Beware of eBay locations!!

Banbeer · May 29, 2019

I have, in recent months ordered things from fleabay that says posts from Manchester/London but actually hasn't arrived and when I send them a message stating this it turns out to be from China and they'll give me a refund!! OK I get my money back but it's annoying as I then have to reorder and start the process again waiting for delivery.
There are two companies I've had this with, Fantastic - home and Fantastic - flower (neither were Fantastic)

Chippy_Tea · May 29, 2019

I have had enough of ebay, i ordered an item from a U.K seller and after it had not arrived 7 days later i looked more closely at their details and they had a Chinese Emil address, i didn't bother complaining as i have found the process long winded and slow, i think i will vote with my feet.

On another recent occasion i sent a small item that was not of great value by royal mail and the buyer reported it had not been delivered, 10 days later they went through the complaints process and i was going to have to refund them so i sent them a picture of the receipt clearly showing their post code, the item turned up the next day and he cancelled his refund request. aheadbutt

kelper · May 29, 2019

I check the delivery times to avoid this. It is annoying.

Chippy_Tea · May 29, 2019

kelper said:
I check the delivery times to avoid this. It is annoying.

That is fine if they are honest!

Brew_DD2 · May 29, 2019

kelper said:
I check the delivery times to avoid this. It is annoying.

Sellers have begun getting crafty. Before you could see item location and delivery time. Now they just ******** that they are in the UK with a quick delivery time despite usually being in China. eBay will have to clamp down on it because people will just start voting with their feet.

MickDundee · May 29, 2019

I don’t have a problem with buying from China, other than the delivery time, although I usually find AliExpress and DH Gate to be cheaper than eBay.

Banbeer · May 29, 2019

MickDundee said:
I don’t have a problem with buying from China, other than the delivery time, although I usually find AliExpress and DH Gate to be cheaper than eBay.

I have knowingly bought a lot of stuff from China but that's the issue, I knew it was from China when I ordered it.

GerritT · May 29, 2019

I order from China if it's below £2, or it's a seller that I (or colleagues) worked with before.
I stay away from eekbay.

The Baron · May 29, 2019

Best read feedback that usually gives a impression if delivery time is not what is expected by previous buyers

Banbeer · May 29, 2019

the baron said:
Best read feedback that usually gives a impression if delivery time is not what is expected by previous buyers

I don't mind if delivery is a little later but what I object to is them saying they are in this country when they are not.

The Baron · May 29, 2019

Totally agree Banbeer theyb are getting crafty hiding where they are

Arcs · May 29, 2019

Without ebay I'd be screwed for much of the time. I suffer from peripheral neuropathy, which means I don't get out sometimes or just cannot. I've found overall when buying stuff it's been generally good to me. Of course there is a bad egg here or there but isn't there everywhere in life? But in my case it has always been dealt with and in locations like China. Well, it's 50/50 wether or not a container is gonna fall into the sea given those distances. Money is always returned. The only thing I steer clear of from China is clothes as they are child size, not western viking size

And as always in my case, I am looking for the best deal with as little wait as possible, so that extra couple of quid is well spent if you don't want to wait 8 weeks for delivery

foxbat · May 30, 2019

Banbeer said:
I have, in recent months ordered things from fleabay that says posts from Manchester/London but actually hasn't arrived and when I send them a message stating this it turns out to be from China and they'll give me a refund!! OK I get my money back but it's annoying as I then have to reorder and start the process again waiting for delivery.
There are two companies I've had this with, Fantastic - home and Fantastic - flower (neither were Fantastic)

This is called a 'fulfillment' service and it's now a common business model for foreign sellers looking to sell locally. Invoicing, postage, returns and warehousing are provided in return for a fee.

Gunge · May 30, 2019

Ebay gets lots of stick but I've made nearly 200 purchases over the years and honestly never had a problem. The one time an item didn't arrive, two turned up within a day of each other after I'd informed the seller of the no-show. Oh and just the other week a bottle of motorbike oil got damaged by the courier and the seller got another one out straight away. Then a week later another one turned up completely unannounced. A goodwill gesture or an oversight? Dunno but at £23 a pop I'm not complaining. Mebbe I've just been lucky.

Richie_asg1 · May 30, 2019

Generally I have had experience with Ebay. You are right there are a lot of sellers all operating out of the same building in Manchester. You can spot them a mile off as the email is usually Chinese, and they use such obvious seller names suck as Lucky3377. Often the pictures they use are all the same too as the Chinese versions.

You win some you loose some. I've had UK sellers refund my cash after an auction just because they didn't fancy selling it for what it went for. If you can wait 5 weeks for something then China is certainly cheaper than a UK seller who bought it 5 weeks earlier.
You just have to plan ahead a bit more.

MmmBeer · May 30, 2019

I regularly use ebay and have knowingly bought several items from China, without issues. I've had far more problems with amazon and no longer use them at all.

I have looked at the likes of Aliexpress in the past, but was concerned by the risk of import duties etc.

Chippy_Tea · May 30, 2019

Gunge said:
Ebay gets lots of stick but I've made nearly 200 purchases over the years and honestly never had a problem. The one time an item didn't arrive, two turned up within a day of each other after I'd informed the seller of the no-show. Oh and just the other week a bottle of motorbike oil got damaged by the courier and the seller got another one out straight away. Then a week later another one turned up completely unannounced. A goodwill gesture or an oversight? Dunno but at £23 a pop I'm not complaining. Mebbe I've just been lucky.

I used to buy and sell quite a lot back in the day and never really had any problems but the ones above have put me off, it was my own fault to a certain degree as i never said the item would have to be signed for so had no proof it had been delivered which you must have according to Ebay rules on claims (they will not accept a receipt from Royal Mail as proof), i suspect some buyer trawls Ebay looking for people sending stuff out standard delivery and will try it on if its something they want, if i sell something on Ebay in the future i will advertise the fact it will be a signed for delivery and the postage cost will be higher.

Rodj · May 30, 2019

What puzzles me is that I can buy something on ebay from China for a total cost of 99p. That 99p covers the cost of the item (including manufacturing cost and profit for the manufacturer), profit for the retailer, and airmail postage from China. If I were to buy the same item in the UK the postage cost alone would be more than 99p to post it to me from 10 miles down the road.

ITMA · May 30, 2019

Rodj said:
and airmail postage from China.

Definitely airmail? They often ship by sea in massive pallets, I assume the 99p item is in a massive batch and costs a fraction of a penny to ship.

Rodj · May 30, 2019

ITMA said:
Definitely airmail? They often ship by sea in massive pallets

I've no doubt that some (perhaps most) comes bulk by sea, but I have received stuff by airmail at ridiculously low prices.

Beware of eBay locations!!

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