Buying from sellers' in China or Hong Kong

[zhongjai]

I buy many small items from sellers' in China or Hong Kong.

But usually it takes 2 months or more before I get get or might not even get it.

Maybe due to being lost with Canada Post in customs when it get over here to Canada ?

So after the expectation date and I still haven't receive the item.

I usually communicate with the seller by sending a message , if the seller doesn't reply I open case in Resolution Center in E-bay.

Sometimes they offer to re-send me the item or give refund.

What you think it is best to get them to re-send the item or get a refund and order the same item somewhere else if it is cheaper priced ?

Because if they say they going to re-send there is no guarantee that they will truly send it out, right ? Since there was no tracking whenever they send these items. Once it reaches Canada and it gets lost. There is nothing much you can do about it and tell the seller again that I didn't get the item, which is very frustrating.

What would you guys do in this situtation ?

Because seems these days whenever I order any items from China or Hong Kong I never seem to get it even after the expectancy date.

Anyways one has 6 months to the day that you ordered the item to request and be eligible for refund, if the seller re-send the item a couple of times and still don't receive after 2 months each time waiting, it would be good idea to request a refund , right ?

Thanks

Zhongjai

[ypdc_dennis]

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@zhongjai wrote:

I buy many small items from sellers' in China or Hong Kong.

So after the expectation date and I still haven't receive the item.

I usually communicate with the seller by sending a message , if the seller doesn't reply I open case in Resolution Center in E-bay.

Sometimes they offer to re-send me the item or give refund.

What you think it is best to get them to re-send the item or get a refund and order the same item somewhere else if it is cheaper priced ?

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Get a refund, and then reorder if you feel like it.

A replacement would mean you losing your eBay protection because of the time. Buying again after a refund means the clock starts running with fresh purchase protection.

-..-

[pjcdn2005]

I agree..it would be best to get a refund and then buy the item again if you still want it.  In most cases, I would probably use a different seller the second time.

[femmefan1946]

Because seems these days whenever I order any items from China or Hong Kong I never seem to get it even after the expectancy date.

If the purchase has not been received by the last estimated delivery date you were given by eBay, open an Item Not Received Dispute in the Resolution Centre at the bottom of this page.

The first suggestion is to Contact the Seller, but it is a suggestion not a command.

If the seller cannot give you a tracking number showing the item is in Canada, or if he suggests sending a replacement*, ask eBay to step in and escalate to a Claim.

If the seller cannot prove delivery (not shipping, delivery)you will be refunded.

If the item turns up later, you can return the refund using Paypal's Send Money service.

But better is to avoid the problem.

Read the feedback.

• Although a high number of negs and neutrals doesn't necessarily mean a Bad Seller**, a pattern of slow deliver, poor quality, or poor communication should be a red flag.

Read the the Shipping standards.

• Sellers who give long (over 30 days) delivery times are using Surface Shipping which is notoriously slow.
• Although Canada Post and CBSA are not as harsh about holding small, untracked parcels as they were before China agreed to work on solutions the UPU and fentanyl problems*** , they are not fast tracked once they finally get to Canada.

Sometimes the solution to the problem is to avoid the problem to begin with.

The lowest price is not necessarily the cheapest item, once you count in quality, time, and effort to resolve problems.

*which in my opinion is almost always a scam.

** because ratios. A seller with 10 negs and 100 FB is a Bad Seller. A seller with 100negs and 100,000FB is darn good.

*** there are threads about both of these. They are both heated and boring.

[blondboy47]

I realize that your post is very old, but now in 2024, nothing has changed.

I pretty much refuse to order someting from China because it's usually a problem at the very best.

But here's a sickening problem that I'm seeing over and over, both here in EBay and Amazonian's site.... LOL

That is, just like right now, I'm looking to buy a product.  The 1st offer is from someone from China and the price is normal.  Not higher, not lower.  But it's from China!

So I loo further and found someone in the USA selling the same product.  they ony wanted about $6 more or so... BUT.... and here is the big BS problem.... shipping from China was $3.48 (ish), but the USA "seller" wanted.... get ready... $82 !!!!

THAT is a rippoff and shouldn't even be allowed.

So  now, I'll just wait until someone sells it on Amaz. and deal through there.

That all being said, I ordered something about a week and a half ago form "A" and didn't pay attention that it was shipped from China.  But I figured, just let it happen and see.

TO MY GREAT SHOCK, only about 5 or 6 days later, I get a ping from "A" that my order is ready for me to pick up!  WHAT!!!  I couldn't believe it.  

[reallynicestamps]

As I understand it Chinese importers have two choices.

They can ship from China and have unhappy customers because of slow delivery.

Or they can import in bulk to warehouse and ship from the USA, and add that 10-20% tariff to their costs on the bulk shipment.*

Much of the slowness of Chinese goods was due to the unhappiness of fellow members of the Universal Postal Union. The UPU agrees to deliver the mail from other countries and settle up annually. But China until 1999 was, correctly, considered a "developing" nation like Kenya or Uruguay, and got better rates than say Germany for the settlement.

That status changed rapidly in the 21st century.

That, plus fentanyl imports from China, led to Western nations putting lowvalue Chinese imports on the bottom of the list for prompt processing and delivery. Basically the Western post offices worked to rule or went on strike, until China agree to raise their international rates and to pay more to foreign postal systems.

That happened in 2016 and has slowly been implemented since.

And so Chinese imports, for personal use, have speeded up , but shipping higher leading to higher costs for the buyer.

*US residents have an $800 duty free allowance. A bulk shipment would exceed that allowance.