Missing shipment to Canada - What would you do?

[Griffinroydonal]

I have a question for the board and need feedback.

I sold and shipped a 911 engine e grill to a Pelican in Canada. I was told from the U.S. Post office that tracking was not available on International shipments. I packed and shipped the grill and was given a Receipt and Customs Declaration - CN22 - Tracking # LC752207795US that can be tracked at USPS - The United States Postal Service (U.S. Postal Service)

This shipment was made on March 04 2011 as indicated in all the paperwork. The buyer contacted me every week wanting to know where the grill was and I have no way of giving an answer. I went to the post office and was told that 30 days must have passed before they would get really concerned as Canada didn't have tracking for packages entering their country. The buyer has contacted me as if this is my fault and wanted a refund. I forwarded all tracking info I had and waited. He was not happy with this effort on my part and now has filed a complaint aginst me with Paypal.

Paypal withdrew the funds from my account and has put them on hold pending an investigation. I have recieved another e-mail requesting a refund from the buyer. I have no intention of making two refunds and then the item show up in Canada. My question boils down to this - Has this ever happened to anyone else with international shipping ? and how did / would you handle this. I had been warned about shipping to Canada but didn't listen and was trying to just move some parts.

Moderator's edit: Removed image with buyer's personal information.

[kodioneill]

I've had items take up two six weeks to get there (Canada). Tell the guy to be patient it will get there.

[whiskyb]

I have ordered at least 6 different items in the last month from various areas in the US and all came with tracking numbers and insurance. Not really sure why you could not get any

[orange260z]

Hi Griffinroydonal,

I can understand the frustration - on both the buyer's and your part.

For the moment, I would suggest that both of you exercise some patience - I have noticed some slowness in things coming across the border from the US this month.

I would suggest that you keep an open line of communication with your buyer, as they are probably very frustrated and worried at this point. Keeping in touch goes a long way to letting him know that you are legit and are trying your best to resolve the situation.

If another 2 weeks goes by without the item showing up, I would likely file a complaint with the US Postal Service. I'm not sure what else anyone can do at that point - all you can do is hope that you've built up enough rapport with the buyer to somehow share the hit on the deal.

I make almost all my Porsche and electronics purchases in the US, and mostly have things shipped USPS due to cost. Although border delays do happen, they seldom exceed one month. I have yet to have a shipment completely lost and never recovered.

Some US sellers will warn me that if I ask them to ship untracked/uninsured it is at my risk - then that is a decision that I have to make. The alternatives at that point are to take the risk; ship with a courier (more $$$); or not make the purchase.

I hope that this experience doesn't cause you to refuse to do business with Canadians, at the end of the day we're all Porsche people!

cheers

[wildcat077]

Don't generalize, there's nothing wrong with shipping to Canada ...
It all depends on the seller who chooses which USPS service he will use.
You have Priority Post as well as International ... one comes with $100.00 free insurance and a tracking number,the other is cheaper,takes longer and has neither !

I've shipped stuff to Australia and a set of four wheels to the US,not to mention all kinds of other stuff on Snowmobile forums and i always use the shipping method which includes tracking numbers and i will insure the item for it's full value unless asked otherwise by the buyer .
For what it's worth,my son waited almost one month for some paintball gear from a large well known outfit because they shipped it turtle mail in order to make some money on the shipping charges ...

Cheers !
Phil

[nineball]

Originally Posted by Griffinroydonal

I sold and shipped a 911 engine e grill to a Pelican in Canada. I was told from the U.S. Post office that tracking was not available on International shipments. I packed and shipped the grill and was given a Receipt and Customs Declaration - CN22 - Tracking # LC752207795US that can be tracked at USPS - The United States Postal Service (U.S. Postal Service)

Originally Posted by wildcat077

It all depends on the seller who chooses which USPS service he will use. You have Priority Post as well as International ... one comes with $100.00 free insurance and a tracking number,the other is cheaper,takes longer and has neither !

i have had the same experience as griff - no matter which methods of usps service i have used none of them provide any tracking once it reaches the border. if the buyer wants the ability to track the package the entire way the only choices are a courier service like ups or fedex, which as stated in here cost more.

it kinda makes sense when you think about it - it is the UNITED STATES postal service, not the international postal service.

all that being said i have had packages delayed up to 6 weeks and some have gone through without a problem. i agree to keep an open line with the buyer but you may get screwed by paypal. then again as long as you can provide a tracking number to paypal they usually side with the seller. not sure how that applies to international packages though. good luck.

[Gunter]

+1.
Shipping from the US to Canada with USPS works fine and yes, you can ship with a tracking number. Have done it for years.
The advantage is that it can be traced right to the time when it arrives.

