ebay policy encourages sellers to break the Law In WA And Tasmania Regarding Plant Material

[desolate-sellable]

It is against the Law In AUSTRALIA to post plant Material to Western Australia and Tasmania.

In my case seeds & I adhere to the law.

Some buyers purposely, repeatedly, knowingly (I block all) buy plant material to try and illegally import to these states.

Many in the past.

I cancel these transactions as it could be a $5000 fine.

eBay Does not give a Final Valuation Credit on these cancelled listings.

Even when you say in the cancellation as Not a country i post to.

These listings contribute to my and other sellers transactions that had defects and affect My Seller and others ratings.

Some sellers break the law buy posting these items to these two states ( yes they do).

Why wouldn't they it affects there and my Seller ratings.

I haven't contacted customer support yet I will do so this is something that really needs to be looked at.

Other canceled transactions by buyer request also contribute to poor seller rating.

This is not really affecting me but it isn't really right.

Hardly Fair

Thanks

Cheers

[maranock]

 I don't remember how as it is a while since I have sold plants but it is easy to block addresses in WA and SA from buying in your settings.

[casbit33]

It is a quarantine law to prevent some species of flora growing in other parts of Australia to infest WA or Tas. Because of their location they are somewhat protected from unwanted plant material. Some items can be sent, but it will cost you a fee to get them through. Big seed companies absorb this cost, but for individuals it's too high.

[desolate-sellable]

Here is ebays warning

Attention Sellers:
Attention: Government regulations may apply
Make sure your listing complies with Australian law – visit the Plant and Seeds policy before listing your item.

Certain plants or plant pests are targeted for control because they have, or could transmit, serious economic, environmental or social impacts for Australia. All Australian states and territories have pest management legislation to prevent the introduction or establishment of these plants or plant pests into new areas. Before listing a plant on eBay.com.au, please make sure you comply with your legal obligations.

Here is Western Australias 

Web Address

I will contact eBay customers support for each cancellation from now on.

and no I will not risk a $5000 fine for any reason.

I like the idea of blocking postcodes but I have hundreds of buyer from these states for other items.

Thanks for adding to this issue.

Cheers

[saarzi]

This isnt aimed at anyone in particular. But...

Did anyone bother to read the link I posted above?

It is not illegal to import seeds into WA or TAS. It is illegal to do it illegally (obviously). For example, its illegal to drive on the wrong side of the road, but that doesnt make driving illegal.

The customs fee, for tas for example, is about $50. For small amounts of seed, you dont even need a seed analysis.
ANYONE can port or export. You can, however, get on a list of pre approved exporters that cut down the paperwork for the IMPORTER (the buyer is responsible for any import fees and obtaining documentation from an exporter). But you dont NEED to be on this list at all.

How many seeds are actually completely *prohibited* from entering WA? Around 1000, out of just under 1 MILLION species in the world. Thats not even 1/10th of one percent. And there are lists on the WA gov website listing them.

Can you send seeds thru the post? Absolutely you can, as long as they are marked "customs". Again, the buyer (importer) is always responsible for customs fees (it would be smart to alert them of this prior to sale obviously).

Seeds are confiscated at border lines when people do not have the correct paperwork (as a rule, travellers wont have these because that is not their primary objective). Not because its illegal to import them. Its illegal to do it illegally.

There are buyers on Ebay who will pay the money for a customs inspection. Most Asian seed sellers on Ebay regularly send the correct paperwork all the time with their seeds, but the paperwork is actually the buyers responsibility to obtain from the exporter. (And the paperwork is VERY simple! I import seeds for my non-Ebay business by container from asia and india and they ALL have customs inspections - its even easier for interstate).

Either way, to repeatedly say importing or exporting seeds to WA or TAS is illegal is just ridiculous. This is one of the many myths I see in these threads regularly.

It is irresponsible and unethical to state that people on Ebay who are SENDING (exporting) seed to WA or TAS are doing it illegally, because almost always, they are not. and if you accuse the buyer (importer) of doing it illegally, you must have first hand knowledge of them not getting a customs inspection?

It doesnt take much to get informed. Google has the world at your fingertips. if you dont understand soemthing youve been told or read, read more.

[saarzi]

The $5000 fine is for importers (buyers) who import illegally (ie if they dont organise a customs inspection) as far as I know. If you are sending to a buyer, you are the EXPORTER.

Secondly, you can block postcodes for each listing. You dont have to block them for your whole store. Just edit the listing, go to the postage policy near the bottom and edit it (if you use the same postage policy for all listings, any edit will affect all listings) OR, create a new one with restricted states and just use that one for your seed listings (name it something different so you can easily tell whcih one it is). You can create as many different postage policies as you please.

[desolate-sellable]

Thankyou Will do

Cheres

[mbselections00]

Re : I like the idea of blocking postcodes but I have hundreds of buyer from these states for other items

I'm not 100% sure whether the Block is an overall one or if it can be applied just to certain listings.  I'll send the seller a PM and see if she can pop by and add to this thread.

[pennyforum14]

gtx... I think you are missing the point.  The Australia Post Dangerous Goods policy classifies plants and/or plant seeds being sent  to either WA or TAS (and probably other states but I mainly concentrated on these two as they were the ones being discussed) as PCI which means:

PCI – You need to obtain an appropriate permit or certificate or provide more information to send this item to this state / territory. Please contact the relevant authority indicated for the destination state / territory.

Getting a permit is costly and not just a matter of slapping a customs sticker on a parcel.  It is likely beyond the budget of the average person buying seeds (I'm guessing we are talking about a few packets of seeds at a time here and not bulk supplies).

And yes, you can exclude some states if you wish, but it has been shown in the past on more than one occasion that the exclusion system does not always work, and when it fails, or a buyer finds a way around it, unfortunately eBay do not recognise that this is not the fault of the seller and in cancelling the sale, they are penalised anyway.  This is the bit that is not fair.

[i-love-my-sheep]

I don't need to block certain post codes, but just curious, where abouts on the listing page is the option to block certain post codes? I can only see where to block overseas countries and PO boxes. Is it just an option for stores?

[lousbloomingarden]

You have to have the Business Policies option, which Im up in arms over as I have that option in my 2 other stores but cant get it in this store. I have begged and complained but I still get the old line , ITS HAPPENING.

Business policies is the only way you can block Australian postcodes...