Global Shipping Program status says delivered in Erlanger, KY?

[yoshpi]

Recently I bought an item from a seller in the US, paid for the item to be delivered to Australia via the Global Shipping Program. I was given a tracking number, which showed the progress of the delivery. However the progress changed from In Transit to Delivered in Erlanger, KY. I understand that with the GSP the seller posts the item to Pitney Bowes Inc. in Erlanger and they re-package it and send it to Australia. However, is it odd that the status says delivered? Will the tracking get updated with the new international tracking number and change back to in transit again? I've never used this service before and I'm a bit apprehensive. I've contacted the seller but they're as much clueless as me.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[lyndal1838]

If the tracking is showing that it has reached Erlanger then nothing more more will show until it is given to FedEx for shipping to Australia.  That is usually only a few days but it has been known that items are stuck in Erlanger for a week or more.

[jemijona]

My parcel was already with Fedex who delivered it to Erlanger KY. Why would it now say delivered if it is to go back to Fedex to then hit Australia?

[lyndal1838]

Are you sure it was Fedex that delivered the item to Erlanger?

Most sellers use USPS to deliver within the USA.

If it was FedEx that delivered it to Erlanger then the seller ha only paid domestic postage.  It is only when the item is delivered to Pitney Bowes in Erlanger that the documentation is processed for international shipping'

It is only after this is done that the item can leave the country with FedEx.

[jelliffe2007]

OK, so this is my impression of the way it has played out.

1) I win the auction

2) The seller sends the package by Global Shipping Program

3) At this stage, there is no info on the ebay site

4) The seller kindly msgs me with the FEDEX ground tracking number. This allows me to track the package on the FEDEX site.

5) Still, there is no info on the ebay site.

6) The package arrives at the FEDEX hub. 

7) No info. 

😎 The package gets to Pitney Bowes hub in Erlanger KY.  At this stage the FEDEX tracking shows delivery is complete.

So it has taken about 3 days to get from MI to KY. 

9) A day or so later, the Ebay tracking site updates including the tracking number for PB.

10) Using this PB number, I can then track the package through the parceltracking.pb.com website.

11) The Ebay tracking site after a few days gets updated with the information that the package has been passed to the ougoing carrier, at Hebron KY.  There is no FEDEX-related info about the first leg.

12) Tracking with the PB site shows the package gets to LA

13) The Ebay site is not updated

14) Tracking with the PB site shows the package gets to Honalulu

13) The Ebay site is not updated

So today, I checked again. First I checked the Ebay site.  The tracking information in it was 7 day old.

Then I checked the PB site, and found the package had arrived in here in Sydney and was going through customs. Hooray,

So it taken 7 more days to get from KY to AU. 

A few hours later, I checked the Ebay site and it had been updated with the information.

So this seems to be the deal:

 * It seems that Ebay only updates its "tracking" information when the package goes through a major hub.

 * This may make the information either unavailable or up to a week late. Both happened with me.  

 * They should pick some other name than "tracking": perhaps "not tracking"...

 * You are much better going to the actual couriers or shippers to get tracking data.

So the shipping cost twice as much as I would expect, spent a week longer than direct shipment with a courier would take, and the ebay "tracking" information actually prevented accurate tracking.  And what wonderful value-add do we get for this extra cost, time, and misinformation?  Someone sticks on a customs form.  However, the good was second-hand, so it does not attact customs duty.

I cannot help but think a better system would be just for the Ebay page to print out a suitable customs declaration that can be affixed to the package by the seller: Ebay knows the value of the goods and that it was second-hand, and it knows the country of destination, there is no extra info or mystic legal knowledge required.

Rick

[lyndal1838]

Sorry but I really cannot see what you are complaining about.

The whole tranaction has been straight forward and there was no problem with the tracking.

The first part of the transaction is between you and the seller.  I am surprised that the seller chose to use FedEx ground transport as it is much more expensive than USPS but that is OK if it works for him.  He gave you the tracking number which worked on the FedEx site as it should.   If he had used USPS then that is the site you would use to track it.

Once the domestic mail is delivered to Erlanger KY then that part of the transaction is finished and the tracking tells you that.  When it arrives at the Pitney Bowes facility there is no need for any updating until the parcel is on the move again.   It can remain with PB for anything up to a week without there being anything wrong.

When the item is handed to FedEx for the journey to Australia you will get a tracking number that will work best on the FedEx site.  I don't understand why you want to track a parel on more than one site.....if it works on the courier's site as it should then why would you try any other site.

As far as the costs and time....no-one has ever accused the GSP of being cheap or fast as you would know if you read any of the posts on the board about the GSP.  What you do need to take into account is the fact that a lot of sellers refuse to ship internationally so their items are not available to Australia without the GSP....the seller only has to ship within the USA.

Many of us avoid sellers who use the GSP....it is much cheaper and faster to use USPS but occasionally there is no option if you really want an item.  Most of the extra cost involved is to cover the costs of preparing customs forms and clearances.

Also, just because goods are second hand it does not mean that they are duty free.  All imported good worth more than AU$1000 have to have duty, GST and customs clearances paid.   With the GSP you pay these charges to Pitney Bowes who pay them to Australian Customs on your behalf.

On the whole you have had a very straight forward transation with no problems with the tracking.....count yourself lucky as there are many many problems with the GSP which cause the buyers nightmares.

[becholdenbec-6]

Wat a joke

[becholdenbec-6]

Thanks for that

[davewil1964]

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@k1ooo-slr-sales wrote:

yep, only 51 months

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56 now.

And, as usual, the bumper added absolutely nothing to the dicussion.

Given the rules have changed even in the last month, this could almost be called malicious.

[c_mount]

Are you Penny Wong is disguise??

[mundayss]

100% agree. Its great and cost effective service for larger items.