eBay

5953peter · ‎09-04-2020

Why isn't country of origin on products mandatory on ebay? Commerce marking is mandatory on imported products. I believe Ebay should make country of origin mandatory. This is a critical piece of information when buying a product. In a bricks and mortar store - I can see country of origin. On ebay - I have no idea where it came from - and that impacts the purchasing decision. Why isn't this a mandatory field for sellers in order to help the buyers make an informed decision?

springyzone · ‎17-04-2020

@5953peter wrote:
Why isn't country of origin on products mandatory on ebay? Commerce marking is mandatory on imported products. I believe Ebay should make country of origin mandatory. This is a critical piece of information when buying a product. In a bricks and mortar store - I can see country of origin. On ebay - I have no idea where it came from - and that impacts the purchasing decision. Why isn't this a mandatory field for sellers in order to help the buyers make an informed decision?

I think you have to remember that everything sold on ebay isn't sold by a big company and not everything is new. Ebay started life as a second hand selling sort of site.

I know where you are coming from, but the only place I have seen some attempt at labelling is on food and on clothes. Even with food, it may be made here but not always from local ingredients.

I think it is an evolving area, in that it is becoming more of a thing for labels to show more details. Even so, it still isn't 100% effective even yet. I am on a facebook site that looks at aussie made products and someone came across buns, I think it was, from the bakery section in Coles or woolies, and a label saying made in Denmark. You sort of assume stuff in the bakery is local, but not always, apparently!

Maybe in future it will become more common in some lines for country of manufacture to be displayed on ebay listings but I don't think it is coming soon as at the moment, they can't even get it clear what country the item is even in when it is sold, let alone where it was made.

Where the place of manufacture is critical, buy known brands or ask a seller or buy from an actual shop.

digital*ghost · ‎17-04-2020

I think you have to also consider that if eBay made country of manufacture a mandatory field (as they have with brand), they would undoubtedly have to include the ability to have it as "unknown", due to the nature of the site.

I also suspect that sometimes you'd get people just defaulting to where they bought it from, and still others who might list a pasta maker as being made in Italy when it wasn't, so while it could improve things a bit, you'd never be able to rely on or trust it 100%, which would put you in much the same position as you are now when trying to differentiate based on price.

5953peter · ‎18-04-2020

thank you for your inane and useless comment.

lyndal1838 · ‎18-04-2020

Only confirming your own conclusion that ebay is not for you.

davewil1964 · ‎18-04-2020

You have fallen into what seems to be a common fallacy.

You thought posting your thought bubble on the boards would result in virtual hugs and kisses for your position.

What you got instead was facts and actual, real, useful advice.

We can now see where you stand on that.

countessalmirena · ‎19-04-2020

@5953peter,

Pasta Maker. If you want an Italian, quality pasta maker, my recommendation is Marcato Atlas. There are a number of authorised Australian sellers of this, most of them offering very good prices in comparison with the RRP of around $229. (This is for the hand-operated one, not the electric one.) Accessory attachments for different types of pasta would set you back a little more.

Most of these sellers have eBay stores as well as their own online stores and B&M shops. Just avoid sellers who are not known shops of kitchen/homeware items.

N95 mask. I have serious concerns about the average Australian purchasing P2/N95 masks. The rest of my mask comments are in this spoiler, as I've got onto my soapbox somewhat.

