Ebays GPS saves the world again!

[jbd73]

Ever Vigilant, The Global Shipping Centre Averts Catastrophe Spanning Globe!!

I'm not pleased.

I'm in Australia. I bought, from the US, a perfectly innocuous, used model aircraft engine. It was exactly what I had been looking for, and was to have powered my latest project, almost complete.

The first indication that things were not going well was when I tracked the item. The Global Shipping Centre in Kentucky flagged an alert: “Delay at Global Shipping Centre - Item Restricted” Restricted?

Restricted? Surely a mistake, it's a model engine for Heavens sake. I might just be able to do some harm with it if I threw it at someone. I'd have to throw it with quite some determination to draw blood though. This is stupid, they'll realise their mistake... But no.

Next the GPS flagged the following: “Undeliverable - Item restricted at Global Shipping Centre” My heart sank, “undeliverable”, such a final pronouncement.

I emailed the seller to see what he made of it. I heard nothing of course since the GPS promises, as part of their service, to insulate him from me.

The final insult was the email from paypal advising that ebay had ruled in my favour in my dispute case and would refund my money.

My DISPUTE case??? No dispute. I bought an engine and expected it to appear in my letter box. After all, I'd paid exorbitant shipping costs.

This is all pure conjecture, but it is what I think is happening: Pitney Bowes who run this scam, has bought some sophisticated scanning equipment. All items are opened and re-packaged in their bunker. (A whole other problem that I don't want to go into here, but needs addressing.)

The equipment can detect things like, let's say, residual fuel vapour. (The poor Canadian guy in this forum trying to import carburettor parts from the US, I believe fell foul of this too.) The machine went BING! And that was that. No go.

The answer of course is to train the operators. Or have them refer a dubious item to their superior if they don't feel able to make a judgement.

A used model plane engine or a carburettor part is going to have residual fuel by its very nature. In dangerous quantities? Best to let a human determine that.

But this is the 21st century. Human beings, with brains wired to make those sort of judgements, are no doubt pounding the pavements competing for the few jobs available in Erlanger, Kentucky.

I'll only, in the future, buy from people who don't use this ridiculous system. The USPS would have united me with my engine without a qualm, they're just much, much better at it. They have, after all, been doing it successfully for a long time.

Ebay, as usual, don't make it obvious how to opt out of this scam, but do please opt out. A lot of sellers won't care, of course, they've got their money; who cares whether the buyer has got their item? The wheels of commerce turn...

[lyndal1838]

So, another item that Pitney Bowes deems to be restricted in Australia....along with the knives (all knives, even a humble butter knife), electronic keyboards (who knows) and a drum kit (????) and who knows what else.

At least you got your money back without having to jump through hoops as others have done.....and you were advised what was happening, unlike others who have had to do some detective work after their items just failed to materialise.

Unfortunately more and more sellers are using the system and who can blame them....they are insulated from poor feedback and star ratings and the goods are fully tracked and insured at no cost to them.

[imastawka]

So, another item that Pitney Bowes deems to be restricted in Australia....along with the knives (all knives, even a humble butter knife), electronic keyboards (who knows) and a drum kit (????) and who knows what else.

Guitars, Lyndal.    You forgot how horribly dangerous electric guitars are!

[lyndal1838]

Thanks stawks....how could I have forgotten those dastardly electric guitars...several of them if I remember correctly.

And didn't one of the buyers find his item being resold via Pitney Bowes own ebay account?

[jbd73]

Musical instruments I can understand, in the wrong hands they can do considerable harm.

Rant on.
Where has my engine gone? Disappeared into a vortex? This whole brilliant idea of bringing global buyers and sellers together has become horribly distorted by time and corporate greed.
Rant off.

[davewil1964]

You have to remember eBay wants to be Amazon-lite.

Their own model worked for their target audience, so they have decided they want to be Amazon instead, ignoring the fact that Amazon seems to have cornered that part of the market.

[digital*ghost]

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@jbd73 wrote:

Where has my engine gone? Disappeared into a vortex? 

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Anything that PB deem undeliverable to international destinations, is retained and becomes stock for their own store (US shipping only). I can't imagine it would be much of a profit earner, they may even operate it at a loss, but I can imagine it's a bit galling for any buyer when a shipping company decides to comandeer a purchase and basically go "nahh, we'll 'ave that.... and sell it ourselves". 

[zanadoo_56]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@jbd73 wrote:

Where has my engine gone? Disappeared into a vortex? 

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Anything that PB deem undeliverable to international destinations, is retained and becomes stock for their own store (US shipping only). I can't imagine it would be much of a profit earner, they may even operate it at a loss, but I can imagine it's a bit galling for any buyer when a shipping company decides to comandeer a purchase and basically go "nahh, we'll 'ave that.... and sell it ourselves". 

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Then let's hope all the stuff they confiscate is sold at a loss.

[imastawka]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@jbd73 wrote:

Where has my engine gone? Disappeared into a vortex? 

---

Anything that PB deem undeliverable to international destinations, is retained and becomes stock for their own store (US shipping only). I can't imagine it would be much of a profit earner, they may even operate it at a loss, but I can imagine it's a bit galling for any buyer when a shipping company decides to comandeer a purchase and basically go "nahh, we'll 'ave that.... and sell it ourselves". 

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How do you figure?

They've kept the astronomical  postage component and they've got free stock

[digital*ghost]

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@imastawka wrote:

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How do you figure?

They've kept the astronomical  postage component and they've got free stock

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The refund given to the buyer is not from the seller, so that straight away = cost of stock for Pitney Bowes.

They should not be keeping any of the postage fees, either, since they did not provide the service it was paying for. I know it can be more difficult to get the postage component back, but it's not impossible if it wasn't issued automatically.

So, that leaves PB paying the full original amount for the item (and these days, prices on eBay are rarely wholesale), then listing it again on eBay, with whatever they ask for it being subject to eBay / PayPal fees.