International shipping during Corona

[spectrums_studios]

With all the travel/trade restrictions out now due to Corona, have you changed your international shipping policies? If you are still shipping internationally, are you seeing more issues now than you did before? Other than delays, what issues are you running into? What issues are you concerned about? 

Thanks!

[slippinjimmy]

My international shipping has not changed, I'm not seeing much in the way of delays either.

As an example, on March 13th I sent a package to Italy (Palermo on Southern Italy), it was delivered on the 27th, exactly 2 weeks which is maybe a few days faster than usual.

I doubt the same would have happened if it was going northern Italy where the most serious lockdown is happening.

On March 3rd I sent a package to Beijing China, at that time to total shutdown in Wuhan was in place with partial closures in much of China. The package was delivered in about 3 weeks which is also fairly normal.

Certainly there are some countries or local regions where service is spotty or non-existent but for most of the popular destinations mail is still moving and still being delivered.

[sin-n-dex]

---

@spectrums_studios wrote:

With all the travel/trade restrictions out now due to Corona, have you changed your international shipping policies? If you are still shipping internationally, are you seeing more issues now than you did before? Other than delays, what issues are you running into? What issues are you concerned about? 

Thanks!

---

I've stopped all international shipping. Some countries don't have mail. There's a list on Canada Post's website that has some 40 countries that you can't send mail to right now. The list is updated daily, so at any point I can sell something and be unable to ship it a few days later.

Right now just Canada shipping (with Canada Post, so long as that's still functioning), and USA shipping as we are pretty sure USPS will not shut down.

C.

[femmefan1946]

Here;s the Canada Post list:

March 20 -- another 13 countries added

ALBANIA
ARGENTINA
AUSTRIA
BOSNIA/HERZEGOV
BRUNEI
CAYMAN ISLANDS
CHILE
COLOMBIA
CYPRUS
DENMARK
DJIBOUTI
ECUADOR
EGYPT
ESTONIA
FRENCH POLYNESIA
INDIA
KAZAKHSTAN
KUWAIT
LATVIA
LEBANON
LIBYA
LUXEMBOURG
MACEDONIA
MALDIVES
MALTA
MOLDOVA
MYANMAR
NORWAY
PANAMA
PERU
PHILIPPINES
POLAND
RUSSIA
SAUDI ARABIA
SERBIA
SOUTH AFRICA
SPAIN
SURINAME
SWITZERLAND
TUNISIA
TURKEY
UKRAINE

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpc/en/our-company/news-and-media/service-alerts.page

Fedex: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/service-alerts.html

Royal Mail: https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5317/~/international-incident-bulletin

USPS: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/

UPS: could not find a useful link

From.

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Canada-Post-International-suspension-of-service-March-19...

[astrain123]

I cannot get anywhere with Ebay or the post office with this matter, I sent a package to Ireland on the 11th, the ban went into effect the next day, I called Chicago as it was scanned there on the 13th, they informed due to the travel ban of 30 days it was going no where, now ebay keeps saying the postage is moving smoothly and that is a lie and they will not post anywhere that there is an international travel ban and it is effecting shipping anything to  other countries from the u.s. I am quite frustrated, as how can I call the Postal service and they are very aware of the 30 day ban, yet Ebay sent me an email and said there was no ban. SO YES i am having tons of problems, as this customer is being told there is no ban........what is going on!!!!!!!! Get the correct information to your employees and get it posted.

[astrain123]

Spoiler

Hi, how did you ship it, as Chicago informed they are not shipping out of that airport due to the ban, I sent usps international.

[di2360]

I bought a few items with 2 different Sellers in India and paid and there is a message at the top of one of them that saids they are currently away till April 15th..Country Lock down, I paid but they did not ship, I have to wait for the delivery date before I can do any action. But I may receive it maybe by then. People are still bidding and do not know they are shut down.

[pinksakura2000]

When shipping USPS international, the delivery will be made by the arriving country's local postal office. At this moment, according to the Irenland Post Office "Mail deliveries operating as normal" https://www.anpost.com/Coronavirus
So the problem seems to be leaving United States. You mentioned that the package was scanned on the 13th March and it appears that the package is still in the United States. If you already called and the post office told you that it's not leaving anytime soon, would you perhaps have the option of getting the package returning to you and canceling the transaction?

