Seller Member pretends to be local in whatever country you live in. Don't be fooled!

[1guldenvijftig]

Seller Member pretends to be local in whatever country you live in.

Delivery times are accordingly slow.

They string you along when making queries.

Don't be fooled.

This seller is on my "never buy from again" list.

[1guldenvijftig]

The item was said to be local and “10 available”.
“10 available” may be ambiguous (available where?), but “item location: Sydney, Australia” is not.

[davewil1964]

So don't buy from sellers registered in China, regardless of where they claim the items are. Simple.

[1guldenvijftig]

Sigh

So don't drive on the road where accidents are known to happen.

[1guldenvijftig]

My 10 year old car stopped working yesterday and now it works as if nothing was ever wrong with it.
That hardly describe an as good as new car.

 NB My previous post was disappeared, so I’m replacing it with this one.

[countessalmirena]

@1guldenvijftig,

I understand your frustration. You should be able to trust information about the item location and the seller location on eBay... It gives anything but a good buyer experience when you can't.

I take the approach that if a seller lies about where the goods are at the time of listing, the seller is demonstrably not averse to lying. That could mean lies about the quality of the item, the materials of which it's made, the brand, the warranty... and post-purchase it could mean lies about the item having been despatched, the means by which it was despatched, the willingness to give a refund for an item that hasn't arrived, the willingness to send a replacement for an item that either hasn't arrived or arrived damaged/faulty/fake, and so on.

---

@1guldenvijftig wrote:

Had he been honest about the location, I would have still bought from him, because he was the cheapest, even taking GST into account, and he would have received top marks.

---

 Now... this is where we will have to disagree. I won't buy on the basis of the item being the cheapest. I buy on the basis of best value for money, and part of that value (for me) is that the item be genuine and that I can have confidence that it was made to the brand's specifications, both in manufacturing details and in materials used. This is something I can't over-stress, but it's difficult to convey how important this is. The difference can literally be that between life and death when it comes to electrical goods/electronics, because lower quality components are not fit for purpose. The least that could happen is that the item fails; the worst is that someone dies. Almost as bad is the possibility of fire damage, destruction of connected devices, etc., and the certainty that one's insurance won't cover that.

❝All electrical professionals should be conscious of the law of ‘subrogation’, which enables insurance companies to recoup money they have paid out on insurance claims from other parties who can be identified as being partially or fully responsible for the cause of the claim. So if you knowingly or unknowingly supply, install or specify counterfeit electrical goods that are found to have contributed to an insurance claim (e.g. fire or electrocution) because of being sub-standard or unsafe, you could be held liable for personal damages and possibly face imprisonment.❞ – Does It Comply? an initiative of NECA

I posted a reply on another thread, touching on "just in time fulfillment" among other things. When you say that ❝The seller is located in Botany❞, you have been taken advantage of by the extraordinarily misleading listing practice that is associated with "just in time fulfillment". The seller isn't in Botany. The listing would have stated that the item location is Botany... and that would almost certainly not have been true. (Read the link for details; especially follow the link to digital*ghost's post where it is explained very clearly.)

The seller him/herself would almost certainly have been in China or Hong Kong (as you would have seen when looking at the seller's feedback profile page).

Re the ultraviolet lamp and the generators, in a similar situation I'd possibly request a partial refund if I managed to get the items working via a bang with the hand, a few taps with a hammer, an ancient druidic ceremony, some judicious spraying of WD40, or a rummage around in the innards of the items with a tweak here and a replacement there... Not a full refund unless they were DOA (which presupposes they stayed dead), fakes, damaged, completely the wrong item, etc... although I understand that it can be a difficult situation if the item's too heavy and large for postage back to be worth it. It's another reason why buying those sorts of things from a retail shop appeals to me.

[springyzone]

---

@countessalmirena wrote:

@1guldenvijftig,

).

