Help with tracking... restricted item notification

[kemc_7568]

I'm in Australia and just received a tracking notification that an item I purchased from the USA has been "restricted" at the global shipping center in Erlanger Kentucky... The notification merely says "undeliverable item, item restricted" so... what happens now?? The thing is I have purchased 6 other identical items from other USA based sellers in the last week and they were all processed through the Global shipping center at Erlanger Kentucky and shipped off without any problems at all...  So now I do not know how to proceed.... I need a contact email address or something for this place so I can chase this up...

[bigdeals.etc]

Try just chasing the seller of that item first. I haven’t done GSP in ages, but I believe that the facility does not open and inspect all packages that go thru there. Perhaps those previous six items just passed without inspection and the 7th one got caught.

Did you buy all these 7 items from the same seller?

[bigdeals.etc]

There’s actually someone else who just had the same thing happen to them here https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping-Returns/Global-Shiping-Program-quot-Restricted-quot-Item-Issu...

Give that post a read.

[kemc_7568]

The thing is the items are not restricted at all... I received an email from GSC saying the item will no be posted to me now and nor will it be returned to the seller and I was instantly and fully refunded. The seller is opening a case now against the GSC as he believes something dodgy has occurred and his item has actually been stolen.  

[kemc_7568]

Than you, yes it sounds completely dodgy... the piece I purchased was also an antique/vintage collectible and there's no way it could legitimately be deemed "restricted" I firmly believe it was STOLEN by someone at the GSC.

[otow_18]

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@kemc_7568 wrote:

there's no way it could legitimately be deemed "restricted" I firmly believe it was STOLEN by someone at the GSC.

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So the GSC steals the artifact and pays for it, and that sounds doggy to you?

[kemc_7568]

Read it for yourself....

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ebay/comments/1t8pf5/ebay_users_i_just_uncovered_a_huge_scam_theft_ring/

[richard1rst]

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@kemc_7568 wrote:

Than you, yes it sounds completely dodgy... the piece I purchased was also an antique/vintage collectible and there's no way it could legitimately be deemed "restricted" I firmly believe it was STOLEN by someone at the GSC.

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An antique vintage WHAT?

I have seen reports that anything made of wood is restricted, anything that has OR MIGHT HAVE vacume tubes (old style radios). It might not be the actual item but the "ingredients" so to speak.

Interestingly some of the items that I have seen as being restricted I have shipped by regular USPS and not had any problem. So the problem seems to be the GSC center and not Australia.

[pjcdn2005]

This is my take on it....The GSP does restrict certain items although they often seem to err on the side of caution. They may not  have the expertise to know an exact item is restricted but if similar items are restricted, they won't ship it. Then yes they do have a company sell that item but it's my understand that it is sold for the same price that it originally sold for and is only sold to be shipped within the US.  Since they are the ones to refund the buyer and since they likely have to pay a percentage to the company that sells it for the same price, they don't seem to make any money on it so although it may show some incompetence on their part, I don't think that there is any proof that it is a scam.

That article is 6 years old..if it really is a 'major scam and theft ring',  don't you think that someone would have stopped it by now?