Anyone ever have problems (eBay) ordering from Haverhill, Suffolk in England?

[Condottiere]

Bought a lot of 15 Eeza Uzegod's regiment, from an eBay seller, with great positive feedback score on May 12 and it was shipped on the 13th - the seller left positive feedback. Last week, I messaged him, around the 5 week point, saying that I haven't received the package. His response has been for me to wait, as it might still show up, after getting back to him about my local post office never getting the shipment. I asked him if he could provide me with a tracking or customs form number, but since I chose Royal Mail International Standard (Small Packets) for £7.40 instead of Royal Mail International Signed for £11.60, was told there's no tracking, but never mentioned a custom's form number - does Royal Mail provide customs form #s to senders on a stub/receipt, like USPS?

My local post office is very reliable and once delivered a package where the address wasn't written in the correct order by an overseas seller. Have been receiving packages from the UK, valued between £10-£300+, for over 10 years without a problem and while something could go wrong, unless required by the seller/store, never felt the need to purchase recorded delivery and it's not as if it'll dissuade thieves. I'm under the impression that the package never left the British Isles, can't prove it and the seller hasn't gotten back to me about enquiring at his post office branch. It'll be 6 weeks this Thursday, and while eBay Buyer protection is still in effect, since the I opened a case and will remain so til May 15, Paypal protection will expire Sunday the 27th. With shipping, the purchase is over $60.00, really want these figures, and I don't want to write it off.         

[FramFramson]

I haven't had any experience with that particular location, but after six weeks? Forget it. I'm in Canada and I usually get everything from the UK in about a week. Best to just file the dispute and have PayPal return the funds. No sense getting burned.

[Condottiere]

I haven't had any experience with that particular location, but after six weeks? Forget it. I'm in Canada and I usually get everything from the UK in about a week. Best to just file the dispute and have PayPal return the funds. No sense getting burned.

Normally, eBay purchases from Canada to Massachusetts take about two or three weeks, but a recent order a week and a half. Unless Christmas, UK orders take about two weeks and this was the case for another eBay order on March 18 or 19. I really want this lot of Eeza Uzegod's Mother Crushers Black Orcs, with 2 champion figures, standard bearer, musician, Eeza and 10 troopers, as I can't find anyone to sell 'em to me, especially at this price,  and most eBay sellers of classic Citadel/Chronicle Orcs won't ship to the US.

[Silent Invader]

Regarding the Royal Mail issues only:

He should have a proof of postage at least so it's worth asking to see it.

Is his standard international a surface mail service? If it is then Royal Mail will expect delivery to take up to 56 calendar days then require a further 25 days before considering it lost.

If it does become classed as lost, then as standard surface mail it will 'probably' have only a token amount of insurance cover.

Edit: Just to clarify, I have no idea how the EBay dispute rules work but I'd say do what you need to do to protect yourself. :-)

[carlos13th]

File a dispute via ebay. Ebay gives the seller a chance to put things right I beleive before you get your money back. This way the dispute is already in place before the time runs out. When placing the dispute make sure you say that if you leave it any longer you will not be able to place the dispute so you have to do it now.

 If you get your money back and the item eventually arrives way lateyou can always resend the money to the seller with an apology.

[The Dozing Dragon]

There is still one for sale from the same location so I assume the same seller. No negative feedback for him so I would suspect the parcel has been lost in the post.

He will have some recourse to a refund if he has proof of posting from the post office. Stuff has arrived Stateside that I have sent after that length of time but it is rare to take so long.

I feel your pain as an google search just showed the completed auction and it had all the command figures in.

[Major_Gilbear]

File a dispute via ebay. Ebay gives the seller a chance to put things right I beleive before you get your money back. This way the dispute is already in place before the time runs out. When placing the dispute make sure you say that if you leave it any longer you will not be able to place the dispute so you have to do it now.

 If you get your money back and the item eventually arrives way lateyou can always resend the money to the seller with an apology.

I think this is the best course of action.

If you don't at least register the complaint with PayPal within the timeframe, you will lose any guarantee at all of getting either your money or models - regardless of how long Royal Mail say you have to patsy around for before asking about your parcel.

I also suggest that when you register the complaint with PayPal, you also send a separate message to the seller explaining the situation - many folks get nervous when a claim is opened against them, but you still want their cooperation. Plus, it is the polite and honest thing to do.

[carlos13th]

When you register through eBay I believe it requires you to contact the seller as part of it anyway.

