Hey Sellers, If you advertise a certain carrier then USE that carrier for your customer!

[built2game9594]

I have been a seller (years ago) and a buyer  using Ebay for 16 years. I am sick of sellers getting away with advertising ONLY one particular seller on their item listing, then after the sale, they switch to a different shipping carrier on their customer. I live in a rural part of Arizona. I call it the arm pit of Arizona. I'm in the Mohave desert. I DO NOT get USPS deliveries to my home address. I instead have a PO Box that is 40 miles away round trip to get my mail. Sellers switching carriers without prior notice is a PITA and big hassle for me.

Many Ebay sellers, for whatever reasons, state in their item advertisements, that they DO NOT ship to PO Boxes.

So I am happy when a seller advertises, (and lists no other options) they only use UPS or Fed Express because those carriers DO ship to my doorstep here in the desert.

Well, This is the 2nd time this month that I purchased an item from a seller that explicitly stated (No other options listed) that my purchase would be sent by UPS or Fed Ex, only for them to switch to USPS AFTER the sale making my purchase undeliverable and risking loss of the item.

I have tried to send them messages via Ebay and called them at their listed "customer service" phone numbers if one is even listed, only to be ignored and have to track my item until USPS says that it is "Non Deliverable"..then I have to request a refund and wait while my customer/computer/car washing machine, wahtever is left without repair.

I don't know how other people are, but when I used to list my items, my customer would get what they bid/brought as described and they would ALWAYS get their purchase delivered by the carrier that I listed on my item sales  page in the stated shipping/handling window.

WTH is Ebay allowing sellers to screw their customers and inconvenience them with this type of bait and switch? I will NEVER buy another item from the 2 sellers who have made, what should have been a no fuss no muss sale into a frantic episode and having to call my customer to inconvenience THEM while to trying to correct a screw up  (Seller Being a Chesapskate) that is on the seller. Fire away, I await any comments.

[house*of*paws]

Hi @built2game9594 

I'm very sorry for your inconvenience.  I don't think it happens too often that a seller deviates from the shipping company they have shown in their listing.  I don't recall it happening to me in 18 years.  [I wonder if it had something to do with the news of a possible UPS strike recently.]

I'm not sure why you think that eBay is "allowing sellers to screw their customers and inconvenience them with this type of bait and switch?"   How could eBay possibly know that a seller has switched carriers?  Did you report the sellers to eBay that switched carriers?  You can report the sellers from here:

https://www.ebay.com/help/action?topicid=4022

[yuzuha]

They may be using UPS SurePost or FedEx SmartPost. Both of those are in fact UPS/FedEx services, but the last-leg delivery of those is done via USPS to make it cheaper.

[built2game9594]

Hi, there thanks for your comment, but no I was sent an actual USPS tracking number. That is who the seller handed it off to and I have notification from USPS after clicking the "track this package" link.

[built2game9594]

Hi, thanks for your comment. the reason I put this on Ebay by saying  they are "allowing sellers to screw their customers and inconvenience them with this type of bait and switch?"  is because Ebay runs the show. They dictate seller and buyers terms and best practices. I have indeed given my feedback to 2-3 different CS reps and I have asked them to please push my issue up the chain of command.  How could eBay possibly know that a seller has switched carriers?  They don't, but in my case they do know now. When a seller says one thing but they do something other then what they stated, that's not how a customer should be treated. This issue may not be a big deal to others that are not effected by this particular, but it is a big deal to me because now my customer/s have to wait for a longer then expected turn around time for their project to be completed.

[house*of*paws]

@built2game9594 

Nobody is going to care about this more than you.

If I had this problem, from now on I’d be contacting each seller individually prior to purchasing an item … making sure the item won’t end up at a post office.

I wouldn’t rely on eBay ever being capable of monitoring the shipping destinations of 4.4 million daily transactions … something it never promised to do in the first place. 

[house*of*paws]

Just wanted to mention again that a risk of a strike by UPS workers was only diverted 4 days ago... and I'm sure many sellers made last-minute changes in shippers to avoid their items being stacked up in some UPS warehouse.

[built2game9594]

I made the purchase last night. I was aware of the pending strike but that was of no consequence in my case as it was resolved weeks ago. If the seller was worried about any pending service interruptions by UPS the listing should have been made to reflect those concerns. It is their responsibility to do so don't you think?

I also want to retract my comment about this being on Ebay. It is not and I was in error to say so. Each seller is responsible for updated and accurate information in their listings including shipping, so it is definitely up to the seller for accuracy and to notify their customer of any changes before funds are exchanged.

However, I have tried to emphasize to Ebay CS reps, that the company should inform the seller/s of "listing not accurate" or such when they get a less then favorable review. The puzzling part of all this is that I purchased the exact same item on August 7 from this same seller. They listed UPS as shipping carrier. I gave my same address. I received a UPS tracking number and it arrived on time with no fuss. Why the change? I don't know. Someone else running the store on weekends? Who knows. This issue is important to me yes, but any other customer who may unfortunately be in the same boat.  It shouldn't make me/us any less valuable as an Ebay store customer.

[built2game9594]

BTW, Thank you for your responses and feedback. I do appreciate it. Best Regards.