UK seller but customs declaration on package?

hughtrimble · 19 Jun 2018 at 11:22

Morning,

I purchased an el cheapo item on eBay from a seller as it gave the location as UK. Took longer to arrive after sending than expected from a UK seller and upon arrival, the package has a customs declaration on it in USD (for the correct amount etc.) but an RM24 Postage Paid sticker on it with a UK return address.

So is the seller (and eBay) misleading buyers by saying they're in the UK, or would a UK seller just whack on a customs declaration form for the sake of it?

antijoke · 19 Jun 2018 at 11:29

Drop shipping.

The seller is probably in the UK but they probably get the items sent from the US.

Glanza · 19 Jun 2018 at 11:38

Seller is being a middle man.

Rroff · 19 Jun 2018 at 11:48

I think all those possibilities are on the table with no real way to know - it might have been they were out of stock and rather than disappoint you ordered it from their supplier to you direct, it could be they don't actually have UK stock and trying it on or they could be as above simply drop shipping and that was from the item being delivered to them or on behalf of them.

LeeUK · 19 Jun 2018 at 11:56

Bit like the Chinese selllers. They are either in the UK and drop shipping from China, or they are in China but hold all their stock in the back of a takeaway shop in a grim town somewhere.

hughtrimble · 19 Jun 2018 at 11:57

antijoke said:
Drop shipping.

The seller is probably in the UK but they probably get the items sent from the US.

Glanza said:
Seller is being a middle man.

LeeUK said:
Bit like the Chinese selllers. They are either in the UK and drop shipping from China, or they are in China but hold all their stock in the back of a takeaway shop in a grim town somewhere.

Rroff said:
I think all those possibilities are on the table with no real way to know - it might have been they were out of stock and rather than disappoint you ordered it from their supplier to you direct, it could be they don't actually have UK stock and trying it on or they could be as above simply drop shipping and that was from the item being delivered to them or on behalf of them.

All very possible, thank you for this. I totally forgot about drop shipping! I shall hold off on accusing them of not being in the UK in the feedback. The blighters cost me an extra 50p as I thought it worth the extra for UK seller and delivery than from China.

Rroff · 19 Jun 2018 at 12:00

If it bothers you message seller they'd probably refund shipping or partially rather than fight it (often more worried about their 5 star rating). Personally I kind of consider it par for the course for some of these cheapy electronics parts, etc. and buy with that kind of expectation at that price point so ultimately as long as I get what I wanted I'm not too fussed as otherwise the price would likely be higher.

hughtrimble · 19 Jun 2018 at 12:09

Rroff said:
If it bothers you message seller they'd probably refund shipping or partially rather than fight it (often more worried about their 5 star rating). Personally I kind of consider it par for the course for some of these cheapy electronics parts, etc. and buy with that kind of expectation at that price point so ultimately as long as I get what I wanted I'm not too fussed as otherwise the price would likely be higher.

It bothers me from an awareness perspective - if I'd bought a few of them, it would have brought customs charges etc. which would then be far more expensive than buying from an actual UK seller at a higher initial cost per unit.

I've checked feedback and it's a very common comment (I should have checked myself before) - eBay clearly haven't done anything about it even though it looks like the fact the items come from abroad has posed some significant issues for others. Lovely eBay doing the usual.

Rroff · 19 Jun 2018 at 12:20

hughtrimble said:
I've checked feedback and it's a very common comment (I should have checked myself before) - eBay clearly haven't done anything about it even though it looks like the fact the items come from abroad has posed some significant issues for others. Lovely eBay doing the usual.

I think we have the answer then heh.

Hades · 19 Jun 2018 at 12:52

Seller is sitting in Chiang Mai enjoying the life of a digital nomad while you pay for it by using his drop shipping business

Dunks · 19 Jun 2018 at 14:26

Hades said:
Seller is sitting in Chiang Mai enjoying the life of a digital nomad while you pay for it by using his drop shipping business

I'm totally jealous of these digital nomads, I need to skill up and become one

Sitting in a Ho Chi Minh City coffee shop with nothing but a laptop and Vietnamese coffee is the dream.

Hades · 19 Jun 2018 at 15:38

Dunks said:
I'm totally jealous of these digital nomads, I need to skill up and become one

Sitting in a Ho Chi Minh City coffee shop with nothing but a laptop and Vietnamese coffee is the dream.

I don't think it's quite as good as many make out on their podcasts. Many people aren't successful at it. Some are but have been forced into it by trying to reduce costs rather than a love of wanting to travel. But there are a few who genuinely want that life, enjoy it and make a success of it. However what happens long term? If they keep having to do a visa run to moving countries every few months then it will be hard to make friends. What happens if they do actually meet someone and want to settle down? What happens long term as they get older? It sounds great at first but I can imagine only a few people stick at it long term.

What I do think is work doing, though, is planning a life where you are highly mobile and your work is location independent. So you could have a base in one country and work anywhere in the world if the mood takes you.

Dunks · 19 Jun 2018 at 16:27

Hades said:
I don't think it's quite as good as many make out on their podcasts. Many people aren't successful at it. Some are but have been forced into it by trying to reduce costs rather than a love of wanting to travel. But there are a few who genuinely want that life, enjoy it and make a success of it. However what happens long term? If they keep having to do a visa run to moving countries every few months then it will be hard to make friends. What happens if they do actually meet someone and want to settle down? What happens long term as they get older? It sounds great at first but I can imagine only a few people stick at it long term.

What I do think is work doing, though, is planning a life where you are highly mobile and your work is location independent. So you could have a base in one country and work anywhere in the world if the mood takes you.

Yeah, I agree. Ideally for me I would still have my base here in London (owned property, long term partner) but have the ability to travel for say 6 months at a time whilst working remotely.

It'd be pretty difficult not having a proper base.

MonkeyBasher · 19 Jun 2018 at 16:48

This is standard practice now on ebay. You realy need to check the past comments of a seller to see the history.

I bought a load of cables, pen drives and sd cards for PI projects and went out of my way to pick stuff listed as UK sellers.
I gues its the difference between "seller location" and "item location".
I ended up with stuff coming from china, taking longer to deliver. Miss labeled pen drives and sd cards that just didnt work. EBAY couldnt of cared any less when I complained and the stuff was of such low value to me it wasnt worth the hassle of chasing up.