Overseas purchase. When is it fair to lodge as not arrived?

[letscleanupmycupboards]

I’m a pretty patient person 

I’ve waited for a bit over 2 months for a parcel from overseas and the seller can’t provide any tracking info, so unable to ascertain where it is. 

I understand there are postage delays etc etc but when is it fair to go through the process with eBay to report that the item has not arrived? I don’t want to jump the gun but I’m not wanting to wait too long either. 

Whats the process now? Last time (4 to 5 years ago) I had a missing item the process was all PayPal but now seems to be handled by eBay. Thanks. 

[letscleanupmycupboards]

To put in context I’ve received items since covid started within 3-4 weeks hence my thought 2 months is a bit excessive 

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

I’m in the same situation with a purchase from China.

I bought on the 26th Feb and the listing had 14-49 days delivery shown on the listing.  After I bought the estimated delivery blew out to 25th May, some 88 days after purchase.

The items have not arrived yet even though tracking shows the items arriving in Australia on 14th March.  I messaged the seller 55 days after purchase letting them know the items had not arrived and that on day 59 I would be leaving neutral feedback as I only have 60 days to leave feedback and I can’t leave positive for something that hasn’t arrived.

I have bought items from China after I bought these items, and those items arrived here within 4 weeks.  I understand there are some delays these days, but these items have been in Australia for 6 weeks and there is not tracking to indicate who will be handling the Australian leg of the delivery.

The seller has replied to every message I have sent and in recent messages they asked me to check with my local sorting facility . . . not possible because I do not know where city it arrived in and the tracking number is not trackable within Australia.  I am also 550km from Melbourne and 1000km from Sydney.

I have told them that if the items do not arrive by 25th May that I will be seeking refund.  They are pushing for me to let them resend but I am not keen on that.  The items cost less than $20 so the item cost is not the issue for me.  I’m just not keen on having them resend and another two months passing without the item arriving.

My understanding of the eBay MBG is that I have 32 days from the last delivery date estimate to raise an eBay claim, and 180 days from payment date for a PayPal claim.

[myoclon1cjerk]

I buy most of my cds from OS. From my experience, the U.K is the best place for me to purchase. Delivery usually takes 3-4 weeks. From mainland Europe it's 6-8 weeks and from U.S it can take anywhere from 5-10 weeks.

[countessalmirena]

k1ooo, you have 30 days, not 32, under the MBG.

Actions & time frames when the buyer doesn't receive an item

Action	Time frame
The buyer reports that the item hasn't arrived or was not available for collection Report an item that hasn't arrived	Earliest: Once the estimated or actual delivery/collection date has passed Latest: 30 calendar days after the estimated or actual delivery/collection date has passed
The seller responds to the buyer's report The seller is required to respond and provide either tracking information, delivery updates, or a refund.	Latest: 3 business days after the report date If the seller provided tracking details, eBay may close the case automatically once tracking shows the item has been delivered.
Ask eBay to step in If the seller hasn't responded or if the buyer and seller can't reach a resolution, they can ask us to step in and help. eBay may step in without the buyer asking if there is no valid tracking information available.	Earliest: 3 business days after the report date Latest: 21 business days after the report date

[springyzone]

I guess it depends on what the estimated delivery date was.

Add on 30 days to that and lodge an ebay claim at least a couple of days before that time expires.

We all want to be fair but realistically, if an item doesn't arrive and there are no tracking details, then you have no guarantee it will ever arrive so you need to look after your own interests.

If your ebay time has expired, move on to a paypal claim.

[digital*ghost]

---

@k1ooo-slr-sales wrote:

The items have not arrived yet even though tracking shows the items arriving in Australia on 14th March.  I messaged the seller 55 days after purchase letting them know the items had not arrived and that on day 59 I would be leaving neutral feedback as I only have 60 days to leave feedback and I can’t leave positive for something that hasn’t arrived.

I have bought items from China after I bought these items, and those items arrived here within 4 weeks.  I understand there are some delays these days, but 

---

Is this bait for something? 😳 If so, and I've taken it, I guess you can ignore what follows, lol. 

'Cos I'm a little hesitant to post this, but I'm going to anyway...

If you were my buyer, you would immediately be on my BBL if that was the first message you sent, and especially if it contained any variation of "other items I've ordered have already arrived". 😟 I get this all the time from buyers (both local and overseas) and I really just want to say "so?", I mean, I've sent plenty of packages before and after theirs, and some have arrived, some haven't and there is nothing I can do before or after sending a package that can affect or influence this so...what is this information supposed to imply? If it hasn't arrived within a reasonable time, a (good) seller will just say, ok here's what we can do about this, if there's still a good chance it will arrive, they'll give you a timeframe to wait for and then the options to resolve.  

I'd get the threat of a neutral if the seller had already handled something less than ideally, but if it is the first point of contact, feedback doesn't even need to be mentioned, for any reason, unless you are looking for a specific response from the seller (which can also be read as manipulate a specific response from the seller, which is what if feels like on the receiving end to a lot of sellers, to put it bluntly). 

All that being said - The above is also a response to the first half of your post, outside of the context of everything else. The seller you're talking about doesn't sound like they've responded well, so it's not a defence of them and it is not to say a neutral or whatever in this particular circumstance is unwarranted - my advice to you, if you want it anyway, is to seek a refund now, if you can. There can be problems with trying to get a refund through eBay more than 60 days after the purchase date when the ETA is pushed beyond that; you may end up having to go through PayPal and in that case it sounds like the seller may have proof of post. 

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

digital, thanks you for your thoughts, I take them on board.

No need for this seller to put me on their BBL as I won’t be buying from them again.  I didn’t want to use feedback as the first communication with the seller which is why I let them know I’d be leaving a neutral.  I also let them know that when the items arrive I would revise the feedback if they sent through a request.  I didn’t want them sending through a revision request as a response to receiving neutral feedback, I want them to send one through if/when the items arrive.  If they don’t arrive, I’ll be seeking a refund.  If the seller doesn’t mess me around with a refund I would revise the feedback if asked to.

To their credit, they have replied appropriately to my messages.

[digital*ghost]

All good, none of what I wrote was meant personally, so I hope it didn't come across that way, it just took me a little by surprise as it sorta read like you were letting the seller know you were giving them a neutral because Aus Post has lost the package, so that's where I was coming from and I ended up saying none of these things anyway. 😳 

You should be able to open a case with Aus Post if you haven't already, if there was tracking up to when arrived here, there'd be internal records (there usually is as the packages still have barcodes that are scanned etc) and it's worth seeing what they can turn up. 

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

I can take criticism and constructive advice about anything I post, so no harm done.

Aust Post has not lost the package.  I can’t follow up with Aust Post as the tracking number only shows the items arriving in Australia and the number is not recognised by Aust Post tracking.  Other purchases from China have generated an email from Aust Post once they have received shipping information (even before they have left China).  This has not happened this time.

The items are also not the sort of thing that would spark concerns by Customs.  They are anti-static plastic tweezers.

However, I hear what you are saying and will investigate with Aust Post.

Thanks for your input . . . it is always welcome