Classify Puerto Rico under "International Shipping"
Summary: A participant raised concerns about eBay sellers categorizing Puerto Rico as "International Shipping," resulting in high shipping costs. thriftyfiftyfifty clarified that it's due to eBay's shipping settings rather than sellers' decisions. kensgiftshop noted sellers have more protection shipping to Puerto Rico now. sassykzt explained address formatting issues may cause eBay to classify addresses incorrectly, while annadryl advised against buying from uninformed sellers. fullers_uk shared an experience of address-related confusion. The discussion emphasized a need for better understanding among sellers regarding shipping to U.S. territories.
10 comments
annadryl
·1 month agoPR has 5-digit zipcodes and utilizes the USPS zoning system. If a seller is ignorant of this (tries to charge int'l) then don't buy from them.
This is a known issue, except to many online sellers. I don't think it's a scam, I think it's the lack of education and the proliferation of ignorant people online.
Buy from better sellers. It's not just ebay BTW.
fullers_uk
·1 month agoI had a suspicious Puerto Rico address this week, the buyer did this;
Name:
Street Address:
State: PR
Zip code 00682-7717
United States
That was how he had entered the delivery address, no mention of the fact he is in Puerto Rico, so I sent the order to the exact address on the order, if it doesn’t get there due to the address I will contest it as its a deception.
kensgiftshop
·1 month agoWhat do you think the PR means in the State line?l
mudshark61369
·1 month ago@fullers_uk ,
As Kensgiftshop replied PR is Puerto Rico.
The address you received is properly formatted. All of our states and territories have a 2 letter abbreviation used by our postal service The USPS who treats the territories as states as do U.S. based shipping services.
The zip codes first 5 numbers 00682 are for the city of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, the - 7717 number is for a specific region in that city.
"I am in the UK, if I ship to Puerto Rico I dont get charged tariffs, if the address is PR then US zip code I am charged the tariffs, shipping to Puerto Rico is more expensive, shipping to the US is cheaper".
Since you do not specify which international shipping service you use to ship to the U.S.. It may be that one that causes there to be a higher cost. The private services like UPS & FedEx, charge a fee for additional transportation surcharges to U.S. territories, not charged to shipments within the contiguous 48 states. Other services may do that as well.
You do not see this on your listings because it does not apply to you, but what we see is:
sassykzt
·1 month ago · EditedIt depends on how you have your address to where packages are shipped set up in your account.
eBay considers some PR addresses as international, while others are domestic. Here is why: Special characters currently cannot be used. These will need to be removed and replaced with the Roman alphabet. Also, when PR is placed after the zip code it is seen as international. When PR is BEFORE the zip code it is seen as a US territory.
Do the following so that the package will be recognized as domestic:
In the State field select "Puerto Rico" / PR
In the Country field select "United States". ( If this shows as PR it will be considered International!!!)
In the Postal code field, write the zip code.
Then it will be considered domestic mail. I ship to PR frequently and have zero issues. With USPS it's considered a zone 8 from OH when shipping from continental US via ground advantage. And there is no customs form to fill out!
mudshark61369
·1 month ago@jimenezvieques ,
This discussion may reach more of your intended audience "Sellers" if you post it on the Selling board.
There are many sellers who think that shipping to U.S. territories is International Shipping and involves customs. There are also many who still think that shipping to Alaska and Hawaii involves slow boats or Dogsleds as part to the delivery process, so they do not ship to those States either because of imagined long shipping time frames. Their exclusion lists often includes those two States and Territories.
Some of those sellers may be using Flat Rate shipping, which they mistakenly think will cost more to ship to Territories and Al, & Hi. All you can do is to click on the See details button on the Shipping: cost - service line on a listing page to see where a seller will or will not ship to. Then as you have been doing try contacting them to ask if they will exempt you from their Buyer (places I do not ship to) requirement.
Unfortunately we cannot fix stoopid
fullers_uk
·1 month agoI am in the UK, if I ship to Puerto Rico I dont get charged tariffs, if the address is PR then US zip code I am charged the tariffs, shipping to Puerto Rico is more expensive, shipping to the US is cheaper, its a total mess.
jbbowers12012
·1 month agoWe here in New Jersey do not use EIS shipping & only accommodate U.S. buyers. We have a couple of regular buyers in Puerto Rico & Use eBay shipping labels (USPS Ground Advantage) We only sell smaller items & the shipping charges are usually between $8.00 & $10.00.
kensgiftshop
·1 month agoThat was Ebay, not the sellers.
Now that sellers have more protection shipping to Puerto Rico, more sellers are willing to ship there.
thriftyfiftyfifty
·1 month agoeBay Sellers aren't really doing that, it is eBay itself including shipping to Puerto Rican Buyers via the eBay International Shipping Program. Primarily for the benefit of Puerto Rico because many Sellers "Exclude" the Territories from their Shipping settings and lock them out of purchasing. Kinda like saying why are Sellers deeming it an "International" Shipment when using UPS or Fedex. Sellers are not, it's because those are the defining terms the Carrier uses, not the Seller. Many, if not most, still know that Puerto Rico is a Territory.