How realiable is ebay?

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Mozziephotography

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Looking for a YONGNUO YN-568EX flash unit which was recommended by a fellow forum member. No reply in the Wanted section, so I looked on line. Most of these seem to come from China or from sellers who are 98 or 99% GOOD. The negative reviews, although just a few, are putting me off buying. Suggestions where I can purchase new please. Local camera dealers seem to favour the SB range.
 
Mate of mines got I think it's a macro make flash? (something like that) Same sort of thing as the Yongnue, he's had it about a year and hammered it to death, says it was better than his Canon flash, and it cost about £40.
98% is actually pretty good if you think about it, even the best sellers with have something go missing or damaged in the post.
 
mossienet said:
Looking for a YONGNUO YN-568EX flash unit which was recommended by a fellow forum member. No reply in the Wanted section, so I looked on line. Most of these seem to come from China or from sellers who are 98 or 99% GOOD. The negative reviews, although just a few, are putting me off buying. Suggestions where I can purchase new please. Local camera dealers seem to favour the SB range.
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In the short term eBay is especially good for a buyer as there is almost iron-clad protection but that may not be so helpful if you need to return the product to China for a 'DOA' or down the road 'warranty' claim. Personally I would balance the risk against how much I was spending (risking), if an acceptable risk (loss) then I would likely go ahead on 98%/99% feedback.
 
I mostly avoid any seller with a rating below 99%, and would generally prefer over 99.5%, though it's really a case of balancing risk - if there are no other sellers, you may not have much choice.
There are plenty of sellers in the very high 99s, even 100% with thousands of items sold. If a seller has 98% rating it means that 1 in 50 sales has gone wrong (not good in itself), and the seller has not dealt with the situation to the customer's satisfaction. Most people on ebay only leave negative feedback if things have gone badly wrong.
 
swanseamale47 said:
Mate of mines got I think it's a macro make flash? (something like that) Same sort of thing as the Yongnue, he's had it about a year and hammered it to death, says it was better than his Canon flash, and it cost about £40.
98% is actually pretty good if you think about it, even the best sellers with have something go missing or damaged in the post.
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A good seller will put things right if something is damaged or missing, and usually end up with positive feedback in that case. There are plenty of sellers that have thousands of sales and feedback of 99.9% or even 100%.
 
gramps said:
In the short term eBay is especially good for a buyer as there is almost iron-clad protection but that may not be so helpful if you need to return the product to China for a 'DOA' or down the road 'warranty' claim. Personally I would balance the risk against how much I was spending (risking), if an acceptable risk (loss) then I would likely go ahead on 98%/99% feedback.
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Very reliable until it's too late to leave negative feedback, after that, you're totally on your own.
The Chinese and HK sellers don't hold stock, they simply buy what's needed from a nearby stall, and make a false customs declaration to evade import duty and VAT, so if you're happy to evade the taxes that we need for our hospitals etc then that's fine. But they have the Chinese attitude towards customer service, which is that it doesn't exist, so if anything does go wrong once PayPal and Ebay have lost interest you shouldn't expect them to even reply, let alone sort out the problem.
 
How do Amazon or other sellers prices compare with ebay, ebay are not always rhe cheapest/best
 
nog said:
How do Amazon or other sellers prices compare with ebay, ebay are not always rhe cheapest/best
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In theory, Ebay should always be the cheapest, Amazon are far pickier about whichpeople/companies are allowed to sell on their site.
Don't forget though that some Ebay sellers control demand by price, if they are out of stock or very low on stock of an item they simply increase the price, they don't want to take the listing down and lose the selling history.
 
I'd generally recommend Amazon for something like this - if it fails after a few months there's a better chance of getting it repaired/replaced/refunded. And it solves the ethical issues of grey imports dodging duty.
 
Wasn't there something about Amazon and taxes? :whistle:
 
:agree: also states Manchester as suppling address??
 
