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First Class Mail international shipments - cannot insure, and cannot always confirm delivery

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  • First Class Mail international shipments - cannot insure, and cannot always confirm delivery

    The below refers specifically to 1st Class Mail from the U.S. to foreign countries, but applies in principal to 1st Class Mail parcels sent from anywhere.

    The biggest risk with international shipments coming FROM the United States TO foreign countries occurs on uninsured, First Class mail parcel shipments. For relatively inexpensive ($100. or under) items, it is generally not worth it to ship via Priority Mail, and the buyers will not pay for Priority Mail.

    And then when you ship via First Class Mail, insurance is not an option, nor is complete tracking.

    Now, the USPS customs number on 1st Class Mail parcels WILL give you some form of tracking - it will confirm acceptance and give you a date that the item left the country, but the label will generally NOT be scanned upon delivery. So if the item is lost or stolen in transit, you will never know and have no recourse. More importantly, with First Class Mail parcels - you cannot prove that the buyer received the item.

    I will offer one crucial tip: if the buyer starts complaining about non-receipt, at least have him file the claim with Ebay and not with PayPal. With PayPal, as soon as PayPal notes that there is no delivery confirmation, it will side immediately with the buyer.

    But with Ebay's Buyer Protection policy, on a non-receipt claim if you can prove shipment, which you will be able to do with the USPS customs #, and if the dollar amount at stake is not too high, then Ebay will still side with the buyer and pay the claim BUT it will often pay it out of pocket and not turn around and charge you.
    Ebay Resolution Fees - Reimbursement as a result of losing an EBay Buyer Dispute - Free EBAY, PayPal, Business and Law Forums - Ebay Suspension, PayPal Limited
    You just have to claim that you shipped it, be able to prove that you shipped it, and state that it must still be in transit.

    NOW, a buyer has 40 days to file an Ebay claim - and 60 to file a PayPal one. But even after 60 days a buyer can still file a chargeback if he paid with a credit card. In general foreign buyers do not pay via credit card - they pay with their PayPal balance, SO if you can drag the matter out, constantly reassuring the buyer that the item will arrive eventually, past 60 days, then you should be home free, but again - if the buyer is antsy and it looks like he will file a claim no matter what, then you are better off with an Ebay rather than PayPal dispute in this type of situation.
    Please read the forum rules before you post.

    And if you need extra help:
    Modee Tech Support

  • #2
    USPS now combines with E-Delcon services to provide full tracking

    The United States Postal Service (USPS), starting in January 2013, has been offering, in conjunction with E-Delcon International
    Sellers: Important USPS® updates in effect January 27—price changes, additional FREE international insurance, more | eBay Announcement Page
    full tracking including delivery confirmation on international First Class package shipments to Canada, with more countries to follow.

    This E-Delcon service is available when you pay for your postage online, such as via Ebay shipping, or using other software.
    Please read the forum rules before you post.

    And if you need extra help:
    Modee Tech Support

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    • #3
      What Do I Do?! International Shipping Question

      Hi.
      On August 1st, I sold a Samsung S4 phone to someone in Argentina or Chile (don't remember off the top of my head)... I shipped it out the same day with First Class International Shipping. Today, (9/11/13) I get a message from that person telling me he never received the item and references the tracking (which isn't actually tracking because First Class International doesn't track the whole way [only today do I find out...]). However I call up USPS and after they tell me it doesn't track, it's only a customs number that was given to me, and there's no signature confirmation, if the product wasn't delivered to a deliverable address it would have been returned back to me.. I highly doubt that is the case considering it's been a month and a half.

      Last time the package was tracked domestically was it was leaving the port in Los Angeles on August 5th.. 4 Days after I shipped it.

      I have a feeling this guy is trying to scam me because he knows there is no shipping. There is no reason for the package to not have gotten delivered. He has 0 feedback too...

      What do I do? Is there a statute of limitations or something as to how long a product has been sold for after the buyer can't do anything about it?

      He messaged me, and thankfully didn't open a dispute of any kind.. yet.

      I'm in a really rough situation right now finance wise and it's going to completely suck if I end up needing to pay 500+ dollars and never seeing my phone again, because it somehow never got delivered...

      Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do? And has this ever happened to anyone before?

      I heard international shipping is dangerous to do because of stuff like this. Too bad I found that out after I shipped the item.

      Any and all input would be amazing. Thank you guys and gals.

      Comment


      • #4
        Update - E-Delcon does offer full tracking on 1st Class Mail International Parcels

        USPS First Class Package International Mail is now trackable to SOME countries - this service was offered first to Canada, and now to some European countries too, as well as Australia. In order to get the E-Delcon tracking, you must ship via a USPS click and ship, Ebay labels, Pitney Bowes, or other ONLINE shipping label system.

