eBay WARNING!

tropicalbob said:

Forgive my ignorance, but who or what is Pitney Bowes?

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Pitney Bowes is a parcel postage company who have apparently decided they have the right to arbitrarily decide what constitutes 'hazardous' material, like leather. [emoji52]

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l0fielectronic said:

How bizzare. Must admit I've avoided using it as much as possible as I had a couple of items I bought 'dissapear' on route early on - I'm not sure how exactly the system works but it seems from the tracking items are sent in lots of short deliveries between these centres as the items traveled all over the US - before not being sent. I did get a refund from PayPal but it took months. Annoying also one item popped up again in the city it 'dissapered' in on eBay once again, though nobody at either company was interested.

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I had a '50s era leather Kriegsmarine coat shipped to me via DHL from Demmark, and it sat in US Customs for a dog's age before they released it (something close to a month) because they were trying to determine if it was legal to sell, ship, or some such BS. I'll probably avoid DHL as well from here on out.

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I hate eBay more and more every time I use it - esp as a seller.

I think ebay should only be used to buy and that is it. way too many risks as a seller.

you're safer selling on here and similar message boards

Americanaaa Mark said:

you're safer selling on here and similar message boards

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I don't disagree but sometimes you need a larger market than message boards provide unfortunately.

The Golbal shipping system is major ripoff. They decide what to charge for shipping, they collect the taxes and import duties up front, for the receiving country, and it takes twice as long to be processed. I refuse to bid on items that are listed as using this system.

B

I recently bought a a miniscule collectable charm weighting less than an ounce and had to pay $34 USD to ship it internationally. The seller told me he had to pay about $2.60 to ship it to Pitney Bowles. He just started using the system and didn't know it was such a ripoff and he now realises it will hurt his international sales if he keeps on using it. If the item wasn't such an exceptional example I would not have bought it.

Americanaaa Mark said:

One of many ebay horror stories. I'm starting to think stuff like this happens because of ebay and wouldn't have if you just dealt with the seller outside it through standard international shipping. I basically avoid ebay like the plague and buy off communities like here. I also try to avoid international shipping in general but if I have to it's a new product from a retailer.

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It's a real pain. I'm not buying anything from the US if I can avoid it these days, with the pound in the toilet the way it is, by the time you add on shipping and tax (they tightened up big time on stuff coming in from the US when the dollar was weak ,around 2008), there's no saving on buying in the UK. Even at that, I'm still avoiding private couriers like the plague. I've had to give in and have a lot of stuff sent to my office simply because it's the only chance I have of the stuff arriving (you know when a courier phones you on the day and tells you we're delivering within an hour" - no use to me, pal: I'm at work.... and I can't take tomorrow off to wait around on the offchance you'll turn up either...). I've actually cancelled and reordered stuff from Amazon before now because it's easier than dealing with the redelivery issues. Where at all possible I buy from sellers that use Royal Mail, but sadly it's inevitably on the path to declined now with privatisation. So frustrating.

Americanaaa Mark said:

I think ebay should only be used to buy and that is it. way too many risks as a seller.

you're safer selling on here and similar message boards

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eBay does give a reasonable level of protection (tho I hear not as good as it used to), but they're getting to the point where they've become greedy, and sometimes I'd rather take the risk on here than give them their gouge. I don't have much faith in their response to complaints nowadays either, given that for all I report counterfeit and mislabelled stuff I see on there, I've yet to see them remove a single auction. I wouldn't be surprised if nobody ever even read my mails. I agree, it's still okay to buy from (though do your research: I've often found new items cheaper elsewhere), but since they shifted their focus from used goods to high volume, low-value unit shifters, it's gone way downhill as a service.

I sent a rare Lewis Leather to Japan and the last tracking update from eBay GSP was that the parcel was damaged and could not be delivered. Later that day the buyer gave me feedback that he was really pleased with the jacket. I got the same message on my incoming McGregor Antifreeze which arrived re-taped- highly suspicious!

Edward said:

I don't have much faith in their response to complaints nowadays either, given that for all I report counterfeit and mislabelled stuff I see on there, I've yet to see them remove a single auction. I wouldn't be surprised if nobody ever even read my mails.

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From personal experience, the only reporting system that is even remotely reliable with eBay is the Vero programme, set up for manufacturers / IP owners to protect their brands and report dodgy listings. One of my responsibilities is to regularly check and report any counterfeit items or listings that infringe the branding or IP of the company I work for. Until I registered us with the Vero programme, it was impossible to even get a response from eBay regarding reported listings. Once I'd jumped through the various hoops required for registration (proof of trade mark registration, patent info etc), I can report a listing and they take it down within 48 hours usually. Even then, they fail to respond occasionally, or they change the registration rules without prior notice and I have to submit the proof of ownership info again. For normal users reporting anything other than explosives or internal organs? Forget it, no one's listening.

