Wrong shipping method

[laperlalady]

I purchased 2 items within a few days of each other from the same seller. 

Both had USPS priority shipping and shipping was quite expensive. That is not the issue.  I wanted USPS shipping as we have locked boxes in our development for packages. 

Seller ships the first item FedEx. When I get the tracking, I immediately confirmed the listing stated USPS. I contacted the seller to make sure they would ship the second item via USPS. 

No response.

I wound up taking 4 hours off from work the day order #1 was delivered to accept the package. 

Again, I send another message to the seller with no response. 

Seller then ships order #2 via FedEx!

Another message to the seller with no response. 

Now I will have to take more time off when order #2 is due to be delivered. 

NOT happy. 

Order #1 is okay (extremely wrinkled, but I can steam press it.)

My question is…

Is changing the shipping method/carrier allowed?  I specifically chose this seller because they shipped USPS priority. 

Is there a way to report them?

[kraftique]

If you received the items  I do not believe you can do much of anything.   Actually the Seller upgraded to Fed Ex for you from Priority.   Many times I have done the same thing if the cost is close and the item can get to the Customer faster.      But I am a small Seller and do talk to my Buyers.    

You may had a Seller who has other people doing the packing and shipping and overlooks their Customer Service.   

What you can do is ding the seller for Bad Customer Service.    

I understand your frustration.  My kids lived in a Development when they went to College and getting packages a certain way was important.   

Sometimes it is best to first ask questions to the Seller before buying on here.   If you do  not get a response to your question, it is telling they will not respond after the Sale.  

[roccotacodad54]

   I beg to differ FedEx is hardly an upgrade unless getting a filthy, beat up package is considerd an upgrade.

   If I were the buyer I would be very unhappy as the listing seemed to state USPS from what I read.

   I avoid sellers that use FedEx  and will only buy from one unless I really, really want the item and can find it nowhere else.....................

[albertabrightalberta]

@laperlalady 

"Is changing the shipping method/carrier allowed?  I specifically chose this seller because they shipped USPS priority."

If the seller advertises USPS, they must ship by USPS. If they advertise ground advantage, they ARE allowed to upgrade to priority. But if they advertise priority shipping, they are NOT allowed to downgrade to ground advantage. 

Sellers are not supposed to change shipping companies if they didn't offer that company as one of the choices and/or if you didn't choose that company. 

If you are unhappy enough, you can open a NAD (not as described) claim and return the item at the seller's expense. (It's NAD because it wasn't "as advertised or described" since it was shipped differently than listed.)

You can also leave feedback expressing your disappointment and lack of communication.

As for the wrinkled item, that can happen with clothing and I'd think you'd expect to have to press or steam it. But shipping by Fedex, again, this was a no-no.

[bonanza125]

Changing carriers is not allowed and I can understand your frustration in this situation needing to be at work instead of being around to accept a package. You could leave appropriate feedback. If this type of situation continues with other sellers I would say to reach out to the seller to confirm USPS as the carrier before purchase. Now for me personally I rarely see this where they switch.  As far reporting them to Ebay you can submit a report and message Ebay but I highly doubt anything will come of it. 

[christworks]

I don't see anything here that says a seller cannot change carriers. It may be located elsewhere, so @albertabrightalberta  @bonanza125, if you have a link to that rule, can you post it? TYIA

I don't think changing carriers is explicitly prohibited by eBay. Technically buyers pay for the service, not the carrier. From what I can find, eBay describes carrier selection as a "preference."  Whether or not changing carriers is explicitly prohibited, doing it without reaching out to the buyer first is unwise because some buyers do want a certain service for one reason or another.  I get around this by not giving my buyers a choice.

 @laperlalady , I am almost certain that the seller downgraded your service to Ground/Home delivery when they changed carriers. I'm not sure if the FedEx tracking number will tell you that, but if you call them they should be able to tell you. Sellers are not supposed to do that and I think that is where your real complaint is. 

I would open a return based on the item not as described on the grounds that the seller downgraded your service. The seller will need to respond or else you can get eBay involved after 3 business days have passed. The seller may very well send you a label to return the items. You will then have to decide whether you want to do that and just get all of your money back. My guess is you probably don't want to return them as long as the items themselves are fine (side note: wrinkles should be expected when ordering clothing through the mail.)  The seller may be willing to give you a partial refund - like refunding all of your shipping, maybe a little more since you are upset about the carrier being changed without notification. 

The real voice you have is leaving the seller appropriate feedback. You have to decide whether how low you want to go. In my mind even if I give the seller the benefit of the doubt that they thought they were upgrading you, the lack of communication is unacceptable. That is why they deserve a negative in my book. Those are my thoughts. 