[oldaudionz]

It's been interesting, no doubt.

I have had a buyer demanding to cancel a deal after I made shipping costs clear on the auction ( Yes there has been a significant increase for courier freight) and making the buyer well aware that I will not be able to ship for weeks due to coronavirus lockdown.  Buyer still went ahead an made further offers, and then advised what shipping should be costing in his view. The buyer then insisted that I send the item by post, which I refuse to do for an expensive item as it's not tracked and uninsured and will take weeks or months to be delivered with no comeback.

[pinksakura2000]

Yeah, totally agree! Never send expensive items by post, even if post offers tracking and insurance. The package is entirely out of control after leaving the United States and could be sitting at the arriving country's postal office for over a month before getting delivered. This is enough time for buyer to open a case and for eBay to fully return their money under eBay Buyer Protection.

[femmefan1946]

Sellers keep doing this stupid thing of putting their Stores "On Vacation" but leaving the listings visible. Then customers, who don't quite understand the whole "On Vacation" program order, pay and ....wait.

Sigh.

While I have a low opinion of the common sense of the seller (if you can't ship it, just don't list it, dimwit!) he probably will ship when he returns from "vacation" which may not be a trip, but actually a hospital stay, or a death in the family, or... practically anything that takes him away from his business.

So.

Yes. You can't do anything through eBay about this.

But you are also covered by Paypal' s Buyer Protection which started on Payment.

The PP Resolution Centre is at the top of your PP account page under Tools.

If the seller cannot prove delivery, you win your claim and you will be refunded.

The seller does not get his PP fee back (30c +2.9% of the payment) when he lose a Claim like this.

And sellers who put their Stores "On Vacation" -- hide the darn listings if you can't ship . 

Sheesh.

[femmefan1946]

@astrain123 

I sent a package to Ireland on the 11th, the ban went into effect the next day,

There is no ban on exports or shipments by USPS.

I called Chicago as it was scanned there on the 13th, they informed due to the travel ban of 30 days it was going no where,

Who was "they"?

Was this an official at USPS?

they will not post anywhere that there is an international travel ban

There is no ban on international shipping.

There are restrictions, but not bans on international travel.

There are fewer flights, and much of USPS (and courier) shipping goes on passenger flights which has slowed shipping considerably, since there are fewer international flights.

The Canada Post list posted above does not include Ireland as a country that is blocking imports.  These Blocks have been put in place by the receiving countries not by the sending countries.

I am quite frustrated, as how can I call the Postal service and they are very aware of the 30 day ban, yet Ebay sent me an email and said there was no ban.

Because there is no ban.

Your shipment is traveling more slowly than usual but it is moving.

Tracking shows the last place the shipment was recorded not where it is, and not where it will be tomorrow.

If your customer is not complaining, do not encourage him.

[jmakwakwa2012]

My take on this issue is that, sellers should communicate with buyers especially those buyers for countries with travel bans, lock down, etc to find out any changes to their respective travel bans regulations. South Africa for example has relaxed its ban on incoming cargo from abroad, the country is still on lock down but goods can be received from abroad. So sellers should not apply a blanket approach but rather communicate with your customers to understand what can be done to do business.... 

[astrain123]

The customer is complaining, and what was the 30 day travel ban that the President announces on the 12th.....just wondering......and they is a postal worker at the Chicago terminal, not only there but also called the usps customer service line and they said the same thing, I think there is a disconnect from the actual workers at usps and what EBAY  and others are reporting, it states right on the usps site that with travel bans to certain areas it is causing delays. For some reason I am guessing people do not want to say ban.

[astrain123]

Please do everyone a favor, and do an internet search on EU travel ban put into place on MARCH 12TH BY PRESIDENT TRUMP, Once you read the actual articles or I am guessing you do not watch the news maybe, at that time could you also tell Ebay that the the president issued a 30 day travel ban. THank you, anyone else not hear the travel ban news that was talked about and is still talked about daily??????