The MLP Arena
TCB => Trader & Shipping Support => Topic started by: TinyShinyUnique on December 11, 2013, 02:35:22 AM
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I recently bought something off ebay from US and got a tracking number for the parcel: GM15312805000301221 . I've tried to track it the same way I usually did, via USPS' ste and then I've got the message from the site saying "Tracking information is not available at this time. Please check back later or double-check the tracking number entered and try again."
I messaged the seller and got this as a response:
"The uploaded tracking number for a Standard package is only valid up until the point at which the package left the United States. Because of the involvement of more than one postal authority, we are unable to provide tracking information past that date."
Um, so basically, he is saying that the parcel is not traceable until it leaves the States, right? Shouldn't there be information in the system about it too? Or are the Standard packages not trackable at all? Because from what I see on USPS site as examples of the tracking numbers doesn't resemble the one provided by the seller. I'm just really confused :drunk:
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I am pretty sure they shipped through DHL Global Mail, not USPS.
http://webtrack.dhlglobalmail.com/
I entered your number through that link and it shows when the package was accepted and it left our customs on December 3rd.
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Thank you for clearing that up! :) I'm not familiar with DHL so I would never guessed it was used.
But that just makes me wonder if I shouldn't ding the communication star when leaving feedback - when I noticed the different number, I asked specifically if the seller had used an another shipping service than USPS. I've got no answer, so I assumed they did in fact use it :/ Not good communication at all.
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I know PonyLady already got things sorted out for you with DHL vs USPS, but I wanted to add something about this:
I messaged the seller and got this as a response:
"The uploaded tracking number for a Standard package is only valid up until the point at which the package left the United States. Because of the involvement of more than one postal authority, we are unable to provide tracking information past that date."
Um, so basically, he is saying that the parcel is not traceable until it leaves the States,
With international First Class shipping via USPS, the tracking is only available UNTIL it leaves the US. After it leaves the US tracking may not be available due to postal service in other countries not scanning the package. That's what the seller is getting at with his statement. ;)
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If he only provided you with a number and didn't tell you what method you should use to track it (i.e. which tracking service) you should definitely give him a lower communication score. You shouldn't have had to come to us to find out something that the seller should easily have been able to tell you himself.
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I agree with Ringwraith, definitely ding stars for that. I'd reckon the seller didn't even read your message properly at all!
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I know PonyLady already got things sorted out for you with DHL vs USPS, but I wanted to add something about this:
I messaged the seller and got this as a response:
"The uploaded tracking number for a Standard package is only valid up until the point at which the package left the United States. Because of the involvement of more than one postal authority, we are unable to provide tracking information past that date."
Um, so basically, he is saying that the parcel is not traceable until it leaves the States,
With international First Class shipping via USPS, the tracking is only available UNTIL it leaves the US. After it leaves the US tracking may not be available due to postal service in other countries not scanning the package. That's what the seller is getting at with his statement. ;)
Oh, that's great to know :D It will sure be handy in the future, so i won't ever stress over it again. Thank you for pointing that out!
And thanks for the opinion on the feedback - I almost never give less stars than '5' but I also never had been in such a situation when my question wasn't fully answered :/ You guys just made me more solid on my decision :)
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The issue about going DHL and third party delivery service is the extra charges besides the duty fee. I hope ho won't have to pay anything other then the Duty fee.
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DHL's customs handling fees are actually the cheapest, I think, in the world! For us in the UK they're £1.25, as opposed to the £8 our standard post company charges (UPS and Fedex's are around £15, I think)! Unsure if it's the same in Poland, but I know elsewhere in Europe the country's handling fees are often around 8-10Euros!
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Can I ask, before you ding stars for communication, did you specifically ask which courier your seller shipped with or did you just ask for a tracking number? To be fair depending on how an email was worded, perhaps your seller simply thought you were questioning why the tracker did not work rather than he or she understanding that the tracker showed nothing at all? It sounds more like a miscommunication or misunderstanding than actual bad communication.
If you use one of the multi track websites for your tracker rather than USPS specifically it will track the number against multiple databases at the same time and therefore you dont have to work out which courier is carrying the item.
