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Beware of ebay


Essex nightsky

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Ordered something from China on EBay, hadn't arrived after 4 weeks so messaged them so they dispatched another one which didn't arrive so they sent another (also offered a refund) a couple of days later two arrived on the same day and a week later another one turned up, only cost a fiver inc so can't complain  :grin:

Dave

Dave-

Same experience with purchasing a football jersey as a present to my son-in-law.....contacted the seller (China firm) before hitting the Enter Button on eBay to confirm it will be there not later than X-date.  X-date came and went, flurry of mails, they assured it was shipped......I pushed "promised" card really, really hard....they advised they would send another free-of-charge with no ask to return the 2nd one (whichever arrived last).  I got 3....1 a week past the guaranteed date  but on the date I really needed it, and two 3 days later in separate mailings.  One look at the number of stamps and seals hitting the envelopes and I cannot imagine how these guys can establish any solid date.  Sent a note asking for return instructions on the 2 I now did not order or pay for, and they said to keep with their compliments.  So, a n honest co. in a complex postal/shipping infrastructure.

Marc 

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I think characterizing transactions in general as being commonly ripoffs, fraud, or scams is extremely unfair to the thousands of honest merchants on Ebay.

I see little at play in this case other than buyer ignorance. If one is unwilling to do one's homework, then one will be well advised to deal with a local shop.

In my case in 195 Ebay transactions on both sides of the table, I have never lost a dime.

Is it buyer ignorance, specifically searching uk only items, then checking the actual location stated on the advert (Gosport), then finding out the item is in fact located in china?

In my books that is plain deceit

Or was it a typo, meant to write Shenzhen but wrote Gosport instead?

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Is it buyer ignorance, specifically searching uk only items, then checking the actual location stated on the advert (Gosport), then finding out the item is in fact located in china?

In my books that is plain deceit

Or was it a typo, meant to write Shenzhen but wrote Gosport instead?

It was buyer ignorance that the person apparently failed to connect the receive by time with it not being in the UK.

"Delivery:Estimated between Wed. Jul. 22 and Wed. Aug. 5" is an example. One day past this and buyer can get a refund.

I get stuff with standard Royal Mail from the UK in 10 days, in Thailand. FLO gets shipments to UK buyers overnight. IMO anything listed with a deliver by time over 3 days is not in your country. I no longer buy items from mainland China because of the slow shipping. As I said earlier, the same items at a similar price are often available out of HK. 10-14 days is much better than over a month.

My use of the term ignorance is in the sense of "lack of knowledge" not a personal affront.

The terms of Ebay have been developed after dealing with millions of transactions with all kinds of buyers and sellers. I believe their rules and procedures are sufficient to protect both sides.

If the buyer can show that fraud was committed, Ebay will refund purchase price and original shipping.

I don't believe a better system is a reasonable expectation.

It's been around since the Roman Empire and probably not a new idea then, Caveat Emptor.

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My wife and I get a stack of stuff from China. Obviously if we want it quickly we'd search in Australia only, but otherwise are happy to wait. We have had a couple instances where the item was very late, got a refund (of $0.60!) and the item arrived a few weeks later. But that isn't just from China. We've had a couple items go missing altogether that were ordered from the UK. One Seller got argumentative claiming we have received it and were trying to rip him off. Got a refund eventually after a few weeks of back and forth emails.


 


Considering many items offer free postage from China, even if the item itself costs less than $1, how they get it here in the first place and still make a profit is remarkable.


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Just my two pennyworth, but I have bought and sold many items on EBay, including some purchases from China. Never had a problem. Maybe I've just been lucky.

Given the vast number of EBay members buying and selling, It is inevitable that there will be some bad apples, and dodgy goods, but overall, it's very good.

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Fair comments folks - I just like to reduce the odds of getting caught out and would much rather keep the business local than ship it out to another country. That's me I guess. :)

Agreed in principle,well I guess I'm weak in economics. I fail to get how paying more for an item from China, but giving them the business ultimately anyway benefits anyone except for the local re-seller.

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Fair comments folks - I just like to reduce the odds of getting caught out and would much rather keep the business local than ship it out to another country. That's me I guess. :)

to be fair Kim, unless the product is uk made, then you're just paying someone to import for you. I see no harm in cutting out the middle man

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Well the advantage for me Scott is that - if there's a problem, I'd have someone local to deal with immediately and quickly, I wouldn't have to wait weeks on end wound up wondering who I'm dealing with and what the outcome will eventually be.

I'd rather pay a little more to the importer for that level of recourse - I just don't have the time or resources to chase potentially doubtful disputes half way round the world. It's a valid point you make about cutting out the middle man to reduce the cost sure.

Ultimately it's just a personal preference that I'm happy to pay a little extra for - I do try and buy British where I can - though I concede it gets harder to do that these days. :)

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I completely agree that it is so much easier to sort problems out locally, but thats for myself, not the local dealer. I've misunderstood your post and assumed it was to support local business rather than easier recourse. if it was to support local business, then its no different from washing your own car rather than paying the local carwash. we all want to save money where possible to spend on what we want...it makes sence really :)

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I believe this is a business model where the local person advertises and get's a commission for sales which are fulfilled from a central distributor. The distributor can be in the UK or as we have seen China or Malaysia - you just need to check the typical delivery time warning to get the idea. That way the it generates more sales for the distributor as it looks like a local deal.

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