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Garry Edwards said:
Very reliable until it's too late to leave negative feedback, after that, you're totally on your own.
The Chinese and HK sellers don't hold stock, they simply buy what's needed from a nearby stall, and make a false customs declaration to evade import duty and VAT, so if you're happy to evade the taxes that we need for our hospitals etc then that's fine. But they have the Chinese attitude towards customer service, which is that it doesn't exist, so if anything does go wrong once PayPal and Ebay have lost interest you shouldn't expect them to even reply, let alone sort out the problem.
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I can Only disagree with you, from my time on ebay(over 4000 Feedback) and the times I have brought from abroad and the UK. It is the Uk ebay sellers that let you down alot more than the others, that also goes for the buyers. as for tax ebay fees and paypal SHOULD be paying the due taxes on the monies I give them, so I dont see it as an issue and I have NEVER had a false declaration on any parcel I have been sent. I can only assume you have brought alot from the far east and not paid the right amount on your Import duties, or a uk seller being price cut by those from the far east??? NO OFFENCE mate but your reply does beg the question.

gramps said:
In the short term eBay is especially good for a buyer as there is almost iron-clad protection but that may not be so helpful if you need to return the product to China for a 'DOA' or down the road 'warranty' claim. Personally I would balance the risk against how much I was spending (risking), if an acceptable risk (loss) then I would likely go ahead on 98%/99% feedback.
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The returns policy on ebay now needs the seller to pay for the return postage. I know this due to being conned by a buyer from...the UK (long story) and a whole new thread
 
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Yep I'm another who has had nothing but excelent service from China sellers, even when something gone walkabout in the post they've sorted it, cant be fairer than that. On the other hand I bought something in Argos and it was a PITA trying to get it sorted.
 
teddyt said:
The returns policy on ebay now needs the seller to pay for the return postage. I know this due to being conned by a buyer from...the UK (long story) and a whole new thread
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Something that is clearly lost on many eBay sellers judging by the listings!
 
@mossienet When I was looking around for a flash gun for my D70s, I went with the listings that are fulfilled by Amazon. In fulfilled listings, Amazon are supposed to hold the stock of the item you want to buy and they send it out to you.
Having said that, I waited two weeks fpr my flash gun to arrive and even had messages from the seller that the item would be with me soon. That seemed to suggest that the item was out of stock in the Amazon warehouse - despite showing as in stock - and that the seller had already despatched another consignment to Amazon.

I have just checked online at Amazon for you and the price of the gun you are looking at in the fulfilled listings is £78.99. So equate that price against what you find on the bay???

David
 
Thanks to everyone for your help. Just looked at that one David. Buying from the forum is SOOOOOO stress free. Well, it has been for me. :banana:
 
Dave1 said:
They must have stock in the UK as the postal service used is Royal Mail.
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They may or may not have `stock` already in the UK, or they may just use an intermediary like a few of the pretend UK websites based overseas use (import to a logistics company warehouse then post from within the UK) or drop-shipping.

It clearly states on their site Hong Kong; http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/green_park?_trksid=p2047675.l2559
 
OldCarlos said:
They may or may not have `stock` already in the UK, or they may just use an intermediary like a few of the pretend UK websites based overseas use (import to a logistics company warehouse then post from within the UK) or drop-shipping.

It clearly states on their site Hong Kong; http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/green_park?_trksid=p2047675.l2559
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I've used these sellers in the past, the tracking details have always shown the parcel starts its journey in the UK within a couple of days of paying, there isn't sufficient time for the item to be posted out from HK to the logistics company and then reposted via RM. I presume they send stock from HK and have someone employed in the U.K. (probably working from a spare bedroom ;)) who packs and posts the items out for them.
 
Dave1 said:
I've used these sellers in the past, the tracking details have always shown the parcel starts its journey in the UK within a couple of days of paying, there isn't sufficient time for the item to be posted out from HK to the logistics company and then reposted via RM. I presume they send stock from HK and have someone employed in the U.K. (probably working from a spare bedroom ;)) who packs and posts the items out for them.
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Dave1 said:
They must have stock in the UK as the postal service used is Royal Mail.
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No. They send daily deliveries by air, using services set up specifically for this trade. They pack the products in Jiffy bags or whatever, pre-paid via Royal Mail, and once the box arrives here the contents are simply delivered to a post office. Some of them do have fulfilment houses in the UK, but this is a bit of a rarity as they operate a stockless model, i.e. when they receive an ebay order, they buy the item from a neighbouring seller in the same shopping mall - that's how it works in China.
teddyt said:
I can Only disagree with you, from my time on ebay(over 4000 Feedback) and the times I have brought from abroad and the UK. It is the Uk ebay sellers that let you down alot more than the others, that also goes for the buyers. as for tax ebay fees and paypal SHOULD be paying the due taxes on the monies I give them, so I dont see it as an issue and I have NEVER had a false declaration on any parcel I have been sent. I can only assume you have brought alot from the far east and not paid the right amount on your Import duties, or a uk seller being price cut by those from the far east??? NO OFFENCE mate but your reply does beg the question.
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HMG has stated that they intend to make the selling platforms (mainly Ebay and Amazon) responsible for ensuring that import duties and VAT are paid, but not for another 2 years... Meanwhile, it is the responsibility of the sellers, the vast majority of which are evading both of these taxes by mis-declaring the contents. You say that you have never had a false customs declaration on any parcel that you've been sent - how good is your Mandarin? Most of the items I've received are falsely stated to be children's clothing, which is VAT zero rated. By doing this, not only do that evade VAT, they also evade the regulations on sending batteries by air. Just be aware that all passenger jets have their cargo holds crammed with incoming goods, including, unknown to them, lithium batteries that are prohibited items for good reason.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Most of the items I've received are falsely stated to be children's clothing, which is VAT zero rated. By doing this, not only do that evade VAT, they also evade the regulations on sending batteries by air. Just be aware that all passenger jets have their cargo holds crammed with incoming goods, including, unknown to them, lithium batteries that are prohibited items for good reason.
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If the scanning or lack of it can't tell the difference between children's clotheing and a battery then we've all got much more serious issues to worry about IMO!
 
