Canadians buying from US Amazon - 3rd party sellers - lost merchandise...

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by John B Good, Aug 10, 2019.

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  1. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame Thread Starter

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    Like many I stopped buying much from the US Amazon site years ago - the increased shipping charges, exchange rate, etc.

    But occasionally I do for things I can’t find on the Canadian site. And they are often from 3rd party sellers.

    But of 3 orders in the past 2 years, in 2 cases the order never reached me, and in the other one it was very late...

    Is someone in the delivery chain more likely to be stealing these items because they are not coming in Amazon packages?
     
  2. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    It could be many things. 3rd-party sellers typically use the cheapest possible shipping which usually means it isn't insured or tracked. In itself, that could lead to more possible problems with theft or loss.

    Also, keep in mind that a lot of 3rd-party sellers are drop shippers, which means that the items are stored in a warehouse (oftentimes faraway places likes China). In turn, this can translate into far longer delays in receiving the item and with the increased distance, there's almost always a higher chance of experiencing theft or loss.

    If you are relatively close to the border, you could enlist a warehouse to act as a recipient for your merchandise which you could pick up afterward. I use such a system and live 2h away from the border. When packages get accumulated to a certain degree, I make a run to pick everything up. My shipping charges are either much lower or nonexistent as a lot of retailers like Amazon offer free shipping. No duty either, although taxes have to be paid on all declared items for which I always have printed receipts.
     
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  3. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I’ve only ordered twice from 3rd party sellers on US Amazon. Both times were for used books. I got the books but I remember they took over 3 weeks to arrive through standard mail.
     
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  4. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame Thread Starter

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    In both cases where the product didn't arrive the site had an expected delivery date assigned and I didn't contact Amazon until at least 2 weeks past that date...
     
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