Be wary of Global Shipping Program

A couple of weeks back I bought an old Nemrod pneumatic speargun on eBay from the U.K. Everything went well and the seller boxed it up and sent it via the Global Shipping Program. I watched the tracking as it progressed through the usual security checks and then it seemed to be on its way. Then it had a hold applied, but I am not sure exactly where that happened. Pretty sure the package never made it here. Then after about a week I receive another update from eBay saying it is on its way again, immediately followed by another saying you have been refunded and then yet another saying that it is a restricted item! Now as we all know that is neither true in the U.K nor here, but to add to the surprise the communication said the seller does not get it back! I corresponded with the seller and he is similarly dumbfounded. Now has the gun been spirited away or is the Global Shipping Program ran by fools or crooks? Never had such a problem before and neither has the seller. I fancy this is due to the Global Shipping Program, from whom I have had consumer goods delivered with no problems, but never had a speargun sent this way before and maybe they don't ship such items. If so then they should have said so before accepting the shipment.

Unfortunately that old chestnut of spearguns being banned weapons still permeates many shipping organizations, including younger staff in them who act on their own biases of what rules are or should be, rather than the reality of what the rules actually say. I have had many a discussion with self-opinionated people who have told me that I am mistaken, but these discussions have been guillotined by a letter that I received from Customs clarifying the situation once and for all. Amazingly 17 years after I first received it I still have to use it on some occasions, like now, but often the correspondents at the other end go into hiding and refuse to acknowledge any further communications. Hence while they shirk any responsibility for the decisions that they make you can end up losing your property. Writing letters to their superiors may not get your gun delivered, but you can make them squirm none the less.

Update: turns out the actual physical shipper was DHL. I put in a complaint to them and was told that they would look into it, then a day later received a reply from someone else. She said that a speargun was a weapon and DHL don't ship weapons and the speargun was being returned to the seller, end of story, full stop, and the file is closed. This person is in Australia and so it seems was the gun, so it did get here. My Customs letter showing that they are legal items was ignored, apparently a weapon is a weapon and that is that. So very curious that about four years ago I sent a Turnbull speargun to the USA via DHL from their local depot about 20 minutes away by car and in my presence the shipping clerk there opened one end of the package to check the contents. Satisfied with what it was they then resealed the box, I paid the money and it was on its way. So what has changed or has someone decided to play safe and trashed the shipping costs paid by sending it back? That last part is rather at odds with the first advice that the item was not coming to me and that the owner was not getting it back either! I keep all correspondence, so this inconsistency will not be swept under the carpet.

Basically the item has been effectively stolen from the seller as he does not have it and someone else does, but they never paid a cent for it. May turn up on eBay or Craigslist eventually, but be aware that it does not work and as usual for these old Nemrod’s the muzzle has seized up.

Interesting to note that a Huntmaster gun which I purchased recently as a present for someone is being delivered by DHL. So much for the assertion that they don’t ship weapons!