        In this situation that you describe, does not sound like the buyer is a scammer, but yes - it may take a very long time (up to 120 days) for your package to reach the buyer and if he is impatient, he may open an Ebay buyer protection dispute well before that, and Ebay WILL rule against you since you will be unable to prove delivery.

        So my advice is - keep the buyer happy as long as possible! And in the future, put a disclaimer on your Ebay auctions about how LONG it may take for the item to be delivered and that it will arrive with NO tracking.


        At the moment E-Delcon is available to:

        Australia.
        Germany.
        Belgium.
        Great Britain.
        Brazil.
        Israel.
        Canada.
        Netherlands.
        Croatia.
        New Zealand.
        Denmark.
        Spain.
        France.
        Switzerland.

        and more countries are being added all the time.
        Please read the forum rules before you post.

        And if you need extra help:
        Modee Tech Support

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        • #5
          If First Class Mail is lost - E-Delcon or no, that's it! No tracking, no tracing!

          I recently shipped a package with First Class International mail to Canada, with the E-Delcon delivery confirmation.

          E-Delcon provides delivery confirmation but NOT tracking. In other words, since there is no tracking the post office cannot trace it if lost.

          This package was shipped in mid-August and shows "tracking" only until the point where it left the United States, and nothing more. Basically it is lost.

          When I contacted USPS in multiple manners - email, phone, etc. - they all came back and said that Sorry, nothing we can do. So if you ever ship a USPS First Class package (or letter for that matter) and it gets lost, don't bother trying to trace it because you will be out of luck.
          Please read the forum rules before you post.

          And if you need extra help:
          Modee Tech Support

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          • #6
            E-Delcon means - DELIVERY CONFIRMATION ONLY (not tracking)

            In other words, with E-Delcon you will get (or should get, rather) delivery confirmation upon delivery. But since there is no tracking, if lost there is no recourse.

            Other than, PERHAPS, you could ask for a refund of the portion of the USPS fees that were paid for the E-Delcon, assuming that there is any such fee. (Apparently not - the cost to ship a USPS First Class Package is the same with or without E-Delcon - it is simply a free service offered when shipping from the United States to certain countries, if you pay for the shipment and create the label through an online service.)

            I do know that in the past when I would ship out the USPS delivery confirmation and signature confirmation packages, in MANY instances the post office would deliver and not scan to show delivery. Eventually when I had a STACK of such slips where I paid for confirmation and got none, I turned them all into the local post office and got a tidy refund check.

            Nowadays the post office is much better with domestic delivery confirmation (now called USPS Tracking) and signature confirmation - it is rare, if ever, that they fail to scan at the delivery point.


            Come to think of it I think it is odd that the USPS claims that E-Delcon - for international packages - is delivery confirmation only, not tracking, but for DOMESTIC delivery confirmation now calls it USPS Tracking.
            Please read the forum rules before you post.

            And if you need extra help:
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            • #7
              UPDATE, E-Delcon tracking is now available as follows:
              Countries Accepting Electronic USPS Delivery Confirmation International Service
              Note: An asterisk indicates that service was temporarily suspended on June 12, 2014.

              Australia
              Belgium
              Brazil*
              Canada
              Croatia
              Denmark*
              Estonia
              Finland
              France*
              Germany
              Gibraltar*
              Great Britain and Northern Ireland
              Hungary
              Israel
              Italy*
              Latvia
              Lithuania
              Luxembourg*
              Malaysia
              Malta
              Netherlands
              New Zealand
              Portugal*
              Singapore
              Spain
              Switzerland
              Please read the forum rules before you post.

              And if you need extra help:
              Modee Tech Support

              Comment


              • #8
                Just a moment...
                Countries that support E-DelCon Service
                as of January 17, 2016

                E-DelCon Service was temporarily suspended
                as of June 12, 2014

                Australia Brazil
                Belgium Denmark
                Canada France
                Croatia Gibraltar
                Estonia Italy
                Finland Luxembourg
                Germany Portugal
                Great Britain and Northern Ireland
                Hungary
                Israel
                Latvia
                Lebanon
                Lithuania
                Malaysia
                Malta
                Netherlands
                New Zealand
                Norway
                Singapore
                Slovak Republic
                Spain
                Switzerland
                Turkey
                Please read the forum rules before you post.

                And if you need extra help:
                Modee Tech Support

                Comment


                • #9
                  At the moment it is not possible to ship via online USPS click n ship, First Class Mail International Parcels - must take these physically into a post office to ship! Been like this for a good week now.

                  Error message: First-Class Package International Service® is temporarily unavailable online. Please select a different Service Type or visit a Post Office™ location to complete your shipment.

                  Wonder if it has to do with the Grump government shutdown?
                  Please read the forum rules before you post.

                  And if you need extra help:
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