Buyer beware...

[bobber01]

First of all I do not want this to turn into some sort of a pissing match, just want to share my experience to hopefully prevent others from getting 'burnt' the way I have. I have no intention of naming the vendor at any point so do not ask as other vendors may operate the same way.
Late Nov I ordered and paid via Pay Pal ($625Cdn) for some CBX parts from a well recognized vendor on this and another CBX site which were promptly shipped via USPS. Hadn't received anything by mid Dec so I contacted the vendor asking for a tracking number, which was provided. After contacting Canada Post I discovered the parcel had been 'lost' at the local outlet. I requested an investigation and Canada Post's policy is that only the sender can initiate an investigation for International parcels, which the vendor did after I requested such. Early January the parcel was found by Canada Post but, for some reason, promptly sent back to the sender. Reason identified was it had been addressed wrong. During the month of January and February sent e-mails to the vendor asking status of the parcel's return, explaining why I needed the parts. Vendor seemed very uninterested in helping, my personal assumption is they had the monies so why worry. At the beginning I wasn't overly worried as I made the assumption that the parcel would of been insured for the value of declared Customs. Turns out it wasn't insured, only insurance carried went by weight... something I still do not understand but guess its something USPS has.... if someone could explain this to me I'd appreciate it. Getting back to the insurance, the vendor's method of insuring a parcel is only if requested by the buyer, a practice which seems backwards to me. I would of thought insurance would of been a given, especially when crossing borders with a declared Customs value. A side note here that the three Canada Post agent's I dealt with thought the same thing. I had thought of getting Pay Pal involved earlier however felt we could work this out, the vendor would help me by either offering to send more parts or refund some of the monies paid but when it came crunch time the true 'customer service' showed itself. So I didn't contact Pay Pal until yesterday knowing full well the 45 day limit had passed but still wanted to share this experience with them in the hope of making other potential customers of some questions to ask when ordering parts. I have given up expecting any parts/satisfaction from this vendor so ordered from another who was very helpful. Interesting side note is that yesterday I contacted the vendor stating I had given up on expecting any sort of customer service from him and would be sharing my experience with Pay Pal and fellow CBX'ers. Received an e-mail back starting off identifying he does not like to be threatened. Thought that was rather childish...
Here's what I'd like to share:
First is that if a parcel is shipped to Canada from outside and there's an issue, only the sender can initiate any sort of action.
Secondly is to ask the vendor what the insurance policy is.. don't get burnt like I did. Its my money to say ya or nay for insurance.

[EMS]

Vendor seemed very uninterested in helping, my personal assumption is they had the monies so why worry.

Secondly is to ask the vendor what the insurance policy is.. don't get burnt like I did. Its my money to say ya or nay for insurance.

This is the reason why I do not trust commercial vendors anymore. If I do not get my order within 30 days, I request a refund from Paypal and then let the vendor see how they get their money. Especially those who have a lot of feedback, i.e.: do a lot of business, do not give a hoot as long as they have the money. They also do not give a damn about a negative feedback or two.
Your only insurance policy is getting your money back as long as Paypal allows you to.
From your description, I have a hunch who you are talking about.

[Jeff Bennetts]

That's the true test of a vendor, anyone can sell stuff but when there is a problem that's when their true color comes shinning through, I also have a feeling who you are referring to and it's not the first time a situation like this has happened.

What parts are you looking for? Maybe someone here can help you out.

[bobber01]

That's the true test of a vendor, anyone can sell stuff but when there is a problem that's when their true color comes shinning through, I also have a feeling who you are referring to and it's not the first time a situation like this has happened.

What parts are you looking for? Maybe someone here can help you out.

Already taken care of. Thanks.

"If I do not get my order within 30 days, I request a refund from Paypal and then let the vendor see how they get their money."

I'm chaulking it up to a lesson learnt and thanks for sharing with others. Wise practice to follow.

[Louis]

The vendor was me...I have nothing to hide from. The address was provided by the buyer thru a Paypal. The Canada Post office screwed up for sure. I have spent about 2 hours with USPS trying to find out what happened, they said it is Canada that has to send it back. Once i get it back we can start the process all over again. I hope it comes back. Nothing against Canada, but they are the worst when it comes to sending boxes from USA. I told the seller if we do a claim he would only get paid based upon the weight/value. Once they start a claim and the buyer is paid it is over and if the box does show up they would keep it. We never insure a item unless it can break or get dented in shipping and again that is up to the buyer. As long as i been doing this never a lost package yet. This could be the 1st. Also for others to think about Paypal, they will not refund your money if there is a way to track the item. Even if the do refund your money they will take it back again if you seller has proof of Delv. I do not refund or replace items if it is not my fault. I pack items very well and can not remember the last time something got broke in shipping. If someone thinks there item has a chance of getting lost they should have it insured. 99.9% of the time they will not pay for service. This is what the delv confirmation says for this box. It looks like it will be sent back to me in the next day or two.

