Ebay not always cheapest or best

Easticks28 said:
I too had a recent Ebay purchase which came from China. The description clearly stated 'Item Location, London' . It was rubbish when it arrived ! :mad:
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EBAY really need to sort this out.!
Tick the UK box but then scroll down to locate company its very frequently in China.
Union Jack featured anywhere in the advert usually arouses suspicions .
Another wheeze is location "London" . Probably a cargo shed at Heathrow in 2 weeks time more like, not a problem if want cheap ,dubious material and not in a hurry .
Four Marine quality "stainless " latches ordered from China went rusty in about 6 months. :)
 
oldgit said:
EBAY really need to sort this out.!
Tick the UK box but then scroll down to locate company its very frequently in China.
Union Jack featured anywhere in the advert usually arouses suspicions .
Another wheeze is location "London" . Probably a cargo shed at Heathrow in 2 weeks time more like, not a problem if want cheap ,dubious material and not in a hurry .
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I look at the delivery times. Anything more than a few days is probably China.
 
Quite a bit of chinese stuff already seems to be in warehouses scattered around the uk.. Still takes a while for it to be delivered...
 
Always complain about crap Chinese stuff. They'll fold easily and Ebay always backs the buyer first. The Chinese bulk sellers are all working on small margins and I think what makes the profit for them are the additional commissions bulk sellers get; therefore they are super sensitive about negative feedback, as that kicks them off the additional seller commission list.

Of course, it probably means that the sweet, young, customer service girl, who studied English for 10 years just to get the 12 hour a day job, will be sent to a gulag camp along with her family, or forced to commit suicide ... but, hey, that's global capitalism for you these days! The workshop of the world, and all that.

Yes, some of them seem to use mail forwarding services in the UK. I avoid them as much as I can and have regretted when I don't, or was fooled again.

It's the “Cha bu duo” (差不多) atttidue, which can be translated as “almost the same” or “good enough”. As far as I'm concerned, 95% of it is just a con to rake in foreign currency, analogs of real things, while destroying overseas manufacturing bases.
 
PetiteFleur said:
I agree, I always look at alternatives if it's for something I need quickly. I will drive 5miles to Screwfix instead of waiting a day or two. Also usually try the local hardware store which is only a mile way but his stock is limited although he will order stuff in if you are prepared to wait. He did get some particular outdoor paint I wanted, initially said he couldn't get it then called week later and said it's arrived ! And it was cheap than online or B&Q.
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Yep, I always buy locally unless I am totally stuffed. Pay 50 quid more for a television but the bloke comes and sets it up, takes away the box and the old set and comes out in the van if there is a problem. Better to foster local jobs than inflate the profits of some offshore gangster.

Seems to me that Ebay, Amazon, Paypal and the rest are, in essence, American tax gathering organisations. Time we had our own Boston Tea Party.
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doug748 said:
Seems to me that Ebay, Amazon, Paypal and the rest are, in essence, American tax gathering organisations. Time we had our own Boston Tea Party.
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On the other hand, it's thanks to Amazon and eBay that lockdown for me has been pretty painless - I have been able to get almost everything I wanted (not just needed), normally within a day or two.
 
convey "Of course, it probably means that the sweet, young, customer service girl, who studied English for 10 years just to get the 12 hour a day job, will be sent to a gulag camp along with her family, or forced to commit suicide ... but, hey, that's global capitalism for you these days! The workshop of the world, and all that."

And what is the alternative to global capitalism, maybe Chinese Communism? Unfortunately people just have to accept the consequences of their Government's policies.

I won't be buying Chinese made stuff and I don't think I'm Robinson Crusoe.
 
coopec said:
And what is the alternative to global capitalism, maybe Chinese Communism? Unfortunately people just have to accept the consequences of their Government's policies.
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It's not communism. I think it's called "state capitalism" these days.

What is the alternative to global capitalism? A better form of global capitalism that is more equal, more fair, more transparent, more accountable, and addresses the problems we are all collectively facing, not just designed to allow the unrestraint destruction of the environment, and siphon up all the wealth to the few, (including, I presume, the CCP leaders' families).
 
