[vladimiroltean]

Sorry, I couldn't find a more appropriate place to post this
I bought a Pentax MX for parts from ebay.fr, and the seller doesn't want to ship outside of France. I thought this wouldn't be a problem because I have the address of a proxy shipping service in Roissy-en-France, in the suburbs of Paris. But the seller insists to use a shipping service called Mondial Relay, and to my knowledge this only delivers to lockers. The closest locker to that address is 5.5km away, in Tremblay-en-France.
I've emailed Mondial Relay customer support and I'm waiting for a confirmation that there's no way they can drop off the package where I want it to, but assuming they won't: is there any commercial service in Paris that can transport packages on short distances, similar to food delivery services, that can do this for me?
Thanks for reading.

[sergeremy]

Hello Vladimir, Mondial Relay does have some lockers, but generally deliver to commercial partners (i.e. stores, tabacs, etc.)where the recipient (having chosen their preferred place of delivery from a list) picks them up. Mondial Relay do not deliver to your home or any specified adress. La Poste do, but they are much more expensive. If you cover the costs, I fail to understand the seller's stance...

[vladimiroltean]

Despite the name, Mondial Relay doesn't ship globally at all, just to a few countries from western Europe.
The seller insists to use Mondial Relay, and also insists to send only in France. He said that ebay rules oblige him to ship in 3 days, or cancel the order (I paid within half an hour of the auction ending).
It doesn't matter that the steps required for him to send the package to Germany using Mondial Relay are the same as the ones to send to France. In Germany there is another proxy shipping service with in-person delivery possible. But it doesn't matter, if he said only France, only France it is.
So I planned a short last-minute plane trip to Lille, and gave him the address of a store that works with Mondial Relay from there. He seemed happy. If he's happy, I'm happy.

Now in parallel, I had also bought a few days ago a Spotmatic F for parts, also from France ebay. Asked the seller a question right after the bidding ended, no answer. Doesn't matter, no biggie.
This seller was offering international shipping, but I still chose the proxy service, because it turned out to be cheaper.
Today I get a notification from ebay that the seller created a tracking number and left the package at his local shipping center. Mondial Relay again.
Now, this seller didn't even notify me that there isn't any Mondial Relay drop-off point in Roissy. He just dropped it off.. somewhere. For in-person pick-up, I suppose, but I've no clue.
I sent him an email asking to contact Mondial Relay to change the drop-off point to Lille, where I'd be picking up the other package already. No answer, of course.
I also don't see any option with Mondial Relay for me to change the shipping destination from one city to another. That was an option when the shipping label was created, but I don't see it now. Mondial Relay didn't even reply to my message from yesterday, I don't see a point in sending them yet another message. I've no clue what's going to happen with this one.


Fun stuff!!!

[sergeremy]

Wow! I just steer away from people who won't consider reasonable requests. Hope it works out for you.

[VictorDA]

I also don't see any option with Mondial Relay for me to change the shipping destination from one city to another. That was an option when the shipping label was created, but I don't see it now. Mondial Relay didn't even reply to my message from yesterday, I don't see a point in sending them yet another message. I've no clue what's going to happen with this one.

Dear Vladimir,

As you correctly pointed out, Mondial Relay is not mondial at all. It is basically a French carrier that delivers to "relays" (a network of stores or services) where the recipient can then pick up the package.
Some senders prefer this service because they are accustomed to it, and because depending on where they live getting access to a traditional post office can be more bothersome than accessing a "relay".
Anyway, it is also a cheaper service than door-to-door mailing, and the level of customer service is pretty "low-cost" too, that's their business model.
Sorry to say but there is no way to change the destination after a package was dispatched, that is confimed by their website: https://www.mondialrelay.fr/faq/recevoir-un-colis/je-souhaite-modifier-le-po...t-ce-possible/
In principle, at the order stage, you should have been offered the option to choose yourself the exact pick-up point for each package. Was that not the case?

If I understood you correctly, you now have
- 1 package wainting for your pick-up in Lille => you plan to pick this one up yourself soon
- 1 package on its way to Roissy or nearby and you don't know where exactly => you currently have no solution for this one

For your second package, do you have at least a tracking number? If so, you should be able to find out the current location and exact destination of the package.
Then, options are:
1) go pick it up yourself (a lot of road for a single package)
2) find a nice trustable fellow here on the Forums or via any other network of yours to pick it up and ship it to you (I'm not offering myself, sorry, I'm way too far)
3) simply don't pick it up, it will be shipped back to the seller's drop-off point 14 days after reception. You will need to work something out with them then (maybe with Paypal's help if relevant)

[Kerrowdown]

I’m sorry but I’m too far away from the rest of the world, here in the Highlands to be of any assistance.

[vladimiroltean]

So not to leave this on a cliffhanger, I picked up the two packages today from a Mondial Relay pick-up point in Lille, one package with a Pentax MX and a few lenses, and the other with a Spotmatic F and SMC Takumar 50/1.4.
About only good thing about this shipping service is that at least they give you 2 weeks to pick up, this gives you some time to buy some plane tickets at reasonable prices.

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