Has anyone else had serious problems with Shopify Managed Markets / Global-e on high-value international orders?

Shopify Discussion
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Has anyone else had serious problems with Shopify Managed Markets / Global-e on high-value international orders?

I’m a UK Shopify merchant and recently used Managed Markets for my first international order to the US. The order value is around $3,500.

The parcel was shipped with FedEx and is currently being held in Memphis by US Customs, with FedEx stating that the shipment requires an importer registration/identification number such as an EIN or SSN before it can clear.

The biggest problem has not actually been FedEx — it has been the Managed Markets support structure.

Because the shipment was arranged through Managed Markets/Global-e, I am not shown as the FedEx shipper, so FedEx will not allow me to open a case directly.

I raised this with Shopify and an escalation was opened with the Managed Markets team on 7 August. Several days later, I had still received no contact from them.

After spending a considerable amount of time with Shopify Support, they confirmed to me that:

  • Merchants cannot contact the Managed Markets team directly.
  • Merchants cannot contact Global-e directly regarding these cases.
  • There is no published response time for a Managed Markets escalation.
  • There is no automatic re-escalation if a ticket receives no response.
  • Frontline Shopify Support cannot see whether Global-e has contacted FedEx.
  • They cannot see whether the requested customs/importer information has been supplied.
  • Shopify Support can internally flag the urgency, but they cannot see whether the Managed Markets team has acknowledged or acted on that flag.
  • There is no named Managed Markets specialist visible to the merchant or frontline support.

I was also surprised to discover during this process that my $3,500 shipment only has $100 of FedEx carrier coverage, as additional insurance was not purchased when the label was created.

I accept that I should have checked the insurance position more carefully, but I also feel that for a service called “Managed Markets”, the risks surrounding a high-value international shipment should be made extremely clear.

My expectation when using Managed Markets was that the international process would be managed — customs, duties, carrier interaction and the problems that occasionally arise.

Instead, when something has gone wrong, I have found myself in a position where:

I cannot contact FedEx as the shipper, I cannot contact Global-e, I cannot contact Managed Markets directly, and Shopify Support cannot tell me whether anyone has actually acted on the customs hold.

To Shopify Support’s credit, the advisor I eventually spoke to spent a lot of time investigating the issue, formally documented my complaint and submitted separate merchant feedback about the Managed Markets support model.

But the underlying issue remains unresolved.

I have also since discovered older discussions about Markets Pro — the previous name for Managed Markets — involving high-value shipments above $2,500 and merchants experiencing similar difficulties getting specialist support when customs or carrier problems arose.

I’m very interested to hear from anyone who has actually experienced this.

Have you had a Managed Markets / Markets Pro shipment held by customs?

Did the Managed Markets team eventually respond?

How long did it take?

Did Global-e/FedEx eventually resolve it?

And particularly, has anyone had a FedEx US customs hold asking for an importer EIN/SSN on an order over $2,500?

At this stage, once this shipment is resolved, I intend to remove Managed Markets from my store because I no longer have confidence in the support model for high-value international shipments.

I’ll update this thread with the eventual outcome, as hopefully it will help the next merchant who finds themselves in the same situation.

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Thank you, I really appreciate that.

I think what has frustrated me most is the feeling of being completely powerless. It’s a high-value order, the parcel is sitting in customs, and yet I can’t speak directly to FedEx, Global-e or the Managed Markets team that is supposed to be handling it. I’m not expecting problems never to happen with international shipping — they obviously do — but when they do happen, you need to feel that someone has ownership of the issue and is actively trying to resolve it. At the moment, that’s the part that feels completely missing. It’s been pretty stressful, especially as it’s my first Managed Markets order, so I’m just hoping it gets sorted before it turns into something much more serious.

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Hi @retrotechnical
For the immediate issue, I’d ask FedEx for the exact customs clearance requirement in writing, including whether the EIN/SSN is required from the recipient/importer and what specific information they need to release the shipment. Then attach that directly to the existing Managed Markets escalation and ask Shopify to confirm who is responsible for providing it.

