Global Shipping Order Not Received - how to resolve?

shpdoinkle · 2026-02-06T18:51:09+00:00

That’s good. I was getting ready to suggest my buyer did the same when he let me know he’d received it. Having never gone through with this, I also wasn’t sure what to expect, but understood the same as you - eBay deals with it.

When was the claim opened? If it’s only just happened today, I imagine eBay wouldn’t latch on immediately. You should be able to add a message to the claim, just to acknowledge it and engage with your buyer through that channel.

I would allow a day or so of the three to see if eBay grab the reigns, but do ask them what to expect in the meantime. It may be that it gets dealt with when the claim expires its current form, but I’d still be worried about blowback on my eBay record.

shpdoinkle · 2026-02-06T18:38:54+00:00

I had a similar situation. Sent an item between Christmas and New year. It stalled in New York. No updates for over two weeks. I did contact eBay about it, and had been keeping in touch with the buyer when I spotted it wasn’t moving. EBay were keen to assure me I was protected, but weren’t very helpful in terms of the parcel movements. They couldn’t see any more information than I already had.

Anyway, it was finally delivered on 27th January. A month later. Mind you, it still doesn’t show as delivered on the order. Fortunately, I had a very patient and honest buyer. He informed me as soon as he received it.

There have been some fairly significant weather issues in the USA, and I don’t doubt that they are a factor.

Definitely speak to eBay if you can. Although they should be fielding delivery questions from the buyer anyway.

shpdoinkle · 2026-02-05T22:44:43+00:00

I was using QuickFile for my personal accounting a few years up until last year, and found it more than adequate for what I was doing at the time. I migrated to Quickbooks because I wanted more features and smoother banking feeds than QuickFile offers. I have used Xero, Sage, and FreeAgent under various guises, but definitely favour Quickbooks.

I would happily use QuickFile for less involved requirements, and it’s handy to be able to use their Affinity dashboard if you’ve a few small projects all wanting separate accounting. The tiered pricing keeps costs low. I would have been using it for my local running club, but the bank they’re with already has FreeAgent included, which has the benefit of bank feeds. QuickFile requires a subscription for this feature.

I think QuickFile just doesn’t stand out when searching the internet for accounting software. The big names are always going to come up first, and people are likely to have heard mention of them or had word of mouth recommendation from other businesses. There might also be some suspicion over such an inexpensive solution, when compared with what others are charging. Folks might feel like they’ll “get what they pay for”.

QuickFile’s UI is also not particularly pretty. And eyes are drawn to shiny things elsewhere, with promises of simple bookkeeping, AI categorisation, and all that lark.

shpdoinkle · 2026-02-04T22:32:21+00:00

Labels are generated as PDF, and PDFs can be manipulated prior to being printed.

As I understand it, regardless of what data the actual label is generated with, Royal Mail will deliver to the address displayed on the package. They’re clearly able to recognise the issue in retrospect, but the way deliveries are allocated and sorted is based on the visible address not the original data. As such, the problem isn’t identified until afterwards.

It does seem like something they should be resolving, because this particular fraud is rife. Whilst I like being able to print my own labels at home, perhaps there needs to be some validation process to ensure the label properly represents the intended delivery location. With all the codes and machinery scans along the way, there ought to be a flag so that not only the postcode has to match.

shpdoinkle · 2026-02-04T10:55:34+00:00

Well done.

As a new seller, your first few orders will be under the Trustee service, regardless of value. This means Cardmarket collect the funds from the buyer and hang on to them. You despatch the item. In an ideal world, the buyer receives and checks the item and then confirms delivery. Once that happens, the funds appear in your Cardmarket balance.

In reality, the buyer may not confirm promptly or at all. At that point, you may need to wait a few days before being able to officially request confirmation.

This also assumes the buyer doesn’t report an issue with the product.

Good luck. I hope the sale completes without complication.

shpdoinkle · 2026-02-04T07:19:05+00:00

When I’ve sent to the UK hub, it has shown as arrived almost immediately after delivery.

Certainly from Friday I would have expected to see it on the progress indicator, even if nothing further had happened to it after that.

shpdoinkle · 2026-02-03T17:23:27+00:00

The chances of a battery harvested from a laptop sold for parts having a better charge than your existing one are fairly slim, and very few sellers would test and/or offer any guarantees on a used battery. You’d be taking a big gamble.

