eBay overseas?

CarsonChris

Elite Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
1,911
Location
Carson City, NV
I’m wondering if anyone has purchased from an overseas seller on eBay and how the transaction worked?

eBay says it has a money back guarantee.

I’m worried as this might be a to good to be true deal.
 
I've bought several items shipping from the UK and Israel without issue over the years. Just use caution some items might not be allowed to be imported.


I would watch country of origin and feedback to see if their trustworthy.
 
Yeah, I've done a few overseas transactions, but I'd check their feedback scores. Usually that can tell you whether or not it's a risk worth taking. If they don't have a feedback score, that's a red flag.
 
I don't know how eBay's buyer protections work for international transactions, but I do know eBay is VERY buyer-friendly.
 
Did you have to pay an import or tariff fee?

I’ve never paid any fees outside of the buy price and stated shipping for overseas transactions on eBay, but I’ve never bought anything that cost more then $50 or so. I’ve bought items from Ukraine, Russia, UK, Netherlands, Canada, and several other countries I can’t remember off the top of my head, and all the transactions went smoothly. Shipping often takes a couple weeks or more, but I’ve found it usually takes less time than the sellers estimate (probably depends on the item). Other than the extra shipping time, the transactions all went no differently than any other US transaction. As CalReg said, just like any other situation, pay attention to feedback scores, and trust your gut if anything looks questionable.

All this is assuming you’re using the usual U.S. eBay site...if your using eBay.ca or ebay.co.uk or something, things might be different.
 
I have bought several things from overseas on eBay including a leg mounted finds bag that came from China with no problem and the quality was good. The delivery time was slow as it was shipped by mail but i knew ahead about that.
 
I'm overseas and used to sell in ebay. never had problem with tariffs or customs. anything over a couple hundred declared value might get some attention.. when checking feedback make sure its legit. same goes for sellers in the us.. there are sites that will pump your feedback profile for a small fee
 
Here is a scam on ebay. You buy something under $800 which does not require a signature and the seller sends an item (mine was a box of rocks) to a house in your zip code. The box is marked delivered and as far as ebay is concerned, it is delivered.

In my case, Fedex (usually will not provide details) but someone felt sorry for me and provided an address on where the box went. I filed a police report and the police retrieved the box. I lost the case twice and kept fighting with them. I finally won it.
 
Not that I can remember. It was a couple of years ago. If they did charge me something like that, they may have included it in the original cost. You can always contact the seller and ask them the same question. Good luck!
 
I have bought several items from Europe in the past and never had a problem. Some items were not well packed though which was scary.
 
use your credit card as payment on paypal
don't use any paypal funds if have any
that is the only way i buy on e-bay
so you will not lose jack$
been doing e-bay 20+ years
 
Here is a scam on ebay. You buy something under $800 which does not require a signature and the seller sends an item (mine was a box of rocks) to a house in your zip code. The box is marked delivered and as far as ebay is concerned, it is delivered.

In my case, Fedex (usually will not provide details) but someone felt sorry for me and provided an address on where the box went. I filed a police report and the police retrieved the box. I lost the case twice and kept fighting with them. I finally won it.

Went through the same thing this month (since late last month). Only they shipped a pen or pencil shaped object to a nearby house which happened to be vacant. It was supposed to be a metal detector - F75. USPS brought it over, I took pictures and refused it / RTS.

Ebay closed the case in the seller's favor despite them never responding and the package being refused. Their feedback was good, but sketchy listings around the time I ordered. Account must have been compromised.

Finally got the money back with a police report and appeal... but get this, since the case was originally closed in seller's favor, my negative feedback was never posted to the account, so they can technically still defraud people. Not good at all. Posted on the ebay community.
 
Went through the same thing this month (since late last month). Only they shipped a pen or pencil shaped object to a nearby house which happened to be vacant. It was supposed to be a metal detector - F75. USPS brought it over, I took pictures and refused it / RTS.

Ebay closed the case in the seller's favor despite them never responding and the package being refused. Their feedback was good, but sketchy listings around the time I ordered. Account must have been compromised.

Finally got the money back with a police report and appeal... but get this, since the case was originally closed in seller's favor, my negative feedback was never posted to the account, so they can technically still defraud people. Not good at all. Posted on the ebay community.

I had so much evidence that the box they shipped was not a detector. I had the weight of the box versus the weight of the detector. Plus they tried to use the Postal Service the first time and the Postal Service returned the box because the name did not match up to the address. The return address was not his.

This is what the criminal did. He ordered free samples of rocks from a company using my info from my ebay purchase and added that info to the tracking on ebay/paypal. He changed my address to be a house on a different street but very close to my address.

Ebay told me to return the box which I never received. Eventually his address change from Seattle to someplace in Canada.

The worst was the Ebay personnel did not speak english very well and did not understand why the police and filing a report mattered. Every time it escallated I lost the decision.

The key thing, if you buy a detector make sure it is over $800 which requires your signature. As for selling, always require a signature and pay for insurance.
 
use your credit card as payment on paypal
don't use any paypal funds if have any
that is the only way i buy on e-bay
so you will not lose jack$
been doing e-bay 20+ years

That's a great point! Using your credit card's fraud protection is another good layer of protection to have, since eBay isn't perfect.
 
I’ve been buying and selling on ebay for over 20 years. I received a call from ebay one Saturday night wanting to know if I was selling a high dollar violin. I was traveling for Boeing almost nonstop for months and hadn’t logged on in quite a few months. I said no. She informed me that someone in China had hacked my account and sold this violin for over $2000. She was very apologetic and gave me a $250 credit on my sellers account and removed the negative feedback.

ebay is very buyer and seller friendly!

I had transactions from all over the world. The only thing I shy away from is electronics. Purchasing, for example, a camera. Your warranty won’t be honored here in the States. I’ve never had to pay a customs fee.
 
I’ve been buying and selling on ebay for over 20 years. I received a call from ebay one Saturday night wanting to know if I was selling a high dollar violin. I was traveling for Boeing almost nonstop for months and hadn’t logged on in quite a few months. I said no. She informed me that someone in China had hacked my account and sold this violin for over $2000. She was very apologetic and gave me a $250 credit on my sellers account and removed the negative feedback.

ebay is very buyer and seller friendly!

I had transactions from all over the world. The only thing I shy away from is electronics. Purchasing, for example, a camera. Your warranty won’t be honored here in the States. I’ve never had to pay a customs fee.

Are you referring to grey market items?
 
Back
Top Bottom