ETA: apparently ESUS numbers are used for both eISD and eSE. Thanks for the correction!
Also, I noticed that the international carrier was DHL, which is frequently used by eIS to deliver in Canada.
I don’t think eISD uses DHL, that is shipped through the post office according to @marnotom! who is in Canada so she may have received such packages. She said that it is a discount way to purchase USPS international postage.
The delivery for OP’s package will be by TForce (not Canada Post), but it hasn’t even been delivered yet. So I think @tobaccocardyahoo may be right and this is some kind of scam.
bdmh-enterprises
·4 months agoBoth ESE & eISD use the ESUS tracking # because those are both 'eBay shipping services'. The EEUS is assigned at the eIS hub for the international leg. When you send anything to eIS, you get a regular tracking number from the carrier you use just like any other domestic order.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoDoubt that anyone is disputing your information. Just trying to inform you that, if there's proof of delivery to the hub, your responsibility as the seller is over and done with.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoIf tracking shows delivery to the hub, isn't that all the proof that's needed to let the seller off the hook?
If not, then it's not really secure to ship to the hub, is it?
ryry-jj
·4 months agoYes, that's it. The seller has completed the transaction, they are done with the sale
soh.maryl
·4 months agoSeveral responders here have explained how this works. As long as there's tracking proving delivery to the hub, the OP didn't leave himself exposed for $500 on a lost package.
marnotom!
·4 months agoWhich is true for an eIS shipment, but it’s not for an eISD shipment. An error likely occurred which has led to the OP’s package being identified and forwarded as an eISD shipment.
preautoacc
OP4 months agoThanks for the input. Sounds like I should be looking forward to working with EIS program.........BUT....
Tracking definitively confirms the delivery to the hub. Ebay even wrote me to inform that a buyer reported a lost/missing product and not to worry because it was not my fault and no bad mojo will come of it.
Now at the same time, without any notification, they refunded the buyer from my account.
I only got the tier 1 chat so far with ebay, and so far i was only offered 100$
This does not appear to be the EIS policy referred to above. We'll see what happens when a human rep gets involved.
kensgiftshop
·4 months agoIf the item shipped EIS, you won't be out anything as long as tracking shows it was delivered to the US hub.
Ebay refunds the buyer and you keep your payment.
inhawaii
·4 months agoI would mark this as best answer if I could. 😉
Accurate, simple, to the point.
goodbrakes
·4 months agoIf shipped using eBay's Eis then eBay will cover the full cost of the lost item. If you used USPS International Shipping then the item is only covered up to $100 unless extra insurance is purchased. Any time eBay lost one of our International packages when an INR was started they took care of it. No refunds from or deducted funds from us.
stainlessenginecovers
·4 months ago@preautoacc you are 100% wrong on ALL of this.
EIS protects the seller.
Sellers KEEP ALL the $$ when an item is purchased through EIS (as long as it gets to the US Hub, usually Illinois)
You shipping 'yourself'; emailing buyers (what a waste); buying Insurance (what a SUPER waste) is 100% the WRONG WAY to do things here.
You need to read/learn MUCH more about EIS (google is your friend)
dhbookds
·4 months agoIf you get the item to the EIS hub....they will handle any claim from overseas buyers including lost and damaged.. Not sure what you mean by them offering $100........ Have seen plenty of posts that EIS paid on their end.....IF it got to the hub.......
klhmdg
·4 months agoAs far as I know, since EIS received the item, they are to refund the buyer and you keep your sale.
You do not refund, EIS refunds the buyer in full.
You keep the sale.
this is as long as you show proof of delivery to the EIS Hub.
This should be spelled out in the EIS shipment policy.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoKind of puzzling. Always heard that, once it arrives at the hub, the seller is no longer responsible.
Is there something here we're missing?