Chinese Sellers with UK addresses?

[richardsuperstar]

how come there is at present so many Chinese sellers on here who are allowed to put their despatch location as here in the UK?

I've found loads of items which are undercutting most UK sellers and they all show their location as in the UK but then have their registered company address details as in Hong Kong.

its pretty clear that these sellers dont have offices in the uk and are just putting this to stop them being filtered out when someone clicks on show uk only.

surely there should be some check done by ebay to ensure that if a company claims to be in a country the address needs to be verified..

[simplesats]

Over the last couple of weeks I have been reporting listings that are in breach of eBay rules, eBay's User Agreement. This is where there is incomplete Seller Informations, like only VAT number. Or you can report them if they are registered in China and do not confirm in the listing where the returns would be made to, UK or China. The easiest one is the length of delivery, but this cannot be used at present as for the last two weeks eBay has messed up the estimated delivery date. Even if your delivery process is 2 to 3 days it is showing as being over a week for some sellers, not all.

Well, it does work. I have just checked 2 sellers that I reported and their listing have been removed. So if you come across any listings that you think are misrepresenting themselves, then do report them. Even if you get it wrong nothing will happen apart from a review to check their details are correct, but if they are breaking the rules they will have their selling account closed.

[jhs46]

Such a pity, all this. I've been buying (and a bit of casual selling) on Bay for over 16 years now. Loved it in the beginning. Then, bit by bit, changes came in that were wholly unnecessary - tweaking this, tweaking that - until the site became completely different.

Registering a complaint with eBay about the sheer volume of Chinese sellers pretending to ship from the UK is utterly futile and pointless. They simply don't give a tupenny fig.

I find I am using eBay less and less. Just for some bits where I can find UK sellers. I don't mind, in the least, buying items from China AS LONG AS THE SITUATION IS CLEARLY STATED in an upfront and entirely transparent manner.

It isn't.

My first port of call is Amazon now. Great pity. 

[personalisedgifts2suit]

The problem then is they just relist the items under another user name, we had this problem 2 years ago with them, they get removed and then the same items are listed again by another ebay ID name - all completely futile

[ukquad]

Just check the delivery time. Most Chinese sellers offer a delivery time of ten days or more. Also look for "fast and free" sellers.

[wyntersemporium]

Also noticed that some Chinese sellers are not putting their addresses down, but still putting their GB vat number instead 

[wyntersemporium]

I've took store down, used to love eBay but hating it a lot of the time. Too many Chinese who always have the sponsored listings at top or are at top, and the uk sellers are well down the page

[simplesats]

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@wyntersemporium wrote:

Also noticed that some Chinese sellers are not putting their addresses down, but still putting their GB vat number instead 

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This is against eBay's User Agreement. You can report any listing that only shows VAT numbers. In order to get a personal and business account with eBay you need to provide your your home or office address, so they must have removed that at a later date. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, the current rules for selling online, a seller has to show their business name, address and contact details. This is why eBay, reluctantly, has to show Bussiness Seller Information at the bottom of a listing.

If you find any listings without any business name, address or contact details you should report the listing to eBay.

[simplesats]

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@wyntersemporium wrote:

I've took store down, used to love eBay but hating it a lot of the time. Too many Chinese who always have the sponsored listings at top or are at top, and the uk sellers are well down the page

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That is because they are smart. eBay like Google use keywords for the their searches. The Chinese utilise this to get their listings to the top of "Best Match" searches. UK sellers need to learn how to become smart as well.

[lord_and_lady_m]

I think, I may he wrong, but I think that Brexit will help reduce the Chinese sellers. Imnled to believe the lower limit for import duty is gone so them underdeclaring value won't make any difference now as it'll get stopped and checked at customs. There will then be many customers not expecting a letter from customs with a release and vat fee to pay. That's my thoughts anyway and would be happy for someone to correct me with proper detail if I am wrong.

