topic Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem in Buying

Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

jd20005 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 01:45:41 GMT

I bought a lavender pillow from a seller that had his item location set as Sydney Australia. I specifically went looking for a seller with item location within Australia because I was unsure whether bio security of Australia would let a lavender pillow in through customs (Australian bio security is very picky). The pillow has not arrived yet so I went and tried to track the item which gave a 'Auspost has received shipping info but not the item' which was a bit suspect as the seller said they sent the item. I then checked the sellers feedback and lo and behold on this feedback page it says 'seller located in china'. So I guess the item is coming from China. This has me very worried that the item will not clear customs and I'm angry about this as the item location said Syndey and not China. If it had said China I would not have bought the item. I guess that if it doesn't clear customs that I can claim through Paypal? It's just that when buying items on Ebay I have read a disclaimer in the past that bio security is the buyers problem not the sellers but in this instance I had no idea that the item would be needing to clear customs at all as the item location was set within the country. The item in question is:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Comfort-Lavender-Buckwheat-Health-Neck-Care-Pillow-Cervical-Spondylosis-wz03/172852862244?hash=item283ed55d24:m:mLd3QhgpohRLBDZWVRrKyhA

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

swingkitty — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 01:55:47 GMT

I'm not sure of the customs requirements - however they have pretty good feedback.

12 negs in the lastm onth - of which 7 were from 1 buyer.

And 379 positive - tha's a pretty good strike rate.

However the listing is misleading as it clearly states location as Sydney - you can report that to ebay.

I hope it all works out for you.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

rocket2retro — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 02:21:41 GMT

The line in their listing "Hope You Have a Nice Shopping" (along with other Chinglish) should have sounded alarm bells!

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

jd20005 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 02:36:28 GMT

Yes maybe but being a busy person I don't always have time to read the item description word by word looking for 'chinenglish'.

I trust that seller doesn't misrepresent the item location that's stated at the top but as it's turning out buying on Ebay seems to be increasingly fraught with pitfalls these days. Also recently I got sent an electrical refurb item that was listed as brand new by the seller so had to open a case about that one. Why would I pay brand new prices for a refurb?

Looks more and more like Ill be taking my money to bricks and mortar stores, at least they can't misrepresent their location or the product.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

lyndal1838 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 04:05:20 GMT

If your item is confiscated by Customs you cannot open a paypal claim. You are supposed to know if you are buying a prohibited item.

While you may be busy it may be wise to make enough time to actually read the listing properly and check where the seller is registered.

If you had done that you would not have bought in the first place.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

jd20005 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 04:44:38 GMT

Umm I did read the item listing and it said the item was located in Sydney Australia? No where on the actual listing was it written that the item was located in China, it even at the bottom says Auspost will be used?

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

lyndal1838 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 05:06:25 GMT

There were so many alarm bells with that listing that I would have run a mile.

The Chinglishalone would have had me looking further.

The 98.6% rating would have had me looking to see what the seller was doing wrong, which in turn would show that he was registered in China...a very big alarm bell to me.

The fact that the postage was just $1.99 speaks volumes too....and the seller will not post to a PO Box....all signs of the item coming from China with subsidised postage.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

jd20005 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 05:10:39 GMT

Well good for you Lyndal, for me it didn't ring any alarm bells, I guess I am a noob trusting buyer that just looks at the item location and trusts that it is right. Guess I'm too dumb to buy on Ebay anymore so I'll just pack it in because apparently nothing can be taken at face value anymore. For the record in my books 98% is a pretty good seller score.

Actually what I think is happening here is that the seller is getting someone to post it to him from overseas and then he is going to forward it on via Auspost.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

lyndal1838 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 05:19:51 GMT

You are right that nothing can be taken at face value on ebay, especially the item location when it is connected to a Chinese registered seller. It is probably the biggest problem with the Chinese sellers.

