eBay

crisis...make-up! · ‎08-17-2020

Hello all,

Last week, I purchased a car stereo that said it would be shipped via USPS Parcel Post. A lengthy shipping method but perfectly fine with me as my town-home complex has a parcel locker and I didn't need this for a certain date.

My stereo was marked as shipped mere hours after paying. Very fast, I thought to myself.

However, it was shipped via FedEx Ground.

Okay, no problem-o. I will just request that it's held for pickup.

Well, I log into my FedEx account and see an error message in red text stating: "Delivery option(s) aren't available due to shipper restrictions. Please contact the shipper."

I send him a screenshot of that message that clearly shows his name and address as well as mine the same day my stereo was shipped and I do not hear from him. 2 days later, I check the tracking and the restriction is still there. I send another message and he responds there are no restrictions on any orders he sends out and blames eBay for a "glitch".

I Tweet FedEx who sends me a direct message (screenshot provided) and I contact the seller again, attach the Tweet screenshot, and ask him, again, to please have the restriction removed because I would hate for the stereo to be delivered to an empty home and possibly get stolen off of my porch.

4 days go by and no response.

Tomorrow is my scheduled delivery although there are no updates on my package since August 12th.
I contact him again (last night), practically begging to have the restriction removed. He tells me there are no restrictions on his account and blames an "eBay printing glitch" again.

I called FedEx for the heck of it and the woman explains to me that package restrictions are not caused by printing errors or shipping labels and basically repeats what was told to me on Twitter.
I send the seller a screenshot of my phone call with FedEx customer service and tell him he needs to call them and have these restrictions removed and if that he had just used USPS Parcel Post, like he advertised in the listing, none of this would be happening because the the USPS mail carrier would put my package safely in the parcel locker at my residence.

I have Tweeted eBay about this but I can only put so many characters in a Tweet until they tell me to send them a direct message.
Can anything be done since this seller didn't ship through the method he advertised and refuses to remove the restriction that will not allow me to have my package held at a FedEx facility, access point, or store?

Thank you.

ed8108 · ‎08-17-2020

You need to be at home to receive delivery or take the risk that this parcel won't be stolen from your porch.

Unfortunately eBay appears not to care if a seller doesn't ship through the method he advertised.

Stay safe & good luck

kensgiftshop · ‎08-17-2020

@crisis...make-up! wrote:

Can anything be done since this seller didn't ship through the method he advertised and refuses to remove the restriction that will not allow me to have my package held at a FedEx facility, access point, or store?

It's not the seller that put restrictions on the shipment, it's the account holder, which is Ebay.

Have a great day.

fab_finds4u · ‎08-17-2020

Changing the carrier or method of shipping is allowed as long as it isn't a downgrade to a slower method. Changing from USPS Economy to FedEx Standard is a faster method and therefore, would be allowed.

salvagedrover · ‎08-17-2020

Here's what i think the seller did:

They printed a FedEx label through eBay.

This is a way to get cheaper shipping than going to a location physically. You literally agree to the charges, print the label after selecting the shipping method, and then just bring the whole thing to a drop-off location. By doing that, you can actually save some money over going into a physical location. I think in my personal opinion, it's to discourage as many physical locations, kind of like automated cashiers versus live ones. The robots cost less, so do less physical store locations, so, they "reward" the sellers with cheaper rates. This is conjecture on my part, but i have used it before and saved quite a few dollars. I prefer FedEX for sure compared to USPS. USPS is not interested in shipping packages anymore, so it charges an exorbitant amount more than FedEx or even UPS and DHL to do the same thing they do for MUCH less. USPS is even getting pretty expensive for letters IMO. Anyway, if you were ok with the shipping amount, and the seller can save a few bucks to try and cover some of their fees, everybody's happy, no?

alcoforever · ‎08-17-2020

No, everybody is not happy. Now OP is facing the risk of a stolen package because FedEx won't deliver the same way USPS would.

I see a big red donut in the seller's future.

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-18-2020

As another poster suggested, unless the seller has their own Fedex account, labels printed through ebay are done on ebay's account so no changes can be made except by the account holder..eBay. For a while buyers were redirecting Fedex packages and then filing item not received claims because there was no delivery confirmation to the payment address so I believe that ebay put a note on their account so that redirections would not be allowed.

I realize that doesn't help your situation but explains why the seller isn't able to change the delivery location.