Sellers from overseas pretend to be in Australia

[mdgli]

It is getting worse.

It seems that most items are sold by overseas vendors.

in the located in : it will state a place in Australia but actually the item come from China.

The order will be marked as "posted" while the tracking shows "Shipping information received by Australia Post" yet the actual package shows up at Australia post two weeks later.

In many cases the delivery miss the ETA by far.

As eBay do not sanction against this kind of practices it become the norm.

It come to a situation that you can't really trust the ETA.

[jellybirddesigns]

There is nothing stopping a seller saying that the item location is in Australia - how would Ebay know that it is not?

My son ordered some craft items last week, expecting them to come from China and take several weeks to get to him. They turned up yesterday in packaging that had an Aus Post label on it. So, some sellers do indeed keep stock within the country. 

The main thing is to look where the seller is registered as well as their feedback and overall score. For a high volume Chinese seller, you would not want their feedback to be less than 99.8%, regardless of where the item location is.

[mdgli]

My main point is that a lot of orders are coming much later than the ETA with no consequences for the seller.

[jellybirddesigns]

If the ETA has passed, are you opening a case for "Item Not Received"?

If you open a case within the timeframe given by Ebay, you should be refunded, which is the financial consequence for the seller.

[springyzone]

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@mdgli wrote:

My main point is that a lot of orders are coming much later than the ETA with no consequences for the seller.

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As jellybird says, you don't have to put up with that sort of nonsense, if you suspect the seller has lied and it is coming from China.

Make an ebay claim soon after the ETA has passed and you should get your money back.

If the item arrives later and you notice it was actually sent straight after you bought it and it is from Australia, you can always refund the seller.

If the labels indicate China or it was repackaged weeks after the date you bought, then you can let it slide. That's definitely a consequence for the seller.

Personally, I have found very few sellers these days get the ETA wrong, for the simple reason they are aware that buyers can do just what I have outlined. It's too risky for them. The best give away is if the ETA just doesn't seem to gel with an Australian based product. So if you're buying something that is supposedly in Sydney and it is showing a month before delivery (and you are in a capital city too) then be suspicious and move on to another seller.

[mdgli]

I did open a case and it's not the first time.

Every time eBay's response is that the trucking system shows it's on the way so I should wait for a few more days. So Item shows up a month after I bought it and they close the case because the item was received.

unfortunately It become the norm

[davewil1964]

Don't buy time sensitive stuff online?

That seems to be your only real complaint.

[jellybirddesigns]

@mdgli

I guess the case really only becomes viable once the estimated time of arrival has passed. 

For example, if an item is due by the 20th of September at the latest (according to Ebay estimations) and you open a case on the 22nd or 23rd, then Ebay should resolve that case in your favour within 4 days of opening it.

Going forward, all you can do is make sure you purchase from domestic sellers and therefore minimise your wait times.

[mdgli]

This is the whole point of this thread.

You assume you buy from domestic seller because the item location is somewhere in Aus.

If you look at the same items.

If the location is China it usually cost less but I never buy as it takes long to arrive.

Location like Sydney, Australia will be between 30% and 50% more expensive but suppose to arrive within a week.

The problem is that you can't trust it anymore. Item suppose to be in Australia and cost more but actually comes from China.

[padi*0409]

ONE click of your mouse will to take you to a seller's feedback and show you where they are registered - that is where the goods are likely to be coming from. The feedback you're looking at may also give an idea if they are drop-shipping or not.

Around half of the sellers that have left feedback for you in the last 90 days are registered in China, some with very average feedback.........