Seller Misrepresented Location

[kate_lily]

Seller's location is listed as Canada, and item listed is in CAD, so I ended up losing a good deal of money from the exchange rate (CAD to USD) and international shipping charges, plus the international transaction fee on my credit card, only to see upon arrival that the item was shipped from Buffalo, NY.

Googled the store name and they are in fact in the US, not Canada.

Is this allowed on ebay? Is there anything I can do to recoup the exchange rate and international shipping charges? 

TYIA

[kate_lily]

Things just got more odd... I went back and looked at the tracking. It's a USPS label, and ebay tracking shows the label was created in Cleveland, OH and accepted for shipment in Cleveland. 

[wastingtime101]

Are you certain the seller isn't located in Canada but using a cross-border courier so they can ship packages USPS?

There's a regular on this board @sin-n-dex located in Canada that uses this method. Maybe she can help shed some light for you @kate_lily.

[714ricki]

There are quite a few sellers from Canada who have the items sitting on the Canadian side of the border & then they drive their items to their store's warehouse on the USA side for USA customers to ship using one of the normal couriers. Their shipping charge probably includes the transportation from the Canada location to the USA shipping point. Without knowing the exact logisitics plan from the seller & as long as the seller was up front with the charges in the listing, then everything appears to be OK & reasonable! I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Regarding the currency, their account was probably opened up on the ebay.Canada side of the platform & their listings show payment required in CAD. Nothing abnormal there!

Hang in there!

[kate_lily]

Then how do you explain the USPS label being created in Cleveland and the item acceptance in Cleveland? 

[pickermall]

They probably have a warehouse in Cleveland (Ohio technically borders Canada)... I had a similar experience in that I purchased brake pads from a seller in New York, but the parts came from Canada! It was free shipping and I got the brake pads in a very timely manner, but I DO look for domestic sellers so there is no delay.

[breanri35]

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@kate_lily wrote:

Then how do you explain the USPS label being created in Cleveland and the item acceptance in Cleveland? 

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They walked it over the border?

[pickermall]

Or swam? LOL! Ohio and Canada are divided by Lake Erie! But it's not uncommon for companies to have warehouses outside their home contry. Just look at all those Chinese dropshippers!

[sin-n-dex]

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@kate_lily wrote:

Seller's location is listed as Canada, and item listed is in CAD, so I ended up losing a good deal of money from the exchange rate (CAD to USD) and international shipping charges, plus the international transaction fee on my credit card, only to see upon arrival that the item was shipped from Buffalo, NY.

Googled the store name and they are in fact in the US, not Canada.

Is this allowed on ebay? Is there anything I can do to recoup the exchange rate and international shipping charges? 

TYIA

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First of all, they listed in Canadian dollars. So you knew right away that you would have to pay the exchange rate. Secondly, if you paid an international fee, they were obviously not in the United States, or you wouldn't have paid any international fees, just the exchange rate.

Many Canadian sellers have a PO Box or shipping service in the United States they use to be able to ship things at a more reasonable price. You should not be complaining about this... or be willing to pay $20 in shipping on some dinky little package from Canada.

C.

[kate_lily]

You missed the fact that I googled the store, as I already stated.

1. Their website shows their address and phone number in NY.

2. On Google Street View, you can see their physical brick n mortar store in NY.  It's not "a PO Box or shipping service." The store name sign is on the building.

3. They used USPS, not Canada Post.

4. The shipping label has their NY address.

It seems odd that their listing is in CAD, and that they charged international shipping when the item shipped from the US via USPS. 

[wastingtime101]

Some sellers list on both .ca and .com - the listing you purchased was probably listed on .ca (even if you found it on .com) which is why the price was in CAD and there were international fees. There's a chance the seller has the same item listed on .com in USD.

It's difficult to help you figure out exactly what happened when we can't see the listing in question, so unless you're willing to post the item number all we can do is make some educated guesses.

Either way, short of returning the item because you changed your mind (if the seller accepts returns), there is nothing you can do to recoup any funds. You agreed to all the charges upfront when you made the purchase.

[monica-sells]

for today's worthless fact:

Clevalnd is only a 35 mile boat trip from Canada....

[reallynicestamps]

Like many Canadian sellers, I double the number of listings I get with my Store subscription by listing on both dotCOM and dotCA.

I have to list on each site in the national currency and also ship to that country , but I can ship anywhere else in the world I want to.

There are two freight forwarders in Canada who are often used and highly recommended to sellers near the border. ChitChat and Stallion both accept shipments at their offices in Canada and drive them over the border to take advantage of your extremely low tracked shipping rates. (The lowest Tracked USA Packet offered by Canada Post is $12.56 and only carries 250 grams/~8 oz.)

[kate_lily]

Ah, didn't know there are multiple versions of ebay. I researched the heck out of that item for days before buying, and it only had one listing (whichever site .com or .ca)

What I'm not happy about is paying $20+ for "international" shipping for a used collectible item that was already in the US.

The label shows 1 oz. at $3.73. To me, it seems like a money-grab... charge $20 for international but only pay $3.73 to ship. 

That, in combination with the seller misrepresenting the item as mint condition, when the item I received is considerably damaged and different than the photos.

BTW... previously didn't know ebay charges an exchange rate on purchases. Now I know, learned the hard way. 

[12345jamesstamps]

Actually your one USA dollar is worth $1.17 in Canada. I assume you paid in USA.

And shipping from Canada to USA with tracking cost quite a bit. Really quite a bit.

You probably got a deal with the shipping cause Canadian shipping is way more than USA.

Not sure if there is an International transaction fee on your credit card.

Might be a sales tax because of item from N.Y.