[Cubs]

Yeah, eBay changed their dispute procedures a little while ago and it focusses very much on mutually agreeable resolutions between the two parties.

I've had to do much the same recently with a seller who, I'm sure, did really send the parcel and it just got lost in the post. The whole thing about surface mail is a good point because you get cheap postage cost but it does take absolutely ages.

[carlos13th]

Yeah, eBay changed their dispute procedures a little while ago and it focusses very much on mutually agreeable resolutions between the two parties.

I've had to do much the same recently with a seller who, I'm sure, did really send the parcel and it just got lost in the post. The whole thing about surface mail is a good point because you get cheap postage cost but it does take absolutely ages.

Similar thing happened to me. The seller refunded me the money and apologised and said to purchase another one instead if I wanted. I waited a bit and the item arrived very very late. I sent the money back the seller telling them what happened.

[Conquistador]

I suspect the guy holding up my flying car is also responsible for the lack of transporter technology.

Seriously, file and try to work out things out is a perfectly viable choice.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Condottiere]

Regarding the Royal Mail issues only:

He should have a proof of postage at least so it's worth asking to see it.

Is his standard international a surface mail service? If it is then Royal Mail will expect delivery to take up to 56 calendar days then require a further 25 days before considering it lost.

If it does become classed as lost, then as standard surface mail it will 'probably' have only a token amount of insurance cover.

Edit: Just to clarify, I have no idea how the EBay dispute rules work but I'd say do what you need to do to protect yourself. :-)

eBay Money Back Guarantee
Royal Mail International Standard (Small Packets) isn't surface mail and AFAIK, it's no longer an option, at least for US sellers mailing overseas. The seller has admitted that the package should've arrived in 2 weeks and UK sellers' shipments have almost always arrived in 2-3 weeks, with 3 1/2-4 weeks for Christmas or postal strikes or natural phenomenon, like Icelandic volcanoes interrupting airmail.

I spoke with eBay's customer service and was told that I have 30 days after opening a case to escalate it, until May 15th, though I should file sooner since it takes a few days for them to process it. It's another layer of protection exclusive of Paypal and the later will be 42 days this Thursday. The last time I opened a case was about 60 days, in February, for a $9.99 purchase in late November, but the time had expired and the seller in China didn't feel like refunding me, despite his claims, so I'm not going to wait that long for results.

I thought I was being reasonable in waiting for 4 weeks, when most would've complained in 2, but the seller suggests I should wait as "stranger things have happened" and he thinks that customs might've delayed delivery due to metal showing up in scans, but I've never had this problem - he did list the package as used toy (soldiers) and there are no import fees for toys and books, unless the order is several thousand Dollars worth.       

[Cubs]

No, I wouldn't wait. Opening a dispute in eBay isn't about complaining, it's more about registering that something is amiss and making sure eBay then monitors how the Seller and Buyer go about resolving things. Bottom line is that the Seller shouldn't get sniffy about it, rather they should welcome the opportunity to resolve things amicably.

[Silent Invader]

You should do what you need to do to protect yourself.

A small point on the service: yours was posted on 13th March?  IIRC Royal Mail changed its service descriptions and terms on 1st April and Surfacemail became International Economy. Prior to 1st April some sellers might have called Surfacemail their Standard option and there's the obvious possibility for confusion with the new descriptor for the old Airmail, which is now International Standard.  If you're 100% sure it was sent as airmail then that's great, I'm just flagging this just in case.

Either way, the compensation for loss is the actual cost of the postage plus the lesser of the intrinsic value or £20.

If it was airmail it's missing (but not yet lost, which IIRC is expected delivery plus 20 days) so raise the dispute to set the wheels in motion.

[Condottiere]

No, I wouldn't wait. Opening a dispute in eBay isn't about complaining, it's more about registering that something is amiss and making sure eBay then monitors how the Seller and Buyer go about resolving things. Bottom line is that the Seller shouldn't get sniffy about it, rather they should welcome the opportunity to resolve things amicably.

I'm about to escalate the claim, while keeping it civil, as I don't think the seller's at fault in this case, though it seems I'm the only one who's been doing the legwork. What I meant in regards to complaining is that I'm not a buyer who hits the panic button, if a package doesn't show up within 10 days or the seller doesn't ship in 24 hours - a week to ship is pushing it, but I'm okay with it if there's some communication and sound packaging.