Detailed Results:
Your Item's Status
Your item was processed through our OPA LOCKA, FL 33054 facility on February 22, 2012 at 8:33 pm.
Item wrongly directed - Item forwarded / redirected, January 08, 2012, 12:19 pm, CANADA
Attempted Delivery - Item being held, addressee being notified, December 16, 2011, 6:38 pm, CANADA
Incorrect Address - Addressee's address being verified, December 15, 2011, 3:02 pm, CANADA
Arrival at Post Office, December 15, 2011, 3:00 pm, CANADA
Customs clearance processing complete, December 10, 2011, 12:55 pm, CANADA
Customs Clearance, December 10, 2011, 7:28 am, CANADA
Processed Through Sort Facility, December 10, 2011, 7:28 am, CANADA
Processed Through Sort Facility, December 03, 2011, 4:36 pm, ISC MIAMI FL (USPS)
Arrived at Sort Facility, December 03, 2011, 4:36 pm, ISC MIAMI FL (USPS)
Dispatched to Sort Facility, December 01, 2011, 5:08 pm, DUNNELLON, FL 34432
Acceptance, December 01, 2011, 3:09 pm, DUNNELLON, FL 34432

[tevan]

It seems like to me when you get your merchandise back you should for SURE refund his money.

[EMS]

Thanks for standing up, Louis and posting your side. To be fair, you were not the one I thought was the seller. I never heard of anybody having problems receiving parts from you.

[NobleHops]

Thanks for standing up, Louis and posting your side. To be fair, you were not the one I thought was the seller. I never heard of anybody having problems receiving parts from you.

Same here-Louis has consistently been the fastest to respond and the fastest to ship in my experience. I'm sorry about your frustration Bob, although I don't personally see much to blame Louis for. Sounds like some of this was self-inflicted with the wrong address info and some was attributable to the intransigence of Canada Post. Not that you asked .

N.

[bobber01]

Thanks for standing up, Louis and posting your side. To be fair, you were not the one I thought was the seller. I never heard of anybody having problems receiving parts from you.

Same here-Louis has consistently been the fastest to respond and the fastest to ship in my experience. I'm sorry about your frustration Bob, although I don't personally see much to blame Louis for. Sounds like some of this was self-inflicted with the wrong address info and some was attributable to the intransigence of Canada Post. Not that you asked .

N.

The address provided by Pay Pal is the correct address. It has apparently been 'confirmed' via Pay Pal(according from their Website) by various shipments being sent to my address by this and other venders. My suspicion, without physically seeing the parcel, is that the labeling had gotten damaged during shipment making it illegible.
This post I did not and do not want to turn into a 'he said she said' fiasco. My intent was to make others aware of some precautions/questions to ask when ordering parts from ANY vendor especially crossing borders, which was why I did not name the vendor. Any correspondence Louis and I have has remained between us.
I have to admit my surprise for Louis responding to this post since he didn't have too. He could of easily avoided any possible 'backlash' and for that I respect him.

[Jeff Bennetts]

I don't envy any vendor nowadays when it comes to shipping, UPS's prices have become insane, the USPS is unreliable and their ins claiming policy is a joke.

Since we are learning lessons here, I always put clear shipping tape over top my address labels hoping it will offer some extra protection.

Hope you guys get things worked out to everyone's satisfaction, CBX parts are too expensive to be floating around in never never land.

[NobleHops]

Yeah Jeff, it has indeed become a lot more expensive for Joe Blow to ship, no doubt about it. I get a discount on UPS through a trade association and it's still no bargain. USPS Priority flat rate is still decent for stuff that fits and isn't too fragile, but the rest is no bargain, and that's WITHOUT insurance.

I agree with what you said through, I hope everyone feels 'whole' eventually.

N.

[EMS]

Yeah Jeff, it has indeed become a lot more expensive for Joe Blow to ship, no doubt about it. I get a discount on UPS through a trade association and it's still no bargain. USPS Priority flat rate is still decent for stuff that fits and isn't too fragile, but the rest is no bargain, and that's WITHOUT insurance.

I agree with what you said through, I hope everyone feels 'whole' eventually.

N.

Not only Joe Blow is in for a surprise when shipping UPS. I sold a CB1100R tank on ebay to a guy in California. I send stuff through UPS at our company, which is supposed to be a preferred rate. I quoted him for shipping according to the UPS rate info based on the weight. It was around $20 or so. When I finally had to pay the bill, UPS had tacked on another $45.- for oversize box premium.
The USPS flat rate boxes are overpriced for the size of merchandise that fits into it. Just recently, when a member here bought the sport-kit handlebars and footpeg plates from me and they had to ship to Canada, I managed to get them into a flat-rate priority mail box that cost $39.99

[Louis]

Well i got good news. The box did get returned. What a waste of 3 months. Well it will get sent to the buyer as soon as we make sure all is well with address.
_________________
The worlds largest used Honda CBX motorcycle parts distributor

The label was in perfect shape as shipped.