USPS/Ebay purchase troubles

[Inq]

Hi,

I am writing about a nasty experience I am having with an Ebay US purchase:

- on the 3rd of July I bought and paid for a G-shock Riseman in the view of taking it with me on vacation to Greece (12th of July);

- I paid for UPS shipping but on the 4th of July the seller informed me that the package was sent with USPS Express as it was faster and more reliable in shipping to Romania;

- I was ok with it at first but it seems that since then there hasn't been any change on the USPS tracking no:
"Class: Express Mail International®
Status: Electronic Shipping Info Received
The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on July 04, 2011 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later."

- I confrunted the seller, got a refund of 10$ (difference between UPS and USPS shipping) and was reassured that the package has been sent on the 4th and hopefully I will receive it until my departure;

- The seller has over 36000 sales with 97.3% positive feedback, but over the past 2 weeks he received 9 negatives for late shipping or not shipping at all (people complaining they never received anything...)

I was wondering if anyone went through a similar experience and what steps should I take to resolve the matter. At the moment, I am having my doubts I will receive anything at all...

I apologize for the long post and would like to thank you in advance for reading it.

Cheers,
Catalin

[LuvWatches14]

I usually never deal with someone with a feedback % that low no matter how many total sales they have recorded, and the 9 negatives for late or not shipping at all is a red flag for me right there. I know it is hard to keep 100% feedback when you are selling hundreds or more items a month and there are alot of picky ppl on ebay but if you cannot handle the amount of sales being made, leading to late shipping , careless packing etc, then you should know not to do it or only handle the amount of items that you are able to. Did you pay for Insurance on the item?

[AFG08]

The tracking information on the USPS website is seldom up to date. It can often take 2-3 weeks for delivey although express shipping should be faster. I wouldn't give up hope but the slow and expensive shipping from the US with uncertain delivery is why many sellers here do not like to make an international sale.

[Inq]

From previous experience, I think express shipping should take 5-7 working days. Also, when foreign packages arrive in my contry, they show up on the local post service tracking, but nothing until now...

I don't know if the seller paid for insurance as I paid the shipping fees that were listed on the ebay ad. Actually I paid the extra for UPS, only to receive USPS Express.

Thanks for the insight, considering filing a claim on Monday if nothing changes.

Catalin

[enkidu]

I'll second that, USPS Express International tracking is notoriously bad and rarely updated. It is probably still in transit.

[cap10amazing]

I'll second that, USPS Express International tracking is notoriously bad and rarely updated. It is probably still in transit.

+1 I have seen packages DELIVERED to the person and the tracking still says in transit.

[Monocrom]

eBay is fine for certain things, in fact many things; watches aren't one of them.

Since the start of this year the U.S. Post Office has been taken over by thieves and morons. Never have anything of value shipped by USPS.

And finally, an excellent feedback rating doesn't mean $#!%. Other WUS members have complained of getting cheated by eBay sellers with over 95% approval ratings.

[drt]

There are a few problems here.

He's probably right that the postal service is better than UPS (in my opinion). The problem is that the message you see in the tracking system indicates he printed a shipping label, but the package has NOT been scanned into the system. In other words, it's NOT in transit, it's still "yet to be received."

They may be bad at updates in international mail, but they're pretty good at initial scans.

Did he go to a counter, or just use a mailbox? It could be that USPS didn't scan the package into their system, or lost it before they did - IF it wasn't mailed at a post office counter. But I'd say it's much more likely the watch hasn't been shipped at all. (July 4 is a US holiday and post office counters are closed.)

eBay has rules about how long a seller has to ship something. I don't remember what they are, but I think technically he's not "late" yet. But since he said he shipped it, something's definitely very wrong, and the feedback means it's almost certainly the seller that's the problem.

Sorry.

[hans caravan]

eBay is fine for certain things, in fact many things; watches aren't one of them.

Since the start of this year the U.S. Post Office has been taken over by thieves and morons. Never have anything of value shipped by USPS.

And finally, an excellent feedback rating doesn't mean $#!%. Other WUS members have complained of getting cheated by eBay sellers with over 95% approval ratings.

This is terrible advise. eBay has tons of legit sellers who have over 99% positive rating. Do your homework and you'll be fine. I for one have bought every single watch in my collection from that site and have never been burned. Most at a significant discount to a chain store or an AD's prices.

[Monocrom]

This is terrible advise. eBay has tons of legit sellers who have over 99% positive rating. Do your homework and you'll be fine. I for one have bought every single watch in my collection from that site and have never been burned. Most at a significant discount to a chain store or an AD's prices.

You'll find many other WUS members who'll agree with me. You've been very fortunate not to encounter an issue.