Regarding the Global Shipping Programme and Pitney Bowes... I wouldn't send anything via them now, or buy anything that could only be shipped via their services. Their tracking information system isn't fit for purpose in my opinion. I've had items arrive at shipping hubs and then mysteriously disappear. The last time I used them, I managed to find out which hub the parcel dropped off the radar at, found a customer service contact for the hub's main office, made a nuisance of myself, and, as if by magic, it reappeared again - tracking again from the same depot - after 10 days of invisibility and lack of movement. When it arrived, the outer wrapping looked distinctly tampered with, and when I sent the seller shots of it, he confirmed that it had been re-taped. Mysterious.

The basic issues seem to be that, the volume of parcel traffic is so high, and prices (and wages) are so low, there is little or no time, or inclination, to offer what we would like to imagine is a proper service. If tracked stuff goes missing, eBay rarely seems to investigate, they just pay out the seller and buyer, and close the case.

Have the item listed as "coat/clothing" on the lading.

Doctor Wholittle said:

Pitney Bowes is a parcel postage company who have apparently decided they have the right to arbitrarily decide what constitutes 'hazardous' material, like leather. [emoji52]

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Thank you.

Big J said:

Hi guys,

All this talk of Cooper A-2s made me want to try one, so I bought one last week from a guy I've bought several issue G-1s from over the years, and he is always great to deal with. He shipped it via eBay's Global Shipping Program (as he has always done for me in the past) from the US to me here in Japan.

I got a notification from eBay yesterday that the GSP center had received my jacket for shipping.

About 10 hours later I got another eBay notification telling me that the jacket was on the list of 'restricted' items that couldn't be sent abroad, and that it had been destroyed, and that I had been reimbursed via Paypal.

I checked with paypal, and I had indeed already been reimbursed in full.

I checked with the seller, who spent hours on the phone to eBay, who couldn't tell him anything more than he already knew. I feel for him.

eBay contracts out it's global shipping operation to Pitney Bowes (spelling?), and they seem to be a law unto themselves with no accountability.

BE WARNED; never send a jacket via eBay's Global Shipping!

I 'only' lost out on a mint Cooper A-2, but I'd have been p*ssed if they destroyed something rarer.

That is all.

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Ummm...I've sent several? ( and received many?)


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I don't think it's any worse than some other systems -'sh one t' happens! A few years ago I sent a Moulton bike - F frame, to Thailand using one of the big shippers and got email demands for duty from their customs department with threats to ship back the bike back at my cost if I didn't pay. A phone call in the middle of the night to the buyer confirmed he'd paid the charges and picked up the bike before they sent the email. Suspicious or just incompetent?!

Regarding the Global Shipping Programme and Pitney Bowes

As soon as that system became the "norm" , I found post cost ex US to Australia and ex UK to Australia went thru' the roof !

So I learned to ask the seller well in advance for a normal USPS airmail quote ( for Harley parts mostly , some quite bulky and heavy ).

Then some were able to "avoid" Pitney Bowes and some were not. I'm a buyer on eBay , never a seller , so can only speak from a buyers point of view.

I have also had jacket post quotes from individuals exactly 50% of the Global Shipping/AKA ebay listing auto calculator quote !

ebay continues to screw me after years of selling. A buyer made a false claim so he could get his money back for an item I sold and of course ebay automatically accepted the return, not only charging me for the return shipping but also keeping my final value fee since a case had to be opened for a resolution. After stealing $50 from me they notified me my seller rating dropped due to the sale and they will now charge me a higher final value fee until it improves.

You'd think they'd put one and one together and realise that without sellers, selling interesting stuff there would be no EBay! Buyers are essential too- equally. They should support the sellers and the buyers on merit!!

Same with me. I even had emails I sent to eBay where the guy admits to scamming me. No dice. Total BS.
EBAY SUCKS

This thread has been pruned of Conduct Unbecoming, gentlemen. Take it outside.

Thread stays open on the condition of good behaviour.

I've been caught out on eBay before...as buyer & vendor..not to any great extent (thankfully) but enough to sting. Things about it do suck!! I wouldn't be without it though...have had some great buys (including my beloved Vespa..good price too)...didn't manage to sell a thing in FL 'Classifieds' during my recent 'clear-out'..eBay cleared the lot.