Is it legal to advertise your address as in Sydney but really be a seller in China?

[jhorto40]

Hello, I currrently waiting for an item that was supposed to be in Sydney but which I now believe is being posted from China.

Is that kind of false advertising legal and acceptable on Ebay and if not what can I do about it if it proves to be the case?

Thank you.

[i-love-my-sheep]

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@joethenuts wrote:

hi was there a time frame on the object , also sometimes postage can be slow ,i am still waiting for a small parcel from sydney to melbourne 

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Shoulda used a courier Joe, then it would have arrived already.

[curmu-curmu]

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@jhorto40 wrote:

Hello, I currrently waiting for an item that was supposed to be in Sydney but which I now believe is being posted from China.

Is that kind of false advertising legal and acceptable on Ebay and if not what can I do about it if it proves to be the case?

Thank you.

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Yes...it's misleading, and according to ebay, unacceptable and frowned upon. However, reporting them does absolutely nothing. Ebay turns a blind eye to this practice, particlualrly when it's asian sellers who are involved.

Over the years, I've reported many for this deception - and they still happliy trade on ebay.

[chiselman07]

I have the same problems . Sydney seller but items are shipped from the US .  Tracking number says "item not found" and seller charged 12.99 for express mail . Which is overnight in Australia. I didn't know it was coming from the US.

this seller

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/271649492823?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[lyndal1838]

Are you sure it is coming from the US?

The seller is registered in Hong Kong.....it is more likely to be coming from there.

[i-love-my-sheep]

Looking at the negs and neutrals for that seller, it sounds like as Lyndal said, coming from HK. Did you read the feedback before buying this item? There's a few negs and neutrals regarding this item. Have they marked it as posted? If they have and you paid for express and it's not arrived 2 days from posting, stick a rocket up them.

[padi*0409]

I'm pretty sure that with the new eBay/Paypal policies if there is a problem with an item then it is to be sent back to the location given in the listing, so it's possible that there's less of the location misrepresentation happening nowadays.

The defect system is quite likely to be cutting down on sellers doing it as well, as buyers would probably mark down stars for the practice. ( though the untouchable Chinese sellers wouldn't care much about that at the end of the day ) 

[andreswita]

One of them claimed to have two master degrees from Aus university without ability to write.They are the masters of deception.

I find the ones that live still in China are more honest.How does it work?

[2106greencat]

In answer to the actual question, no it is not illegal, but it is against eBay policy.

Just to clarify though,  a seller can be registered any where, any country, it is the Item Location you need to worry about.

A lot of sellers are into drop shipping, so may be legitimately based in say Sydney, but the stock could be coming from HK or Timbuktoo -

There is no ruling that disallows this, in fact it is a legitimate way of doing business, but the seller is required to disclose the location of the item you purchase so you can make an informed decision.

As to other responses here, listen to the experienced members, they are  experienced for a reason.

[percypickle123]

I purchased 11 items from a sydney seller,and they have all arrived damaged and unuseable The goods were all vacum packed so tightly they were all squashed and of no use.

.I requested a return and the seller  eventually responded and asked me to send the items back to his NSW address,which I did by tracked post

The items have been received by him, yet I have not received any refund.

I have now escalated to a paypal claim as he fails  to respond to any email from me, and paypal tell me to retun the goods to a chinese address.

Obviously the goods have been returned to NSW , as per instructions from the seller,and the goods definatly came from Sydney from  the post mark  and senders address on the parcel when they arrived.

I have phoned paypal today and they said I should escalate to a claim before requesting a return , and then they can tell me what address to send them to?????????????

Has this system gone totaly mad?

I purchsed from a NSW seller, followed procedure asking for a return, returning the goods and now paypal are saying this!!!!!

Do they know what they doing, its utter madness?

[padi*0409]

Phone them again and ask to speak to a supervisor and give him/her all the details, also ask for their ID as well and a case number.

It will work for you if you are persistant.