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doug748 said:
Yep, I always buy locally unless I am totally stuffed. Pay 50 quid more for a television but the bloke comes and sets it up, takes away the box and the old set and comes out in the van if there is a problem. Better to foster local jobs than inflate the profits of some offshore gangster.

Seems to me that Ebay, Amazon, Paypal and the rest are, in essence, American tax gathering organisations. Time we had our own Boston Tea Party.
.
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Needed four tyres, purchased on line. Chose Avons, well reviewed and British manufacture. Turns out the selling company was based in Andorra. I could havedriven there, had them fitted and driven back again in less time than it took for them to arrive !
 
The trouble with eBay purchases is that you are buying a pig in a poke. I've bought loads of stuff, most of it has worked fine but you've little redress if it's not fit for purpose.
Another problem with online in general is buying repeats. Unless you make an effort to record the suppliers, you have to guess and there are lots of similar sounding suppliers some good some not.
I now have a folder labelled 'buying' so all purchases are recorded.
 
Easticks28 said:
I too had a recent Ebay purchase which came from China. The description clearly stated 'Item Location, London' . It was rubbish when it arrived ! :mad:
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I recently bought something from an eBay seller purporting to be in Kent.

It wasn't satisfactory and I said I wanted to return it and have a refund.

The seller responded with a return address in China and no prepaid return label. I was asked to send it to China and told my return postage and purchase price would be refunded after the seller had received it.

I complained to eBay and someone phoned me to say the seller was in breach of eBay rules by advertising his location as Kent when he had no address there to receive returns.

I received an immediate refund and was told to keep the item.
 
coopec said:
convey "Of course, it probably means that the sweet, young, customer service girl, who studied English for 10 years just to get the 12 hour a day job, will be sent to a gulag camp along with her family, or forced to commit suicide ... but, hey, that's global capitalism for you these days! The workshop of the world, and all that."

And what is the alternative to global capitalism, maybe Chinese Communism? Unfortunately people just have to accept the consequences of their Government's policies.

I won't be buying Chinese made stuff and I don't think I'm Robinson Crusoe.
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Unfortunately, you're right. Quality is one issue, which I suspect is cultural, but the way the government is behaving means I do my best not to buy Chinese. I'm not sure it's possible to avoid it altogether, but I'll pay (a bit) more for something made elsewhere. I'm also trying to avoid making Bezos any richer until his employees are treated better.
 
Avoiding Amazon and eBay completely, may be counterproductive if you are trying to support British companies. Obviously there are many overseas sellers, but there are also thousands of small U.K. sellers who rely on these platforms for their businesses. These people employ U.K. staff, pay U.K. taxes and spend their profits in the U.K.
I’ll try to buy from U.K. sellers whenever possible, but will also buy from China etc. taking into consideration the inherent risks. Most U.K. sellers have ultimately got their stock from China anyway.
Where I live, time and cost to buy from bricks and mortar suppliers often makes it uneconomical, even if I could find what I wanted. Online is often my only option.
 
Refueler said:
Given that a major part of everyday purchases other than food - is likely Chinese origin or at least has many Chinese parts ... its a bit of a joke to say "I will not buy Chinese" !!
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,

I disagree!

I'm sure if we bother to look around we can avoid buying a lot of Chinese goods. I would never buy anything Chinese made if my life depended on it - bilge pumps, through hull fittings, life-jackets, radios, alarms, circuit breakers/heavy switches etc.

I would never buy things like drill bits, workshop tools, power tools, paints, anti-sieze, bearings, gaskets, navigation lights from China. (I read today that you shouldn't microwave food in Chinese made crockery as the industry is not regulated in China and dangerous chemicals can leach from the pottery into the food)
 
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Quick look around the boat:
Crewsaver lifejacket - China
Raymarine handheld VHF - China
Garmin Plotter - Taiwan
B&G fixed VHF - China

Anyone have alternatives for all of these critical pieces of equipment not made in China/Taiwan or contain Chinese manufactured components? ?

My PLB is made in the U.K., but I’d bet a fair amount that it contains components made in China.
 
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