Pitney Bowes 0 Tracking Updates Since Purchase

[octavine_0]

Hello!

Sorry for bothering everyone.

An item I bought on EBay the 10th of June has been shipped with economic Pitney Bowes, It is now 15th of June and I haven't had a single tracking update.

It still is under the "Preparing" status, and supposedly not even in transit for one single day.

Does Pitney Bowes even provide tracking? Are they actually this slow? Should I just wait?

Many thanks!

[marnotom!]

I’m a Canadian eBay user and a semi-reformed tracking geek.  I’ve come to the conclusion that we buyers have been victims of hype when it comes to tracking.

Tracking doesn’t guarantee an item’s arrival, it doesn’t make it arrive faster, and it doesn’t protect the item from damage in transit.  It just gives us the illusion that we have more control over the shipping process than we do.

The only reasons to refer to tracking would be if the item hasn't arrived by the estimated delivery date or if you’re trying to coordinate the arrival of the item with some other event.  Based on what you’ve said in your post, I think you’re probably better off making a cup of tea or going for a walk than checking on the tracking of your item.

[stephenmorgan]

Usually "Preparing" status means the seller has purchased the Shipping Label but has not yet taken the item to the shipper yet. Once the shipper receives the item and scans it then the Tracking should be updated.

What is the Item Number of the item you purchased. It will usually state in the listing how long the shipping should take. Purchasing the Shipping Label does not mean it will be shipped that same day.

[soh.maryl]

Believe it or not, I never track tracking.  There was an estimated delivery date in the listing.

If it does not arrive before, on or slightly after that date, you can open an item not received case with eBay.

Please read the MBG so you will know how you, as a buyer, can handle any issues.  

[mudshark61369]

@octavine_0,

Pitney Bowes is not a shipping agency, they only provide second hand tracking information for the shipping service the seller uses. You can find out what shipping service the seller used by going to your purchase history opening the listing in it, then click on the Shipping, Returns & Payments tab.

You are located in Austria,  if your seller is located in a different country the tracking number shown may be for a domestic final delivery service in your country and will not update until the package reaches there, clears customs and is handed over to that service.

Since you are located in Austria you probably joined ebay from their Germany or Austria based site (ebay.de or ebay.at) You might get better answers if you post your issue on that site's community using the link below. If you signed up to use the Austria based site, their community is shared with the Germany based site. 

https://community.ebay.de/t5/Kaufen-bei-eBay/bd-p/KaufenbeieBay

[octavine_0]

Thank you!

First of all. I am located in Spain and not in Austria, I made my account in german EBay for the first time because the first thing I bought was there, sorry!

Secondly, I entered that tab you said and It didn't really say anything important. Just that the item would be shipped with GSP (Global Shipping Program) and that the seller uses International Priority Shipping , but It didn't say what shipping company was being used!

[mudshark61369]

@octavine_0,

The information I posted about what site was your home one, was based on what is shown in your feedback profile page.

"Secondly, I entered that tab you said and It didn't really say anything important. Just that the item would be shipped with GSP (Global Shipping Program) and that the seller uses International Priority Shipping , but It didn't say what shipping company was being used!"

It would have helped if you had included that information in your original post.

First the GSP was replaced by the International Shipping Program (ISP) a couple of years ago.  International Priority shipping is a United States Postal Service USPS, shipping service. 

If your seller is registered in the U.S. 

The item would first be shipped by the seller to one of 2 U.S. ISP hubs, one in California, the other in illinois.  Once there it would wait until enough packages have been received to fill an air cargo container, then be given a new tracking number for the domestic delivery service in your country.

If you did buy from a U.S. based seller, if you post the ebay item number (12 digits long with no hyphens) we can check out the seller's shipping details and look for other information that may help you. The item number should show up in your Order details. 

[octavine_0]

I'm very sorry for not including that information! I didn't know!

And weirdly enough, the seller I bought from is not in the US but rather in the United Kingdom, specifically Warwick.

[marnotom!]

---

@mudshark61369 wrote:

It would have helped if you had included that information in your original post.

First the GSP was replaced by the International Shipping Program (ISP) a couple of years ago.  International Priority shipping is a United States Postal Service USPS, shipping service. 

If your seller is registered in the U.S. 

---

A couple of amendments to that info, if I may, @mudshark61369.  The GSP is still a "thing" in the UK, so the item may very well be being handled through the GSP if the OP purchased an item that was listed on eBay UK.  Secondly, the USPS service is "Priority International."  "International Priority" is the confusingly-named catch-all term Pitney Bowes and/or eBay use to describe the network of carriers, forwarders, and logistics companies that are used to get items from the GSP hub to the buyer.  The actual carriers used will depend on the nature of the item and its destination.

[mudshark61369]

@marnotom!,

Thanks for the info.  One of the issues with members from Europe posting on the U.S. boards is that in many cases there is different postal terminology, and we're not always aware of the differences between this site's wording and that on other ones. 

   I haven't bought from abroad in a few years now, and the few items I've sold to overseas buyers were shipped using USPS Priority International mail.  I don't want my customers paying the extra shipping cost and the sometimes unnecessary customs fees charged by the ISP/GSP, as well as the slower shipping of ebay's Intl. services.