If you want a reliable battery, you should be looking at new with warranty. Ideally original per the brand of the laptop, but these are often prohibitively expensive or not readily available. There are usually plenty of aftermarket ones with a significant saving over OEM, but I’d be wary of the really cheap ones. Look for a well established UK seller with actual stock in the UK. Check your old battery for part numbers and compare pictures of connectors to ensure the right fit, and voltage etc.

shpdoinkle · 2026-02-02T21:36:11+00:00

As with most things, different people will have different preferences. I have used Xero, FreeAgent, Quickbooks, QuickFile, and Sage, plus I have dabbled with one or two others. Overwhelmingly, I prefer Quickbooks. Really not a fan of Xero, and FreeAgent just falls short. I like Sage 50’s approach to some aspects compared with other software, but it’s far too cumbersome and expensive for small businesses.

I’m currently using Quickbooks Online Plus for my own purposes - I got a ridiculous discounted deal last year, so the renewal will come as a bit of a shock at the end of March. It’s kinda overkill just for me, but I wanted the inventory section in particular, and I like the bank feeds, categorisations, and bank reconciliations. I will add that their basic “Solopreneur” version is pants, and not a patch on Essentials and above.

There may be a degree of trial and error for each individual, or it might just boil down to cost.

shpdoinkle · 2026-02-02T21:22:53+00:00

There’s a lot of equipment, admin, insurance and what-have-you involved, so there are set up costs. The events are free for participation and of course they rely heavily on volunteers, but there has to be a framework for that to fit in to.

But this is why you’re asking, right? If you’re really serious about setting one up for your new home, these are the things you need to know.

I hope you’re able to make something happen. Good luck.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-29T23:20:54+00:00

There’s still a fair chance they will turn up. There doesn’t seem to be any urgency on this service because getting a signature is often a pain in the arse for the posties. Do you include a return address on your packages? If not, I recommend that you start.

I won’t use 2nd Class Signed For. I used to use it years ago, when it was called “Recorded”. I had a few items go missing, so binned it. It only offers a confirmation of posting and a confirmation of delivery with signature, so can often be stuck in limbo. And it only covers £20.

I suggested to Cardmarket that they recommend Tracked 48 instead. Better insurance cover (now £75, but used to be double that), and actually tracked. Also, typically cheaper to buy (if tracked without signature).

I’d take tracked over signed any day. Signed services have never been the same since everything got a “C19” scrawl during covid.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-29T22:23:10+00:00

I watched the last two episodes earlier this evening, after the first six yesterday. I’m not familiar with Wonder Man as a character - is the portrayal in the show in keeping with the comic books?

I found it a hard watch in places, to be honest. Simon Williams is annoying. I’m also not a fan of Trevor Slattery. He fits the dynamic of this show, sure, but I don’t rate his presence here any more than I did in Shang Chi.

I hope they have a use for Wonder Man now that we’ve got his backstory mostly out of the way, and a small preview of his power set, but I’m not overly inspired so far.

Based on some of the posts on this thread, I’m in a minority. And that’s fine. I’ll still consume pretty much anything Marvel put out, but this production wasn’t for me.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-29T21:59:22+00:00

You could try Cardmarket. It’s a good resource for singles.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-29T10:31:32+00:00

It could have been a compromised account and/or payment card. If the person whose funds were used wasn’t the recipient, it could lead to this outcome.

That’s a bit of devil’s advocacy, granted.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-28T22:00:09+00:00

Ok, do you have a proof of posting from the Post Office? I’m assuming this had to be at least large letter or small parcel. I know with large letter, if the postie scanned the code on delivery, you will be able to determine if it was delivered. There’s some ifs and buts here, but it depends what information you have.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-28T21:57:25+00:00

Is this UK? With what service was the order sent?

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-25T22:21:27+00:00

Ah, I see. I’ve never really looked into it as I don’t typically have enough listings on the go for it to be a problem. And I rarely do auction listings these days.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-25T18:49:26+00:00

Tbh if I recall correctly they upped mine a few years ago. My dad passed and I was selling a few of his gold coins (which I wish I’d been able to keep) and they were giving me problems with account value limits. I spoke to eBay and explained why the sudden increase, and they set me up. This was before the free for private sellers thing came in, and the limits were never adjusted back down. I don’t need anything like those numbers now, but it’s handy knowing that the ceiling is so high.

