Warning to those buying from eBay and the Global Shipping Program

I guess you relate to those opportunists thinking they have gold in their hands, and expecting the world will scramble towards them to seize the treasure...
Unfortunately Ebay today is full of those ads, and gone are the days of a rather relaxed auction site full of real treasure you had to bid on and play that game.
That to me was fun, buying and selling, a feeling I do not have today. Once I am through selling my stoves and lamps I will close off with a sense of relief.

 

Well, in the instance mentioned above, not good, things are going from bad to worse.

After weeks of waiting there is now an update from Ebay Global Shipping:
"There was an issue whilst your package was in transit. Last location: Erlanger, Kentucky".

Checked if could get any further details and:

1. 3 May 2022
   5:50pm
   Undeliverable - Item restricted at Global Shipping Center
   Erlanger, Kentucky 41025-2501
2. 28 Apr 2022
   5:19pm
   Delay at Global Shipping Center – Item Restricted
   Erlanger, Kentucky 41025-2501

So they've known about this since 28th April. We are talking about a nearly $100 1890s Vesuvius stove. Now what? We will see ...

 

@igh371 the sad thing is also that these old stoves could be destroyed

 

I have had two items from the UK seized by GSP. In both instances I got my payment back. However, the second and recent item later appeared on EBay for sale by another seller offering it through Royal Mail. I refused to bid again. I also will not bid anymore for items using GSP.
Iain

 

Update on my case above.

Today, one day on from the original 'you're not going to receive your purchase' message, there are 2 more emails from Ebay. The first confirms yesterday's message and goes on:
"The item in question has been classified as restricted. This could be due to import/delivery restrictions or eligibility requirements within the Global Shipping Programme. The item will not be sent on to its final destination and will not be returned to you. Don’t worry, we'll send a full refund to your original payment method within 72 hours. You may notice two separate refunds; a refund for the item and a refund for the postage and import costs. No further action is needed".

The second claims to confirm that a full refund has been processed, although "It may take a few days for the refund to appear on your statement". Better not let down active vigilance quite yet then

But as for the "The item will not be sent on to its final destination and will not be returned to you". Where will such a rare and valuable antique item now end up????

 

As I said, I suspect that smart employees use the restriction rules to steal valuable stoves and lamps, as well other items… they perfectly know how things work and legitimately flag as dangerous these items that then go to the dump for destruction (their eBay accounts).

This is something to discuss with eBay, restricted items can’t be exported or travel by air, ok, but they can go by road back to the sender as they did to go to the logistic center. Would be enough to offer a return option to the seller.

I think there are the basis for a class action against the GSP of eBay.

Nicola

 

@igh371 take detailed screenshots of your Vesuvius, unique defects that could identify it without doubts. Including item number, purchase screenshots, seller username. Then we should check for any new Vesuvius on sale in the next weeks and if it appears on sale by another user would be interesting if that person is an employee at the GSP logistic center.

Nicola

 

What a mess. I agree with Nicola, definitely watch carefully for listings in the future.

I just got off the phone with Fedex. They still have most of a shipment for work in their clutches, somewhere between myself here in Oregon, and Tennessee. My day job is commissioned sales, and their failure to deliver on time caused my paycheck last month to have a tremendous adjustment in value. I should get most of that this month(or whichever month it arrives!), but I'm not well pleased.

 

Just out of interest are other groups also having issues with GSP? It might be car parts furniture etc is also disappearing

 

I always think .... metal tank looks suspicious. Add an uneducated seller.
Equals a legitimate concern.
How items are packed, and addressed, are a common problem I am sure plays a big part in this.

 

@snwcmpr

I agree with you, so many lamps and stoves received full of kerosene that arrived completely wet and smelly… fortunately these were mostly national shippings. Sporadic sellers don’t know all the rules about shipping restrictions and good practices when packing.

Said this, I still don’t understand why items that are defined “undeliverable” internationally can’t go back to seller by road, also through an additional and optional shipping payment.

Most of national postal services have some checkbox to chose what to do in case of impossible delivery for any reason: abandon (destroy) or return to sender.

This fault in GSP procedures obviously can be exploited by the malicious employees that can make a fortune just “legitimately” flagging as dangerous good also the box that is well cleaned and packed. If then the blocked goods should go to the dump for destruction, we can’t know if they can be also taken out from the logistic center to go elsewhere. Behind these things is not uncommon to find real organizations that involve more than one person in different positions of the chain.

This happened also to Amazon, in a certainty way, some time ago. The automatic refund to the buyer in case of any mistake made disappear many products from the boxes.

Nicola

 

If it is not "deliverable" ....
How can it be "delivered" to the sender?

 

Not “deliverable” maybe by air, internationally, not exportable. The GSP would be at that point the “exporter”, in fact they collect customs fees in advance. So if they see a possible dangerous item at the X-ray they block it, they don’t take the risk to send a dangerous good, everything is obvious. So, at this point, is the sender that must be smart enough to clean and dismantle then items to send them safely, metal parts should not be blocked. I have been going through some of these situations with DHL Express and, after talking with them, sometimes also a simple box label describing the content could be very helpful.

