Seller who orders from Chinese sites for you
Is it allowed by Ebay for a "seller" to order from Chinese sites on your behalf, obviously at a marked-up price?
I ordered an item from an alleged French seller, but the package arrived from China. He simply placed the order for me on some site like Aliexpress and made me pay double, obviously. At that point I would have ordered it myself from Aliexpress, since the item is identical.
Are they allowed to do that?
15 comments
maldjni
OP2 years agoOn the sales page there was no indication that the item came from China. It said that the item is in France.
So to me these clowns of "sellers" should be warned, not protected by Ebay.
heavenwelkin
·2 years agoComplaining so much about it gets you nowhere.
Ebay can't control everything sellers do.
If there are problems or anomalies, you can contact Ebay customer support.
Regarding an item that comes from China instead of France:
You need to check the delivery times specified in the listing before buying.
If it ships from France and very long delivery times are indicated, it's better to avoid buying.
If you received an item from China, you will certainly have had to pay import costs, in addition to the fact that the delivery times have been greatly extended.
If the delivery times are not respected, you can open a claim for item not received and the seller risks losing the item and the money.
If you receive an item not as described, you can open a claim for item not as described.
Kind regards.
maldjni
OP2 years agoNo, from Aliexpress there are no import costs for small amounts and the item arrives in a week. I’ve already bought from Aliexpress on my own.
We can all become sellers this way, buying from Aliexpress and charging people double for things.
I reported to Ebay that the item didn’t come from France but from China, but nobody cares.
heavenwelkin
·2 years agoSometimes (but it’s not a hard-and-fast rule) some sellers are set up to do triangulation to avoid paying additional import costs for their buyers.
Sometimes the parcels arrive in Poland or in some free trade zone in Spain and from there are sent on to Italy.
If you recently ordered small items on aliexpress without paying any customs fees, you almost certainly took advantage of the triangulation system.
Indeed:
Since July 1, 2021, VAT is also paid on products arriving from China with a value under 22 euros.
Moreover, in addition to these costs, there would also be the fee that the courier / postal delivery service applies for collecting VAT and/or duties.
Each courier has its own rates; these are those of Poste Italiane, which are called "postal fees".
Kind regards.
maldjni
OP2 years agoI recently placed an order for items with a total cost of 60 euros and the mail carrier didn't ask me to pay anything
heavenwelkin
·2 years agoIn your previous post you wrote:
"No, on Aliexpress there are no import costs for small amounts and the item arrives in a week. "
If you didn’t pay anything, it is almost certain that your package either left directly from a European warehouse, or it was triangulated.
If the item arrived in a week, it is very likely that it left directly from a European warehouse rather than from China, where the times are usually much longer.
Coming back to your point, if you bought an item and it arrived:
1) in line with the description and the photos.
2) in line with the purchase price, where you didn’t have to pay any import costs.
3) respecting the delivery times
At the end of the day, what does it matter if the item left from France, from a European warehouse, or directly from China?
The fact that the package did not leave directly from France is not a sufficient reason to be able to obtain compensation.
Maybe it’s still annoying, a hassle that the seller wasn’t entirely honest, but on ebay a seller is usually penalized when they receive reports for an item arriving late or an item not matching the description, or when a sale is canceled.
Anyway, this is the page about reports:
https://www.ebay.it/help/buying/resolving-issues-sellers/segnala-un-problema-con-un-venditore?id=4022
Kind regards.
heavenwelkin
·2 years agoRegarding the negative feedback, how did it go with the seller?
maldjni
OP2 years agoOne week, maximum 10 days. My negative feedback was deleted by Ebay, I noticed that another negative feedback from another user after mine was also deleted by Ebay.
It seems that Ebay protects sellers who make lots of sales, and then it doesn’t matter whether they’re real sellers or just clowns who place the order for you at double the price. And on Ebay, apparently there are tons of them in the action figure world. Amen
heavenwelkin
·2 years agoOn your profile I saw the seller's feedback and I figured you'd left them the negative.
From the seller's feedback it says that you asked them for a 50% discount or otherwise you would have left negative feedback.
If you did that, then the negative was removed because there is a rule on ebay that forbids using negative feedback as a method of blackmail / retaliation.
Another reason could also be the absence of plausible / valid reasons, which makes the negative feedback inconsistent for ebay.
Another reason could be that you made negative judgments about the seller that are potentially defamatory.
For next time, before leaving a negative, think carefully about whether in practice all the conditions are there to do it; otherwise a seller can contact support and have it removed.
If the feedback is entered appropriately, respecting all the rules and the reasons are valid, these will not be removed by ebay.
Best regards.
maldjni
OP2 years agoyeah, I had asked for a 50% refund because the clown hadn’t specified that it was a Chinese clone from Aliexpress (as if).
If I had bought it directly from Ali I would have paid 17 euros total instead of 35 hehe.
But I’ve understood that eBay is the Wild West, so at least for action figures it’s better to buy them elsewhere, or if you’re happy with Chinese clones, buy them directly from Aliexpress
daxsisko
·2 years agoobviously, as indicated by the other users who replied, if the rules are respected it is possible to do so
in short: a professional seller can do dropshipping within the limits of Ebay rules (which should be read.....)
as for the point "I would have ordered it myself from Aliexpress since the item is identical." it was exclusively your choice to opt for another seller...... as indicated by Sika, you also have to know how to "read" listings..... and, subsequently, as indicated by Mario, if you believe the rules have been violated ( which you should know.... ) you can report the seller ......
marioelegio
·2 years agoDropshipping agreements are allowed, meaning a professional seller can have an arrangement with a wholesaler who manages the inventory and ships to the final buyer.
Short sales are prohibited, meaning you cannot buy an item after having sold it and had it shipped to the final buyer.
If you believe this is the second case, report the dishonest seller to eBay…. https://www.ebay.it/help/buying/resolving-issues-sellers/segnala-un-problema-con-un-venditore?id=4022
hi
mario
maldjni
OP2 years agoAlready done, but Ebay doesn't give a damn; in fact they even deleted my negative feedback.
Ridiculous!
And yes, of course, these "sellers" who, despite their shady practices, make lots of sales are the ones to protect, not to warn
sika700
·2 years agoAnother interpretation could also be given.
Personally, when I have to buy something, I do a deep search and based on the price Chinese sites always come up, like the one you mentioned, so if you bought on eBay, from a French seller, clearly you did no kind of web search and only realized it at delivery... and what bothered you was having paid more for a Chinese item.
It’s like that buyer who purchases from a seller and the package is delivered by Amazon, without knowing what’s behind it.
If, then, the French seller “had” indicated that the item is in China and you didn’t notice, or if the seller himself is Chinese, it’s normal that eBay took the seller’s side.
The moral of the story is, you simply have to be careful when buying online... if in the end you received exactly what you paid for, the lesson is precisely to pay more attention when browsing the web...
Kind regards.