@mark88880,
No one one these boards thinks that it's ideal or even fair for a seller in - let's take the obvious example - China should be able to state that the item location is Sydney or Melbourne or anywhere else in Australia, if the item is not actually physically located there at the time of the listing being up.
However, eBay allow it. It comes under "Just in time fulfilment"; digital*ghost was the first on these boards to mention this, and it certainly explains a lot. Under the theory of "Just in time fulfilment", an item is deemed to be in the logistics warehouse location (in Australia) even if it's in China but intended to be sent to that warehouse, or if it's on the high seas on its way to Australia, or in Australia at the loading docks, or somewhere en route between the docks and the warehouse, or actually in the warehouse, or was once in the warehouse and will be again, or hasn't been in the warehouse but will be.
The logistics companies offering Chinese sellers these wonderful resources for selling to Australian customers make it incredibly easy for said sellers.
If you don't like it, we can all sing "Along the road to Gundagai" together, but it won't ease our collective frustration. Complaining to eBay is unlikely to be of the slightest use, as this is a deliberate strategy. eBay is desperately keen to re-establish and maintain its presence in China and to encourage Chinese users after a very very rocky history there.
Buying on eBay really does involve being unconvinced by the item location information on the listing. Head straight to the feedback profile page and check to see where the seller is registered; if in China, you should assume that the item is coming from China (and if you place an order and the item arrives very quickly, that's a pleasant surprise).
You'll also need to be aware that there are indeed dropshippers selling on eBay, and that many of them don't seem to disclose that the items they list are indeed coming from another country such as China. You can't tell by looking at their country of registration, obviously, but if you click onto the negative feedback link (to see their negatives over the last 12 months), you may see consistent feedback comments that alert you to this - comments such as "Sent from China", "very slow to arrive", etc.
I prefer to purchase from Australian businesses if I can. We have so many wonderful sellers here, and I hope we can encourage them. It's been a bad two years, and as a nation we're not out of the woods yet.
There are also English, French, German, American, Spanish, Italian and Dutch sellers from whom I purchase (not limited to eBay, and I assess their standing and quality before purchasing).
The responders on these boards are not apologists for eBay, nor are they bitter-tongued dropshippers seeking to stifle dissent. Rather, they have heard complaints of this sort many many many many times before. They have repeatedly explained to posters that eBay just will not do anything, and that we as buyers have to be caveating as emptores. We cannot do anything to convince eBay to change this, except for one thing... and that is to stop buying from China.
Will that happen?
No. Human nature... There will always be people looking for the lowest cost, and Chinese sellers out-compete Australian sellers for obvious reasons. (Very low wages, slave labour, vast government subsidies to support businesses as part of the Chinese government's global expansion plans, highly favourable logistics deals for Chinese sellers.)
I tend not to buy from Chinese eBay sellers as a general rule.