Spoiler

Unless you're infected, I don't recommend wearing them. If you must wear them (or don't care about my recommendation which after all is that of a stranger to you), at least bear in mind that disposable P2/N95 masks, or even disposable surgical masks, are only useful for a short time. They must be discarded once they become moist, as after this time they are permeable and offer little protection. They are single-use and must not be kept, cleaned and re-used, as the average person would not be able to disinfect these for safe re-use. (Even the medical sector is wary about this, and they are only just exploring the possibility of such a procedure.) People wearing these often don't seem to realise that wearing these safely and effectively means ensuring correct fit (which is tricky in itself), discarding after the wearer's exhalations cause the mask to become moist, ensuring that removal involves touching ONLY by the strings of the mask (and safe disposal into hazardous waste bin), donning the next mask only after ensuring hands have been washed thoroughly with soap and water (or with hand sanitiser with at least 70% alcohol)... and that means several masks per day per person. Cost rapidly mounts up. It's certainly cheaper to use a reusable P2/N95 mask with filters being replaced as per instructions, but the look is hardly attractive, breathing becomes more laboured, and speech is not as clear. Worst of all, purchasing accredited P2/N95 at that volume for ... let's say 25% of the population? ... for the average individual rather than for a health worker or someone at real risk of being within range of droplets containing SARS-CoV-2 from infected persons is a shocking waste of resources. I don't think there is anywhere near that volume of masks available, for that matter! I would ask the average person wanting such masks whether they also plan to don additional PPE such as goggles, gloves, and single-use surgical gowns (or perhaps gowns that can easily be washed down with a soap and water spray after every use... and whether they wash their hair after every encounter... their shoes... every millimetre of skin...

But... if you have a good reason for wishing to use P2/N95 masks as an additional precaution to good social distancing and frequent washing of hands with soap and water (and use of hand sanitiser when unavoidably having to touch fomites out and about), at least get one of the alien-looking reusable ones from Bunnings (some stores still had a few a week ago), which are less likely to be needed by health professionals. Make sure that you use non-permeable tape to secure the mask to your face where the fit is not perfect. It will look hideous, but - ah well.

Unless you're infected, I don't recommend wearing them. If you must wear them (or don't care about my recommendation which after all is that of a stranger to you), at least bear in mind that disposable P2/N95 masks, or even disposable surgical masks, are only useful for a short time. They must be discarded once they become moist, as after this time they are permeable and offer little protection. They are single-use and must not be kept, cleaned and re-used, as the average person would not be able to disinfect these for safe re-use. (Even the medical sector is wary about this, and they are only just exploring the possibility of such a procedure.) People wearing these often don't seem to realise that wearing these safely and effectively means ensuring correct fit (which is tricky in itself), discarding after the wearer's exhalations cause the mask to become moist, ensuring that removal involves touching ONLY by the strings of the mask (and safe disposal into hazardous waste bin), donning the next mask only after ensuring hands have been washed thoroughly with soap and water (or with hand sanitiser with at least 70% alcohol)... and that means several masks per day per person. Cost rapidly mounts up. It's certainly cheaper to use a reusable P2/N95 mask with filters being replaced as per instructions, but the look is hardly attractive, breathing becomes more laboured, and speech is not as clear. Worst of all, purchasing accredited P2/N95 at that volume for ... let's say 25% of the population? ... for the average individual rather than for a health worker or someone at real risk of being within range of droplets containing SARS-CoV-2 from infected persons is a shocking waste of resources. I don't think there is anywhere near that volume of masks available, for that matter! I would ask the average person wanting such masks whether they also plan to don additional PPE such as goggles, gloves, and single-use surgical gowns (or perhaps gowns that can easily be washed down with a soap and water spray after every use... and whether they wash their hair after every encounter... their shoes... every millimetre of skin... But... if you have a good reason for wishing to use P2/N95 masks as an additional precaution to good social distancing and frequent washing of hands with soap and water (and use of hand sanitiser when unavoidably having to touch fomites out and about), at least get one of the alien-looking reusable ones from Bunnings (some stores still had a few a week ago), which are less likely to be needed by health professionals. Make sure that you use non-permeable tape to secure the mask to your face where the fit is not perfect. It will look hideous, but - ah well.

HDMI cables... Why not buy from JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, Scorptec, HN, mwave, etc? If you absolutely want to buy through eBay, I'm sure that some of those stores do have eBay stores as well. Make sure that you select all brands except for "unbranded" and "unspecified". But really, your best bet would be to check with the local distributor of your desired brand, to see whether a seller is an authorised reseller. Avoid all sellers not in Australia for such an item. That will at least help you to weed out the worst of the offending sellers.