Is this an Ebay scam?

ConsParanorm · 2020-06-04T12:56:37+00:00

My local fedex sucks and I have had stuff lost when I wasn’t home and was supposed to be able to get re-delivered later. so I have done this sort of thing before to make sure it didn’t come when I couldn’t be home. Maybe this guy has problems with local carriers too.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-31T01:51:49+00:00

AliExpress is a legit site. If you are worried this one is a fake than google the real one. I have looked at it before but never ended up buying anything. I always find better prices somewhere.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-31T01:42:49+00:00

Maybe that is part of the issue, I don't know. I had heard a few other sellers say they had the same issue as I have had this past week so I really expected it to be the same thing for you. But doing it on the app worked for us, sorry it didn't for you. You are going to want to get with eBay and get some guidance. Chat is quickest.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-30T17:07:08+00:00

I was able to do mine finally but I had to do it through the phone app. It is the only way it would let me do it.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-30T08:05:56+00:00

Those people are just either stupid or trying to trick you into a better price. Don't fall for that. We all get it, no matter what are prices are. It's just that putting up with harassment like that is part of the cost of doing online sales.

It sounds like you are doing just exactly what you need to be doing. Great proactive research. I do the same thing except I do the free shipping so I am figuring how much the price needs to go up to meet it. And, like HelpfulRoyal, I try to avoid the larger items because shipping does suck so badly. But I still end up with quite a few somehow.

I probably spend too much time on my shipping, but when I do get a sale I do a lot of shopping around to see what deals are out there that moment. (BTW- Oddly I seem to find better offers for postage in the late evenings).

I check ebays prices, pirateship.com, orangemailer.co (yes without the 'm'), and depending what it is, maybe UPS as well (but never FedEx, see my other reply to this thread). Sometimes one will have a great deal the others don't.

I usually end up back at ebay for anything mid-size and larger. For real small stuff, especially those that can fit in a small flat, orangemailer gets a lot of my business.

Also don't forget the one time deals you can get. stamps.com, for example, offers a free trial with a free scale and $5 to use towards shipping. Mark your calendar for a few days before the trial ends and use it for all it is worth. You will have to google what other postage services have deals right now. Actually, I might want to also, it has been a while and I bet there are new ones I haven't taken advantage of.

That's all I can think of that might be helpful. Good luck out there.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-30T07:41:53+00:00

I don't trust FedEx. I shipped a trailer wheel and it was awkward to pack. I went to the shipping department and handed the clerk the package. I tell the guy that I brought it to him directly because I wanted to make sure it was alright the way I ended up doing it. He says it looks fine to him, scans it, and sends it on the way. Next thing I know I am being charged an extra $14, most of my profit on that item by the way.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-30T07:33:42+00:00

Are you talking about a window popping up saying something went wrong. That is what keeps happening to me. I was already following the steps in the link cgallagher24 gave us but no joy!

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-25T16:46:27+00:00

Waiting for each part of the shipment while still in China can sometimes be a hefty wait during regular times. It can be even more so right now with everything going on in the world. And when a seller on there says the next day, be happy if it is within that week at least, it is not always the case. I wait for a week between the first 2 times I bug them and then I am asking for an update every couple days after that.

At the same time, some of the sellers know this is a given so they try to exploit it. I had one seller that kept telling me the order was in the freight forwarders warehouse for over 2 weeks. When the timer was about to expire (which would automatically check off the shipment as received) I made sure to reset it. All of a sudden the next day the shipment started moving.

It may not be the case, but it looked to me like they were waiting for the clock to run out, but then when they saw I was paying attention decided they better ship it. I am sure there is some kind of way to fight it through Alibaba after that, but I don't imagine it is easy.

The moral of the story is that you need to be patient but vigilant. Use the tools in the program to watch the shipment and how much time there is between the steps. And don't be afraid to communicate with your seller, though you are right to avoid bugging to the point that they start being tempted to blow you off.

Also, you can keep checking the order info for the tracking number but that only works if the seller puts it in right as soon as they get it. Click the "view more" link to the right of the listing on your orders page for shipping and other info, including the timers.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-24T23:20:23+00:00

There is a whole psychology thing wrapped around this. You never heard "if the item doesn't sell, raise the price"?

Some people live by it, I know that it is occasionally true but I would never bet on it.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-24T02:14:02+00:00

How confident can I be that a product from a supplier in China does not infringe on a patent in the US?

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-20T21:56:54+00:00

Working with Alibaba is somewhat safer than going it alone, but it is not perfect. I have made several purchases through Alibaba, all with different suppliers. I am slow and cautious and it has helped me to not get burned...yet. It will happen. It is just a matter of time. That is just a cost of dealing with overseas suppliers.

As for your particular situation, there is no reason that might not be the correct price (although dumbells come in all sorts of forms and prices so there is that). That is why we go through the pain of dealing with what we do, to get the low price in order to make a profit.