Re the ultraviolet lamp and the generators, in a similar situation I'd possibly request a partial refund if I managed to get the items working via a bang with the hand, a few taps with a hammer, an ancient druidic ceremony, some judicious spraying of WD40, or a rummage around in the innards of the items with a tweak here and a replacement there... Not a full refund unless they were DOA (which presupposes they stayed dead), fakes, damaged, completely the wrong item, etc... although I understand that it can be a difficult situation if the item's too heavy and large for postage back to be worth it. It's another reason why buying those sorts of things from a retail shop appeals to me.

---

I had the impression that with the generators, neither of the first 2 were working, not with a thump or anything else, they were both dead in the water. The OP basically went on a parts mission and managed to piece together a generator from bits & pieces from the 2 broken ones, well after the sale had been finalised and a 3rd functioning one had been delivered.

In that situation, I'd say the chances of 99.9% of people re-contacting the seller to pay anything would be negligible. Had the generators been mine, they would have had to go to the tip & that would have been extra expense.

Also had the impression the smack to the lamp happened after the refund. Personally, I'd be a bit suspicious of that lamp. 

The habit of some sellers lying about location seems to be rife, and unfortunately I think the only way around it is for buyers to do a quick check of seller location. Plus have a good look at the delivery date & believe what it says. If it says a month, it will take a month, never mind if you think it is in the suburb 2 minutes from you.

[1guldenvijftig]

Hi Contessa,
That’s quite an epistle you wrote there.
I’m not that big on writing, but I’ll try to address the points you raise as succinctly as possible.

I have heard from different sources, that lying is pretty much part of doing business for the Chinese people and is acceptable in their culture. I nevertheless have no qualms doing business with them.

The difference in quality of the product was not an issue, as it concerned the exact same product sold by different sellers. This seller was the cheapest.

I should have indeed quoted “item location: Botany, Australia” instead of “seller location...” My bad.
I do know that the seller is located in Botany, because, and I see this as another layer of deception as the packer in China can input anything there, the return address on the label was in Botany.

The biggest danger to anything, is not understanding the danger involved. From responsible gun use, not filling your car with petrol while smoking, charging batteries in special bags, etc.
Not saying that accidents don’t happen, but in my experience “accidents” are usually caused by stupidity and/or not understanding.

With "not understanding" I include such things as "hey, where did that car come from" and the likes.

I had finally gotten a refund for the ultraviolet lamp after 4 days of trying to contact the seller and not getting a reply, until I asked ebay to get involved and after sending the seller the requested photos of the non working lamp (yes, funny, I know)
I was about to throw it away an decided to give it a last try. No go.
So I slapped it in my hand, as one does, and to my surprise there was a flicker.
10 minutes and untold slapping later, it stayed on for several minutes and so I put it away for later, to take it apart, just for the fun of it.
A couple of days later it turned on first go and has been doing so ever since.
Is it fixed like new?
Would you buy it off me “as new”?

The power supply, quite heavy, about 3Kg.
The first one the seller sent had a dent in it and didn’t work.
After sending photos the seller sent me a second one.
It had loose wires and bad switches and didn’t work.
I sent photos and was asked to fix it myself, for, I believe he offered, $7.00
I told him I earned $85 p/h for electronic jobs (which he didn’t accept), how about I send it back and you send me one that works.
He didn’t want the first 2 back, which made me suspect he had been trying his luck with me.
Especially since both had been obviously repacked, because the indentations in the foam packaging were all wrong. Previously rejected goods, in my opinion.
Third time lucky.
A working power supply.
I soldered number two’s wires and replaced its switches with those of number one (which was a bit of a job).

So, all’s well that ends well.

That’s it for me.
Thank you all for you input.

[1guldenvijftig]

Just one last thing relating to GST.
You mentioned elsewhere that sellers can sell up to $75,000 without registering for GST.
I get the impression that GST is collected anytime it concerns a non-local item.
This might be a legal way around it:
If a local seller were to say it concerned a local item in such a way everyone knew the item was coming from abroad AND listed a realistic delivery schedule, then there would be no GST to pay OR illegally collected on items, on which it currently should not be collected.
You seemed up to date on these things, so if you think there’s anything to it, run with it.
I’m out of here.