If it goes regular slow ground without a tracking number, it can be up to 6 weeks; not recommended.

Be patient and when it arrives, the buyer can release the funds from PayPal.

[rhogg]

USPS tracking numbers stop USPS tracking when the package leaves the country. You can use the same tracking number with Canada Post and it will track the package through customs to delivery.

[Canada Kev]

Much the same as many, I have had some packages shipped from the US that have taken four or five weeks; others in as little as a week. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it at all. This happens both ways, too, not just from the US to Canada.

When shipping via postal methods, none have had acceptable tracking. Once it gets to the border, that's it in my experience.

I have had a small package arrive eight months (yes, that's right, EIGHT MONTHS) after being sent. It was shipped domestically WITH tracking and it still got lost. The replacement was shipped and received MONTHS before this one showed up in my mailbox.

I'd say to give it another week or two before getting worked up about it. Some times these things just happen.

[wildcat077]

Pelican ships my parts to Canada using USPS with a tracking number from which i get automatic updates on the whereabouts of my parts and the whole deal is insured to the full value ... Never lost anything yet !

One guy on this forum shipped me a shifter knob and charged me $12.00 dollars for shipping,when i received it 5 weeks later the shipping cost on the envelope was $2.41 dollars,no wonder it took that long,he cheaped out on the shipping although charging me for Priority Post ...

Cheers !
Phil

[kodioneill]

I had a guy from Pelican ship me a cat bypass from Chicago, he shipped it Parcel Post it took six week to arrive to New York.

[Fishcop]

I regularly have stuff shipped to me in Australia via USPS and so far have never had a problem. I generally ask for USPS for things less than $100 and am prepared to cop it on the chin if it goes MIA. The truth is that shipping is now so damn expensive, USPS is often the only choice to make a deal worthwhile.

I have waited over 6 weeks once before... so I agree with everyone else that you have to be patient. I also agree with you that you should not refund twice. In this case I'd communicate with the buyer and ask what he really wants. The grill or the coin?

[pksystems]

Shipping to Canada has started taking longer. The last item I had shipped, I was given a tracking number, but it didn't work. Alberta just got like 12" of snow (Isn't spring great) so that's gonna slow down stuff even more.

UPS/Fedex is faster & usually cheaper to Canada, but anything that crosses the border has to have a declared value of less then $15 or the receiver is gonna get RAPED hit with 40%+ of the value in Brokerage (duty)

[grahamkissack]

I get stuff sent to me here in BC all the time from the US....I plan on it averaging about three weeks but I've had a few packages take 5 weeks. I only ever get stuff sent by USPS otherwise your get dinged with FEDEX or UPS $50 brokerage fees plus duty....ouch!

[wildcat077]

+2 on the UPS shipping ... RAPED hit with 40%+ of the value in Brokerage (duty)

I never buy anything from Ebay or anywhere for that matter unless it's shipped USPS to Canada !

Cheers !
Phil

[Griffinroydonal]

Now the buyer has sent me a PM stating he has no proof that the package was ever shipped or that it was an empty box and I scammed him for $75.00 I can't believe this guy as I have had no less than 10 PM's and now to be accused of trying to scam him. This person thinks I would go to the trouble to fake Customs Declarations, US Post Office receipts and such for $50 profit. Based on this I will not ship to Canada again without checking references first. I would caution anyone from shipping to this buyer without expecting the same type of problems from him.

[aadrew10]

Who are you cautioning us against?

[targa871]

I am not trying to create enemies. From what I see a package was shipped to my address.
Which I have not yet received. I am in need of this part, which I have now started looking else where for. I have told the seller that I am willing to eat the shipping costs as I do understand that it is not his fault. The last few PM's from the seller have been rude and insulting...the result...now I'm mad!
I'm glad I paid with paypal, as we now have a claim/dispute open with them. If the grill does show up in the next week or so, I will have to mail it back at my expense because at this point I want nothing else to do with the seller.
I wish him all the best.
I still need a deck lid grill.

[jimbauman]

First Class Post office shipments from California to B.C. can take weeks. There's no excuse for such lousy service, but they're government employees, so what can you do? All my Canadian relatives who live within 20 miles of the border use a mailbox service just across the line for anything important.

JB

[Griffinroydonal]

The person in question is Targa 871 . Based on my exchanges this has not been a pleasant experience at all. He has called me everything he can, Questioned if I am an honest person and just been a real pain to deal with.
Communication about shipping times was the original intent of this post, not to warn anyone but to let people know the facts. I have saved all the e-mails from him and just read them in total disbelief.
The funds have been withdrawn from my Paypal account so the grill is now my property . I would like it back rather sell it to you. Once you have it and the paypal refund who is the dishonest one ?