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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

I started using Ebay International Standard Delivery (not GSP) right after it became an option. It was slightly cheaper than International First Class Package rates and offered insurance up to $100 on shipments.

 

Over that time I've had maybe a dozen packages get over-charged. Apparently anything within a 1/2 ounce of a billing threshold (ie 7.5 ounces) has the possibility of being marked heavier and being billed and the next highest rate. This usually results in an extra $7-10 shipping charge. What I can't figure out is if the shipping center is repacking these items before weighing or whether their scales are just off. Does anyone have any ideas about this?

 

The other issue I've had just happened today. An item I shipped two weeks ago just arrived back at my house. It was processed by the shipping center, an international shipping label was attached to the package, and it used my address as the delivery address. There was nothing indicating there was a problem with the buyer's address.  I can't figure out how this is even possible. 

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

Your second issue happened to me today.  Ebay's shipping center sent back the buyer's package destined for Canada.  The return label was generated by the shipping center in Kentucky, and there are no stamps or marks by USPS, customs, etc.  I called Ebay and they were no help.  They said I need to call customs and figure out.  How the heck does this resolve things for my buyer?  They paid a lot for shipping, which is unfair.

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

Are you entering the package dimensions on the listing?   I don’t know if the calculator figures out the dimensional shipping rate but they do take that into account  when the packages reaches the processing center.  The divisor is 166 so if I am figuring it out right, even a small package might be affected.  

They do send packages back to the seller if there is a big discrepancy in the weight or dimensions given or if the package is oversized.  I’ve also heard of a few cases of when they send a package back because they won’t ship that item to that particular country but if that were the case, you and your buyer should have been notified.

 

Disclaimer - I don’t use international standard as I’m in Canada but most of the above info is on the help pages.

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

     Ebay International Standard delivery is costing me money by claiming parcels as undeliverable because various vague reasons. These are the same items I have been shipping Internationally for years with no problems.  Most items that are the exact same thing go through okay. Go figure.

 

  You can't contact Ebay International Shipping about a problem. They tell you in an email to contact Ebay help because they don't answer any concerns. When you try to get regular Ebay help with this problem, they don't have a clue as to what you are talking about. 

 

  So, in the past month, I have lost a couple hundred dollars in sales because of this. Parcels don't even go through an International service. They are sent back from the processing center in the USA

 

All I can assume is that there are employees at Ebay International shipping that don't know what they are doing and I can't do anything about it except stop using their service.

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

Your second issue is exactly why I came to this forum to see if others are having the problems I have had.

I used to use Global with not one problem. Then I switched to USPS international since it was less money for the buyer. Worked great. When Ebay International became available recently I started using them.  Yikes. Problems in the last couple months tho.

 

Package to Israel said "attempted delivery". Buyer said he didn't receive it. Ebay sided with buyer so I refunded and somehow mysteriously the tracking info all went away and I have no idea where the item went.

 

Package sent to Canada said "attempted delivery". Now it is supposedly on it's way back to me again and I am sure I will have to refund buyer.

 

Package sent to Canada "prohibited item" and package is coming back to me so I refunded buyer. The item was a sterling silver ring so how can that be prohibited.

 

Something is not right so I will go back to USPS or global.

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

Yes, dimensions and weight were plugged into the label.  In fact, the label won't print if the dimensions and weight differ from the listing.  In this case, there were no postal marks, nothing.  A clean package except for a new return label from the Ebay international mail hub on the U.S. side.  Seems it never even got to Canada based on the tracking info.

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

I sent a package to Canada and it went to New Zealand for almost a month! My buyer filed a did not receive claim and then escalated it to get his money back (under my guidance). eBay gave his money back but took it from my account! I repeatedly told them I used International Standard Delivery and sellers are supposed to be protected when a package is lost or damaged (they didn't even know what ISD is)

During all this.. tracking showed the package had found it's way back to Canada. Finally the package was delivered to my buyer and eBay still will not return my money to me! They told me I had to collect the money from my buyer. I don't want to do that because the package arrived very late... just doesn't seem fair to me.

Bottom line... eBay will not honor their own policy regarding protecting sellers against shipping issues.

I have had several packaged lost and each time I had to fight to get my money back. This program is a failure and a scam !

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

Regarding the issue of prohibited items getting returned, my original issue was due to coins specifically made for a board game getting flagged as counterfeit coins. It seems to go against the spirit of the restrictions to prohibit what are essentially game tokens but I'm getting the sense that the shipping center isn't functioning at a high level.

