USPS now shipping by sea, complicating my INR cases

[kirkland]

I sell high value electronics. Have had customers from GU and MP make purchases recently, and noticing USPS is doing some strange sh*t shipping them to my customers. apparently theyre going by boat and taking over a month to get there. This is causing some major issues with me as you can imagine.

One recent customer, purchased a $500 item which I shipped 10/16/25, and the last scan it got was 10/24/25. I called USPS and they said it's currently on a boat... it'll probably get to its destination in a week or 2. Problem is, buyer opened an INR case and I have only a few days to resolve it...

Now, I know it's not lost, because Ive been in this situation before. Few months ago I had a buyer in GU with the same situation, it took almost 8 weeks for her to receive her item but she was patient with the process. We communicated and the buyer just waited it out. This new buyer... not so much. I think he's exploiting the system because I see feedback from other sellers where they mention they had issues with refunds due to long transit times due to USPS's use of sea shipping... but there nothing I can do about that

In any case, I did see a feedback where the seller said he sent the buyer a refund, but ebay did refund him because the item was delivered eventually. And now Im wondering what I should do in this situation. From my experience, ebay CS won't side with you if you willingly refund out of pocket. You have to lose the case and then win on appeal, if you want a chance to get your funds. Thats how I was planning to approach this here.

What would you do in my situation? Simply wait it out, hope that ebay will extend the time of the INR case due to it being on a boat, but otherwise prepare to lose the case but send an appeal? Let me know your thoughts guys

[agent006140]

GU and MP ,are these country codes?Guam and Marianna Island?
How did you ship,USPS what?

[kirkland]

Originally Posted by agent006140

GU and MP ,are these country codes?Guam and Marianna Island?
How did you ship,USPS what?

Yes, correct. Guam and Marianna Island.

USPS Ground Advantage.

[agent006140]

well,USPS does not have its own planes,it relies on commercial airlines for priority,express mails.
You ship ground,so the only way to deliver is by boat.
Your buyer either has to pay priority or UPS/Fed Exp .
There should be commercial shipping to those islands,but it could be rather expensive.
You may want to get acquainted with some local freight forwarders/brokers to find out about Less than ship load,he may be able t o get you in

[kirkland]

Youre right, I should have shipped with Priority. Lesson learned.

But I just want to know how to deal with the INR case that exists now

[agent006140]

Ebay rep once claimed Ebay has a rule,itwill extend date of delivery if tracking shows movement-
Once an Ebay seller listed a used commercial restaurant equipment on Ebay and sold to a restaurant across stateline,she has it loaded on a truck.
There were some delays and the buyer (restaurant owner) filed INR on a weekend and won the case.
The item was delivered on Monday but too late,he ended up getting a freebie .
Ebay refused to reverse the payment,so she came to the seller forum and complained.
Then an Ebay rep said there is this rule,if tracking shows movement,Ebay would extend the delivery date !
The item plus shipping cost over $1k.
The seller does not have the item,she just took pictures of the equipment from a used restaurant supply store in her city and hope to make some money and ended up losing thousands.
Trucking company which conduct business interstate usually have 24/7 support line and she could have called and asked the truck driver not to deliver the item on Monday.
She claimed she does not know,well now she knows.

[agent006140]

One recent customer, purchased a $500 item which I shipped 10/16/25, and the last scan it got was 10/24/25. I called USPS and they said it's currently on a boat... it'll probably get to its destination in a week or 2. Problem is, buyer opened an INR case and I have only a few days to resolve it...

----
how about contacting Ebay and ask them if delivery deadline for Guam and Mari island would be different for USPS ground advantage,I bet Ebay does not take that into consideration.
They may have extended the date for Hawaii,and Puerto Rico,Alaska,does anyone know?

[Automasters]

Go cheap, get screwed....

[phaz0rz]

Just explain the situation to the buyer(s), politely apologize, and hope for the best. Buyers in those areas are probably used to it. Small chance they are purposely exploiting a loophole but the majority of buyers are willing to wait a while if you're patient with them and keep them up to date with the situation.

[Alex_Pro_Etsy]

It’s definitely a tough situation, and you’re right USPS sea shipping to GU/MP has gotten very unreliable lately. If the tracking shows movement and USPS confirmed it’s in transit, then the item isn’t lost, just extremely delayed.

Personally, I would not issue a manual refund. Like you said, if you refund out of pocket, eBay usually won’t protect you later, even if the item gets delivered. The safer route is to let the INR case run its course. If eBay closes it in the buyer’s favor due to the delay, you can appeal once the item is delivered and appeals usually work when tracking eventually updates.

I would also message the buyer politely explaining that USPS confirmed it’s traveling by sea and will be delivered, but ultimately stick to the official process. And yes, sometimes eBay extends the INR deadline when there is proof of transit, so there’s still a chance.

[agent006140]

You also need to educate EbAY on USPS ground to those places ,so its programmer will change the delivery date
If you call USPS 1-800 customer service,ask them to look into your tracking,they get to see more than what you see.
Also if your buyer file INR and win,see if USPS could send a notice to the local post office and ask them to return the item

[kirkland]

Originally Posted by Alex_Pro_Etsy

It’s definitely a tough situation, and you’re right USPS sea shipping to GU/MP has gotten very unreliable lately. If the tracking shows movement and USPS confirmed it’s in transit, then the item isn’t lost, just extremely delayed.

Personally, I would not issue a manual refund. Like you said, if you refund out of pocket, eBay usually won’t protect you later, even if the item gets delivered. The safer route is to let the INR case run its course. If eBay closes it in the buyer’s favor due to the delay, you can appeal once the item is delivered and appeals usually work when tracking eventually updates.

I would also message the buyer politely explaining that USPS confirmed it’s traveling by sea and will be delivered, but ultimately stick to the official process. And yes, sometimes eBay extends the INR deadline when there is proof of transit, so there’s still a chance.

This is what I relying on, and it's exactly what happened. It was delivered a few weeks ago, and I called to appeal it. The decision was overturned and my payout was sent.

Buyer's feedback indicates this is a pattern with him, as other sellers have lost their funds to him in these situations. I will just choose to not ship expensive items to US territories for the time being.

Got hit by 3 (maybe 4?) scammers this holiday season. Most its ever happened to me!

[agent006140]

Which commercial airline(s) go to these places?
Since USPS does not have its own planes,if it cant use the commercial airline,what other options does it have?
Military?private carriers such as UPS or Fed Exp,but not for ground advantge.
Puerto Rico seems to be better,2 flights daily