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Puerto Rico is not classified as part of US by Ebay for many years
its 2024 and the same issue continues, items cannot be shipped to Puerto Rico due to ebay's classification of it as part of the Caribbean. However as a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico uses the same postal system the USPS as the other 50 states. And shipping its only a bit more expensive, like shipping to Hawaii or Alaska. Why this issue continues? I've been aware of it since since hurricane Maria in 2007, before it everything was fine, afterwards many sellers from usa and china don't ship to the island. I believe us puertoricans deserve at least a simple explanation from ebay's customer service as to why they are setting such targeted discrimination, even though we are us citizens.
10 comments
fryek
·1 year agoAs an attempt to at least clear up/ improve the information on a single portion of this discussion. I work at the USPS in International Trade Policy.
Puerto Rico is inside the Customs Territory of the US. It is treated exactly like any state of the US for shipping purposes. There are ZONES for shipping and it may be more/less expensive shipping to any one ZONE from another... HI and AK... PR... any location within a zone.
It is true that some shipping software has serious problems with anything outside the ordinary. For e.g. I live inside the District of Columbia and MANY shopping/shipping carts and eCommerce vendors have no idea how to code for this. SO MANY time I purchase something and have to contact the company to say "I cannot select a state" because you don't list DC as a possible selection. It is likely that many will find similar issues with PR.
PR and DC are both truly to be treated "as" states. And should be listed in all domestic shipping.
There are other locations that have similar (but even more complicated), those requiring a customs form! There are many domestic locations with a US ZIP Code that may be reach via Domestic Postage with USPS, which require a Customs Form (just like when shipping Internationally to another country). These locations are ALL Military and Diplomatic addresses... and ALL Possessions, Territories and Freely Associated States (except PR - it's a Possession but "lives" inside the CTUS).
I hope this helps... "google" USPS and DMM with your domestic location if you want to find any restrictions, info about domestic rate (with or without customs forms) and IMM (instead of DMM) if you're looking for International info... AND (VERY IMPORTANT) look at Publication 52 for mailability info - Lithium Ion Batteries are a SERIOUS safety concern and there is MUCH to learn about mailing these... and International rules apply whenever a customs form is required (not domestic mailability standards.
Take Care.
worldcoinauctions
·2 years agoUSPS ships to Puerto Rico all the time. The problem that sometimes comes up is on the buyer end! If the buyer lists PR as their COUNTRY then you cannot ship there, if they list it as their STATE you are fine. I recently sent an ESE to PR and it got there much sooner than similar shipments to NC have, no extra charges, I did have to put the buyer's address on 2 lines as it was too long.
lakefor94
·2 years agoEBay's customer service has nothing to do with which sellers ship to PR.
Any of my listings that ship USPS as the carrier, can be purchased by buyers in PR. Probably 75 percent of my inventory.
Any listings in which I use UPS as the carrier (bulky and heavy items) PR is excluded due to a lot of them offering Free Shipping. Very costly to go UPS to PR. Even with USPS, the heavy/bulky items are very expensive to PR.
It is a business decision, nothing personal or discriminatory.
aida.iris232012
·2 years agoIf the free shipping doesn't apply to Puerto Rico is as simple as charging it and if its more expense it's the clients who pay for the expenses and charges so that's a very lame excuse.
pjcdn2005
·2 years agoIt's not quite that simple. A seller that wanted to have free shipping to the mainland and an extra cost to PR, Hawaii and other areas would have to set up a special rate chart, they couldn't do it on the regular ebay shipping calculator and they can't ask for more in shipping after the item has been purchased. It's probably much easier just to exclude those areas if the shipping cost is going to be quite a bit more. You can always ask the seller if they would make an exception in your case and they might be willing to set up a separate listing for you.
It really is up to a seller where they are comfortable shipping too although I agree that in some cases, it is odd that they won't ship there. But that is out of eBay's control.
deserdog
·1 year agoI have shipped to Puerto Rico before and had no problems. I use calculated shipping. Easy peasy.
richard1rst
·2 years agoYour complaint seems somewhat bifurcated. You note correctly that “many sellers from usa and china don't ship to the islandâ€. Judging by the posts on these boards it is the ignorance of the sellers who think Puerto Rico is international. But then you go on to blame eBay’s customer service for discrimination. As an aside, how is a seller’s ignorance (a lack of knowledge) justification for calling eBay discriminatory (an overt act of hate)?
I, and many others, routinely ship to Puerto Rico.
Usually the biggest problem is that on the sales ticket the buyer lists their address with Puerto Rico as the country when it should list Puerto Rico as the state with USA as the country.
aida.iris232012
·2 years agoNot true because I do have my address as Puerto Rico the state and USA the country and even though they still dont ship to Puerto Rico.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoSome sellers won't ship there because they've had problems before.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoEbay has no idea why some seller don't ship to Puerto Rico.
You need to find seller that will ship to your country.