Foreign Sellers advertising their items as located in Australia

[fishalot3939]

Hello Everyone,

I have found  that Ebay are well aware the issue of items being listed as being located in Australia when they are actually located overseas, 

A google search shows Ebay have had many complaints made about this very issue for many many years, but Ebay seem to think it is ok to breach the Australian Consumer Law, by misrepresenting the location of the products, possibly with an eye on making profits in preference to protecting the rights of purchasers

(I am happy to talk with Ebays laywers if they have an issue with this opinion) Ebay publish the ads, it is their responsibility to ensure that they are complying with the local law.

Recently a good percentage of Items I purchased , with the belief they were located in Australia, have been late to arrive, and when checking the tracking and packaging have actually been sent from China.

We all know these items originate from China, but I am usually happy to pay more for faster delivery if they are sent from Australia (Australia Post delays are another issue, Covid is a poor excuse after more than 12 months)

I have sent Ebay a complaint with a copy of a current listing stating it is located in NSW, it was posted from Shanghai.

And a copy of a reply email from the seller saying the item is late as it takes 5 days to process the order in NSW and then 5 days for the delivery, a lie as based on the documented tracking,  it had already been sent from Shanghai China, obviously this seller is a dropshipper.

A copy of a message I sent to the seller with the tracking information attached.

A copy of the tracking details showing it was sent from Shanghai 2 days after the payment was made.

Then

I received an Email from Ebay saying they take breaches of their policies very seriously and will take appropriate action, however they cant tell me what that is due to privacy considerations.

Really, how is it a privacy issue to provide the details of actions taken to remedy an issue that breaches Australian Consumer Law by misrepresenting an item for sale.

Due to Ebays reluctance or inability to have any changes made to the advertised item  (which is only 1 of many that I have personally been effected by) I have just reported the issue to the ACCC.

Hopefully they will make Ebay accountable for the misleading information in many of the ads they publish and accept commissions for .

If you have had similar issues it may finally get Ebays attention if you could put some basic info here for them to see.

Thank you for taking the time to read about an issue I find quite unfair.

[davewil1964 · Accepted solution]

eBay neither read nor respond to posts on the boards.

There are many threads about this issue, so eBay AUSTRALIA seem to not care, or not have jurisdiction.

Good luck with your legal action. Please come back and let us know how much it ended up costing you to tilt at windmills.

[imastawka]

Ebay is just the platform for sellers.

Each and every listing states...........Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.

[sandypebbles]

Such a shame you did not spend even an eighth of the time checking who you were buying from as you wasted threatening eBay on a forum they do not even peek at

Nor even leave the sellers you complain about negative feedback for that matter

Let us know what the ACCC say

[fishalot3939]

Thank you for your opinion.

Negative feedback will be left once the waiting time that Ebay require has passed.

ACCC has replied and will give their response in the coming weeks.

[repentatleisure1952]

"ACCC has responded and will give their response in the coming weeks".

[fishalot3939]

I think you should read things a little better,

What it means is that the ACCC has replied to my query and will give their response to the matters raised in the coming weeks.

It seems like this isn't the place to be raising matters relating to Ebay so I will take that as a lesson learned.

[sandypebbles]

Not if one wants honest answers, no

The ACCC will not act when the seller is not in Australia , simple as that

Nor are overseas sellers subject to 'Australian consumer law' 

Maybe take it up with buyers who over and over again choose to keep such sellers in business when all the information need is right there, unhidden and available to them before buying 

[padi*0409]

As said the ACCC has no jurisdiction over sellers registered overseas. What you can do in future is check where sellers are registered by looking at their feedback, most of the time that is where the goods will be coming from, and while you're on the feedback page check their %, if it's less than 99.5% for a high-volume seller be wary of them. Also look at revised feedback, that can give an indicator of how reliable the seller is.

[jellybirddesigns]

The ACCC will have zero effect on Ebay. There have been complaints for YEARS about Chinese sellers misrepresenting item locations and you are not the first to say that they have complained to the ACCC but Ebay is not the one breaching the law - the individual sellers are, as they are the ones who are fully responsible for the information in the listing. The ACCC has no jurisdiction over a seller in China who chooses to falsely put down an item location.

Knowing how big an issue this is, buyers need to do their due diligence and look to see where the seller is REGISTERED, not where the item is located, as this will help them decide whether or not to purchase. Buyers need to also look at the sellers feedback. Plenty, plenty buyers have come to the boards moaning about a purchase that was not as described, but when we look at the seller, we can see right away that they have a poor rating. If people are going to continue to purchase and not pay attention to any of the red flags, then we cannot really do anything.

The only silver lining for yourself is that if your purchase was faulty for some reason and you opened a case, you would be refunded as the seller is in China and cannot issue you with a return postage label. 

I suggest you leave appropriate feedback immediately as there is a fixed time frame in which to do so.