How can we demand more clarity from eBay regarding the Global Shipping Program
Summary: The discussion is about the lack of transparency in eBay's 'Global Shipping Program.' theodoreh2004 expresses concern about packages being delivered to an intermediate address unknown to buyers. This causes confusion, as tracking may show a successful delivery to someone else, creating panic and dissatisfaction. Other participants, such as Anonymous User and lingma85, share different perspectives on how long the problem has existed and the importance of learning about the process. However, theodoreh2004 insists on the need for clear, direct communication from eBay to avoid these misunderstandings. The debate highlights users' frustration with the lack of ongoing improvements at eBay.
On eBay, when a seller uses eBay's integrated delivery system, "Global Shipping Program", they are shown a delivery address that is not the buyer's address.
The buyer is not informed of this delivery address.
Very quickly, you can see in the tracking the mention "Item delivered and received by XXXXXX". Which is extremely worrying for the buyer.
When you turn to the seller, that is when you find out about a shipment to an address that is not ours. There, we totally panic.
In fact, the package is sent to a Pitney Bowes depot, which relabels the package to send it to us.
It would be much less stressful and worrying if eBay clearly informed buyers.
Who can we contact at eBay so they bring more transparency to these processes in order to reassure buyers?
lingma85
·3 years agoHello @theodoreh2004
The global shipping program was introduced in 2014... so that was quite a while ago... on the other hand, when it comes to listings indicating this delivery method, it's clear that if you don't know what it is, the least you should do is look into it to see whether it suits you or not and then possibly check with the seller...
A quick Google search, if nothing else, can be enough to explain it--> eBay: Global Shipping Program - Buyer Terms & Conditions
In fact, it's simply the sharing of responsibility for a parcel's journey, for example between the US and France... (the seller is responsible until the parcel is handed over to Pitney Bownes, and the latter until it reaches the target country, with customs clearance included in the fee + its charges)...
Ebay has already explained it... so it's up to users to do the research if they're curious...
Kind regards
theodoreh2004
OP3 years agoFirst thing: the listings do not systematically indicate this shipping method, and the shipping method remains at the seller's discretion.
Second thing: tracking often shows a partner tracking number (DPD, DHL, Fedex) when you click "track delivery", which then ends up with "Your parcel was delivered against the signature of SOMEONE ELSE".
Third thing: the seller, when they click on "buyer contact", does not see the buyer's real address but the one provided by the Global Shipping Program. So from their side, they quite legitimately think it's the recipient's address. And as buyers, we are not informed that our contact address is that of a depot. Can you imagine the nasty surprise, as a buyer, when you ask the seller where they sent the parcel and they reply "Well, according to your contact details, to 3 That-arsehole-in-the-middle-of-nowhere Far-away-from-you". And there you tell yourself that it's SOMEONE ELSE who ended up with your parcel as a gift.
Fourth thing: I don't give a **bleep** that eBay explained it in 2014. Parcel delivery happens in the present moment for users. I want my tracking to clearly show, instead of listing a partner first (DPD, DHL, Fedex,...), in the main display: "Pitney Bowes via a redistribution center" and "The seller does not know your real address, which will be relabeled by the redistribution center". Especially since the partner carrier, when you contact them, tells you: "Your parcel has been delivered. And it is destined for another country so it's not our problem; go look elsewhere".
That's BASIC communication. Clear, precise information that answers the customer satisfaction demands that managers keep hammering into operators' ears.
And for the record, in the order details and in tracking, nowhere does it say "Global Shipping Program", so you don't know that's the case. You know how I found out? By searching for the weird delivery address and stumbling across a multitude of panicked user complaints wondering if their parcel had just been stolen. (Proof that it's NOT clear at all). And before that, with the information provided by eBay, I ended up finding fragmentary information at DPD and Packlink, with 2 tracking numbers different from Pitney Bowes's. Do you realize or not that we end up with 3 tracking numbers, 2 of which lead you to a **bleep**-end and the most important one is not highlighted!
When so many people are complaining, at some point you have to question yourself instead of criticizing users.
The point I'm raising is part of what's called UX Design (User experience Design), and eBay has enough UX Designers, or the means to have them, to improve the interface.
Your response is pretty bizarre. It's as if I were accusing you of not knowing about law subsection~4 no. 4178 of the civil code, which repeals law no. 1768. And that even so, this article was published in the official gazette in 2014 amid a hundred other amendments.
Right now I feel like some dirty rebel because I'd like an improvement to be made for everyone's benefit. It would avoid worries, conflicts between sellers, buyers and carriers, and it would mean fewer pointless emails for all those involved.
I get the impression that the principle of "continuous improvement" is still a concept that's hard to take on board...
Anonymous User
·3 years agoThe problem is that the notion of "continuous improvement" does not exist at ebay.
If you want to force them to do that, I wish you good luck and best of luck.
lingma85
·3 years agore... @theodoreh2004
In addition to the previously provided link.... I invite you to read the one intended for buyers regarding international deliveries----> https://www.ebay.fr/help/buying/postage-delivery/changing-delivery-address-method/international-purchases-postage?id=4057
It’s part of the continuous improvement you’re asking for .. but that you haven’t looked at......
but still, you do have to make the effort to read a bit about how the site you use works... and open the links that are offered to you like here, for example.. in pink " learn more" on a UK listing---->
and also here on a US listing.. where you need to be curious enough to click on the little circle - "show details"....