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I think it does depend on what you specifically asked your seller about the tracking as to whether you ding the stars. If you asked what courier it was sent by or something similar- as Cat mentioned- and they didnt bother to tell you it was DHL rather than USPS- then I would ding the stars. Your seller really should have told you they were using DHL to start with to save any confusion.
I'm glad that the tracking did turn out to be genuine though so at least you'll be getting your item :)
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Can I ask, before you ding stars for communication, did you specifically ask which courier your seller shipped with or did you just ask for a tracking number? To be fair depending on how an email was worded, perhaps your seller simply thought you were questioning why the tracker did not work rather than he or she understanding that the tracker showed nothing at all? It sounds more like a miscommunication or misunderstanding than actual bad communication.
If you use one of the multi track websites for your tracker rather than USPS specifically it will track the number against multiple databases at the same time and therefore you dont have to work out which courier is carrying the item.
This is the message I've sent:
"Hi!
I haven't received the item yet - I've tried tracking the provided parcel's number via USPS site but they hadn't got any info on it. Could you please check if the tracking number is correct? Or did you ship with another service and not USPS?
I would be grateful for an answer.
- tinyshinyunique"
This is the reply:
"Thank you for your inquiry.
Your order was shipped on November 24, 2013. Please allow 7-11 business days for your order to be delivered. We also recommend contacting your local post office to see if they are holding the package for any reason.
The uploaded tracking number for a Standard package is only valid up until the point at which the package left the United States. Because of the involvement of more than one postal authority, we are unable to provide tracking information past that date.
*International Standard and Express delivery dates are estimates provided by the shipping carrier and we cannot guarantee the exact date of arrival.
N* S.
Customer Service Representative"
No info saying: "You couldn't track it via USPS, because we do actually used another posting service and that was DHL." That's what put me off. I would honestly have no idea if the tracking was legit or not and when I tried to check USPS for Standard packages, I couldn't find anything and that's why I asked about it here. I know I'm not native English speaker, but I think this isn't a simple case of misunderstanding. It looks a bit like a typical "copy and paste" reply, with few changes on the date, etc. :(
Thanks for the tip about tracking - I'll run a google search for the multi-track websites, as they sound much better than the normal ones.
Thankfully I don't think I will have to pay fees - usually the fees are payable for items which value exceeds $30, but as I said, I was used to it being that way with the normal Postal Service, not DHL, so I will have to look that up - thanks for the heads up about it!
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Since you specifically asked which courier it was and if they used a different one from USPS then I think I would ding the stars on communication if i were you. Its seems they just copied/pasted/ sent you a message they possibly send to anyone asking where their item is , rather than actually reading what you asked them and sending a personal reply in response :huh:
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It sounds to me you are dealing with a company and not just an individual seller. So most likely that is just an auto response when one is questioning shipping. :huh:
I am curious since it sounds like they printed their label through eBay, did you ever get an email stating it was shipped? If so it should have had that information on it, thus them not specifically answering which carrier they used. I only ask that because when I print a label an automatic email goes to my buyer with what carrier and their tracking information.
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It sounds to me you are dealing with a company and not just an individual seller. So most likely that is just an auto response when one is questioning shipping. :huh:
I am curious since it sounds like they printed their label through eBay, did you ever get an email stating it was shipped? If so it should have had that information on it, thus them not specifically answering which carrier they used. I only ask that because when I print a label an automatic email goes to my buyer with what carrier and their tracking information.
No, I just received a mail stating that my item got posted and it got the tracking number in it. If you want I can resend to you, though it will be polish, so I'm not sure how much you'll be able to translate/figure out :lookround: It roughly says "The item was shipped on 24-11-2013 Standard Int'l Shipping" and then later gives the number, nothing else.
And yes, it does seem like it's an auto-reply type of thing, but from the feedback they either contact each person personally... or don't do it at all (I've just got through all negatives).
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Can you just post a link to the auction? I am just curious of what they have listed as to what they consider "Standard Shipping"?
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Can you just post a link to the auction? I am just curious of what they have listed as to what they consider "Standard Shipping"?
Sure!
http://www.ebay.pl/itm/360742320383?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
And here is their shipping policy:
http://stores.ebay.com/Calendars-Dot-Com/Shipping.html