E-commerce

Internet commerce stumbled over Russian Post

On the global trade map, Russia is more and more like a black hole. DHL, one of the largest postal express operators in the world, warns: now only letters arrive in the Moscow region. With shipments is a problem.

Judging by the official report, the delays are associated with a change in the procedure for customs clearance. What exactly has changed is not specified, but this is not the first time when foreign parcels have difficulty making their way to Russia.

Last week, an open letter appeared on the eBay Global Internet Auction Forum. The authors claim that since January the delivery of goods through the Post of Russia has increased from two weeks to two months, and some recipients have been waiting for their parcels since autumn. Because of this speed, many eBay auction sellers refuse to work with Russians – after all, according to the rules, the goods must be delivered within 30 days, otherwise the seller’s account may be blocked as fraudulent.

Delivery problems are a constant headache for Russian electronic sellers. “Post of Russia” officially delivers our order in the country from 2 to 6 weeks. It really is a lot. The second claim to the mail is always its unpredictability. Because it can deliver in a week, and maybe in two months. As for the wording such that “Russia has been substituted by“ the Russian Post ”, this is probably not entirely correct. There is also the Federal Customs Service,” says Mikhail Osin, director of public relations for the OZON.ru online store.

Neither the postal nor the customs service does not recognize his guilt. The general meaning of official statements: we work rhythmically and on schedule. However, such a pace, obviously, does not suit e-commerce, the market of which is booming.

“The average growth was up to 60% per year, last year – 20%. A decent growth, this is a very big indicator. Therefore, if this is really the case, then the prospects are not very good,” said Mikhail Osin.

Some companies, including OZON.ru, have found a way out, in fact, having created their independent mail in Russia. In the regions, branded logistics centers are launched, which ultimately costs less than the sluggishness of traditional delivery. After all, in cities where “parallel mail” opens, sales doubled.

The world’s largest online auction site eBay and a number of foreign online stores this week began to refuse to sell goods to buyers from Russia, because since the beginning of this year the delivery time for parcels by Post of Russia has increased from 2 weeks to 2 months, reports Newsru.com. According to the rules of the payment system PayPal, through which payment is made at auction, the goods must be delivered to the buyer within 30 days from the date of payment. Exceeding the delivery time without a refund threatens to block the seller’s account, the newspaper notes.

Pochta Rossii stated that neither the online auction site eBay nor any of the online stores officially announced a break in relations. Nevertheless, consumers ordering goods from abroad are going to throw “Russian Post” with lawsuits, according to BFM.ru.

Earlier, a number of media outlets reported that the popular online auction site eBay could break off relations with Russia due to the increase in the delivery time of orders to customers.

Pochta Rossii admitted that at the Moscow international postal exchange point, there are cases of late processing of international mail arriving at recipients in Russia from abroad. This is explained by the fact that the growth of postal items was 64% in January-February 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.

Buyers, sellers and intermediaries of eBay.com, communicating on the forum ebay-forum.ru, decided to file a class action lawsuit against Russian Post, but this form of the claim is not provided for in Russian legislation. Representatives of the Consumer Rights Protection Society advised them to file individual claims on a massive scale.

Only in 2009, the Russian e-commerce market grew by more than 50% – to $ 5 billion. In the meantime, Alina Pravdzhik, director of business development in Europe for eBay, advises Russian clients to use alternative delivery options, which are guaranteed to enable the use of auction services.

The fact that in recent months, the situation with the delivery of parcels from abroad has deteriorated sharply, it is not difficult to be sure by following the complaints in numerous online forums. Modern services allow us to track the route of parcels, and many have noticed that for some reason the cargo sent by him was stuck at the sorting station of the Kazan station in the capital (even if this cargo was sent by air, not by train).

In addition, Moscow post office workers refer to the general overload of the information system due to its updating.

Recall that in December 2009, the Post of Russia warned customers almost imperceptibly that due to the change of the information system software from December 19 to December 27, 2009, “the processing time and sending of international mail, including EMS shipments, as well as the timing of the transfer of information to the UPU MB on registered mail and mail may be extended.”

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