I believe the seller has in fact 'stolen the money by deception' to some extent.
I don't think it actually matters that much where a seller is, but it does matter where an item is, because that will affect postage time.
If a buyer believes an item is located just down the road, they will probably expect it to turn up well within 2 weeks. In this case, even if the item turns up, it is now useless to the buyer, the event has passed. Had they known where it was, they probably would not have bought.
There's something in consumer affairs, I forget the wording, but it is along the lines of a buyer is entitled to a refund if there is something about the item that they had a right to know and could affect their decision whether to buy or not.
Of course, the fact it is a seller in China with an item in China means there is nothing that can be done.
However, this is exactly why the estimated dates of arrival is such a great improvement on ebay. I know sellers don't particularly like it for a range of reasons but it should be the buyer's friend. Anyone buying anything needs to look at the ETA.
In this case, I would like to know when the item was slated to arrive. Was it within the 2 week period?
If it was, and it was late, then the buyer needed to open an item not received claim immediately to at least get the money back.
But if the ETA was longer than 2 weeks, sorry, but that says it all. You can never assume an item will arrive faster than the ETA. It often will, but you can't take it for granted. So if an ETA time span is going to be too late, best not to buy.
If an ordinary item is going to take more than 2 weeks to arrive within your normal suburban centres, then I'd be highly suspicious it is not coming from Australia at all.
If I were the buyer, I'd be angling for a refund one way or the other.