[i_failed_my_dna_test]

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@simplesats wrote:

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@wyntersemporium wrote:

Also noticed that some Chinese sellers are not putting their addresses down, but still putting their GB vat number instead 

---

This is against eBay's User Agreement. You can report any listing that only shows VAT numbers. In order to get a personal and business account with eBay you need to provide your your home or office address, so they must have removed that at a later date. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, the current rules for selling online, a seller has to show their business name, address and contact details. This is why eBay, reluctantly, has to show Bussiness Seller Information at the bottom of a listing.

If you find any listings without any business name, address or contact details you should report the listing to eBay.

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Report and ebay will do nothing .

[manicphonic4]

Due to having to cancel a purchase that went from 'UK stock' to at least 17 days delivery time I called ebay and they agreed witht the cancellation and told me to report this and any others I find to ebay for listing practise problems, Can't remember which specific wording but you'd find it if you tried, I have since reported another for the same reason. Whatever difference it makes remains to be seen but NOT repoting it willl definitely let them keep getting away wiht these cons and lies.

[manicphonic4]

I've just received a refund from a 'Genuine UK seller' who's clearly based in China. I placed an order for 'UK Stock' and the '3 day other courrier' delivery time was 19 days. I attempted to cancel the order immediately but the order was supposedly already 'despatched'. Clearly this wasn't the case as it was Sunday evening in the UK so the middle of the night in China. I attempted to start a return and that was too early so I called ebay. Given the details they agreed my cancelliation was fair and would monitor it to see it was sorted to my satisfaction. A day or so later I got an email from the seller telling me the delays are due to coronavirus and be patient etc. etc. I replied advising them that's a load of ####### and no matter what happens that order is cancelled and it's their problem.I 'remiinded them' that they're NOT UK sellers, they're not UK based and most of their goods are NOT in the UK so they wll not continue to get away with lying on ebay. I said the same to ebay and they agreed. On Monday I ordered the same items form a UK seller and they arrived on Tuesday. I sent evidence of this to the Chinese seller and today they refunded me.

[simplesats]

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@manicphonic4 wrote:

I've just received a refund from a 'Genuine UK seller' who's clearly based in China. I placed an order for 'UK Stock' and the '3 day other courrier' delivery time was 19 days. I attempted to cancel the order immediately but the order was supposedly already 'despatched'. Clearly this wasn't the case as it was Sunday evening in the UK so the middle of the night in China. I attempted to start a return and that was too early so I called ebay. Given the details they agreed my cancelliation was fair and would monitor it to see it was sorted to my satisfaction. A day or so later I got an email from the seller telling me the delays are due to coronavirus and be patient etc. etc. I replied advising them that's a load of ####### and no matter what happens that order is cancelled and it's their problem.I 'remiinded them' that they're NOT UK sellers, they're not UK based and most of their goods are NOT in the UK so they wll not continue to get away with lying on ebay. I said the same to ebay and they agreed. On Monday I ordered the same items form a UK seller and they arrived on Tuesday. I sent evidence of this to the Chinese seller and today they refunded me.

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The Chinese just play on the naivety and gullibility of buyers on eBay to get their orders through. It is the seller who has to process the cancellation of an order, surely this should be in the hands of the buyer. A buyer does not even have to have a valid reason for cancellation within 14 days, they can just choose to cancel and if you are a UK Seller under the current regulations you have to follow their wishes. I guess eBay keep it in the hand of the seller to cancel to make sure the buyer really has a true intention to cancel.

A Chinese seller will not give a dam about your rights to cancel/return an item within 14 days. He just pressures you to complete the order. Like saying the delay has got to do with covid-19. The only thing that is delaying deliveries in the UK at the moment is flooding and snow and that is minimal. If they do have a UK address that they are hiding behind they will do everything they can to protect that as it is valuable to them.

We should be more proactive and report any seller that has a hint of being based in China. They will be transgressing the eBay User Agreement in some way or avoiding tax and VAT that HMRC would be interested in looking at.

[manicphonic4]

Yes, we must keep reporting them even though it seems futile. Do nothing,
it gets worse. I will do the same every time I have a problem, always have.
So please report any seller masquerading behind fake UK seller claims and
maybe things can change. Do nothing, they won't and there will be no UK
sellers left.

[ningobalmi]

Soooo agree.  This problem will not be solved until someone creates a verifying website or program.  It should be Ebay of course, but they don't care.