I would be very careful of any seller with less than 99.5% feedback....if you had bothered to read any of the negatives that the seller has collected you would see that actually getting the item may be a problem.

There are a number of logistics companies with warehouses in China. The seller sends the items there and they are bulk shipped to Australia and then handed to Australia Post...all the while the seller is safely in China.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

jd20005 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 05:23:25 GMT

You know what, I didn't even know before today how to check where a seller is registered but now I know. I wonder why Ebay allows sellers to be able to put where the item is located as different to where they are registered...

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

daydreams_12 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 05:24:28 GMT

I am surprised that after so many years on Ebay that you consider 98% as a good feedback score. Most regulars would not advise purchasing from a big seller with anything les than 99.5%.

Checking feedback and registered location can save you a wealth of pain. Lyndal was purely stating facts so no reason to be defensive with her. You came to the boards for assistance and she was only offering that from her extensive knowledge.

Maybe you are right, ebay may not be the place for you to shop

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

lyndal1838 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 05:27:37 GMT

If the items have to be located in the seller's country of registration then that would knock out the dropshippers and there are a number of them on ebay Australia for a start.

There is nothing wrong with overseas sellers listing on ebay.au as long as the item location is correct. The buyer can then make an informed decision whether to buy or not.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

jd20005 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 05:32:24 GMT

Yes I would have checked the seller's registered location if I had known there was such a thing and that it could be different from the item location and yes things I don't know on here that make unpleasant surprises make it less likely that I will be buying on Ebay in the future. For all my time on ebay it seems that there are things I can still get caught out on.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

lyndal1838 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 05:40:07 GMT

Why decide to leave ebay just because there are a few traps for young players.

As a result of this thread you have learned how to go about protecting yourself from the shonks....try it for a while and see if you have better experiences.

The feedback you have left for your sellers does not indicated too many problems but I am interested to know how you were out of pocket when the seller sent the wrong items....did you open dispute to get your money back? If so, you should not have been out of pocket.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

brerrabbit585 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 08:18:56 GMT

The Chinglish in this one is pretty bad. I especially loved this bit:

Filler: Lavender + Cotton /Buckwheat + Cotton /**bleep** Cassiae + Cotton

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

The chinese writing on the label on the corner might have got me wondering. Most things made in China for the Australia don't have a lot of chinese writing on them.

jd20005, 98% is 2 transactions out of every 100 going bad. You can bet your boots if they have a lot of negatives there's probably quite a few more but people just haven't bothered to leave feedback.

Checking feedback is essential if they have less than 100%, even if it's just to glance at the numbers of negs and neutrals they've received. If you click on the figure for how many negs they've received in the last year it'll bring them up so you can easily read the type of comments people have made.

Edit: I never gave a thought to it bleeping out the word that made me laugh.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

countessalmirena — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 08:42:19 GMT

Oh, sacred cashew nuts. I wondered what you'd posted to be bleeped... only to discover that apparently the fluid containing spermatozoa in suspension is too, too wicked for these boards.

And of course that was the very word mistranslated in the description, but correctly given in the title...

I remain at a loss when it comes to "Promote Metro metabolic ".

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

egglesdtp — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 13:50:42 GMT

Looking at the item location does not tell you anything these days. You have to look at where the seller is registered. To find out this, click on the seller's name or feedback score - located under Seller Information over on the right hand side of the listing - and it will tell you where the seller is actually based.

Edit - now I feel an idiot as people have already told you how to find out where the seller is registered. I'm sure the previous posts weren't there when I started my reply.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

lyndal1838 — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 13:55:33 GMT

Bad luck....my replies have been there since mid afternoon.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

egglesdtp — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 14:04:12 GMT

Oh well, hopefully the OP now understands what to do, having received the same suggestion more than once.

Re: Item location misrepresented and bio security problem

countessalmirena — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 14:09:52 GMT

That must have been a looooooooooooooooooooooong coffee break, egglesdtp.