So I bought a vintage watch via eBay about a week ago (total transaction under $200US) from the UK and I got a notification that eBay has flagged the package for "containing possible prohibited items" and my shipment could be delayed 3-5 days. Anyone else have this happen? The listing was unremarkable and the seller was a long time eBay seller who seemed to traffic in estate/yard sale finds. Aka, no red flags I could detect. What gives?
I would think that most overseas packages will get this treatment at the moment and may just have to sit there a while longer to be safe? At least you know it’s been sent and almost in your hands. Stay safe.
No radium. The watch in question is a ladies Hamilton Fontainebleau. Strap is a Twist-o-flex that I plan on tossing at the first opportunity
I sent something to Sweden USPS Registered (slow) the beginning of March, made it to Switzerland on the 15th and didn't move again until the 5th of April, finally to Sweden but still not delivered. This virus thing has made a mess of shipping, I think we just need to be more patient, which is really hard when you're waiting for a watch!
This happened to me once, but it was with watch parts. In the package was a winding stem and a crystal. I was mailed something by Ebay, but I didn't care much about it since I assumed it was routine. My package arrived safely, but it had some sort of sticker that said the contents were not compliant with a regulation of the European Union. I don't remember exactly. What is of essence is that everything was ok in the end. I guess they saw it said "crystal" and checked for counterfeit jewelry or something. Mine was flagged by customs as well. In Romania, if your package gets flagged you have to go and pick it up from the post office yourself, while the agent opens it in front of you.
Not an answer to your question but wanted to say I remember (vaguely) seeing a fair amount of TV commercials for twistoflex back in what must have been early sixties. They must have been a big thing. The commercials showed them being twisted around like a slinky.
Probably went through their (eBay’s) global shipping service instead of posting direct. Easier for the seller.
Exactly. I will attempt be patient and hope that the seller didn't do something stupid like lie on the customs forms.
What is Ebay anyway. At various times they have defined themselves as merely a classified ad service with no responsibilities. Then they are a flea market which isn't a seller but just a location provider, then they call themselves an auction house with methods to handle payments. As an auction house they had some odd rules. One they would claim an outbid second place bidder could still be responsible if the higher bid falls through. Lately, they seem to be the actual seller. They are collecting and remitting sales taxes by demanding all payments go through Paypal. I can't imagine how they can hold anything. If the item got shipped a carrier has it, not Ebay. How would Ebay get their mits on it?
Now they offer and prefer eBay shipping, where they charge buyers a large amount for them to hand it to a low cost carrier. Come on now don’t be daft , they have to make the money they don’t make anymore after selling PayPal
I've been on ebay 23yrs. My formula for both selling and buying is keep things simple. 'Buy it Now' only. USA shipments only. It may limit my market, but this avoids 99% of the problems that can happen.
A couple weeks ago I got this same notification for a package containing a movement and dial shipped from the UK, and my items cleared the process in a couple of days. I also got an updated shipping number afterwards, which I assume was because it had entered ebay's shipping service. There didn't seem to be any delay caused when the package got to US customs.
Status changed overnight to continue the shipping process and with a new tracking number, similar to @sonicosa's experience. Just enough to give me a small heart attack. It's a low value watch, but a rare one that I've been searching for about a year, so I wants it