 

I just got my second notice today about a restricted item -- it was for a bundle of board game expansion card decks goin to the UK. The only thing I can think of is that I may have reused a shipping box with "Arkham Horror" printed on the outside and that ran afoul of the UK restriction on Horror Comics (which is it's own dumb thing). This sort of seems like a stretch but I'm stating to thing the most obvious dumb reason is probably the right one in these situations.

 

Regarding the increase in weight that seems to happen sometimes at the shipping center, I did read in their terms that they reserve the right to repackage items that they deem to be unsuitably packaged. I don't see how that would have applied to the many cases in which I was overcharged but it's impossible to know what guidelines the shipping center is using.

 

I've adopted two practices to try to minimize this happening. First, I try to keep packages at least an ounce (more for heavier items) under the rate threshold to compensate for any wonky scales that  the shipping center might be using. Second, I started requesting postal receipts for the packages so that I have a record of the package weight on a postal scale. i haven't had any issues come up yet but when it does I want to see what happens when I have proof of weight. 

 

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

The issue with tracking information disappearing is a real problem. It seems to happen a lot. I've had items completely stop tracking once the package reached customs. I've had delivered items not show the delivery. I've had items with weeks of domestic and international tracking just erase all the previous tracking up to that point.

 

I've found that the ParcelsApp website almost always provides more thorough tracking for the Ebay International Standard Delivery shipments than Ebay does. I get the sense that the shipping partners' systems are not very well integrated into Ebay's website.

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

Just came upon this thread after dealing with a mysterious ... issue. I sell bumper stickers & bumper magnets, mostly.

 

In the past 2 weeks, I received 2 of my own little padded envelopes sent back to me! No explanation, no emails, no tracking, no way to even hunt down who the buyer even was. Wasn't contacted by the buyer about it, either. But here's the real kicker: inside was still my packing slip - dated September 2020. Yes. It's been "in the air" for 6 months before landing back in my hands.

 

Peeling back the top label layer, I found a local delivery label (for the destination country) piled atop my original label and a few others, then a "return to sender" atop that, and finally a USPS label atop that one as well.

 

Somewhere, the chain of communication seems to be broken between me <-> courier <-> customer. I have no idea why this ended up back in my hands, and if I punch in the "ESUS..." tracking number in various services, it comes up completely blank - so I have no way to know why it was returned or anything, since I also haven't got any emails on the matter.

 

I was hoping eBay's new delivery service would make international shipping less of a headache, not more than the nightmare it already was!

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

I'm having the same issue! I have had at least six international orders sent back to me for no good reason.

 

I've had to send a refund each time. I called eBay and they have no clue. This issue has lost me quite a bit of revenue over the past 6 weeks. It has caused unhappy customers and it's even losing money for eBay.

 

Why can't they get their "technical" issues figured out?  Then they wonder why they are losing sellers and customers. A huge site like eBay should be able to hire someone who knows what is going on.

 

I'm considering removing international sales until they figure this out. 

 

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

We've had 4 packages returned that were supposed to go to Canada saying they were restricted items.  None of them had shipping labels on them to show that they were ever shipped there.  Just our label to Erlanger, KY and a label from Erlanger back to us.

 

We sell boat parts and have had a prop, a stereo, 2 oil seals and 2 o-rings returned.  These are not restricted items.  

 

I added other shipping options to Canada to all of our listings, but after reading this post I am thinking we just to do remove Ebay Int'l Std Delivery all together.

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

Same thing happened to me a 3 times a few months ago and I reported it to ebay. I told them this is the resaon I will not be using Ebay International. I went ahead and shipped the good old fashioned way and the customers received their items, late, but with no hassle. 

Not using Ebay International NOR referring it!!

PS: My items were costume jewelry and gold filled, again with the same "prohibited....." reason as listed in the post.

my-ricky
Message 13 of 43
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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

Distribution centers don`t repack, they just place a new label over seller`s label. Some packages, sent by ebay international get back because there are many restrictions on what can be sent (I think because DHL, which is the main logistic part, has stricter rules). USPS has no issues with the same items using their international partners (mostly national/government postal services) though.

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Problems with Ebay International Standard Delivery

I was researching the use of ebay standard international delivery. Ha, what a joke. Every time I shipped an item for $11.00 I'd get an additonal charge for anywhere from $13 to $20 dollars. No idea why. Now I see there are other problems with using ebay standard international delivery. I'm guessing it is just one more way for ebay to screw the sellers with hidden charges. Hope lots of sellers realize this asap.

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