Any experience of eBay Global Shipping Programme?

[raidan73]

Wondering if anyone has had any issues similar to me.....

In brief:

1) Bought a bike from eBay.com and the seller used the Global Shipping Programme, run by Pitney Bowes.
2) Paid for the item (Paypal shows payment for bike going to seller and payment for shipping and customs going to Pitney Bowes, which is the norm I believe).
3) Received tracking number for package.
4) Received email from eBay stating full refund issued, email from Paypal stating case had been decided in my favour and full refund into Paypal account.
5) Contacted seller who claimed that the package had been shipped and the refund was not issued from his account. He did not have the bike in his possession and had received a message stating that the package was too large, that I had been refunded and that the matter should be considered closed.

I have exchanged several messages with the seller who claims that the money I paid was never refunded by him and did not leave his Paypal account. He sent me a copy of the message he received from eBay which backed up his claim. I have been in touch with Paypal (who agreed that I had not raised a case and didn't really understand why I had received a message worded that way), then eBay and now back to Paypal again. It seems I am being given the run around here. eBay are saying there usual scripted blurb, "speak to seller and resolve amicably, we can't view Paypal transactions etc". Neither myself or the seller are out of pocket; he has his money and I have been refunded. However I want what I paid for, not a refund.

I know that the package was too large for the Global Shipping Programme so the seller was at fault in that respect but I can't see how Pitney Bowes can just take the item and issue a refund. It seems that they must have quite a bit of power and that eBay will pretty much side with them regardless. As it happens I paid a very good price for the bike and it could easily be sold for a profit. The cynic in me wonders what Pitney Bowes would've done if the item was worth a lot less than I paid. Perhaps if you work for Pitney Bowes you can pick and choose the items going through your system, keep them for yourself, and refund the buyer if the price is right!

Wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience or whether someone knows the finer points of the Global Shipping Programme and could explain further?

 

[lewisfoto]

The Global Shipping Program, although well intended, has been a huge failure. I am late for work right now but I will relate my experience later.

 

[raidan73]

The Global Shipping Program, although well intended, has been a huge failure. I am late for work right now but I will relate my experience later.

Look forward to hearing your comments.

I emailed Pitney Bowes last night and to my surprise I received a prompt reply (considering the time difference). Unfortunately the content of the reply was less than helpful......they suggested I searched ebay for a similar bike from a seller not using the GSP :roll: I have replied to this but expect this to be another (and the final) brick wall

 

[lewisfoto]

OK a little background, I have been selling on Ebay for over ten years and now I handle the Ebay store for my LBS. So my Global Shipping Program saga involves both accounts and multiple buyers.

When Ebay launched the program they sent an email with the details and an offer to join, but since I already offered international shipping I just ignored the email. What i did not know was that Ebay automatically signed me up for the program which affected every listing for both accounts. The first I learned of the situation was when I got an angry email from a buyer in Canada who got a bill from Ebay for customs and import duty. The guy was ready to leave me a negative feedback thinking I was double charging etc. (in all fairness he was difficult to communicate with) Finally we solved the situation by canceling the sale and completing the sale off of ebay.


But this was just the beginning because the next day it happens again, another angry buyer being asked to pay for customs and duty up front. So I access my account settings and discover that indeed I was signed up without my consent AND was blocked from changing my preferences to opt out. Needless to say I was very upset. Finally I discovered that I could opt out by unclicking a box in each and every listing and had to do it every time I made a new listing.

I called customer service and after a half hour of explaining the woman finally figured out (admitted) that she could change my preferences. ugh

This is typical Ebay crap, quite frankly. Every time I turn around there is another policy change which is just making it harder to do business on their site.

Steven

 

[raidan73]

Yep, sounds about right for eBay. Not sure if it's a worldwide change but in the uk we now pay final value fees on the shipping costs too :roll:

I read a few forum pages and many people said that although Pitney Bowes claim to pay the customs duty, packages arrived at there destination with no visible label stating that this was the case, hence the double charge.

I guess the nail in the coffin for me is the fact that the seller shipped something that was too big for the GSP and I'm sure in the small print that means PB can probably do as they please.

 

[FMJ]

Yep, sounds about right for eBay. Not sure if it's a worldwide change but in the uk we now pay final value fees on the shipping costs too :roll:

You can thank all the punters that were selling items for £1 BIN and charging £75 shipping to circumvent ebay's (previous) fee structure.

 

[raidan73]

Yep, sounds about right for eBay. Not sure if it's a worldwide change but in the uk we now pay final value fees on the shipping costs too :roll:

You can thank all the punters that were selling items for £1 BIN and charging £75 shipping to circumvent ebay's (previous) fee structure.

Indeed! They did try limiting shipping costs in particular categories but that obviously didn't work for whatever reason

Back to my original comment; I have read the t's and c's of the GSP (we don't have it over here as sellers so wasn't fully up to speed) and it seems that if an item breaks particular rules (excessive size is one of them) then eBay/PB are fully entitled to do as they please with the item, whether that be to sell, destroy or whatever. I'm hoping that this particular Max OR beauty at least finds a worthy owner at the end of all this........