Why does Ebay allow sellers who are dishonest about their location
Summary: In this discussion, initiated by rob_4x4, participants express concerns about eBay allowing sellers to be dishonest about their location. sandypebbles and i-once-was-bump explore potential reasons for this issue. repentatleisure1952 and davewil1964 share similar experiences, highlighting common frustrations among buyers. Other contributors, such as twyngwyn and springyzone, discuss possible solutions or enforcement actions eBay could take to address this problem. The conversation reflects a shared dissatisfaction and desire for more transparency and honesty in online marketplaces.
Why does ebay allow sellers who are dishonest about their location ?
On the Ebay Australia site there are a significant number non Australian sellers who dishonestly claim they are Australian sellers. There are so many it is actually amusing as a lot use the tiny Victorian town of Mortlake ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortlake,_Victoria ) as their location .
It is sadly amusing as Mortlake is a tiny country town and when I have driven through it I have not noticed any Ebay distribution centers etc in it, or any warehouses or any industrial buildings at all...
It is just sad indictment of ebay that it allows these dishonest practices by sellers to occur and this really reduces the trust of buyers considering purchases on ebay.
digital*ghost
·2 years agoBecause no one has sued them (ebay) yet. It'll happen sooner or later, though.
How / why? I was thinking about this recently regarding product safety standards, after a different thread here, and the fact that when an item is imported into Australia, it is the importer's responsibility to ensure it complies with Australian product safety standards - so, what happens when someone isn't made aware they are an importer of an item because the site actively supports the practice of misrepresenting where something ships from, especially electrical items, baby items / children's toys and things that have strict standards here? Other sites have been sued purely for allowing a listing of a children's item that resulted in the death of someone's infant, and the location issue wasn't even a factor.
Not only do ebay turn a blind eye to item location misrepresentation, they actively encourage it with their support of "just in time fulfillment". That is, they are on record as saying it's fine for a seller to say an item is located in Australia on eBay, even if it isn't, because it will be shipped from a local distribution centre once it arrives here.
I do not care whether a buyer on ebay can check a seller's location and intuit where an item is really shipping from, especially because people don't know what they don't know, and the function to have item locations outside of the seller's own - other states, other countries - was originally meant to be so buyers could make a more informed decision when they buy, not a less informed one, and unless / until there are consequences for ebay rather than "just" buyers, it'll probably continue, unfortunately.
springyzone
·2 years agoExcellent points.
I only learnt by using these boards that if I bought an item, eg electrical item, on ebay, it may not conform to Australian standards.
I guess I had never actually given it any thought-just assumed if you bought it in Australia, then it would have had to pass our standards before being imported.
But if a buyer is unknowingly buying direct from China, then that's a problem.
I have no legal knowledge at all but I would imagine the fact that an item is shown as located in Australia in the ad could be a minefield for ebay if they ever did face a legal challenge.
sugar249
·2 years agoFunny that, when I drive through mortlake, or just looked at the satellite view, I saw approximately 200 potential distribution centres or warehouses. Must be talking about different victorian towns.
i-once-was-bump
·2 years agoNow I am curious why I have to click twice to see seller's country of registration.
I was looking at this item today 115247003309 and was wondering if anyone else has to click twice to see the country.
gutterpunkz05
·2 years agoFrom the item, 1 click View all FB, FB Profile then shows towards top of page, including country of registration. I suppose you can go the long way ABOUT it if you want, 2 clicks.
I any event the fact a seller is registered OS, does not mean they do not have stock in Australia and likewise OZ sellers can have stock OS.
davewil1964
·2 years agoWhen I eventually found the 'feedback' box, I was advised that the seller is registered in Australia. One click.
repentatleisure1952
·2 years agoApologies... now I see what you mean... 2 clicks for me... once on 100% positive & once on see all feedback.
brickworksmarket
·2 years agoI do the same as you two clicks and now realise others forgot to mention you need to scroll down half the page to do one click.
gutterpunkz05
·2 years agoYes you go down the page, and if your really bright you read the listing and the feedback comments available on the way.
For my money FB % and comments are far more illuminating than country of registration.
brickworksmarket
·2 years agoI look at a lot of listings a day and honestly never realised clicking the link at the top just took me down the page. I do try to avoid scrolling as its time consuming and I am not buying the items I look at just comparing with what I have to sell so I don't need to look at what's in the middle. Price and seller location is most of what I need.
gutterpunkz05
·2 years agoTo each his own, but when I search ebay for competitors and comparisons, I don't care where the seller is located, and in most cases have no need to proceed past the search results page. Unless there is something of concern about the search result, I seldom have need to view the individual listing or seller.
When buying, that is a different kettle of fish.
sandypebbles
·2 years agoeBay does not show what town/city a seller is registered in, only what country
eBay allow sellers to put the item location as anywhere as some sellers, including sellers who are registered overseas have genuine warehouses etc here where items are shipped from
Buyers have all the control over who they willingly choose to buy from
Where the seller is registered , and all their feedback is on public display
Nobody would know by driving past what warehouses etc sellers might be using/shipping from
eBay do not sell anything, so why would you think such places would display any kind of eBay advertising
Why do eBay allow it?
A better question would be why do buyers choose to buy from such sellers
They are the ones keeping these people in business and supporting them
And no, I do not work for eBay
i-once-was-bump
·2 years agoWhere they are registered might be on public display but it is not obvious for a lot of buyers.
I have to look at the listing then click on "feedback" then click on "about" to find this public display of location. Not everyone knows to do this.
ebay could help buyers by having this informaqtion on the listing page (where it belongs).
repentatleisure1952
·2 years agoI only have to click on the feedback to see the seller's country of registration... which only takes a nano second. No need to click on about.
i-once-was-bump
·2 years agoIt is not under feedback for me. I do have to click on about to see the information.
And I still think it is hidden for view. If ebay wanted to do the right thing and avoid the confusion of item location then this information should be on the listing page
davewil1964
·2 years agoEven if that was the case, which it isn't, surely a couple of clicks would not be onerous. Caveat emptor comes to mind.
sandypebbles
·2 years agoRegardless what site a person is using, it is good common sense to at least know the bare basics
Or care enough about who you are buying from to look at the feedback
A member like the OP who has been using eBay since 2001 has no excuse to 'not know' something so simple and obvious
And no matter how much eBay were to spoon feed users, there would still be the same issues
It's one click for me too to see everything
springyzone
·2 years agoYou are 100% right.
If a buyer clicks on the seller name they see in an ad, they are taken to a page that will show the seller's % feedback rating, number of items sold and number of followers (if any) as well as the items they currently have listed.
Nowhere does it say where that seller is located.
If they then click on the feedback score, it will take them to another page that lists the latest feedback but again, will nnot show seller location, not unless the buyer clicks 'see all feedback' or clicks on the 'about' tab.
There are ways to get to the information, but how soon you'll see it depends on the pathway you follow.
It is ridiculous to expect that all buyers would know that item and seller location are not necessarily the same thing or that the seller location was even available.
Someone could be on ebay for 20 years but if they have never struck a problem, there will be aspects of ebay they have never needed to use.
It never used to be a problem or an issue on ebay as most sellers were in Australia back in the day and international items were clearly listed as such.
Today it is an issue. Seller location should be listed in the actual ad.
twyngwyn
·2 years agoeBay does not show what town/city a seller is registered in, only what country
I'm found under my suburb??
davewil1964
·2 years agoNot when a buyer looks at you. i get Australia.
imastawka
·2 years ago