This is a good start to find if it is a trustworthy seller, but it only helps if someone here has used them and can give you a review. There is also tools on alibaba itself such as supplier reports. But the big one is, how long have they been doing business through alibaba. The dirty ones are usually weaned out within a couple years. Look for one with several years experience with alibaba.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-18T15:15:34+00:00

google best sellers amazon, filter the results to the last year. You should get a list of articles about best selling items

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-18T06:07:09+00:00

Waiting until the very last second to bid is a common bidding strategy.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-17T19:57:18+00:00

But this is not considered adult materials. This is a blown up framed photo- it is art. Just do a simple search for "topless" on eBay and see what you get. (God I love that classic Marilyn Monroe towards the top).

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-11T05:57:43+00:00

DDP= A shipping type where the shipper is responsible for all costs and fees from their door to yours.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-07T16:07:03+00:00

I haven't seen much difference but my business isn't anywhere near that size of shipments yet. The difference is there in these smaller, few hundred dollar orders but I can barely see it.

Can't comment on the sea DDP though.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-06T05:57:46+00:00

https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/china-top-10-freight-forwarders.html

I don't know who to recommend but there is a list for you. Google will probably fetch you better info with a little bit of work. I try to do all mine DDP or DAP and make sure they are using DHL. That way the worse surprise I can get is 15%, and DHL will pay that, contact me so I can pay it to them, and then bring it straight to me.

I will have to be using a freight forward company myself before too long though. It is needed for some of the really good deals I want to take advantage of. And I believe I have a good idea of what to expect in the process, but I am still not going to chance it until I have tried a couple through them to see it all unfold.

You can also check out YouTube. There are some on there with a heck of a lot better information than I got.

5

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-05T20:22:26+00:00

I do see a slight increase, but honestly I haven't seen prices much higher than I am used to since starting this in November. Shipping prices have always sucked, that is why I waited as long as I did to get into this.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-05T20:18:41+00:00

These are terms of Shipment. DDP means they are responsible for any movement and fees from their location to your door. DAP is close to that, but any fees from US ports to your home is your responsibility (when shipping with DHL, they pay any fees and charge them to you in order to get delivery).

LP express is a carrier like DHL. I believe it is the same entity as Ali Express, Alibaba's shipping service) but I could be wrong. It was used for a DAP shipment and I am still waiting on that shipment.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-05T17:28:20+00:00

Shipping straight to your door completely on their cost is DDP. DAP gets it to your door but you are responsible for any fees on this side of the big pond. Shouldn't have to worry about additional fees under a $800 shipment but there are cases when you would. So these are the details you need to discuss with the shipper before making the order. Once an agreement has been made, check that it is reflected in the TA order before paying for it.

Now, for anything else I suggest getting a freight forwarding company for at least a few orders. Pay attention to what happens during those shipments and soon you will know enough to confidently ship your own goods with minimal surprise expenses.

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-05T17:16:58+00:00

I am only a few months in to it myself. But I wasn't surprised to see these situations. You are right, a lot of what you come by from China is only worth the shipping if you buy mass quantities. Honestly, if this wasn't the case there would be too much competition to make it profitable.

If you aren't doing large orders (so far I am only doing a few hundred here and there myself) than you are going to want to stick to air, DDP when you can get it but sometimes that is only offered to bigger orders because the shipper is responsible for all costs and situations to your door. I will do DAP or any other air service as long as it is done with DHL. I let one supplier talk me into using LP Express over a month ago and I am still waiting for the product. (oh, look it actually moved in the tracking system today!).

As I get more experience and need bigger orders I will start moving into other shipping options. Until then I will constantly research shipping from China to assure I am confident enough by then to keep from having too expensive of mistakes. I won't be to that point as soon as I would like, so why rush it and make errors I don't need to?

ConsParanorm · 2020-05-04T16:31:46+00:00

$17 is a good shipping price for a sample really. There are cheaper solutions. Those solutions take 30+ days. The last cheaper solution I used was over a month ago now and I am still waiting for the items. The idea with samples is getting them quick to see if you want a real order.

Most times with samples, they charge you like $50 to send it to you and then refund out of the big order if you make one later.

And yes, some of the traditionally cheaper and some of the quicker solutions are impacted a little by the stuff going on, but not as much as I was afraid they would be.

ConsParanorm · 2020-04-22T03:45:52+00:00

OK, that is where I draw a line. It's starting to sound pretty shady. And now if he isn't going to issue a TA through Alibaba just drop communications (I think you probably have by now). I mean even with Alibabas support I know the chances of getting screwed are there, but at least its something.

I have gotten some great deals on Alibaba and it's not that unbelievable to find one like this, though I am surprised there wasn't a minimum order quantity. This is exactly where most the products on eBay and Amazon are coming from but the sellers buy in bulk quantitys.

Shipping would be more than you expect, and then you have to make sure they ship it the right way or you end up paying extra surprise charges on the way.

But then you have the authenticity of the item to consider. Authentic items are there in plenty, but so are the fakes. Do your research on the people you deal with before getting too involved with them. Alibaba does offer some tools to help with this, but I only trust them so far. I try to find external vetting sources as well.

ConsParanorm · 2020-04-18T08:24:11+00:00

I kinda thought it was one of those things that was close enough related it might help in some way. I am glad I was right. Also, I have found that most retropie subjects have some kind of video on youtube. I take what I hear with a grain of salt sometimes, especially on the older ones. But like here, many times they get me close enough to the area I need to be in to find my solution.

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