Narrow escape with order from China

andicole0 · 11 Sep 2017 at 21:41

I wanted to get my wife a new back pack for when she travels. I thought one of these Thief proof jobs with USB charging and placed an order on Amazon for one that looked like others I'd seen with good reviews.
Got an email from China today, the goods have been held by HMRC. Looking closer I suspect it must be a clone of a more expensive one. Can't even trust Amazon now! LoL.
Andi.

Puzzled · 11 Sep 2017 at 21:50

Amazon makes it quite tricky to spot Chinese sellers. It's ok if they show as alternative sellers as it says the shipping destination but it doesn't say it anywhere obvious for the main seller.
Normally they'll have a long delivery ETA but they sometimes lie.

Plus doesn't seem to be anything stopping them from tagging on as a seller for an already well reviewed product. Just set themselves as the lowest price and take all the sales while shipping a possibly inferior product.

Bit annoying really

Vonhelmet · 11 Sep 2017 at 22:24

Sure it's not just being held so you can pay import duty and vat on it?

Rroff · 11 Sep 2017 at 22:33

MonkeyMan said:
Plus doesn't seem to be anything stopping them from tagging on as a seller for an already well reviewed product. Just set themselves as the lowest price and take all the sales while shipping a possibly inferior product.

Just check the sellers - its quite obvious on some stuff when a new seller pops up slightly undercutting established 3rd parties and cloning their product presence that they are just trying to scam high priced goods and no one in their right mind should buy from them.

Even most of the Chinese sellers value their presence on Amazon too much to sell directly counterfeit goods these days though high quality clones, sold under their own brand, aren't completely unusual. Sometimes an established seller will unwittingly sell a batch of counterfeits but most will just refund/sort it as hassle free as possible due to wanting to keep their presence on there.

Destination · 11 Sep 2017 at 23:29

Vonhelmet said:
Sure it's not just being held so you can pay import duty and vat on it?

This...

jimjamuk · 11 Sep 2017 at 23:35

Was the delivery time like a month?? Thats normally a good sign it aint from round these parts

andicole0 · 12 Sep 2017 at 08:34

Yes I am sure it's not just being held for duty, seller contacted me and offered a refund, which Amazon has already processed. Delivery time was a few days but I missed the bit about it possibly taking until 20th Sept from a 14th August order.
Andi.

Energize · 12 Sep 2017 at 09:18

HMRC Customs are such a pain, disaster for the economy. But this is why I only order from Amazon direct or fulfilled by Amazon.

andicole0 · 12 Sep 2017 at 11:00

Energize said:
HMRC Customs are such a pain, disaster for the economy. But this is why I only order from Amazon direct or fulfilled by Amazon.

Not a pain if they stop counterfeiting or drug smuggling
Andi.

edscdk · 12 Sep 2017 at 11:20

andicole0 said:
Not a pain if they stop counterfeiting or drug smuggling
Andi.

drugs are always available it just pushes the price up

counterfeit I agree totally

andicole0 · 12 Sep 2017 at 11:41

edscdk said:
drugs are always available it just pushes the price up

counterfeit I agree totally

You are in favour of drug smuggling? And hence the horrific effects of their criminal use.
Andi.

Energize · 12 Sep 2017 at 12:48

andicole0 said:
Not a pain if they stop counterfeiting or drug smuggling
Andi.

Disagree completely, there's nothing wrong with drug use and the sale of drugs online through international mail has greatly reduced the risk of harm to users compared to traditional methods of obtaining drugs from street dealers.

josh_sheffield · 12 Sep 2017 at 13:07

Energize said:
Disagree completely, there's nothing wrong with drug use and the sale of drugs online through international mail has greatly reduced the risk of harm to users compared to traditional methods of obtaining drugs from street dealers.

Nothing wrong with drug use? You've clearly not dealt with the same number of people overdosing as I have...

andicole0 · 12 Sep 2017 at 13:10

josh_sheffield said:
Nothing wrong with drug use? You've clearly not dealt with the same number of people overdosing as I have...

Didn't say drug use I said smuggling, which would include drugs of dodgy composition. I accept drug use is a thing and I am in favour of legalizing it in a controlled way.
Andi.

Energize · 12 Sep 2017 at 13:22

josh_sheffield said:
Nothing wrong with drug use? You've clearly not dealt with the same number of people overdosing as I have...

People making bad choices or being harmed by something doesn't make it ethically wrong.

As an aside, overdosing largely occurs as a result of the criminalisation of drugs leading to varying purity and the substitution of moderate potency opioids like heroin with high potency ones like fentanyl.

josh_sheffield · 12 Sep 2017 at 13:35

andicole0 said:
Didn't say drug use I said smuggling, which would include drugs of dodgy composition. I accept drug use is a thing and I am in favour of legalizing it in a controlled way.
Andi.

Yes, I was replying to Energize's comment, who did say there is nothing wrong with drug use.

Energize said:
People making bad choices or being harmed by something doesn't make it ethically wrong.

As an aside, overdosing largely occurs as a result of the criminalisation of drugs leading to varying purity and the substitution of moderate potency opioids like heroin with high potency ones like fentanyl.

Yes I agree. Also a lack of education. I dealt with a number of young people who really had little clue what it was they were taking. Personally I had a number of young people who were very close to death from drugs, thankfully I never had to deal with someone who died. Some of my colleagues have since though.

Blackjack Davy · 12 Sep 2017 at 14:14

andicole0 said:
Can't even trust Amazon now! LoL.
Andi.

Except it wasn't Amazon, just a "seller" as you later admitted. Amazon themselves are fine anything else sold via their site is a counterfeit lottery.

andicole0 · 12 Sep 2017 at 15:01

Blackjack Davy said:
Except it wasn't Amazon, just a "seller" as you later admitted. Amazon themselves are fine anything else sold via their site is a counterfeit lottery.

I'm sure Amazon vet anyone selling through their service. Isn't that the point?
Andi.