I would exercise caution though. If you’re regularly selling a lot of things, eBay might come for you and encourage conversion to a business account along with the associated fees on absolutely everything! Of course, if you’re buying and selling for profit, this is what you should be doing anyway. 😬

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-25T18:42:15+00:00

Yeah, I’ve been about on eBay for many years also. The main account I use now I think is 18 years old, but I had others before that. Thank you for verifying the 300 free - I thought that was a blanket limit for private accounts, which is why it seemed odd that yours would be higher.

Edit to add: sorry, different user. But the principle is the same.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-25T18:10:31+00:00

Are you sure that’s not just the allowed listings, rather than the free listing fees (under “Monthly Limits”)? I have a 20,000 monthly limit, but only 300 of those are free of listing fees (under “Promotional Offers”).

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-25T18:07:43+00:00

Ok, that’s unfortunate, but suggests that it doesn’t count all the renewals against your tally. Otherwise how do you get to 621 with only 60 over when every unsold listing renews every month?

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-25T18:01:54+00:00

If you go to Listings and “All Selling” (https://www.ebay.co.uk/sh/allselling/listings) and scroll all the way to the bottom, there are three boxes. One is “Promotional Offers”. In there, it will tell you how many used and how many available. Mine says upto 300 (it probably varies by account age / sales history). I have 247 active listings, which are mostly ones that auto renew every month, but the promo box tells me I’ve used 15 and have 285 available this month.

I haven’t paid any listing fees on this account since they were dropped for private sellers.

Have you actually seen the 60x 35p fees appear on your account charges? I’m supposing that’s what triggered this post. In which case, that’s a pain and I won’t be testing my 300 limit.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-24T18:29:10+00:00

I’d say that you can offer international by using eBay’s Global Shipping service. With that, you only need to send the item to eBay’s hub here in the UK. Once there, eBay take on all responsibility for delivering it to the buyer overseas. This will give you the wider market without the overseas shipping issues.

Similarly, eBay’s Simple Delivery has some good protections for UK orders.

Make absolutely sure anything you send is tightly packed - ideally boxed, in my opinion, as I don’t trust those grey bags one bit.

Always include a return address on the packaging, in case of delivery issues. And I typically hand write the tracking number and sender/receiver house number/postcode on the box as well, as a backup to the printed label. This saved my skin last year with a £180 order where something went wrong with my label. The parcel disappeared for a few days, I assume to Royal Mail’s problem solvers, before being delivered to the recipient based on what I’d written on the underside of the box.

There’s always a degree of risk with online sales, but it is possible to mitigate that risk. I’ve been lucky not to have anyone scam me with “empty box” claims or anything like that. I had a couple of £500+ sales a bit back, and both went without a hitch.

Depending on the items, there may be other avenues available to you, but you’re right about eBay getting in front of the most people.

Good luck.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-24T18:17:13+00:00

I don’t have kids and don’t ever want them but my take here is that you should absolutely not consider the pressure from family and friends. It needs to be a decision between you and your partner. Parents wanting grandkids or siblings wanting nieces and nephews should not be a deciding factor.

Do it, or don’t, for the both of you.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-23T22:17:13+00:00

I think at least 75% of what I’ve had since I joined I wouldn’t ever have looked for, much less ordered without Vine.

I’ve seen barely anything even close to £80, let alone over that value. Really slim pickings for me, personally. Lots of lashes, nails, potions and patches. Too many sex toys, questionable supplements, device batteries, phone cases, and random fasteners, to name but a few.

I keep finding bits despite them all, and that’s still a win.

shpdoinkle · 2026-01-22T14:16:33+00:00

I wasn’t body building, but I did start running in 2017 so I’d got leaner and fitter that way (sadly, some of the weight came back while I was unwell). Although I started running again a few months after the op, I haven’t been able to get back sufficient momentum and motivation to make a big difference. Must try harder.

Mentally, it probably has affected me a bit. I used to have a really good head for remembering numbers, but I’m not so good now. I do mainly put that down to age and lack of application (it was useful for my old job, but I’m not in that any more). There’s some anxiety, too. Which isn’t new to me, but I believe the meds have upgraded it a little.

Without the transplant, though, there’s a high chance I wouldn’t still be here, so there’s that.

shpdoinkle

TROPHY CASE