The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I sold a really nice brass reproducer on eBay this month. It sold to a Chinese buyer who opted to use ebays global shipping program. Those idiots pulled it as a restricted item and now most likely it is lost in a dump forever. Both the buyer and myself are fully funded but there is no way to retrieve the restricted item. I have no idea what they thought the item was... maybe a part needed for North Korea’s nuclear program?!??? Here’s the email I received. RESTRICTED ITEM
Dear Jeff,

We are writing to inform you that your recent GSP transaction to kaorin27 cannot be completed.

The item was stopped at the Global Shipping Center, and has been restricted from international shipment. The item will not be shipped forward to its final destination.
No further action is needed at this time. We’ve let your buyer know why the item couldn’t be delivered.

Under the terms of the Global Shipping Program your buyer will be refunded automatically, and you are entitled to keep the proceeds from the transaction.

They're taking radio parts as well. Apparently anything old they are considering hazmat, and apparently ebay then sells the item in the US and pockets the money.

http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtop ... &start=100

GrafonolaG50 wrote:They're taking radio parts as well. Apparently anything old they are considering hazmat, and apparently ebay then sells the item in the US and pockets the money.

http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtop ... &start=100

We REALLY need a competitor to EBay. Their practices and customer service are garbage.

It will probably get re-listed on ebay in a few months after the guy that took it home feels like selling it. Haha! I was reading about problems like this on the radio forum awhile back. And it's their GSP program that is 'losing' the stuff. Honesty is the main thing that holds ebay together no matter what they may think about it. It would be ironic if it was their employees ended up killing that thing off.

EarlH wrote:It will probably get re-listed on ebay in a few months after the guy that took it home feels like selling it. Haha! I was reading about problems like this on the radio forum awhile back. And it's their GSP program that is 'losing' the stuff. Honesty is the main thing that holds ebay together no matter what they may think about it. It would be ironic if it was their employees ended up killing that thing off.

The GSP program is crazy with stuff like this. I just sold a Berliner with records to Taiwan off my own little venue, shipped it direct, full insurance, and the buyer got it no problem.

eBay just can't get it together on anything. Too many "thinkers".

It doesn't sound like an eBay mistake. It sounds like the Chinese postal service is targeting eBay for special punishment. I'm sure it takes weeks and weeks to get the thing out of Chinese quarantine. That's probably why they ate the cost of the transaction (twice!) themselves. Would you prefer to be out the money for a month or two until it got returned, and then eat it if the postal inspectors tore it apart looking for contraband? I don't see why anyone would be mad at eBay. They're the ones that got the shaft on this, not the buyer or the seller. eBay took it on the chin for you.

bigshot wrote:It doesn't sound like an eBay mistake. It sounds like the Chinese postal service is targeting eBay for special punishment. I'm sure it takes weeks and weeks to get the thing out of Chinese quarantine. That's probably why they ate the cost of the transaction (twice!) themselves. Would you prefer to be out the money for a month or two until it got returned, and then eat it if the postal inspectors tore it apart looking for contraband? I don't see why anyone would be mad at eBay. They're the ones that got the shaft on this, not the buyer or the seller. eBay took it on the chin for you.

Actually, no... it's the Pitney- Bowes people who run GSP for eBay that make the determination according to my best info, which is insider info. If it was Chinese customs they would just confiscate it.

eBay ate the cost of the transaction because they have the goods and they will let their "selling partner" in Erlanger KY sell it. All these items wind up back up for sale by a couple sellers within 20 miles of the GSP Erlanger hub.

eBay eats the cost because that's part of the GSP agreement. Once the item gets to the Ky hub non delivery is no longer the seller's concern, because the hub is the PayPal designation address and PP says if it gets to their confirmed address for the transaction you are gold.

If they didn't eat it, nobody would use the program, which was created because most USA sellers wouldn't ship international because of corrupt postal services and scamming buyers like "customs hangers".

Yes. Exactly. I don’t even attempt to ship international unless it’s a collector I know. I knew the GSP agreement covered me but I am dumb founded how this was restricted plus how they knew what it was. The same buyer has just bought a hand full of items from me again including a 7” zonophone record. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Does GSP have a website with posted guidelines?

The ignorant person at GSP who confiscated the reproducer obviously didn't know what it was, and certainly didn't think something that big and heavy had anything to do with playing records. So he/she assumed it was restricted by default. I would not ship to China anyway.