It’s true that all of this takes an immense effort for the hurried and slightly absent-minded buyer who doesn’t look at the details listed on the item listing he’s buying because it “bores” him.....
best regards
theodoreh2004
OP3 years agoYou’re not listening.
No, that’s not at all what I’m talking about.
When you choose a carrier directly like UPS or Fedex (and not eBay’s Global shipping system), you don’t need to go digging through the help files: you’re shown the correct tracking number and the carrier name directly, and you know that the seller has the final destination address.
If you’re told DPD, you’ll track on DPD.
If you’re told fedex, you’ll track on Fedex.
If you’re told, for example, that it’s "eBay internation shipping" and "DPD", but eBay International shipping is a smokescreen; and DPD isn’t actually the carrier, and the seller tells you that your address isn’t yours, you’ve got every reason to freak out.
When you track the package on DPD because you’re told it’s DPD and DPD tells you "We’re not the ones handling your package", you freak the hell out!
When you’re in your eBay package tracking, what you should find is the carrier name Pitney Bowes directly, but believe it or not ... IT ISN’T SHOWN.
And what you show in your screenshot "eBay International shipping" is not a carrier.
The link you should find directly is this one:
https://trackpb.shipment.co/
And you still haven’t understood the concept of continuous improvement.
If there are a multitude of complaints, it’s because the system has flaws and still needs to be improved.
And right now, the continuous improvement I’d like is to have the TRUE carrier in "package tracking". It’s not by digging around in the Help section. The Help section is when there’s a problem and that’s exactly when we shout "Help! May Day! May Day!"
We’re not going to read the emergency manual to know how normal operation works.
And when in your package tracking you have "Package delivered and signed for by John Varsovia", you see red!
You still haven’t understood the request: information that is clearer, more direct, and more precise.
Imagine you take a plane in Marseille to go to Copenhagen; neither the airline nor the pilot warns you that it includes a stopover in New York, and once you’ve landed in New York, you’re told "Welcome to your destination, goodbye!". Believe me, you’ll bug out like never before. And it’s not up to other travelers who freaked out like you in previous years to answer your anxiety by telling you it’s a stopover. And if, on top of that, based on the airline logo on the plane, you go to the airline in question and they tell you "Oh, we don’t do Marseille-Copenhagen flights", your heart monitor is going through the roof! And to top it all off, someone comes along and tells you that you should have read the plane’s emergency manual to know what happens when everything is working normally. LOL
Do you read some of the complaints here about this? It NEVER stops, year after year:
"My package is marked as delivered, I didn’t receive anything."
"The carrier tells me they don’t handle this package. Where is my package?"
"The seller sent the package to an address that isn’t mine? How do I get a refund?"
"How can the carrier accept a delivery signature from someone who doesn’t even have my name?"
It doesn’t stop. So there’s a BIG problem. And if there’s a BIG problem, it means it needs to be FIXED so people stop asking these questions all the time. Bottom line: continuous improvement.
If you say everything is fine and there’s no need to improve, then you’re not in continuous improvement, you’re in the status quo.
These questions and worries I’m citing are also "false positives" in programming. False positives are alerts that go off by mistake because the application is badly programmed. An alert shouldn’t be triggered wrongly all the time.
That said, I’m not continuing this conversation because it’s a dialogue of the deaf! Unfortunately, it’s a classic when, as a user, you try to communicate with a company that is a giant of neoliberalism.
lingma85
·3 years agore...
you write----> "With that, I’m not continuing this conversation, which is a dialogue of the deaf ! It’s unfortunately a classic case when, as a user, you try to communicate with a company that is a giant of neoliberalism." after describing a few delivery issues...----->
"Do you even read the complaints here about this? It NEVER stops, year after year:
"My parcel is marked as delivered, I didn’t receive anything".
"The carrier tells me they’re not handling this parcel. Where is my parcel".
"The seller sent the parcel to an address that isn’t mine? How do I get a refund?"
"How is it that the carrier can accept the delivery signature of someone who doesn’t even have my name?"
Well yes... I do read them... and what I mainly see is that you’re mixing up two very different things..... eBay, which is an ad platform that connects sellers and buyers and also provides a bunch of tools to try to solve delivery issues and other problems... and users among themselves.. because eBay doesn’t buy anything and doesn’t sell anything...!
The list you made doesn’t concern eBay directly.. but rather the carriers and/or delivery people who do their jobs more or less well... and sometimes the sellers who mix things up by putting the wrong items in their parcels.. or the buyers who haven’t set up their account properly.
A little advice... forget low cost... spend a little on shipping and insurance to get a tracked delivery and you’ll see your parcel arrive like magic... as for wrong addresses, it’s often just a slip-up by the seller and it’s not eBay’s fault.
But you’re right.. You need someone to hold your hand to help you avoid mistakes. You won’t find that person on the forum.
Regards
lingma85
·3 years agoAlways @theodoreh2004
GIFT
To track your parcels... use this link... it tracks your parcels, even when there's GSP in the air-----> https://parcelsapp.com/fr/tracking/
Best regards
koalagris
·3 years ago"demand" something from eBay ???
Anonymous User
·3 years agoIt's been like this for years and eBay couldn't care less, no point in waiting for them to do anything about it.