Shipment delay due to Canada strike

[isrpala65]

So I sent a package out to customer in Canada early November. It was supposed to arrive by Thanksgiving. It didn’t and customer put in a refund request because package hadn’t arrived. Upon checking I learned that the Canadian Post Office is on strike. I called USPS and they said they are no longer accepting, processing or delivering packages to Canada. They also said they can’t track eBay shipments because their tracking numbers are unique (that’s another issue).

I explained this to the customer and their reply was send another package via a different shipping company. My question is if I send another product via alternative shipping companies can I charge the customer for the new product if they don’t return the original when it arrives? They already paid for product A and is in limbo because of strike and will eventually be delivered. If l send product B which is costing me money, can I charge for product B if product A isn’t returned? If so how? Customer will receive two products with only one charge. I’m trying to figure out how to go about this. Any help is greatly appreciated? 

[dbfolks166mt]

     You are protected from the INR claim but you need to respond to the claim within the required time and upload the tracking information that shows the item is stuck with Canada Post due to the strike. 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Canada-Post-Strike-Update/ba-p/34781531 

     As for shipping another one you are correct at some point the strike will end and the customer will receive their package. To the best of my knowledge, and the notification I received on Pirate Ship, the only courier delivering to Canada at the moment in UPS. However, you cannot force the buyer to pay for the additional one. 

[dhbookds]

I would NOT mail a 2nd item...........simply explain that no one can do anything about the strike, but the item will arrive eventually.........  If they threaten, tell them to call ebay........   Assuming you uploaded tracking within your handling time, ebay should protect you, according to the posts linked above........

[robbie31415]

"You are protected from the INR claim".

Maybe I'm misunderstanding.

Seems they would lose an INR claim.

The protection is only for the hits to the metrics that are due to it.

For the OP the only thing I'd do right now is offer them to buy another one and send it via eBay international shipping ONLY. Not eBay international standard delivery.

You most likely take a financial hit on the first one.

[12345jamesstamps]

'early November'...this account opened November 26th 2024...

Strike did not happen in early November...mail was still going out.

I see nothing sold on this account.

Has to be more to the story here.

[dbfolks166mt]

"You are protected from the INR claim".

Maybe I'm misunderstanding.

Seems they would lose an INR claim.

The protection is only for the hits to the metrics that are due to it.

For the OP the only thing I'd do right now is offer them to buy another one and send it via eBay international shipping ONLY. Not eBay international standard delivery.

UPS is also still delivering to Canada. 

You most likely take a financial hit on the first one.

     Maybe I am the one that is misunderstanding but the following is from the announcement. 

"If you have already shipped or are shipping directly to Canada, you are protected from late delivery claims as long as you meet your stated handling times. "

[femmefan1946]

UPS and DHL have huge backlogs at the moment. I have seen nothing about FedEx refusing shipments to us in Canada, and we received a FedEx package the other day from Australia.

[robbie31415]

In the updated one it mainly focuses on the seller performance.

So does that mean eBay is paying any INR that was handled on time?

Or refusing INRs to buyers ?

I get eBay protecting the metrics. But I'm curious about the financial aspect.

I get other carriers deliver still.

However, EIS is the only one once it's delivered to Illinois, money is safe, no worries.

All others still risk, and UPS might be slammed due to increased traffic.

[janet9988]

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@isrpala65 wrote:

So I sent a package out to customer in Canada early November. It was supposed to arrive by Thanksgiving. It didn’t and customer put in a refund request because package hadn’t arrived. Upon checking I learned that the Canadian Post Office is on strike. I called USPS and they said they are no longer accepting, processing or delivering packages to Canada. They also said they can’t track eBay shipments because their tracking numbers are unique (that’s another issue).

I explained this to the customer and their reply was send another package via a different shipping company. My question is if I send another product via alternative shipping companies can I charge the customer for the new product if they don’t return the original when it arrives? They already paid for product A and is in limbo because of strike and will eventually be delivered. If l send product B which is costing me money, can I charge for product B if product A isn’t returned? If so how? Customer will receive two products with only one charge. I’m trying to figure out how to go about this. Any help is greatly appreciated? 

---

No.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Ebay warned sellers of the impending strike. If you do not keep track of Ebay announcements, you take the risk of losses.

[dbfolks166mt]

'early November'...this account opened November 26th 2024...

Strike did not happen in early November...mail was still going out.

I see nothing sold on this account.

Has to be more to the story here.

     Quite possibly a posting ID, lots of sellers use them. Postal strike started 15 November well before the OP's package scheduled arrival date. 

[dbfolks166mt]

UPS and DHL have huge backlogs at the moment. I have seen nothing about FedEx refusing shipments to us in Canada, and we received a FedEx package the other day from Australia.

     Not surprising regarding the UPS and DHL backlogs. I would also suspect that USPS had a growing amount of items being held somewhere that are destined for Canada. 

[dbfolks166mt]

In the updated one it mainly focuses on the seller performance. Agreed but they also cover the logistical aspect of it. 

So does that mean eBay is paying any INR that was handled on time? Unsure but I would suspect not. This is analogous to the massive logistical issues during the holiday season of 2020 when COVID basically shutdown all courier services. USPS was renting semi trailers to store mail and packages in while they tried to work through all the logistical nightmares. Packages were being sent in November/December and were not arriving, in some cases, until February and March of the next year. 

Or refusing INRs to buyers ? Obviously buyers can still open INR's as indicated by OP's post. I am not sure if Canadian sellers are seeing an increase in INR's as a result of the strike but I remember the huge surge during the COVID period. 

I get eBay protecting the metrics. But I'm curious about the financial aspect. I don't have a definite answer with regards to the financial piece but maybe some Canadian buyers or sellers can provide some insight. 

I get other carriers deliver still.

However, EIS is the only one once it's delivered to Illinois, money is safe, no worries. For the seller you would be correct. It would be interesting to know how EIS is handling the issue when it comes to INR's. I doubt they are simply rubber stamping INR's and fully refunding the buyer and while they may simply be using UPS or some other carrier that is delivering to Canada as femmefan1946 noted those carriers are experiencing significant backlogs and I would suspect customs is dealing with some issues as well trying to handle all the packages and mail that they have no way to forward. 

All others still risk, and UPS might be slammed due to increased traffic.

[dbfolks166mt]

Ebay warned sellers of the impending strike. If you do not keep track of Ebay announcements, you take the risk of losses.

     EBay could have also modified their software to prohibit sales where the shipment was to Canada much the same way they did with the Russian Federation when the sanctions were imposed. That would have at least covered post strike sales. A warning is just that a warning it is not a definite that the event will happen. 

     EBay probably did little in the face of the pending strike simply because it would be detrimental to their bottom line. Canada is one of the top 10 when it comes to ecommerce buying and selling and eBay was probably not all that keen on loosing that market share. 

[dhbookds]

 EBay probably did little in the face of the pending strike simply because it would be detrimental to their bottom line. Canada is one of the top 10 when it comes to ecommerce buying and selling and eBay was probably not all that keen on loosing that market share. 

I don't disagree with the thought..........but what action would you have taken since the strike wasn't assured until it actually happened?    Sellers/buyers would have screamed if sales were cut off and then the strike didn't happen......Big difference between government sanctions because of an ongoing war and a civil strike that may or may not happen...........and that could be settled in hrs/days.......