I am just saying that offering a return option would be nice for the eBay seller and would also avoid the “possible” malicious or fraudulent actions of some people. I say “possible”, I am not saying that is exactly like I imagined. Being impossible, for the seller, to discuss with GSP the situation, the application of the rule could be abused.

Shippings by road don’t have strict regulations like the ones that must go by air.

At least here, in Europe, I can post a stove full of gasoline without problems if going on the road.

Last week I got two lamps that were full of kero. They arrived completely wet… the courier reboxed them probably because the original box was fully wet.

So, in UK and US, where the GSP is in use, I think that they would be “deliverable” if the final address is updated with the sender’s one.

Nicola

 

It is not: the sender/seller stays empty-handed while having to reimburse 100% of the transaction to the buyer. My recent experience I related to is basicly the same. Ebay has created an environment in which the buyer is mollycoddled - at the expense of sellers.

 

This is a misunderstanding: equal conditions apply to any transport, surface or air. The difference is, that with air transport contents are checked intensively to prevent disasters as a result of explosive devices, as has been the political aim and actions by minorities in the past. A wet, smelly box can be refused by couriers any time, with any means of transport. That these are delivered nevertheless is often a practical consideration. Refused items (like what this topic is about) are disposed of, another practical consideration. The theory that there could be an organized scam is not much more than that imo.

 

@Dutchmike

when I order online shipping, from different services, with the box label pdf is included the forbidden items list (IATA regulations) only when the shipping will go by air. I have never received such list of restrictions when shipped by ground.

Obviously I have based my words on my personal experience, but can easily be as you described.

Nicola

 

So you confirm what I am saying. Except what causes the difference is how goods are examined, and with what purpose. But no courier will welcome explosive devices even when delivered by car, isn't it? However, an exploded truck somewhere on a european road will hardly be a worldwide attention grabber as the much more spectacular incidents with aircraft have been. Hence not such a stringent ( read: expensive) control on goods for surface shipment. I have not studied this, but I think the trouble with GPS arises whenever limits are met with airfreight, and/or passing borders.

The step to dump or trash goods that are valuable to some, but are in conflict with set rules the sender could have met, is a very easy one.
To process the out of the ordinary is expensive, and it is far more economical to simply get rid of it. This is - unfortunately - a long established business model in the capitalistic society, and especially now rightfully under heavy critisism. But for now, couriers operate under same business parameters, and are production-motivated at the expense of rendering service. That you think it is possible for certain individuals to abuse this procedure of dumping, is perhaps true but beside the point.
The point is that GSP means inviting a big corporate system that is based on economics and efficiency. and thus scraps anything that falls outside their definition, whatever this might be. This includes being law-abiding and 'politically correct'. And hence my repeated advice never to employ without need any big organisation if you have your own interest (as a seller) in mind, and all needed already available. I feel not sorry in the slightest sense for those who had to discover the initial 'comfort' of having simple things done for you came with a painful price.

 

Hi

I've recently sold some items on the UK site to overseas buyers and this is my experience.

A few have been blocked from export and the buyer has been refunded in lieu of the item. I have since seen the same item with my same listing for sale a few months later. Now ebay is out of pocket and I believe they aution/ sell all banned items to a third party to recoup their lost.

I have since sold 2 used stoves this month and they have all gone past this stage and enroute overseas. The only difference is that I stated in my listing that it had been cleaned or flushed of fuel. I suspect a human is having to decide if the item is safe to send without opening/repacking. Ebay want's to err 100% on the side of caution so If the listing is ambigous about fuel then they will ban it. If the listing states no fuel then it seems to work so far.

Also I sold some NOS/ unused stoves and they also went thru OK

 

The issue of clean, empty - or not - fuel containers shipped is wellknown, but without any definite conclusions: there still is a rather arbitrary factor in handling these shipments. As you seem to have experienced, making a clear statement about the empty tanks etc. do have positive effect. I usually state "no fuel, empty tank", as most of what I ship will be x-rayed. So far I have not experienced any incident.
Mind, I advertise on Brit-Ebay, but ship from the Netherlands.

But how come Ebay being "out of pocket", suffering a loss? Ebay usually will claim every penny on you as a seller. The idea they are becoming a seller of accumulated surplus to recuperate operating costs reads 100% as a private scenario, not as a corporate policy. However, I wish they would, and thus experience first hand what a near unworkable and unfriendly selling platform it has become when auctioning unique items worldwide.

 

Hi
In the case of banned items being confiscated, the buyer was refunded and I was allowed to keep all the money i received. This recently happened in Nov 2023 but also had similar experience a few years ago.

Email below form ebay;


RESTRICTED ITEM

Dear xxx,

We're writing to inform you that your recent transaction sold through the Global Shipping Programme to [yyy] can't be completed.

The item in question has been classified as restricted. This could be due to import/delivery restrictions or eligibility requirements within the Global Shipping Programme. The item will not be sent on to its final destination and will not be returned to you.

Don’t worry! Your buyer will be notified and refunded automatically by eBay within 72 hours. You will retain the buyer’s original payment. At this time, the transaction is considered complete and no further action is needed.