gramps said:
If the scanning or lack of it can't tell the difference between children's clotheing and a battery then we've all got much more serious issues to worry about IMO!
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Do you really think that everything gets scanned?
Basically they're looking for weapons and drugs, and there is a very low risk of these items coming from China.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Do you really think that everything gets scanned?
Basically they're looking for weapons and drugs, and there is a very low risk of these items coming from China.
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I don't have evidence either way, I'm just making the observation ... if it isn't possible to know the difference then there is a far greater problem worldwide than tax evasion.
 
STOP!!!!!!
Just found an SB600 at a localish store. Reasonably priced. Ordered. Delivered tomorrow. No worries (Hopefully)
 
gramps said:
I don't have evidence either way, I'm just making the observation ... if it isn't possible to know the difference then there is a far greater problem worldwide than tax evasion.
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I'm with Garry on this. If you think that it's realistic for every consignment to have 100% check against the Customs declaration, that would be akin to thinking Santa has time to drop down the chimney finish off the sherry and mince pies and still deliver to every child in the country before they wake up [emoji1] [emoji1] [emoji1]
 
taxboy said:
I'm with Garry on this. If you think that it's realistic for every consignment to have 100% check against the Customs declaration, that would be akin to thinking Santa has time to drop down the chimney finish off the sherry and mince pies and still deliver to every child in the country before they wake up [emoji1] [emoji1] [emoji1]
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Like Gary, you didn't read what I said either :)
 
gramps said:
Like Gary, you didn't read what I said either :)
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I've read each of your posts on this page, I really don't understand what it is that you think that I've missed.
gramps said:
I don't have evidence either way, I'm just making the observation ... if it isn't possible to know the difference then there is a far greater problem worldwide than tax evasion.
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Speaking of observation, my name is Garry, not Gary.
 
Garry Edwards said:
I've read each of your posts on this page, I really don't understand what it is that you think that I've missed.

Speaking of observation, my name is Garry, not Gary.
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I do shorthand :D

You both missed that I didn't say that all cargo was scanned ... only that if it wasn't we had more to worry about than tax evasion. :)
 
gramps said:
I do shorthand :D

You both missed that I didn't say that all cargo was scanned ... only that if it wasn't we had more to worry about than tax evasion. :)
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Just accept that it isn't all scanned, nowhere near. Our C&E are brilliant, but their resources have been cut and they need to prioritise.
I know China quite well. The Chinese don't allow any private ownership of firearms, so there is no realistic danger of firearms coming into this country from there.
They have extremely strict regulation of knives, so the same applies to them too.
They do everything possible to control the importation of drugs, so the same applies to them to.
On a personal level, I have NEVER been stopped when returning from China. In fact, at many airports, there isn't even anyone there to do any checks...
Our C&E tries to concentrate its extremely limited resources on imports from countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and similar, where both drugs and weapons are freely available.
 
mmmm moving away from what the OP first asked arn't we?? so lets put the lighers down and go back to being happy kiddies after all it's CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!:pint:
 
The SB will hopefully fit the bill. Trying it out on a race Jan 2nd If it doesn't do it for me, check the For Sale Nikon Section the following day. Mery Crismas evry1! Too much whiskey!
 
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