For future high-value international orders, I’d also verify the importer-of-record details and carrier insurance/coverage before creating the label. That way, if a customs hold happens, you already know who is responsible for the required information and what coverage the shipment has.

Hopefully FedEx can clarify the importer requirement quickly and get the parcel moving.

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Thanks, that’s very useful advice.

I actually managed to get through to FedEx today after quite a difficult conversation, and they finally confirmed the exact issue. They are waiting for CBP Form 5106 from the sender, and the sender shown on the shipment is Global-e.

I’ve now passed that specific information back to Shopify and had it added urgently to the existing Managed Markets escalation. Shopify have since told me that two Managed Markets colleagues are actively working on the case, so at least it now feels like we’ve moved from a vague customs delay to a specific action that needs to be completed.

I completely agree with your point about checking importer-of-record details and insurance beforehand. This has been a real learning experience for me, especially on a high-value order. My main frustration has been discovering how difficult it is to get direct visibility once Managed Markets sits between you and the carrier.

Hopefully the Form 5106 issue can now be resolved quickly and the parcel can finally move.

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That’s great to hear! At least you now have a clear reason for the hold and the right team actively working on it, which is a big step forward compared to not knowing what was happening. Hopefully Global-e can provide the Form 5106 quickly and FedEx can release the shipment soon. Please do update the thread once it’s resolved, it could be really helpful for other merchants dealing with a similar Managed Markets issue.

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i will do but not holding my breath

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Update – shipment delivered, but I’ve now removed Managed Markets from my store

A quick update for anyone following this.

The good news is that the parcel was eventually released by US Customs and has now been successfully delivered to the customer.

After speaking directly with FedEx, I was able to establish that the hold related to CBP Form 5106 / importer identification requirements because of the value of the shipment. Once that was identified and pushed back through Shopify, the shipment was eventually cleared.

I’m obviously very relieved that the customer received the order safely.

However, my main concern was never simply that customs asked for additional information. I understand that can happen with a high-value international shipment.

The real problem was the support process around Managed Markets.

Over several days I found that:

  • There was no direct route to contact the Managed Markets team.

  • There was no direct route to Global-e.

  • There was no published response time for an escalation.

  • Shopify Support could not initially tell me whether Global-e had contacted FedEx or whether anyone had acted on the customs request.

  • There was no automatic re-escalation when the case received no response.

  • Because Global-e was shown as the sender, I could not deal with FedEx in the normal way as the shipper.

  • I eventually managed to call FedEx myself and establish exactly what document was holding the shipment up, and then told Shopify support.

To be fair, several Shopify advisers were extremely helpful once I managed to get some traction, and one adviser spent a considerable amount of time documenting the complaint and submitting separate merchant feedback.

Shopify Shipping Support later confirmed that, for this type of high-value shipment, the importer information is normally supplied directly to FedEx by the customer/importer.

My concern remains that the route to discovering that information was far more difficult than it should have been.

For a service called Managed Markets, I expected a much clearer support and escalation process when something went wrong.

As a result of this experience, I have now removed Managed Markets from my store. For the type of high-value vintage items I sell, I would rather have more direct control over the courier relationship and be able to speak directly to the carrier if there is a customs problem.

The important thing is that the parcel arrived safely and the customer has his order, but I wanted to update the thread with the final outcome in case anyone else finds themselves in the same situation.

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HI there @retrotechnical
For a higher-priced international order, I’d consider the customs hold and insurance two separate matters. The importer EIN or SSN requirement is generally to be fulfilled by the appropriate importer of record, so it’s important to confirm who should provide those details.

For future shipments, check the terms for shipping and coverage on Managed Markets prior to dispatch, particullarly for orders in excess of $2,500. Also keep all FedEx tracking, customs messages, and escalation references together so that if the shipment is delayed or returned, there is a clear paper trail.