In the meantime, my advice to genuine UK sellers is to find a form of words, or sign up to a protocol which proves their UK credentials.

So, combining these two ideas, maybe some bright entrepreneur could start a register of UK sellers, and, for a fee, issue a certificate to the seller which could be quoted on Ebay: a GENUINE UK SELLER Certicate, issued by, say The Society of UK Retailers, or some such.

My thought for today...

[dona.debb]

Brilliant idea I hope someone will do this 🤞

[simplesats]

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@ningobalmi wrote:

Soooo agree.  This problem will not be solved until someone creates a verifying website or program.  It should be Ebay of course, but they don't care.

In the meantime, my advice to genuine UK sellers is to find a form of words, or sign up to a protocol which proves their UK credentials.

So, combining these two ideas, maybe some bright entrepreneur could start a register of UK sellers, and, for a fee, issue a certificate to the seller which could be quoted on Ebay: a GENUINE UK SELLER Certicate, issued by, say The Society of UK Retailers, or some such.

My thought for today...

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eBay are aware of the issue and are actively taking enforcement action on Chinese sellers who are in breach of the User Agreement. The issue is that eBay have let the problem grow out of control. When I went through who was listing the same products as I do, I found that over 80% of them were from China. They either openly state that they are operating from China, have items in UK ready for dispatch or appear genuine UK sellers with UK address, but the give away is the price they sell at. It is the last type that are hard to identify and prove to be Chinese sellers in breach of the rules.

I totally agree that the time has come when some sort of certification of being a genuine UK seller is required. It would be the easiest way to deal with this problem. It would have to go into depth to establish an authentic UK seller as many Chinese sellers are acquiring proof of address in UK, most likely from current Chinese already living in the UK. With visas being given to Hong Kong residents in the near future, the problem is only going to get worse as the Chinese are adept at making money wherever there is an opportunity.

[simplesats]

If you do come across a seller that you know is Chinese and in breach of eBay's User Agreement, Misrepresenting item location or lack of Business Seller Information then follow this proceedure to report them. Click on Help & Contact at the top of the page. In the Search box type "Report a seller" and search. There will be a breif descrition and then a "Report a Seller" button. Click on it to go to the Report and issue with a seller page and then select "The seller has violated one of eBay’s policies" and click on continue. You can then enter a report of up to 1000 characters with the informations you wish to submit.

Here is one that I reported earlier:

On several of their listings they are using UK flag or flag images to promote that they are in the UK. On item no. 265021918162 - 2021 X96 MATE 4GB+32GB Android 10.0 Smart TV Box HD Media Player 5Ghz WIFI HDMI they have the image of a UK flag with "UK SELLER" written underneath. This is a false statement as the seller is located in Hong Kong. In Payment and Postage the free posting is "Economy Delivery (Royal Mail 2nd Class)" normally a 3 to 5 day delivery, plus item processing time. Their faster, chargeable, delivery is set at £30.00 for Standard Royal Mail 1st Class delivery which is suspect and would suggest that items from this seller are actually being posted from Hong Kong. 

[ningobalmi]

It's not good enough that "Ebay is aware of the problem" is it?  This problem has been around for many years and nothing appears to have been done.  So I repeat my assertion:  Ebay does not care.

Verifying your credentials is something that no seller should have to go through.  It would mean certification, which would add cost to UK sellers.  In addition I suspect Chinese sellers would endevour to cheat that system too.

So it boils down to just one thing:  EBAY MUST ACT.  It's their platform.  They have all the account information and know exactly who is cheating.   I am fairly certain that if the matter were to go to trial, Ebay would be found responsible, just as an auction house selling a painting with false provenance would be.  Caveat emptor doesn't apply.  All IMO of course.

To put this in persective, I don't think peopke object to paying less for an item, and some of them don't even mind the delay in delivery, so you might say "why the fuss?".  Yet some people don't like being lied to, and others like me certainly do mind the delay.

I would be interested, simplesats, in what the outcome of your reporting to Ebay was, what they actually did.  For example, did the trader continue misleading, or simply change the address and carry on.  Only Ebay would know exactly who and waht was occuring..