[bonanza125]

@christworks 

I don't see anything here that says a seller cannot change carriers. It may be located elsewhere, so if you have a link to that rule, can you post it? TYIA 

It's in the shipping policy.

What is the policy?

Sellers must ship items within the handling time stated in their listing, using the shipping service the buyer selected at checkout. 

[christworks]

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@bonanza125 wrote:

@christworks 

I don't see anything here that says a seller cannot change carriers. It may be located elsewhere, so if you have a link to that rule, can you post it? TYIA 

It's in the shipping policy.

What is the policy?

Sellers must ship items within the handling time stated in their listing, using the shipping service the buyer selected at checkout. 

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@bonanza125  The language used suggests the type of service cannot be changed. It does not specifically say the carrier cannot be changed. 

It seemingly confirmed in the section below that eBay is referring to the service, not the carrier, as they explicitly state sellers must not "use a slower shipping service than the one selected by the buyer." 

So back to my original question: Does eBay explicitly state the carrier cannot be changed? 

I don't believe they do. In fact, when searching for items, eBay highlights services (i.e. Economy, Standard, Expedited), but not the carrier though they could easily put that on the search page with each listing. They also allow sellers to only display the service offered without allowing the buyer to pick a carrier, which is how I do it. So it seems to me changing carriers would not violate a policy, but certainly would leave the seller exposed to an INAD and negative feedback. Changing service types (e.g. USPS Priority Mail to USPS Ground/UPS Ground/FedEx Ground/Home Delivery or any Economy service) would violate policy and expose the seller to receiving a INAD and negative feedback. The latter would be reportable to eBay because it clearly does violate policy, whereas the former is questionable at best IMHO.

[bonanza125]

@christworks 

Shipping service and carrier are interpret the same way. When a buyer selects a service you are required to ship that service. If you state you will ship USPS Ground Advantage and you ship Fed Ex service that is a violation of policy. Now as I stated that doesn't mean Ebay will do something to punish the seller. They will most likely do nothing at this point however the issue you brought up is definitely in play which is an IND case or negative feedback. As sellers we don't want that so we should ship what's stated. Personally I only use USPS Ground Advantage unless a buyer purchases a bunch of stuff which then I select Priority mail. So for me personally I ship how stated.

[pastimpressions]

It is a huge difference for many buyers & helps them to determine which seller to select for a purchase.

Some people have to travel a long way for a particular carrier and/or experience poor community service from the same.

Some people have P.O. boxes or similar USPS drop boxes that will not otherwise be serviced.

And IMHO Fed Ex is hardly a USPS Priority equivalent. USPS GA maybe, not Priority unless they shipped FedEx overnight.

Just my 2 cents.

[participatrophy]

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@bonanza125 wrote: 

Shipping service and carrier are interpret the same way. 

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By who?

[house*of*paws]

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@participatrophy wrote:

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@bonanza125 wrote: 

Shipping service and carrier are interpret the same way. 

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By who?

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When eBay says that a seller is supposed to use the shipping service the buyer selected … it means whatever shipping service in the listing that the buyer selected and paid for.  [Upgrades have traditionally been allowed.  Switching carriers have NOT been.]

In my 20 years of reading and answering posts in the eBay Community … I haven’t seen it argued before that switching carriers was acceptable,  especially without any discussion with the buyer.

@participatrophy 

From where did you find your list of ‘equivalent services’?  It’s definitely useful information, but it really doesn’t address the OP’s question or @bonanza125 comment IMO.

[participatrophy]

https://www.ebay.com/bp/manage 

From there. Create or edit a shipping policy and it's in one of the pop-ups. The "interpreted the same way" comment was (and still is) unclear. Your post is too sorta. eBay seems to draw a pretty straightforward distinction between service vs carrier. Just trying to get clarity on terms, and whether the relevant policies can be taken at face value or need to be interpreted.

[bonanza125]

@participatrophy

Says Ebay and what the customer selected. 

[bonanza125]

"Just trying to get clarity on terms, and whether the relevant policies can be taken at face value or need to be interpreted."

Service is considered exactly what it is what a carrier offers. When a buyer selects a service that is what Ebay holds you to which is in blue "buyer selected." This OP selected USPS "Ground Advantage." The seller shipped "FedEx service." Those are different services.  Now the OP has to wait around for FedEx which is a very inconvenience and not what they selected.  I just know in my area FedEx & UPS comes early and USPS comes later. People are at work during the day or out doing things. They don't have time in the morning/early afternoon. It makes sense for a store front cause the store front is open during the day.