Seller incorrectly listing item as in Australia

[monkeyinabag]

I have recently ordered an item that I wanted fairly quickly. (oxymeters)

Seller was listed as in Australia and item was listed in Australia, in my state, and delivery should normally be expected to take four business days.

At the time when I purchased the item, the seller created an Australia Post tracking ID, but there was a very large delay between the tracking ID being created and Aus Post actually receiving the item.

All in all the item ended up taking three weeks. Clearly seller is creating a tracking ID here in Au but fulfilling the item from overseas with an intermediary in Au.

I left negative feedback explaining what happened which was quickly removed by eBay.

It's frustrating to me that eBay is allowing sellers to get away with this. What recourse do I have to restore the negative feedback? I think it's really important that if as a buyer I am paying for the convenience of a domestic item, that the item is actually here when I am ordering it, otherwise what's the point of paying a premium for a local seller?

[jellybirddesigns]

Even if you expected it within 4 days, you need to go by the sellers handling time and expected delivery date estimates. If you agreed to the handling and delivery dates when you purchased, then I can understand why the feedback was removed. For example, I have a handling time of up to 10 business days + postage time on some of my items, which will mean that I have ultimately allowed 3 weeks for it to get to my buyer.

So, if you go back to the same item - tell us what the delivery date estimates are if you were to purchase it today. Or give us the item number.

Also, did the item arrive in Aus Post packaging, or in a bag with a Chinese label?

[gutterpunkz05]

There are currently massive delays with postage within Australia, so your assumption is possibly incorrect.

AP currently advises not to raise any overdue inquiries, until the item is at least 15 business days overdue.

[monkeyinabag]

The package arrived with an aus post label, but there was a gap of 11 days between the item marked as sent, and the label being generated, and the item arriving at the post office.

So at the very least, seller marked as sent and then was still handling the item themselves for more than ten days afterwards.

As a buyer, the most likely scenario is I paid for the convenience of a locally sent item, but I basically had to deal with international shipping. It's a scam. It happens a lot and it needs to be removed from the platform if local sellers want to keep selling.

The fact that this happens over and over really limits what I am willing to buy on eBay.

[springyzone]

Yes, I suspect you are right. It happened to me once but at least I knew beforehand what had to be happening. The delivery date was almost a month away and the feedback was full of negs about the wait and suggestions the items had to be coming from overseas.

You are probably not going to be able to touch this seller in that technically, they are 'posting from Australia'.

I don't know why ebay removed the feedback, maybe the seller provided details of the postage label and maybe the item arrived in time. It's a pity though as this is the sort of feedback that is useful to other buyers.

You can protect yourself a bit from it all happening again though by paying attention to the expected delivery date.

Here's how I would play it. Look at the expected delivery date. If it is a month off, when the item is supposedly in a major city and you are too, then be suspicious. Be very suspicious. No normal item has a month on it if it is to and from an east coast city. Take that delivery date literally. Don't go assuming that it is worst case scenario and it is sure to get to you much faster. It won't. I have seen numerous neg feedback comments on different things where buyers made an assumption things should arrive quicker. Sellers know a month's wait is the kiss of death for some sales and never pleases buyers so they won't pad it out that long unless they really have to.

My advice here would be if you come across an ad like this, skip it and move to a different seller if you can.

I particularly don't like the fact the seller generated a label but the item wasn't taken to the post office for 11 days.  That's not acceptable, they were covering themselves. There's a lot of talk about handling times and I don't think I am an unreasonable buyer in that I don't expect things in the post immediately, but I think that any seller on ebay (for non customised items) who had 11-12 day 'handling time' should lift their game. Buyers these days expect things to be posted off within about 3 days. So if you see a seller with such a long handling time, be suspicious and move on.

I'm in Melbourne and buy from Australian sellers almost 100% of the time. Normal ETA is usually about 7-10 days, maybe 14 at the very outside.

[johnaf01]

I agree!!! I've contacted Ebay 3 or 4 times about this issue only to fall on deaf ears and not even getting a response!! If you tick AU only it SHOULD BE AUSTRALIA ONLY!!!

[springyzone]

 John-If you tick AU only it SHOULD BE AUSTRALIA ONLY!!!

It should be and it is an issue that annoys quite a few buyers and I'd guarantee eBay is very aware of it but they really haven't done a lot to stop it.

The trouble seems to be that some overseas sellers have warehouses in Australia so they 'could' be shipping from Australia.

Also, it seems, it is fine by eBay standards to sell something as in Australia if it is really overseas but delivered to the seller here who then ships it on to the buyer. Of course that whole arrangement takes time and that is where the ETA can be a give away.

Personally, I think the actual ad itself should list seller location as well as supposed item location. That way buyers could see upfront if they were supporting an Australian based seller or not without having to do a search.

Ebay hasn't done much to tackle the issue over the last few years though and what should be and what actually is in place are 2 different things so the best thing a buyer can do is check seller registration and feedback to avoid the problem if they can.

[gutterpunkz05]

With the current state of international logistics,  I would be very impressed with a seller who could ship to Oz, clear customs and complete delivery via AP in just 3 weeks.

AP alone , currently advises not to open an overdue enquiry until the item is 15 business days (3 weeks) overdue.

[cojox-99]

If you expected it to arrive within 4 days, then the feedback is valid. Go by the delivery and handling dates estimates. If you agreed to the dates when you purchased then I understand why the feedback was removed. For example, I have a handling time of up to 10 business days + postage time on some of my items, which will mean that I have ultimately allowed 3 weeks for it to get to my buyer.

[springyzone]

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@gutterpunkz05 wrote:

With the current state of international logistics,  I would be very impressed with a seller who could ship to Oz, clear customs and complete delivery via AP in just 3 weeks.

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Yes I would be too, but I think monkeyinabag's complaint was more along the lines that he didn't want to make an international purchase, he thought he was buying something located in Australia.

I am in suburban Melbourne and I am finding most Australian purchases arrive within 5-10 days. 10 days is pretty much the outside.

I think so much will depend on what the estimated arrival date was on his purchase as I am finding those dates are usually in the ball park these days.

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