Nintendo Wii: Finally Here

My brother has wanted a Nintendo Wii for some time (as have I) but I have been reading that Nintendo was (as usual) having troubles getting stock out on the shelves of retailers. So what does someone do when things are in short demand and retailers can’t keep them on the shelves? You look to eBay!

After a little while at looking at the various auctions for Nintendo Wii consoles and out bid in the last seconds of the various auctions we found one that allowed us to out bid the other people.  The transaction was smooth and the seller was quick to respond.

Seems pretty typical right? Well not in this case. Canadian Customs decided to hold the product at the Vancouver location after being shipped from Jamaica, New York.  According to US Postal’s tracking system (which to me is a piece of crap)it was being held by customs. Canada Post told me that it had safely arrived in Vancouver but Canada Customs is holding it for some reason. This was 1 week after it should have been delivered to my front door. Oh did I mention I spent $70 on shipping? Why must people gouge you in shipping prices on eBay! I could have shipped the item to Russia in 2 business days for less money!

Now the amount of money that was being spent was now weighing on my brother since we’ve been waiting 2 weeks for this item that should have taken 3-5 business days. I phone call to Canada Post said that the Seller would have to call US Post and have them start an investigation. Well the Seller got back to me and said it would take 1 to 5 business days!! Why can they not just called Canada Customs and ask why the package is being held? After 5 business days and nothing from the Seller I escalate the issue by starting a case with PayPal to get out money back. My brother says to give it till the following Monday (3 weeks at this time) for an answer from the Seller after the need to escalate the issue.

Checking the tracking number on Monday shows that the item was released and being delivered the following morning to my residence. Yay! No word from the Seller until I sent them an email stating that Customs has released it and I will be able to pick it up on the next day. I asked why Canada Customs held it but he did not give me any reason.

After getting it home I set up the Nintendo Wii and started playing it with my little Sister.

This has been my worse experience with eBay and having an item I’ve won shipped to me. I normally sell things on eBay and have never had such an issue like this before. I hope not to have any more issues even though I am now a bit more skeptical about purchasing items from eBay.